We have our first winner for the month of August for “Share your experience with us”. Hafiz has been kind enough to share with us his story on his visit to Kuala Terengganu recently. Let’s see what Hafiz experienced over at the east.

It was still early in the morning when my friend, Anuar and I arrived at Sultan Mahmud, Kuala Terengganu Airport by Firefly, FY2100 flight. Woww..I am surprised to see the brand new Terengganu Airport, a combination of modern and traditional architecture. I looked at my watch and it was already 8:30am. We decided to go to Kuala Terengganu City for breakfast. We headed to Pasar Payang by taxi that cost RM35 for about 30 minutes journey. After having Nasi Dagang, a local famous dish, we had no idea where to start our trip.

After a few minutes, a brilliant idea came out of my mind. I thought why don’t we just ask the Tourism Information Centre nearby and seek for advice? We did and got information that we need to know and started our trip with fantastic plans in mind. To experience the true of Terengganu, we agreed act like a local. That means we are not going to rent a car but to use public transport instead. It is going to be fun!

After lunch, we paid a visit to Bukit Puteri to see the historical remains at the site. Bukit Puteri was a fortress to defend Terengganu from enemy attacks. Some of the war artifacts that still exist are large bells, cannon, gunpowder hole and the lighthouse. It was such a magnificent view of the city fromthe top of this hill and we enjoyed every moment of it.

Then, we went for a walk to Istana Maziah and had our photo taken at the yellow gate before going to Dataran Syahbandar for a quick break. It was a sunny day, so we stopped at the stall selling Air Batu Campur (ABC) to quench our thirst..Hmm..what a nice drink! Before checking in at Merang Suria Resort, we boarded a Bot Penambang to cross the Terengganu river to Kampung Seberang Takir. We heard that the village was famous for its keropok lekor. With a cost of RM2 return ticket, we didn’t mind to take the boat and join the locals just to experience this traditional transportation.

The sampan

Got up next morning, got ready and raring to go, we headed off again. Our first stop was the  roadside stall selling locals famous, sata and otak-otak. We ate a lot about 20 sticks and we really enjoyed a taste of Terengganu traditional delicacies.

Sata

Then, we continued walking on a little further and stopped at the stall selling keropok lekor. I am glad to see how the locals gathered and processed the keropok lekor  with my own eyes. I personally bought 15 of it and put it in my travelling bag. Arrgghhh..it was so heavy. Some more, we were using public transport. It was really challenging for us to carry the heavy bag to the nearest bus stand. Next, we checked in at Primula Beach Resort, in the main of the city.
In the evening, we head to Islamic Civilization Park and were amazed by the beauty of the Crystal Mosque. We reached there at dusk, the mosque was shining golden in colour. What a great panorama!

The crystal mosque

After wandering for about an hour, we returned to hotel and got ready for our night outing. We saw bazaars set up near the Batu Burok beach. We walked to the beach until we saw seawater spoilt over the road and blocked the access for vehicles. We managed to cross the road and went to the Batu Burok carnival. I bought some souvenirs and dinner which we ate at the hotel room. We took our photos at the hotels’ lobby before going to sleep as we were exhausted.

Batu Burok

Our departure time was unfortunately getting ever closer. Therefore, we started our lovely morning for last minutes shopping at Pasar Payang. I am looking for batik and my friend was looking for brassware products. Later on, we headed back to hotel and checked out. The best part was we rode on a local trishaw from the market to the hotel that cost just RM10. I am so excited as it was my first  experience. At the hotel, we packed our belongings and headed to Kuala Terengganu bus terminal. We left our bag there and continued wondering the city for few more hours. Not to forget, we boarded on the boat to Seberang Takir again and had our tea time at the local stall.
At 6:30pm, we took a cab to the airport to catch our flight at 9:30pm. We walked around the airport, had a light dinner and flew back to Kuala Lumpur with a sweet memory in mind. Terengganu has so much to offer and because we cannot experience all those this time, we plan to go again next time with a different itinerary and different way of travelling. Terengganu, wait for us yaa…

by Mohd Hafiz Bin Mohd Salleh