East Coast re-visited ..... I

A trip to the East Coast beckons and we left Kuala Lumpur at 10:30am on a Sunday morning hitting straight into the newly completed DUKE Highway. It was such a breeze, which took us only 5 minutes from the MRR interchange to the Gombak Toll en-route to Karak Highway - East Coast Highway - trunk road straight into Kota Bharu.

It was at the Temerloh R&R we saw the 1st Malaysian made MPV (Naza Citra look alike) heavily wrapped being tested for road worthiness along the East Coast Highway. We felt honored at perhaps being one of the few to have seen the MPV. No pictures allowed of the closely guarded vehicle anyway it was all black even the lights were taped.

The timing was perfect as we had planned to get into Chukai town by lunch to ensure we have time for the famous baked crab of Kemaman together with fried rice, foo yong tan and kangkong belacan (spinach). Real yummy stuff which we had in Restaurant Tong Juan.

After an hour's break, we hit the road again and straight to Kota Bharu where we arrived at approximately 7pm. "My driver" was real pumped out as he had driven for approximately 8 hours which he later swore that the route from Kuala Kangsar-Grik would only take 6 hours.

Checked-into Crystal Lodge Hotel at the recommendation of our Kelantanese friend with the basic requirement for hotel stay i.e. breakfast, WIFI and Astro met, he came to pick us up for dinner at the Four Seasons Restaurant. They served typical Chinese dishes except that it's halal and couldn't have asked for more after the long enduring trip. However, that's another "5 star meal" we had in a day and such a great host whom had rushed back from Perhentian Island to be with us.

The breakfast was average but tasty! Rooms are average and comes with complimentary newspaper but no complaints for a budget hotel. Off to work and what strike my attention immediately was the number of Malays seating in Chinese coffee shops having breakfast, talking and laughing regardless of race which I don't see much in Kuala Lumpur.

With my trusted camera I went walking along Jalan Pos Office Lama and again I saw that Chinese Kedai Kopi (coffee shops) are partronize by all races as I wonder how integrated Malaysians are besides stalls by the roadside do exist.

Kota Bharu had it's mixture of the old and new structures when I came across it's own "Skybridge" though not as high as the Petronas Twin Towers, I am certain this is not a pedestrian bridge. Not too sure of it's purpose but it remains one of the few interesting architectures of the Islamic City.

Not too long later when I noticed a banner strung across the road where I met the Destiny Hotel! The hotel name sure looks interesting in meeting your destiny and I do hope for everyone who stays there. (I would think that it was suppose to be "Destination Hotel" and perhaps a prominent keyword on search engines) The price reflects theon-going price war among hotels to attract guests.

At the riverside, a serene setting and view of Sungai Kelantan provides the calmness (though its a flood prone river during the rainy season) where various tourist attractions e.g. Muhammadi Mosque, Islamic Museum, War Museum, Istana Balai Besar are within walking distance. A floating restaurant (only operates in the evening) complements the riverside attractions in addition to the hawker stalls being set along the riverside pavement.

"Bird hotels or swiflet hotels" are being set up almost in many older part of Kota Bharu. These are actually shops which are turned into birds nest where the owners had made it into a lucrative business with some quality birds nest could fetch as high as RM10,000. Bird's nest is actually the hardened saliva of swiftlets, is rich in water soluble protein and collagen that helps to moisturise and maintain skin tone, as well as improve the elasticity of blood vessels.

It's a short trip into Kelantan before the quick dash for lunch at Medan Selera Jalan Kebun Sultan and then onward to Kuala Besut to catch the ferry for our next appointment in Pulau Perhentian.

A Chinese lady manning her food stall in the middle of Kota Bharu town.

The floating restaurant which comes alive at sunset along Sungai Kelantan.