CUTI CUTI MALAYISA 4: June 4, 2006 (Sunday)

Kuala Terengganu - Kota Bharu

I was eager to go to the Ranger to try to warm the engine up when I woke up. It was the D day for our holiday. If it was still difficult to start like yesterday definitely I would have cut my holiday short and go home. I thought that was the outcome after I failed to get the engine running after few tries. In my last effort I jammed the switch and pumped the accelerator forcing the engine to fire up. I rammed hard and took it out for a spin. Since I need to gas it up I proceeded to the Petronas Station about 3 kilometres away. With the engine running normally I drove back to the hotel to announce to everyone that we were checking out. While I was out Tareq actually went out to buy breakfast. So with one thing out of the way we left the resort at around 1100 heading towards KB via route 84. The drive along the coast was not new to me but it was for the others so I slowed down a bit.

As we were passing Penarik my wife saw a Pasar Ikan by the road side on the right and we stopped to look and possibly buy something to BBQ that night. Well, the options were either we stop at Lata Tembakah Waterfall along the way to have a cook out or save the fish for the night. My wife decided on few Kembong and Cencaru while I went for a half of a big fish for my wife to curry. We were actually were chasing time at that point in time already but I still would want to take everyone along the coast to explore and experience it. My decision meant that I had to forego the Lata Tembakah Waterfall. I took them to explore Penarik until we reached the very end of the small ‘peninsular’ where we made our turn within a coconut plantation. There was this beautiful house that we stumbled into during our last trip there that both my wife and I admired. However, in my excitement I forgot to capture it so this time I stopped beside the road on the way out and asked Baqir to take a few shots of the house.

Back on the main road after Penarik I made a right turn to route 84 heading towards Kg Raja and eventually Jertih. This route was my first experience as well and I did not know what to expect. The road was mostly straight that was good for speeding but it being on the coast I was a bit easy on the pedal. We passed villages and places that we had till that day only new exist on the map and from our readings. We passed Kg Setiu Lama, Setiu Lama and Kg Raja. Surprisingly Kg Raja was not really a kampong but quite a decent town slightly bigger than Semenyih. We were really off schedule by the time we reached Kg Raja so I purposely missed Lata Tembakah. We reached Jertih closed to 1300 and I knew most were already hungry so I made plan to stop at Pasir Putih for lunch.

Just imagine our disappointment after cruising around Pasir Putih town when we could not find any good place to eat. In the end we had to proceed towards KB hoping to find a good place along the way to eat. We drove on passing Selising, Melor and into KB, still with no hope of finding a good place to eat. In the end when we were already in KB I saw a big mamak place on the left and straight away turned left and parked to eat. Save by mamak again :)))) The clock at the mamak’s place indicated a time of just few minutes after 1400.While eating I felt like someone or a group of people were watching us. It could be just me or indeed someone was watching us or at least watching and wondering where the hell we came from. We not being a local of course were so obvious. Also, I was trying to figure out where we were and to find our way out of KB to Pantai Cahaya Bulan (PCB). For once the map could not help me and I was not ashamed to say I was a bit lost there. The signage system in KB was not helping at all. Furthermore I did not know that the traffic in KB could be that bad. So before leaving the place I had to ask the cashier for direction. Sad to say she apparently was not a local as well and her colleagues also was not that helpful. So in the end it had to be the MacGyver in me to try to get us out of there. I followed my instinct and after passing through one traffic light before reaching another one I saw the PCB sign. As I said the signage system is horrendous in KB as when I approached another junction there wasn’t anymore PCB sign to direct us. After maneuverings through the traffic I saw the sign again. It was way out on the other side. I followed it right into a small secluded lane. I knew the road in Kelantan would be tight but it could not be that tight and small. Anyway my instinct was just to continue on where we eventually came out to a junction of what seems to be a main road. Still there was not any sign to indicate the direction to PCB. I turned left and after awhile we realized we were coming back to where we came from so we concurred it had to be the opposite direction. We were proven right when we saw the signage at the round about after we turned back. Once we were on the right track finding the place was not difficult. While passing and looking at the kampong on the way to PCB I got the impression that the place was a little bit under develop. I was right the atmosphere was not an atmosphere of a resort but more like a rented houses. We arrived at PCB Perdana Resort at around 1600, checked in and straight away unloaded our things. The chalets were big enough for all of us and it cost me RM 260 for the two of them. The lawn was also big and appropriate for our BBQ. I had planned to go to Pengkalan Kubor that evening but had to postpone it to the next day due to two reasons. Firstly it was way too late and a bit of rush and secondly the counter staff at the resort advised us not to because we had to battle the KB evening traffic to get there. Frankly I was really surprise to find KB traffic to be that heavy.

After I said my prayer I crashed for awhile and let the kids enjoyed the pool as well as the beach. Not only was I a bit tired I was also not in the mood to swim. Not after the jelly fish incident. At around 1830 we left for the town to just wonder around as I knew most shops would be closed at night in Kelantan. We parked not far away from the Pasar Khadhijah, the Central Market, and walked towards that area. There was a night bazaar taking shape on the road but we ignored it and walked straight towards Buloh Kubu Bazaar which was almost about to close. While passing the Pasar Khadijah my children kept saying to me loudly, ‘Abah, let’s buy some buah stor.’ And someone would add ‘sekilo dua cukupla.’ Well, it was a joke out of an incidence that happened there the first time we were in KB together. Upon reaching Buloh Kubu we stopped at the Kota Bharu Kasaoka to take few photographs. It was closing time at Buloh Kubu but there were still enough shops opened for us to browse through. I do not know what with the tudung with the ladies. I know it is important but the tudong buying spree was so unbelievable :)) (either my wife will smile reading this or I am not going to get to eat anything now). Since we did not have anything else to do we browsed the night bazaar from end to end. As expected mostly Thai goods and we left the place. KB as a whole is changing and developing would with several new buildings being built. Malls, offices and even private colleges despite what others going to say it is a good change that I saw. Hopefully not too fast because I feel it would kill the character of the town. One other good thing was that I did not see any rubbish dumping anymore. We set up the BBQ right in front in between our chalets. The place was sandy and convenient. Everyone was doing their own things and I decided to read while waiting for the food to be ready. Baqir and Tareq were handling the fish at the BBQ set while my wife was cooking her curry. In the middle of this a guard came over to advise us to BBQ a bit further from the chalets. I knew it was precautionary from fire hazard. So we moved the BBQ a bit further out. We had our night picnic on the balcony and the fish was magnificent.

I retired early that night and forgot to call my friends.

CUTI CUTI MALAYISA 4: June 3, 2006 (Saturday)

Kuala Terengganu

I would like to start our day a bit early and started to call the children room to ask them to get ready. Intan and Tareq were already outside by the pool waiting. As usual I went to the Ranger first to warm-up the engine. I was expecting to find the Ranger a bit hard to start just like yesterday but instead it got worse. Just like yesterday I needed several attempts to get it going but that morning I just let it ran on its own and soon the engine just fluttered and died on me. I tried to restart and by the sound I knew already I would not be successful so I waited for the kids to arrive for them to push to jumpstart. After one push I realized there wasn’t any contact at all and I knew then it would need something else. We discussed about it and few arm chair mechanics joined in trying to solve our problem. Just like in any breakdown these kinds of ‘mechanics’ would gather around the engine and started to have what they presumed as a good conversation. Of course the usual questions like, ‘Is it not the battery, right?’, ‘Have you tried looking at the fuse’, or ‘Let’s try to give it another push maybe the last one was not fast enough.’ I knew they meant well but before someone started on his own version of breakdown story we decided to find a jumping cable and Tareq drove out to search for one. Tareq came back alone and told us that a mechanic would soon follow suit with a cable. After a few minutes of waiting the mechanic showed up and started to diagnose the Ranger. I was not convinced but relented as long as he got to get the Ranger started. All the while I had been in contact with Azizi to get advice and I tried few things and convinced me it was not a battery problem or anything else but a wiring problem. We tried to jumpstart using another 4X4 owned by a good young, I presumed, engineer and still the Ranger failed to start. In the end the mechanic decided to get another big battery so off he went with Tareq. This time they were gone for longer time that prompted me to advice my family to go and wait in the room.


Still I was skeptic as I was very sure it was a different problem but eventually he managed to get the engine going. I prayed that Ranger would hold up for the reminder of out holiday so that I could send it back to Azizi for proper check-up. If you did not realize it by now Azizi is a good friend who happened to be a mechanic. So, he is sort of our personal mechanic. This time I rammed the engine a bit and let it ran longer. While doing that I actually was serious of cutting short of our holiday and to go home that day. In the end I decided to gamble a bit and make the best of the holiday and to continue as planned. I reasoned that there must be something good going to come out of this and stayed positive through out. So the next morning would be crucial.

I volunteered to send the battery back for the mechanic that was at a motor boat engine workshop in his kampong. At that workshop then I discovered where e the battery came from, a very old pickup truck. He refitted the battery to the truck. I got him to talk to reveal few things to understand him and the kampong better. The good thing that came out of that was he showing us, according to him, the best keropok place in Batu Rakit. It was not far and it was beside the main road to Penarik. I was interested to stop by not just because of the keropok but more for an opportunity for my children to see and learn about keropok making in real place. Of course it presented me with a good reason to record everything in stills. I encouraged my children to observe and ask questions. The mak ciks obviously used to people observing them at work played along with us.

I thought of taking everyone to the Merang jetty to find something to eat as well as doing a tourist thing but I missed the turn and sped ahead towards KT. Along the way, just before Balqis Poliklinik, we stopped at a place to have our lunch. The choice was perfect for everyone. Not only were the dishes good the selection was apt for everyone as well. I mean everyone almost ate like a mad hungry man that had not eaten for several days. I do not remember the name of the place but it was the biggest eating place in that area. With our stomach full we pushed towards KT. I purposely detoured the other way to KT as I wanted to check out the KT Airport for decent t-shirts. The last time I was there they had quite a few good designs. However, as I approached the airport area I found out it was under going a massive renovation and it was not convenient to stop considering the heat. We made a round and proceeded towards KT via Seberang Takir. Around 1230 we were at the edge of KT and just about get onto the bridge when I decided to detour into Pulau Duyong. It was my first time there as well so we drove around to explore the place. As expected in any small island, the houses were smack right next to one another with just enough room for one car to pass through. I knew there was a traditional boat making industry there but to my dismayed I missed it completely. I only saw where it was when we were already on the bridge going into KT.

Based on a TDC outdated KT town map we tried to find our way to the State Museum at Losong. The old map didn’t help at all, in the end out instinct got us to the main gate of the museum. Again I had personal objectives or motives of going to the museum. Top on the list was to instill sense of appreciation to history and learning, and museum in general to my children. Thanks goodness the displays were engaging enough for them. For the record Fatah actually ‘belanja’ us or paid for our entrance fees. We stayed almost three hours inside the museum as it was almost closing time when we came out. That and other indicators told me that I had achieved my objectives. I just hope other state museums would be like that or better.

The weather was really hot even for us Malaysian and it affected everyone. As I predicted Intan wanted to go to Pasar Payang again and that was where we headed from the museum. I took them through Jalan Losong and detoured to the Losong’s Keropok Lekor area. No body else seemed interested so I just bought two packs for us to eat. I passed one to the other car but when we opened the package I discovered my mistake. I bought two packages of uncooked Keropok Lekor. Well actually they were already boiled and good to eat but I knew the rest were not used to eating them that way. I ended up with both to eat on my own with Baqi’s help once awhile. I did not have anything else to buy at Pasar Payang but decided to pray there. We parked at the park near the waterfront and walked over. The kids decided to stay back and do their own things while waiting for Intan to shop. After I said my prayer I lingered a bit to see if I have missed anything. I met my children and their cousins at the Pasar Payang that was when I decided to walk back to the Ranger and to try to get some z’s as I was a bit tired and sleepy.

I think I was up after about ten or fifteen minutes of a good nap. By then all of my family members except for Intan and Tareq were sitting at the park enjoying Rambutans and talking. I needed caffeine (of coffee nature) shot but did not want to tell them that so I grabbed the opportunity presented by Mar when she asked to go to the restroom. There was a waterfront café near the restroom so we adjourned there and ordered our drinks. I called my wife and told her where we were and she eventually walked over to join us. The evening sun was shining over the water behind me that created a nice evening feeling. My thought was thinking that there must be a good shot somewhere. I walked over to the edge on the stonewalk by the sea to find good shots and decided on boats and a bicycle locked to the railing. On seeing us there Tareq and Intan joined us for a drink.

We left the area eventually and I knew just the place to go, Batu Burok’s KT Carnival 2006. We arrived at the carnival when it was about to get dark. As we were musafir we just continued to walk to check-out the place. I was expecting for less people to be there but instead it was as many as during the day. Nothing much to look at after walking the length of the carnival we ended with just maggi mee…LOL. That just to indicate that there was nothing special about the carnival just the usual cheap goods from the border and few indigenous products. A disappointment I would say. Finally after buying a bit of dinner we drove back. The boys were really pushing for us to go back to the hotel as England was playing a friendly in their last warm-up game before the final. In the end that was what we did and officially ended another day in KT

CUTI CUTI MALAYISA 4: June 2, 2006 (Friday)

Marang - KT - Sutera Beach Resort

I was worried of sleeping on the spring bed last night as it could spoil my entire holidays. Alhamdulillah I woke up fine in the morning. The only ‘problem’ was sleep kept being disrupted by Baqir and Fatah who wanted to use the bathroom. They were sleeping on the beach, initially in a tent, but later under the open sky. Obviously for safety reason I had to lock the door and I kept unlocking it for them at odd hours.. Why didn’t they just use the big ocean? Later they told me they were afraid of ‘kena tarik”. J).

Up early I came out of the chalet and stared out at the sea and one obvious thing that I saw was a big chunk of earth out at sea. Immediately I knew that the line of lights that I thought to be small fishing boats the night before was actually the Kapas Island. How could I have missed that? With the beach in front of me I could not resisted walking on the beach straight away. I tried to do end to end but only managed one third of it and returned to the chalet. Everyone except for Baqir, who was still sleeping happily on the sand, was up already. The water was calm with hardly any wave that prompted me to take a swim. Soon I was joined by Fatah and eventually others. Up on dry land my wife was already busy cooking breakfast. I thought I was going to Cendering to ‘tapau’ the famous Mak Ngah’s nasi dagang for some reasons I decided not to and relied on our ration of ‘maggi mees’ for breakfast. I let my family enjoyed the beach a little bit more until I announced that we were checking out at1030. They really were having fun so I let them have their own sweet time. My wife and her niece started to cook lunch for our picnic in KT. We planned to buy few more dishes to supplement what we had cook and have a picnic at Batu Burok beach, so we thought.

Slightly after 1030 we checked out and that was went I found out why the name of the resort is Angullia. The owner is Esa Angullia. As usual before we drove off we had our usual commemorative photo session. Just after we crossed the Marang bridge I turned right at the traffic light as planned. I just wanted to show my extended family the life around Marang’s jetty that could be picturesque if you know what to look for. As usual I took a few shots of the bridge, boats and water. There was a Friday market there and I stopped a while to check it out. It was the usual nothing extra ordinary that I was hoping to encounter. I was very sure my family would not like the taste of the local kueh so my wife settled for a ‘kilo’ of fruits. I drove out of Marang through the other end, again, for the benefit of my family. I saw the line of traffic first and I thought it was just a normal kampong’s accident watching activity. But the line persisted and I feared the worst as it would be really unbearable if the traffic jam was up until KT. My daughter was already complaining about the heat by then and even with the aircon running it was still uncomfortable. As we approached Rusila I knew straight away the reason for the traffic jam. It was Friday and on Friday they have a Pasar Jumaat on both side of the road that forced the traffic to stop or slow down passing it. As I was readied to speed through we received a notification from the other car behind us that somebody’s needed to pass motion badly so we stopped at the next Masjid. It was a long long wait ha ha, must be one nasty motion LOL.

The first itinerary in KT was to stop at Cendering to visit the batik making facility of Nor Arfa Batik. Of course it was not just about batik making that we were interested in J. I only bought a blouse for Mar as nothing else really fancied my eyes. Being Friday the other places were obviously closed to visit and we contented wit Nor Arfa Batik for the moment. We eventually drove into KT with some of the stomachs declaring to be fed immediately. I however did not want to rush it and drove slowly as we approached the town. We started to see the Karnival Terengganu 2006 banners as we neared the traffic light into Batu Burok. Big chunk of the Batu Burok area was closed for the carnival. I checked the time and it was 1230. We stopped to buy few more dishes at the nearby taman selera and proceeded towards the field across to have our picnic. It was so obvious we were the only one doing it. Again with limited choices of food and eating in picnic fashion we finished everything. I proved my point by now and whenever we had the opportunity then on we bought a supply of fish and ad a cook out where possible. Frankly speaking after lunch I did not have a clue as to what to do next. Acting like a true tour leader I just cruised around town and during this cruise that we discovered Kak Ton kedai rambut. Finally we drove back to the Batu Burok beach area to relax there. Just to past the time I bought two kites for Baqir, Kak Cik and Mar to play. The rest, trying to get away from the heat, rendezvous themselves inside the nearby A&W. We didn’t get to enjoy the place too long though as the Batu Burok pasar malam’s operators chased us out of the parking lot that happened to be their business area. I stopped at the Maybank first for Tareq and Intan to withdraw some cash before we had a field day at the Pasar Payang. I think I have been to Pasar Payang for so numerous times already but never once I felt bored or tired about it. If not the sales the people within the area are attraction enough for me to observe. Thinking about it now I should have taken few shots of the happenings. Being a school holidays of course there were several tour and chartered buses on the lay-by waiting. The rest of Malaysia knows that this kind of tour bus trip is called ‘rombongan Kak Kiah. So hundred of Kak Kiahs were shopping their hearts out there. One batik outlet was actually having happy selling anything day right from their pavement. That was how crowded the place was. Wondering around we found a t-shirt shop that we want and started our own buying spree. Our madness for t-shirts was part of our effort to have at least one each for every big cities or states that we have been to. We came out, out of there with at least two each. Around 1630 we left Pasar Payang for Sutera Beach resort and got there around 1720. Along the way I stopped to buy my favourite Batu Rakit’s keropok lekor. That meant another objective achieved. My main reason for staying at Sutera Beach resort was because I got a complementary 3 days 2 nights stay there. With the rest of the entourage I booked another two rooms and did not think much of it. When we checked in and subsequently got into our room we discovered it was not a bad resort. A bit hidden from the main road and with the road frontage looking like a deserted kampong it was really a nice surprise. When I saw the images of the place the first time I already form a view as I knew how those images could be spruced up to look like Hawaii. As I said it was a nice surprise it was not too bad at all. Again the beach was really inviting with the almost wave less ocean. Later the temptation became my agony. I was a bit tired and I didn’t plan to swim and was hoping to doze of a minute of two. But my children were already running out with their cousins in their swimming suits. Getting a bit worried letting them on their own I went out to check the pool and none of them were there. I knew instantly there were on the beach. with even Mar was in the slightly deeper water then she used to splashing happily. She was braver because the ocean was almost still. I took off my t-shirt and started to swim towards my sons. Halfway, I felt my left hand touched something that I thought what it would be so I immediately looked down on my left and confirmed it was a jelly fish. Immediately the stinging pain came and the area of my arm turned reddish. I immediately announced my predicament to my children and instinctively all of them followed me out of the water. I walked straight to the front desk looking for any form of medication. They have none for jelly fish and suggested a traditional treatment using vinegar and limestone. Duly the front desk called their F&B guy to prepare the concoction for me. Nevertheless he advised me, and it was my intention, to see a doctor and told me where to go. It was not that painful but still stinging as I applied the traditional concoction. I drove out with my wife trying to find the nearest clinic. The first two were either closed or the doctor was not in until later. We drove on a bit further and ended up with the young doctor at Balqis Clinic. Thank goodness the effect was only local and the good doctor prescribed me a cream and pain killers if the pain persisted. The incident actually almost spoilt the whole holiday for me and I thought that was the worst. On the way back from the clinic we stopped to buy some food as we decided to ‘tapau’ and eat inside. The rest of the planned activities for the night did not materialize. However, close to midnight I went out to the open air lounge to enjoy the music with my wife. Along saw us and joined us at the table. Just at normal night at Sutera Beach Resort.