Tasik Kenyir, South East Asia’s largest man-made lake, hides islands and waterfalls within 2600 sq km. It’s a strange place, located in Terrenganu about 4.5 hours from KL.

When you arrive at Tasik Kenyir, most people choose to then stay on house boats so that they can travel around the lake and stop off at different locations. The lake is absolutely huge so this is probably the only way you could really see it. You can book a house boat online. My opinion is they looked grotty and not very fun, but I don’t like boats and have a small child. There were large groups of Malays staying on them and travelling off to other parts of the lake in smaller boats so it is a popular option. You can look them up online before you go. We decided to stay near Kuala Berang, about 30 minutes from the lake.

We made a poor choice of accommodation, or, this is just the general vibe of the area. We stayed at Warisan Pahlawan, which has good reviews and beautiful wooden kampung style accommodation. However, in reality it was dark, dirty, dusty and damp. 4 Ds you never want to associate with your room. I sneezed continously due to my life long battle with any dust particles, there was a dirty mattress for the third bed, dirty pillows, just dust and dirt basically. Because of this, I found myself hating this trip. We actually left a day early and stayed in Cherating because of the horrible room situation. Dont go there, find another option!

The first day we went to Sekayu Waterfall. This is a large area of river and it is beautiful. You need to pay rm2 to get in and then you can find a space to set up. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, litter was an issue. No one wants to sit next to a dirty nappy. I don’t understand why people do it.

I would recommend going here but you need to be there before 9am to get a space. Please take your rubbish with you. The river is safe for kids to play and there are areas where you can set up a picnic, light a fire and stay there all day.

On the second day we went on a boat trip on Tasik Kenyir. Because we have a 3 year old, we opted to take a private boat for only 3 hours and see just a few things. We went to Saok Waterfall, a couple of islands and the Orchid Garden.

It was really beautiful and very quiet, especially considering it was the school holidays. Our boat driver was very friendly and accommodating. You can find him at the main harbour. There are many boats there and kiosks you can go and ask for a trip to wherever you want to go. There are lots and lots of waterfalls, caves, hidden hikes but we couldn’t manage them.

On our way back we stopped in Cherating, which is always a nice beach stop. A little strip of beach for surfer life on the East Coast.

On our way back it took us 6 hours to go a 3 hour journey and once again we wondered why we ever think it is a good idea to travel anywhere during a public holiday!