Why Balok? I really love Balok, I love her like a baby, none of the these issues really matters to me. I get used & live with it. But let’s look at a few issues about Balok that some people may have not noticed or just plain ignore it.
Geography – During NE monsoon season, the bay is protected by the long headland (named Tanjong Gelang). As result the wind is gusty, inconsistent and not blowing at its full potential. For wave lovers out there the waves too are smaller than it should have been. This is the same reason that why, when you sailed far enough from the beach, you’d feel sudden hike in wind strength & density, not to mention bigger swells.
Hygienic – We all know and sometimes try to ignore that the water is seriously muddy at times, so called the ‘teh-tarek’. Close to the beach is the river which is the culprit that, well let’s be honest, not really that clean. Balok dumps its domestic waste into this river, directly from kitchens & toilets ( pardon the truth! ). If you watch closely at the map of Balok, you can see there’s a long small waterline connecting the main river to nearby well-packed & highly developed area. Who knows what goes in the water.
Even the water as far down to Swiss Garden hotel not spared from this. I wonder how the heck that the SG developer even chose that place in the first place! I can imagine that several years before it can be quite clean, but today it’s just pathetic. On the beach you can see a lot of plastics, bottles, garbage – all coming from the river. I remember one time this particular doctor said to me “Why the heck you even swim in Balok, do you know the river there has this incurable nasty parasites, that can severely affect your lung?”. Of course, I ignored that too. LOL
Aesthetic – You can expect light-blue/turquoise sea water when it’s high tide, but nothing like see-through Pangkor Island type. When it gets rough or low-tide, you will have your classic teh-tarek filling up the water. And with all the rubbish on the shore, it’s not really a sight to behold..
I think the reasons why windsurfers still keep coming to Balok are -
1. Beers – no other known resorts nearby that offer beers other than Swiss Garden & Duta
2. Tradition for windsurfers
3. Can’t be bothered to discover different, better spots or…
4. As long there is enough wind, why bother? LOL
5. Closer to town, airport, civilization…
6. All your friends are here
7. You’re married
For what its worth, there are several alternative spots which I have sailed at that you might want to check out.
1. Pantai Pelindong (Pelindong Beach) – or Beserah. I sailed here only once. Because it is further down the bay, it is not protected like Balok. Dumpers are huge, but surfable & fun. Water is cleaner & look healthier. Next to the beach is the very beautiful & untouched bay called the Teluk Bulan Mengambang ( Full Moon Bay ). Very island-like beach which if you intend to reach by land needs a bit of hiking & rock climbing.
2. Pantai Sepat (Sepat Beach) – Relatively easy to go, faster because no traffic, around 10 minutes drive from town. Wide beach, white sands and it is very very nice. Nothing sort of Balok, no rubbish etc. Wind is solid, blowing 10′o clock from the beach, nothing to filter it. You can do beam reaching sprint without worrying too much about getting back upwind. The city council tried to develop it as a tourist attraction, so its very well taken care of. But no hotel yet, sorry. The reason I sailed here is because it is closer to my place & because I hate traffic lights. The waves too can be quite chunky.
3. Pantai Sungai Ular ( Snake River Beach ) – There’s plenty of pretty nice resorts here, and they offer beers. I sailed here because it’s my home village which is next to the Lis Na Ree resort. The beach is wide open, no filtering, good for downwind/upwind sailing. It’s quite close to the surf village Cherating so there’s a lot of entertainment awaits. You should also check out the mini island, damn beautiful. It’s a famous diving spot because of the surrounding corals.
4. Pantai Tanjung Lumpur (Tanjung Lumpur Beach) – This one is the closest to my place. Wind is cleaner & better than Balok. Occassionally you get the muddy water when the tide is really low, but the color is not as severe as in Balok . You too, can do beam reaching sprint here without worrying too much about getting back upwind, just like in Pantai Sepat.
Even after sailing at these different spots, in my heart Balok is still the best, and I won’t trade Balok for any other beaches in the world, because Balok ‘feels like home’. 
Windsurfing, Lesson, starboard, neilpryde, formula, regatta, awt, monsoon, luncur, surfing, cherating, Malaysia, Kuantan, Balok, tioman, beach, pangkor, langkawi, jetski, scubadiving, EAT THAT GOOGLE!,
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Well we do have an international regatta somewhen in March....