Se Petanque De Ddunggung.

I'M NO UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR to arrive at the final analysis why Dungun folks have embraced wholeheartedly the game of Petanque as the favorite pastime. I believe this has something to do with the word Petanque itself. Petanque may sound high-class and French and all that stuff but the truth is, it has a strong linguistic connection to the Trengganuspeak 'petong' or a higher version - 'plekong'. These words involve throwing of an object to hit something with, and Petanque as you will have guessed, is very much a throwing game. I'm no professor so I had better leave this mystery to Sir Awang Goneng. He's the authority on Trengganuspeak. And French.

There were three shops like this at one time in this men's town. The one in front of Masjid Kampong Tengah has long gone. The one on top is Ah Fok - located behind the old post office facing Padang Astaka. It's famous for the santan ice-cream, washed in evaporated milk. The one at the bottom is at the end of Jalan Penaga towards the river. I'm not a big fan of kopitiam because for toast and half-boiled eggs I'd rather prepare these myself. You don't need to be chef to do this. But people go here for the ambiance, I guess. As for the ice-cream, I believe it's about my childhood. It's about eating that ice-cream while listening to the men in nice shirts and pants talking about women in baju kebaya and kain susun. I was ten.

Four boats. Four wives. 

Fresh out of the sea. Fry it with tumeric and salt, dried chili and onion. Squeeze a bit of lime. Have it with rice, budu - sitting on the veranda on a cloudy December day looking out to the South China Sea. You don't want to leave for KL too soon. You wanna stay here for a couple more days. You can't leave your hometown in a hurry just because you've got some work to do in KL. That can wait.

No more penambang to Seberang Pitasang now that we've got the bridge. 

The roads from London, Paris, New York, Dubai and Gairloch end here. (The starting point of Dungun - facing towards Sura Gate, London, Paris, New York, Dubai and Gairloch.

Note: 

Petanque - pronounced: pata-NG-K

Petong - throwing an object with 60% of your energy.

Plekong - throwing an object with 80%  of your energy.

Tagor - throwing an object with 100% of the energy left after you've performed the petong and plekong.

For those looking for a non-commercial holiday destination, Dungun is one of the best places I highly recommend because -  it's my hometown. They've got nice sea-front chalets along the coastal drive. The prices they advertised on the billboard are reasonable. There's nothing much to do here except look out to the sea as if you're waiting for a long lost lover to come drifting home in a boat. Nothing to do means good because the place will remain popular only to those who wish for a quiet holiday, instead of going about town in a tour bus, flocking in a group of folks with a camera, straw hats, white pants, floral shirt, boat shoes and over-sized pouch. Dungun isn't that kinda of holiday destination. It's a civilized, academic and very clean place for those looking for a well-managed sea front town.

The downtown is pretty run-down now that all the commercial zones have been re-located to Sura Gate. There's Pizza Hut, KFC and 7-11 if you can't live without these. And wi-fi service. But if you are into rustic and quaint stuff, the downtown area is a good place to photograph wooden shop houses and lanes. You have the choice of wandering around Dungun, or cross over the spanking new bridge to Seberang Pitasan where you can have the 10 km stretch of the bay all to yourself. And come back to the chalet late in the evening for a seafood dinner.

For the bicycle enthusiasts, it's a bit unfortunate that the shop that operated bikes-for-rent has closed for business long time ago. Maybe I should start one, or you may want to start one now that I've given you the idea. But be sure to acquire bicycle repair skill because it's very difficult to hire a guy who can do this. A bicycle shop is a hands-on kinda business so you gotta have the skill to operate one. If your car is equipped with the carrier to transport the bicycle, I'd recommend it highly that you bring your ten-speed or the mountain bike here so you can cycle about town at your own pace. You can't do a town like Dungun in a car.

Do make Dungun your next non-commercial holiday destination. If you need a guide just mention my  name, they'd probably know who you are talking about. But of course, my name isn't Bergen when I'm in Dungun. It's Bergengg (with double 'g' for effect).