My
sweet niece was offered to do her degree in Kota Bharu and I decided to visit
her a month after her registration to see how she was doing. I didn’t plan to
visit so soon after returning from my trip to the Caucasus and Italy but I reckoned
I should visit her before she got busier with studies. So after browsing, I decided
to fly Firefly there and back by cattle airline. As I didn’t want to take leave
again so soon after my September sojourn, I decided to fly after work on Friday,
5 October 2018, and return the following afternoon (la niña
has classes on Sunday anyway).
I
decided this would be the perfect time for me to try out the SkyPark Link. You need
to first obtain a token from the counter near Gate D (next to myNEWS.com) then
go to the waiting area near KFC. Wait until you are called to go down to the platform
for the train. The token was given without charge so the ride was free then.
Upon
exiting the station at Subang, you have to walk across the unmaintained car park
and take the overhead bridge across to the terminal building but fret not,
there is a lift if you have big bags. I was running late so I hurried to clear
security but had to turn back and go to the Firefly counter to get a tag for my
long umbrella. Having got the tag, I panted back to clear security and rushed
to the gate (fortunately only metres away but I was the last to join the
queue). I boarded and was seated in no time.
We
landed at 20:10 and after a quick visit to the bathroom, I went to meet la niña outside. She then arranged for Grab to take us into the city. We
went first to Sun Two Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant that sells halal food,
for dinner. After dinner, we walked to ParkView Guest House. We were there for
all of five minutes when the skies opened up. Phew, Alhamdulillah.
It sounded like it rained all night.
On
Saturday morning, I ventured out after morning prayers. I walked to Chinatown
before turning back and making my way to the market. There were already a lot
of people at the market buying, selling and transporting fresh produce. I stopped
by the bus station to get the bus schedule before returning to the guest house.
We
had breakfast after showering and packing up. The guest house provides bread
and butter and jam for breakfast and while it was simple, it was better than
nothing at all. We left with our bags after breakfast and walked to the market
where I bought some batik sarong, pelikat sarong for dad, a couple of caftans
for Akak and myself and a couple of prayer sarong. Then we went to Kota Bharu
Trade Centre for a quick visit.
We
had early lunch – the restaurant I usually eat at hadn’t yet opened – then made
our way to the bus station. It was at first cloudy and I decided to take the
bus direct to the airport (although this would mean spending a long time there)
but then the sun broke through and I thought I might as well check out la niña’s campus.
We alighted at the bus stop opposite Pantai Timur
Hypermarket and walked in. I couldn’t enter her campus though or her hostel. After
performing prayers at a prayer room opened to the public (and a visiting cat
too!), I met up la niña in front of her hostel block to say goodbye.
I then walked back to the bus stop, stopping at the
hypermarket to buy a bottle of mineral water en route. I waited a while before
the bus showed up.
I was not happy to discover that the cattle airline
does not allow long umbrellas to be carried on board. I would have to check it
in and as it costs more to pay for check-in items at the airport than a brand
new umbrella, I reluctantly said goodbye to my umbrella and left it behind.
My flight took off on time (thank God for that
because the next one was delayed by 30 minutes) and we landed at KLIA2 at
18:50, in time for me to exit the plane and perform evening prayers by the time
I got to the prayer room.
Oh and I met a Taiwanese girl on the bus back to KL
Sentral. It was her first time in Malaysia and I remembered the batik sarong in
time to give her one as a souvenir ;)
After my trip last year and discovering Kuala Pilah
also offers gold jewellery at competitive prices, I thought my days of visiting
Kota Bharu were over but it looks like there will be more trips in the future. Well,
I don’t mind doing that until la niña finishes and obtains her degree,
insyaAllah.
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