Pantai Irama Bachok

Melody Beach

Pantai Irama is a public beach stretched along the main road of Bachok, a district in Kota Bharu Kelantan. This long, sandy beach is always packed with people all year round. It is a popular local hotspot for family outings, gatherings, picnics, and kite-flying. It usually gets very crowded on weekends and public holidays, flocked to by locals and visitors alike. 

Public amenities such as a prayer room and public toilets are provided at the beach. There are also rows of food stalls and restaurants dotting the beachfront, offering a plethora of seafood and local delicacies to choose from. I personally love to eat coleq, which is basically a selection of deep fried seafood snacks, served in sweet chili sauce. 

I love coming to this beach every time we travel back to Kota Bharu. I love to just sit at the beach, listen to the sound of waves crashing in the wind, looking out into the horizon, and breathing in the breezy, slightly salty sea air. You know, just getting that much needed dose of vitamin sea. 

Though it may be the perfect spot to relax and unwind, I am not too sure about swimming here. There are rock-wall barriers built along the beach to fend against the strong waves they get during the monsoon seasons and also prevent beach erosion. Though it could be mild and calm, the waves here could also get rather strong and I don't know if the local authority permits swimming in the water. Worth checking first if you plan to swim here.

One of the locals

We usually come here for kite-flying and basically chillaxing. And also of course the coleq. Oh and not to forget, you can also find motorbikes selling snacks like ice creams, puddings, and lokcing at the beach. Lokcing is a local delicacy (probably originating from Thailand) in the form of small fishballs on short skewers, dipped in either sweet or spicy sauce, or a mixture of both. 

Last week we had the chance to visit Pantai Irama during our Eid Al-Adha holidays. But it was of course packed-full with people! I wish we could just teleport there on a weekday evening and have the beach all to ourselves! Wishful thinking!