A gift of a flower in Kuala Terengganu

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At the moment we are in Kota Bahru at the top of the eastern side of Malaysia. Tomorrow we cross the border into Thailand but at this stage am unsure as to whether we stay in the region for a few days or just keep heading north to Bangkok. We can’t get any information on the train timetables until we actually arrive in Thailand. We’ve booked a taxi to drive us the one hour north and drop us off at the border immigration office, where we then have to walk the kilometre between the two border posts and onward to the train station.
We loved our time in Kuala Terengganu - the city had a strong Islamic influence and we seemed to be the only tourists there. We spent 2 days and nights there - we left the bus with a couple of westerners but they booked tickets onwards a few hours later. The first night we spent in a small hotel, which was very clean and had a great shower, but was unfortunately very noisy as it was on the main road and also across from the mosque. We could hear constant prayers from the mosque as they were broadcast over loud speakers which were facing our window! We were also close to the Sultan’s Palace - a truly spectacular building.
Next day we moved hotels, though slightly more expensive, the price included a buffet breakfast so was good value. It’s interesting (and a little scary) finding hotels to sleep in - Jerry minds the luggage while I go door to door checking rooms and prices before choosing one. It’s an experience which is becoming easier with time! Next morning the included buffet breakfast was not what we expected though - all Malaysian food - I don’t mind trying local cuisine but find rice gruel, and curried fish a little hard to handle early in the morning after years of muesli… The staff kindly took pity on us and made us big omelettes instead.
It was strange to walk down the street and to be virtually the only woman not wearing a head scarf. I was dressed very conservatively though and did carry a scarf with me if I needed to use it. I felt as if I was being watched but that was probably because we were foreign, not because I was a woman. From our ninth floor hotel room we had a fabulous view of the city - the mosque and palace, the market area, the waterfront (the city faces the South China Sea) and all the little fishing craft and houses on a small island off shore.. The main industry appeared to be fishing - there were certainly lots of small fishing boats to be seen. Anyway a truly wonderful vista and one we enjoyed watching change - it was very busy!
The central market near the waterfront was massive - an indoor market with the fresh produce in all it’s colour on the ground floor and a fabric market upstairs. The smells were intense, and particularly fishy, as there were enormous bins of dried fish as well as plenty of freshly caught on sale. We spent ages browsing the fabric stalls - batik fabric was a speciality of the region (I bought a beautiful piece) as was songket (fabrics woven with gold and silver threads). It was a fascinating place - the smells and strange foods - we couldn’t even imagine what some of it was! If Bali smelt of incense and smoke, Malaysia smells of damp drains and dried fish….
We caught a local bus 12 klms to visit the Floating Mosque. It is built on 5 acres of reclaimed land and though it’s constructed on stilts at high tide it is surrounded by water making it appear to be floating. It is made from white marble and is a very impressive sight. That afternoon we went by boat across to the small fishing village just off the coast and were saddened by the obvious poverty we saw there. The people had nothing, houses falling down around them, little furniture - it was very sad. We left after a short time as we felt uncomfortable there. However that evening one of those magical holiday experiences happened - and one I’ll never forget. It was very hot and humid and we walked down to the jetty to cool off and the same little ferry boat and boatman that we had taken to the island earlier that day was there. On the spur of the moment we got on board and went for another ride to the island - to enjoy the cooler breezes off the water and look at the city lights. The old toothless man steering the boat recognised us and when we got to the island we indicated that we would stay onboard until he returned. Five minutes later he came back from his house beside the jetty and beckoned to us. He pointed out to us a jasmine plant in a tin outside his door - with a smile he went over to it and took off the white flowers and gave them to me. It was a lovely gesture from a man who had so little yet gave me one of the few beautiful things he owned.
Next day we read in the newspaper that the Malaysian government was going to give the poverty stricken fisherman of Terengganu 3 million rupees over the next five years to help them improve their standard of living. The Malaysians people appear to be very happy, and all though there are many different religions here they seem to live in harmony and respect each others beliefs. We have had quite a few Malaysians tell us how calm and happy their country is.
Terenggnanu leaves us with some great memories and we particularly enjoyed the strong Islamic culture. There were no big yellow “M’s” or KFC’s either… We left early for our next destination - the Islamic stronghold of Kota Bahru, the capital of Kelantan state. Three hours later, after an interesting trip through jungle like country and tiny villages, we arrived at the bus stop in Kota Bahru where we were pounced on by a hotel tout. His hotel was fine and close to the centre of the town. We booked in for three nights - the rates included the usual breakfast of toast, coffee and eggs.
Kota Bahru is a much busier city than Terengganu was and despite it being the Muslim stronghold the Islamic influence wasn’t as obvious in the architecture at least. It was much more Westernised. It is the final stop for the jungle railway from KL and is also the departure point for the Perhentian Islands (a backpacker must) so there were a lot of tourists in the city.
It had a wonderful night food market where we ate the first evening and shall definitely go back this evening again. There were dozens of stalls selling freshly cooked foods - we had the best corn on the cob I’ve ever tasted plus banana roti (a pancake wrapped around eggs, bananas, raisins and then fried) - a bit like a banana omelette! And all for under Aus $3 including a fresh orange juice each.
Yesterday we had yet another wonderful experience with a local man. We were watching the movement on the river when we got into conversation with him. He asked if we would like to go sight seeing and offered to be our guide. Later that afternoon he came to our hotel and spent the next 4 hours driving us around the area. It was a very informative few hours. He was a wealthy business man (a housing developer and owner of four shops selling watches in the city) who was widely travelled and I guess also wanted to have a bit of English conversation practice. He told us much about Malaysian life and customs and took us to some of the Buddhist temples, the beaches and also showed us the border crossing into Thailand. He was a Buddhist and was secretary of an organisation that had just finished constructing a large sitting Buddha statue. It was beautiful, covered in thousands of tiny sparkling tiles and decorated with gilt paintwork and dragons. He also showed us the Buddha’s ‘heart’ which was made of brass and filled with offerings of cash, gold coins and jewellery. This heart was to be placed within the statue when it was officially opened later that year. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and totally unexpected - hopefully he enjoyed it as much as we did.
We were in Kota Bahru on a Friday which is the main Muslim prayer day so everything is closed, including banks and museums. The night market was still operating that evening but as the call to prayer was made over loud speakers at 7pm the market was emptied of tourists and stall holders. We were all quickly ushered out - stalls weren’t even covered - I guess there must have been police watching over it. At 7.45 it reopened and within 5 minutes was as busy as ever. The Muslim flag, white on green, flies on every lamp post here as it did in Terenggnau - alongside the State and City flag.
Today we also visited some very interesting museums - the Royal Museum was superb, crammed full of wonderful china, costumes and photos which gave us a great insight into the splendour of Royal life here a few years ago. It is in a building built in 1939 which was used for Royal weddings. The Kelantan World War 11 Museum (in the oldest brick building in the city) was of particular interest to Jerry - as the Japanese army invaded Malaysia and ultimately Singapore through Kota Bahru. They landed here the same day they bombed Pearl Harbour and then rode bicycles down the Malaysian peninsula to Singapore. there is a memorial here to the Australian airman who died during the defence of the town. The other one we visited was the Islamic Museum with an interesting exhibit of the Koran written on bark. Later on today we are going to visit the Cultural Centre before crossing the border into Thailand tomorrow.

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