Kelantan Trip 2012

On my first week in Penang for semester break, my mother decided to go back to her hometown in Kelantan so both of us headed East Coast to The Old House at Wakaf Bharu. My dad has to work and my younger brother needs to go to school so there were just the two of us.

Sungai Kelantan, the view was taken from inside of the car so please pardon this bad photography. I love the clouds and the scenery plus Kota Bharu is a seriously nice place for family getaways. 

I recall that there was no Tune Hotels yet on my last visit to the city in July last year. Wow, I guess that the city is getting well-developed now (minus the traffic congestion) and it is actually cleaner ;)

We visited my mother's former school, Sekolah Kebangsaan Kamil (1) in Pasir Puteh Kelantan. She used to stay at various "jajahan" in Kelantan, from Machang to Bachok, Pasir Puteh, Tumpat and Wakaf Bharu following my grandfather who was a policeman at that time. 

Alhamdulillah, the weather was fine although Kelantan was severely hit by flood and typhoon on the last Musim Tengkujuh. We visited Balai Polis Cherang Ruku (my grandfather used to live at the barrack there) and Pantai Tok Bali but I forgot to take the photos. 

Here at Jambatan Tok Bali; it is actually a very long and high bridge to allow fishing boats to sail past it. Pantai Tok Bali is a very famous fishing spot for fishermen and also has a fish landing center at the jetty here. The sea water here is totally deep and not a very good spot for recreational activities. 

Then my mother drove until we nearly reached Terengganu (Besut actually). Besut is another popular spot for tourists who would want to go Pulau Perhentian. There is a jetty here that operates everyday (I think) and this is like the entryway to Pulau Perhentian. 

There is the jetty (I think) that makes me wonder when can I visit Pulau Perhentian? I love islands and beaches but the islands that I have visited so far are Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Pinang (totally) and Pulau Pangkor only. I must plan a backpacking trip to Pulau Tioman next semester! 

My mother stopped by at this seafood retail outlet to buy something for our neighbors in Penang. 

There are actually a lot of stalls at the side of the road in Besut selling keropok lekor, keropok ikan, sos-sos tempatan, sotong dan udang kering; basically everything!

My mother bought a lot of these item waiting to be fried at our house kitchen now, and we gave away to our neighbors too.

I bought A LOT of these! My favorite keropok ikan that is sold for only RM 1 each! Seriously Shafik (my roommate) needs to come here and purchase the whole stack of these! In Kuala Lumpur, the same keropok ikan is sold at RM 2 each and it is so unfair because we always have to share the small packet. Now I think both of us can enjoy our own individual packet while watching movies, right Shafik? (I really hope that he reads this hahaha).

Then the next day, we went to Tumpat and Pengkalan Kubor to do our favorite part of the trip which is shopping! My great-grandmother lived here until the end of her life, and the house is left decayed in the town of Tumpat. 

Stesen Keretapi Tumpat which is the start and the end of the journey for trains of the East Coast. If you can see in the picture below, there is a "garage" that houses the trains. 

For your information, train is still the most favorable mode of transportation for the Kelantanese, especially those who live in the rural area that is only reachable by trains and railways. 

One snap of Pantai Sri Tujuh, a really popular spot for fishing and "mandi-manda" for locals and tourists in Kelantan. I heard that the beach is badly eroded due to the monsoon season and no longer safe for tourists; that was what I heard. 

Finally we arrived at Pengkalan Kubor, a duty free area which is bordered with Thailand. I mean, Thailand is at the other side of the river so you guys and girls can visit Thailand legally or not. This place is famous for girls and women because most of the items sold are seriously meant for them! Boys like me can only get football team jerseys (which is of a good quality), jeans, t-shirts and boxers. 

A lot of tourists would seek for "toto", dishes, kitchen utensils, children toys and clothing; the same concept like the one in Rantau Panjang. For a boy like me, I prefer shopping at Rantau Panjang and Wakaf Che Yeh as it caters more variety of choices for male teenagers, honestly. That marks the end of my 2012 Kelantan Trip with my mother and as what I have mentioned, am looking forward to go to an island in a near future insyaallah.