12 March, a lovely morning, we started the journey to Kuala Terengganu, the city of Terengganu. There is no highways there, and so the good news is, we do not have to pay for any tolls. yet, the bad news is, we have to take for like 4 to 5 hours to reach there! And with that time, I can reach Penang already. However, that doesn't really matter..
We reach Kuala Terengganu in the evening, and we stayed in the Grand Continental Hotel.. During the journey, the sky kept on raining. Not to say raining, but drizzling.
A view from the hotel, at Kuala Terengganu.
So after we finish settling our luggage and ourselves, we went for dinner. Actually, we don't really know what to eat. However, thanks to the 3G line there, we are able to surf the net. And to be specific, Trip Advisor is the website which gave us the idea on what to have as dinner. And so we went to these very famous Chinese restaurant, called the Golden Dragon Restaurant. Located in the Kampung Cina street, this place really serves good Chinese food.
13 March, the second day of our trip. A cloudy view from the hotel.
So, we had our breakfast in the hotel, and checked out, and have a city tour before moving on to Kota Bharu.
We stopped by along a beach.
This is Nasi Briyani, also another must try malay-ish cuisine. Had it for lunch. Nice.
We took a cruise, to visit around the Duyung Island, in Kuala Terengganu. That's my sister.
After that, we only continue to move to Kota Bharu. We stayed in Tune Hotel. Well, first time staying in it..and the bed is nice, shower is fine, just that there is no lock for the toilet doors! Perhaps it might be good for sexy couples, but seriously not for family like me. No air-cond, no TV. But if you want, you pay for it. I'd say that it's a definitely a good choice for a budget holiday, especially for couples.
It's newly opened for only for 2 weeks. And this is what i meant, no lock for the toilets! Means, people can sneak you when you are in the toilet. No privacy at all.
It's almost 8 when we reach Kota Bharu. Luckily the hotel is located just beside KB Mall, one of the shopping malls in Kota Bharu, so we had our dinner inside KB Mall. Fast food. Nothing special until the next morning. We went here (picture below) for breakfast.
The red coloured rice is actually nasi dagang. This is what Kelantanese eat daily. The white rice above it, is steamed rice. They steamed it with coconut milk. Both taste well. And look at the curries, They serve chicken, fish, prawns, and beef. All taste just as nice as you can imagine, if you like the taste of it. I actually been here twice. The first time, was about 10 years ago. Still, it's a nice as it was in my memory.
And then, we travel to Siti Khatijah's Market, one of the destination that you must visit in Kota Bharu. Inside this bazaar, you can find many many things. But normally, people come here to buy fruits, rice (especially glutinous rice, and nasi dagang), and crafts like batik.
One of the main entrance into the bazaar. And opposite this bazaar is Parkson.
Look at what we found here! This is real wild goat that lives in forest. Traditional Malays here make them into oils which can heal sickness, make body stronger and so on.
This, i really don't know. Because the person didn't tell me as he is busying replying other customers. But it did sounds scary to me.
Here, you can see women sitting just on top of the table. These is the tradition. And mostly women. Because in those days, Islamic women are known to be smarter than the guys in business. Of course, you can see man selling stuffs here. However, in those days, yes. Women did play an very important role in the economy.
Next, we went to Rantau Panjang. It's a duty-free shopping spot. You can find many cheap but good quality products here, including apparel and kitchen utensils. Nothing really special there. And so at night, we went for dinner, as usual.
My father has a friend there, so we met up, with his family as well. We went here (picture below). That, was really awesome! The seafood is extremely fresh, the fishes, prawns, crabs, and the fish balls! Super delicious. And the taste was exquisite! We had 2 fishes, one steamed, and one cooked with curry. Both taste wonderful. Yet, it may be too spicy for certain people. Well, people here are used to have spicy flavor.
That's the last dinner for our trip, and of course, it's one of the best dinner i ever had and that marked the end of our trip, before we leave here. Nevertheless, we still had our breakfast here in Kota Bharu before we went home officially - White House is the place.
Look, it's full house!
No camera, but i still managed to take some, and who cares! This coffee shop only operates in the morning, and at night. And this place was on the television before, in a show called Jalan-jalan Cari Makan.
Nasi Dagang, again.
This is what makes White House full house all the time. Roti bakar. And that kaya beside there, is something that can kill your taste bud. You cannot miss it next time if you been there.
So, that's the end of my East Coast Trip.
