Port Dickson 13th March 2011

It has been quite a while since we visited Port Dickson. The last time we were in Port Dickson was sometime in June 2010. We stayed at Le Paris Hotel then. This time though we wanted to try out another hotel cum resort. We made booking for the Bayu Beach Resort about a week earlier.

The road near the arch welcoming visitors to Port Dickson

Port Dickson beaches especially the stretch in Bt 4 is especially popular with campers

Port Dickson is located in Negeri Sembilan (The Land of Nine) and located about 34Km from Seremban, the capital. Driving from Kuala Lumpur takes about 1 1/2 hours drive and it is basically a favourite spot amongst those staying in the West part of the Peninsular. The place boasts of 18Km of sandy white beaches. Here's a bit of history of Port Dickson that I picked up from the internet :



"About a century ago, Port Dickson town was a part of the ocean, during the high water tide, the water might raise up to the railway near Jalan Lama. In those time, both streets of Jalan Baru and Jalan Raja Aman Shah did not yet exist.

In the earlier time, Port Dickson was called "Tanjong" in Malay language that means "cape". The oldest shoplots were the four situated at Jalan Lama. There was also carbon mine at first mile of the coast road (Jalan Pantai), and therefore Port Dickson was also called "Arang" in Malay language that means "charcoal".

In those time, the British have foreseen the great potential of Port Dickson, thus built a harbor in replacement for the existing port in Pengkalan Kempas. Because the in-charge officer's name was Dickson, thereafter it was named Port Dickson until today. In the picture, Jalan Baru was built in 1927. There were only 5 shop lots counting from today's Standard Chartered Bank."


(Credit to Port Dickson.net)


We left home around 10.00am and arrived in Port Dickson or just "PD" to locals around 11.15am. Since it was too early to check in, we stopped by at the Roral Malaysian Army Museum which is located right adhacent to the Si-Rusa Army Camp, about 8Km from Port Dickson itself. The Museum not only features the history of the  Malaysian army but also it brings visitors in a journey of history of the country right from the era of the Portuguese occupation in Tanah Melayu right up to the british occupation way back in the early 90's. The exhibits were also available in dioramas which makes it so much interesting.  Entry is free. We were fortunate that the day we were there, the museum had an open air exhibition which featured military stuff, paraphernalia, a ride in an armoured vehicle and a chance to take photos with military weaponry.

All of us had a hand at holding the various weapons on display

The personal files of Lt. Adnan, a hero in the Malaysian Army

Some of the military items being displayed

"Look, I'm holding the gun !"

After lunch we checked in at the Bayu Beach Resort around 1.45pm. Well, the hotel is ok but the lady at the reception could have been a bit more couteous and should be thought to smile to guest. her face looks like she just had a bad day or something...

View of the exterior of Bayu Beach Resort,
Above &below: the front portion and on the side fronting the beach

Interior of the room with 1 Queen bed and a Single bed for my son

My son at the balcony and the view from the balcony

Anyways, we spent the afternoon in our room as it was just too warm to have any outdoor activities. We had to wait until late evening where we went for a bit of shopping at The Store, PD Ocean Walk in PD town. We also went to the Teluk Kemang Bazaar areas where you'd find various stalls selling everything from food stuffs, souvenir items, beach balls and floats, clothings, handicrafts and many more. You can also do horse riding and have your portrait painted by artists.

My son's horse riding session

The many stall that sells everything from souvenirs to food stuffs

Beautiful sunset of the coast of Port Dickson

On our way back the next day, we stopped by in Seremban and had lunch at Tesco in Seremban 2. We also stopped by at the Seremban Craft Centre, the Animal Park managed by the Veterinary Department of negeri Sembilan. One of the places that my wife would always prefer for a stop-over is Nilai 3, a place where you can find shops selling textiles, carpets, handicrafts, furnitures made from Jati wood and for those would be bride and bridegrooms, shops selling every paraphernalia related to weddings can be found in abundance and at unbeatable prices....