There was a Malaysia Airlines offer earlier in the year and I decided to buy tickets, one of them to Kuala Terengganu. While I had been to Kemaman and Dungun in the past few years, I hadn’t been to KT in ages. When dad was unwell, I did consider rescheduling my trip but when my brothers stayed resolutely away and not come back to visit, I decided to proceed with my plan. Dad was getting better (or at least, better than he was four weeks ago) and the caregiver had agreed and was prepared to stay in. I had booked the company’s resort in Batu Buruk as it would still work out better than staying in town even after adding in e-hailing service. Oh, MAS changed my return flight to a later one in the evening so I called MAS up and asked if I could fly Firefly back. I called MAS again about two weeks before the trip to change the flight departure time from12:35 to 09:50.
I left home at almost noon on Saturday (16 April) and took the train to TBS. I bought the 13:15 Jetbus ticket to KLIA and didn’t have to wait long for it. We arrived KLIA about an hour later and I went to perform prayers first before dropping off my bag. I had been assigned a seat towards the rear of the plane (couldn’t change it online) and asked if I could change seats. The lady informed that the only seat available was by the window at the emergency row and I agreed. Of course I was also praying that any emergency would not arise for I doubt I had the strength to help open the emergency door. We boarded the plane and waited for take-off.
Well, we ended waiting for an hour before the control tower gave us the green light to take off. We finally took off at 17:15 which meant we only landed at 18:00 at TGG. We had to wait to disembark as MAS only allowed people to disembark in rows of fours, i.e. the first four rows would disembark, followed by the next four rows. Was I glad I changed my seats after all!
I was reunited with my bag soon enough but the Maxim driver cancelled my booking and I had to make another booking, wait for it to be accepted and then wait for the driver to arrive. Maxim only charged RM12.60, Grab would’ve charged me RM21 and the airport cab would cost me RM30.
The driver arrived and we set off. There was a lot of traffic, it being the weekend and many people were out and about before they went to break fast. There were many picnicking by the sea too (some areas did not even have beach but those boulders and yet there were people sitting there). We arrived at the resort at 18:50 and I had to wait for the keys to my chalet. Alas, the caretaker informed me the WiFi was off for the chalet so I asked to change chalets. She told me she could only inform me after Maghrib.
Alhamdulillah, I managed to change chalets. After a very brief and simple iftar, I walked out to buy food for my predawn meal. I came back, had a shower, performed prayers and had some bread before I turned in.
On Sunday morning, after predawn meal and morning prayers, I walked to the beach. It was littered when I last visited it and was still littered. I don’t know why the locals and visitors alike cannot learn not to litter. I combed the beach for seashells and turned back after half an hour because the sun was already intense.
I ordered a Maxim car for 09:30 and the driver was already waiting for me when I walked out at 09:28. We drove to the Terengganu state museum, the biggest museum in Malaysia. It wasn’t near and we arrived just before 10:00. I was not amused when I saw I had to climb up stairs to enter the museum and also within the museum itself. There are four blocks, and three opened for visitors with various galleries. I spent slightly over two hours there.
I saw on the map that the Islamic Civilisation Park was nearby (well, about 2 km away) and decided to walk there. So I walked and walked, enjoying a glimpse of the river along the way. Alas, the Monument Park was closed due to Ramadan. I walked on until I reached the Crystal Mosque. I was surprised to find it was smaller inside than what I expected.
I tried getting a Maxim car back to the resort but one cancelled on me and after waiting too long, I decided to walk out of the Wan Man island. I was lucky this time and got a driver. Back at the resort, I performed prayers and collapsed into a nap.
On Monday, I decided to walk into town, cutting across into a park. It was an overcast morning and it started drizzling. I continued on past the hospital but the rain suddenly turned heavy and I sought shelter under some trees outside a cemetery, near to the Batu Bersurat roundabout. I stayed there for maybe 15 minutes reading my book before continuing on. The sun struggled out shortly after.
I walked to Masjid Abidin, the state’s old royal mosque. It’s more than 200 years old and has been enlarged. I checked out the women’s praying area before continuing on to nearby Istana Maziah. The official palace of the Sultan of Terengganu, it is located at the foot of Bukit Puteri. There’s a mini park by the palace which looked unkempt. What else is new in Malaysia, eh.
I walked around and disregarding signs saying that Bukit Puteri was closed for upgrading, climbed up the steps. There was a gate which was kept unlocked so I opened it. Alas, one man came and told me it was closed. I asked nicely if I could take pictures and he repeated that the place was closed. Closed since 2017 for upgrading indeed! There didn’t look to be any progress at all. Upgrading, my foot!
I walked down and crossed over to Pasar Kedai Payang, the central market. I entered the market, had a browse but didn’t buy anything as I would be returning. I continued on to Kampung Cina or Chinatown. This village has existed since the 15th century and at the time, it was the main hub for commercial activities in town. I had a great time walking through Chinatown. I walked on past the area until the waterfront. I had to ask for directions twice before I found the waterfront globe.
I then turned back and walked back through Chinatown and back to Pasar Kedai Payang. I bought some durian cakes and local snacks, two caftans for myself, a sarong for dad’s caregiver and some raisins from an annoying man. Then I ordered a Maxim car and was pleasantly surprised to get the same uncle who brought me to the museum the day before.
Back in my room, I had a shower before performing prayers and collapsing in bed.
I woke up and read my book before getting ready. My mate would be picking me up. We were in the same dorm/house and same class during our lower secondary years. She arrived at about 18:30 and drove us to Felda Residence for iftar. A canopied outdoor area was set for iftar and we enjoyed the evening breeze while waiting to break fast. After iftar, we drove around town before stopping at Uncle Chua for some drinks before she sent me back to the resort.
Tuesday morning arrived and it was already time to leave ;( My mate came to pick me up at 07:30 and drove us to the airport. She had kindly printed my boarding pass too. I had to wait a bit for the counter to open to drop off my bag. After dropping off my bag, I met up my mate again and we drove past UMT and UniSZA up to Kuala Nerus. We got down at Kuala Nerus Lake Garden for some Kodak moments before driving back to the airport. I never expected I could still visit places with my early departure time! Thank you again, mate!
ETD was 09:50 but as everyone had boarded, we were already taxiing at 09:44. We landed at Subang Airport an hour later. Alhamdulillah for this opportunity.
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