Air Jernih Street

In the afternoon….It was a quarter to six….

I sat in the front seat on the left when Bas KITē slowly left the Tamadun Islam Park complex. Via the only connecting bridge, Bas KITē completed its wheel loop over Wan Man Island.

Now the Bas KITē would complete the remaining half of the journey to the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, when I got there, the bus would take a break to operate again tomorrow at half past ten in the next morning.

On the way back to the inn, I was more relaxed and free to talk with the driver. During the rest of the trip, he told about his daily activities with four other Bas KITē drivers in operating that special city bus. He also told about his son who was having a hard time finding work in Kuala Terengganu, many employment sectors chose to use foreign workers which made it difficult for residents to find a livelihood. I only listened to it as a form of empathy, even though I didn’t know the real facts.

On the way back to the inn, the bus driver only took a middle-aged female passenger who seemed to be very familiar with him. Maybe the woman was a subscriber to his Bas KITē, so as soon as she got on, the driver immediately familiarly asked about the woman’s activities throughout the day. The rest after the female passenger boarded, only the two of them had the dominant conversation until the trip was over. The conversation with Terengganu’s thick accent I tried to understand even though I could only absorb it a little.

At a quarter past six I arrived at the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu….

Jumping off the bus and thanking the Bas KITē driver once again for giving me five precious minutes to enjoy the beauty of the Crystal Mosque, I tried to leave the terminal as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to be trapped in the dark in the terminal.

I swiftly walked through Masjid Abidin Street to arrive at the intersection where the PERMINT Tower stood. “What’s that sound?…”, I stopped when I heard a noise from a height. Due to that sound, I backed off from the inn. I was now walking along Sultan Ismail Street towards the source of the sound. “Wow….That’s a flock of sparrows”, I knew now. On the entire face of the Wisma PERMINT building, perched a lot of sparrows calling to each other, making the sound like a pleasant harmony to be heard at sunset.

For so long I was stunned, capturing and videoing the scene that two other tourists suddenly came next to me and did the same. After a while of enjoying the harmony of the sound of the sparrows, simultaneously the street lamps began to come on, and the building lights began to be turned on, making the path along Sultan Ismail Street show off the beauty of its colorful lights.

“Looks like I have to enjoy my closing night in Kuala Terengganu by being on the streets even if only for a moment”, I decided.

My night exploration step started from the KT Walk which was a spacious area that usually presents a night market view for residents. It was just that the night has just begun, and a row of new food stalls was getting ready to entertain their prospective guests who would arrive soon. Because there were no significant activities, I just enjoyed the KT Walk for a moment from a corner of the field.

Enjoying the choir of sparrows at Wisma PERMINT.

The night was creeping up and the lights were starting to look more dazzling as the sky darkened. I continued to comb along Sultan Ismail Street and then was stunned at a bookstore that seemed to be the favorite bookstore in the city, SMO Bookstores. “There’s nothing wrong if I go in …”, I idly started.

I rushed into the bookstore. As soon as I entered the shop, I just looked around and visited several bookshelves which were visited by many visitors. “A collection of novels which have been adapted into Malay”, I slightly frowned as a sign that I wasn’t interested in it.

SMO Bookstores isn’t as big as a well-known bookstore brand in Indonesia, the collection isn’t much, but many people visit it. Maybe Malaysia’s good literacy rate makes it so.

I finally left SMO Bookstores and resumed my journey to enjoy the night atmosphere of Kuala Terengganu. Although not too crowded, that night was able to make me a little amazed because, during the two days in Kuala Terengganu, I was more dominant in enjoying the atmosphere of the day. Even though the sparkling lamp that night wasn’t as beautiful as in Kuala Lumpur, it still kept its charm. A city that wasn’t so crowded was showing its beauty at night.

I turned at the corner at the northern end of Air Jernih Street, which was still doing business. Walking along the street, I stopped again at a 7-Eleven, I purposely entered it to look for fast food on my dinner menu. I felt like I have been reluctant to go back a little further to visit “Kedai Kak Na” which I visited that afternoon. It was better to just look for perfunctory food at the mini market.

I came out of the 7-Eleven with a packet of fried rice that had been heated in the microwave for a while. I immediately left the minimarket to the inn while enjoying the remaining scenery. Continuing a little step on Kota Lama Street, I turned left on Engku Pangeran Anom 2 Street and then arrived at the inn, The Space Inn…

Engku Pangeran Anom, who is it?

Engku Pangeran Anom was a Terengganu noble with the full name Pengiran Anum Engku Abdul Kadir bin Engku Besar. He was a man who really understood the history of Terengganu and was often a reference to the sultanate which at that time was led by Sultan Ahmad.

I arrived at the inn at exactly half past eight….

It was time for me to wash up, have dinner, fold the clothes and tidy up my backpack because tomorrow I would leave Kuala Terengganu at half past ten in the morning.

Wisma Maidam was towering on Sultan Ismail Street which was used for the Kuala Terengganu Islamic Bank office.

The intersection that I often pass every day while in Kuala Terengganu.

Umobile Center (Telecommunication Equipment Store) on Engku Sar Street. Engku Sar refers to the name of the father of Engku Pengiran Anom whose full name is Syed Abdullah Al-Idrus. “Sar” is another name for “Sir”.

Aneka KAMDAR Building on Kota Lama Street is used as an ASC (Arena Sports Center) which is a Sports Venue business in Kuala Terengganu.

Let’s sleep!…. It was 11 p.m.….Tomorrow I would walk again.

Next Story—->

Happy Five Minutes at the Crystal Mosque

29 August 202230 August 2022travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

Almost five o’clock in the afternoon….

I was still guessing, who could be, one of three drivers who would make the last trip of Bas KITē Lane C02. They were joking and intimately chatting at the coffee shop in terminal corner.

I kept watching from the waiting bench behind the Bas KITē queue until finally one of them got up from his seat, headed for the bus and then started the engine to heat it up before starting the journey.

“Oh, he’s the one”, I snapped my fingers.

I quickly intercepted it. “Sir, will the Crystal Mosque be visible from the road when this bus will pass?”, I even intercepted him with a silly question.

“You can’t see the mosque from the road…why?”, he looked surprised by the question I asked.

“If you can’t see it, I won’t be taking this last bus, Sir”, I frowned.

“Do you want to visit the Crystal Mosque?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You can take this bus, I’ll wait five minutes for a quick visitation to the Crystal Mosque. How about mi idea?”.

“Thank you. Okay, I’ll go with you, Sir.”

Negotiations between tourists and city bus drivers were over. Now I had the opportunity even if not long to visit one of the most beautiful mosques in Asia and even the world.

Exactly five o’clock in the afternoon….

I hopped on the Bas KITē from the front door. Handed the 3 Ringgit fare to the driver and started taking seats. Meanwhile, Bas KITē slowly began to leave the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

Even though my destination was in the west, but that time Bas KITē first went east, picked up some passengers at Shahbandar and Hotel Grand Continental, then turned around at Bulatan Batu Bersurat, Kuala Terengganu, and then Bas KITē went to the west to reach my desired destination, i.e Crystal Mosque.

Bulatan Batu Bersurat Kuala Terengganu at the center of the meeting of four roads, i.e Sultan Ismail Street, Sultan Mahmud Street, Sultan Zainal Abidin Street and Sultan Sulaiman Street.

The atmosphere on Air Jernih Street that afternoon.

Mydin Grand Market seen from Tengku Mizan Street

Slowly but consistently, the Bas KITē drove along the south side of the Terengganu River and approached its destination. Now the bus was starting to move over the bridge connecting Wan Man Island. After crossing the bridge, I was faced with a large gate in front of Taman Tamadun Islam.

The Islamic Gardens Park is an important attraction on that artificial island. This is the first theme park in Malaysia that combines the concepts of religion and tourism, of course the Crystal Mosque is an important part. Along the way through Tamadun Islam Park, the Bus KITē driver explained that in that park there were replicas of the best Islamic structures from around the world such as the Taj Mahal, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock, but I didn’t have time to visit them. .

“Crystal Mosque is near….I’ll stop and wait for you for five minutes…When you’re done, let’s go back again to this bus”, the driver spoke to me while focusing behind the wheel.

“Okay, Sir”, I happily answered.

The bus slowly slowed down and entered a large parking lot. I still didn’t realize that that place was a stop for the Crystal Mosque religious tourist destination.

“The Crystal Mosque is over thereē”, the driver pointed in a direction.

“Okay, Sir”, I quickly got up and got off the bus.

“The five-minute countdown has started”, I thought, my heart beating faster. There was no other way, except to run as fast as possible to the mosque.

The further I ran, the face of the Crystal Mosque was already in sight. And after running past a local young man who was busy documenting the mosque with his tripod, I suddenly stopped.

“Can you take a photo, brother?”, I offered my Canon EOS with a smile.

Without saying anything, the young man smiled back and took my camera. For a moment, his agenda was slightly disturbed by my tacky behavior.

After thanking him, I ran back to the mosque. Within a minute I arrived. Ignoring any crowds, I preferred to stand still watching the mosque, which was mostly made of steel and glass.

I continued to enjoy the mosque with a capacity of 1,500 worshipers from the banks of the Terengganu River. The combination of black and white made the 13-year-old mosque very elegant and eye-catching. This was the first ‘smart’ mosque in Terengganu, the existence of an integrated IT infrastructure that allowed worshipers to access the internet to read the electronic Al-Quran.

Five very precious minutes didn’t expect that with time constraints, I was still allowed to visit the Crystal Mosque.

Four minutes have passed….

One last minute I’ll use to run back to Bas KITē. I didn’t want the driver to leave me and make it even more difficult for me to get public transportation to go home to the inn.

The relief came when the Bas KITē still stopped with a sluggish engine sound and the driver was looking at me while waving his hand as a signal for me to speed up running.

“Hufffttt….I’m tired, Sir”, I jumped from the front door.

“Hahahaha… How about that, how beautiful is the Crystal Mosque?”, he laughed as he slowly stepped on the gas pedal and let the bus go slowly.

“Very good, Sir”, I panted sitting in the front seat on the left side.

Time to back to the inn….

My adventure that day was over….

Tomorrow I would take a long road trip to Kuala Lumpur.

Next Story—->

BAS KITē ….Kuala Terengganu’s Mainstay City Bus

15 August 202227 August 2022travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

After washing jeans, t-shirts and socks, I took a bath. Made my body fresh and repel shabby. “It’s still too early to sleep, I’d better hang out in the shared-kitchen to fill my water bottles which are starting to recede”, my idea suddenly appeared.

I started downstairs to the second floor where the reception desk and shared-kitchen were located. Arriving there, looked the presence of Mr. Okamoto who slowly brewed the coffee.

“Where was you going today, Mr. Okamoto?” I asked before he smiled as I poured tap water into my drink bottles.

“Hi Donny, I didn’t go everywhere today. I was tired. I decided to take a rest all day in my room”, he chuckled while sipping his own brewed coffee.

“Ohhhhh…..I think you have found a nice destination today….Hahahaha. I see you are very fresh now”, I hasten to sit in front of him and continue the conversation.

Somehow in the beginning, Mr. Okamoto told many things that night….From the charming story of Okinawan culture, memories of drinking coffee with local Acehnese, the behavior of Japanese girls in modern times, the cuteness of a student from Yogyakarta, as well as the ups and downs of being an English teacher at his capital city.

Meanwhile, I added a little story about my adventure to visit Japan three years ago, exploring Terengganu on the first day that afternoon until my plan to explore Middle East a few days ahead.

The specialty of the conversation was a cup of coffee brew made by Mr. Okamoto for me.

Wow…. Arabica coffee was still imagined to be enjoyed until now.

—-****—-

That Monday morning, I accidentally woke up a little late. After the Fajr prayer, I went back to sleep and just woke up at exactly nine in the morning. After bathing, I have breakfast by sipping oat powder that I brought from home, I served the powder in hot water and mixed it with a spoonful of sugar in the inn’s kitchen.

Twenty minutes later I finished breakfast, I started to go downstairs to the first floor and got ready to continue exploring. Looking at the sky, it looked like my second day in Kuala Terengganu would be as hot as yesterday. I stepped through Engku Pengiran Anom 2 Street to reach Air Jernih Street which if pulled straight north would take me to Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

The bus terminal was still my ally in dissecting the beauty of Kuala Terengganu. At least I knew where to go all Monday.

Oh yes, back to the story a day before, when I arrived at the bus terminal after being escorted by myBAS from Sultan Mahmud Airport, I took a moment to get closer to the BAS KITē stop. I deliberately documented the bus route which is the transportation mode of Kuala Terengganu residents’ mainstay. I had monitored the existence of BAS KITē itself from Jakarta two months before departure.

I couldn’t go up this route, I’m sorry….

Well, Route C02 was the last route I took.

Well, if you went to Kuala Terengganu and wanted to save on costs in exploring the city, then BAS KITē was the best solution. After all, instead of taking a taxi everywhere…. It was expensive.

Let’s see what was a BAS KITē.

According to the results of my conversation with the BAS KITē driver when going to the Crystal Mosque, there were only five buses in Kuala Terengganu, and the drivers were only five people. But on the route board which I managed to photograph, BAS KITē turned out to only have four routes….Hmmm, maybe one unit was a spare bus….Ah, I didn’t know, what were you thinking anyways?

The uniqueness of this city bus lies in its design. When viewed from the outside, the body of this city bus resembles the architecture of a typical Terengganu house. The bus’ glass is designed like an arched window, while the bus’ roof is given a distinctive touch of Terangganu’s carved. While at bus inside, seats and dividing area between driver and passengers are dominated by iron and wood combination, full of Terengganu carvings.

This city bus with a capacity of 36 passengers is operated by Cas Ligas SDN. BHD whose office is in PERMINT Tower, the tower I passed by many times every day when I explored Kuala Terengganu. Cas Ligas SDN. BHD itself is a land and water transportation business in Kuala Terengganu.

To be able to take this city bus to various tourist destinations, you have to prepare a fare ranging from 1 to 5 Ringgit depending on the distance. Cheap right?…..

The city bus which departed the earliest was BAS KITē for Kuala Nerus (direction to the airport but doesn’t stop at the airport if you want to go to the airport just use the myBAS service). That route departed at exactly half past eight in the morning and departs at an interval of 1.5 hours before noon and then departs at intervals of 2 hours when it is past noon. The last bus departs at half past five in the afternoon from Hentian Bas Majlis Kuala Terengganu Airport.

Meanwhile, the city bus which departs at noon is the KITē BAS towards Crystal Mosque. This BAS KITē route first departs at 9:30 am and only provides four trips a day. The last trip departs at five in the afternoon from Hentian Bas Majlis Kuala Terengganu Airport.

Cheap but limited.

With an average distance of two hours for each departure, at least I could visit at least three destinations in different routes. “Enjoy it, don’t be in a hurry….”, that’s how I thought about its limitations.

To keep the mood happy….Yes, right?

Next Story—->

Kampung China at the End of First Day

13 August 202215 August 2022travelingpersecond

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I was satisfied enough to experience the beauty of Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu even though I was only pulled over to one side. Observing the bustle of the merchants who slowly began to arrive to prepare for night’s culinary session, the traffic of fishing boats that were about to go to sea leaving the estuary also started to become apparent, then the tourist boats kept on bringing the excitement of tourists to several islands which I myself didn’t know how much. far away, and oil and gas operational vessels keep going back and forth along the estuary.

“It’s time to get out of here”, I started to tidy up the camera and throw the sit mat into the trash after tearing it into small pieces, I didn’t want to leave even a name imprint on every sheet I threw away in another country.

I crossed right in the middle of island to the mainland where Kampung Cina stood. On the side of one-way sreet, Roadside gazebos were full of local residents. They began to down to the streets waiting for the sun to fall in west. Across the street, the playground came to life with the presence of several children of Chinese descent playing on swings and slides. Meanwhile, Turtle Alley, which became a famous art alley along the road, began to fill with tourists.

“Ah, never mind”, I seemed to give up. “Just looking for food, tonight I don’t have to leave the inn”, I decided.

I stepped west against the one-way street. One or two beggars approached while clenching their hand several times to their mouths. A sign they need food like me. I looked around, looking for CCTV or anything which could record the surroundings. Realizing there was nothing there, I handed two Ringgits to the two approaching beggars then I hurriedly left them.

My step arrived at a narrow bend and was only able to flow one vehicle at a time to pass it. Now I have arrived at the end of the road, as a marker I would be faced with the face of Kampung Cina.

In fact I was at the southern end of Kampung Cina Street. If previously I had combed the road from the north side when I visited Payang Memory Lane, now I have completed it by combing the remaining sections from the south.

“Oh, this is Kampung Cina after all,” I reflexively thought after seeing the iconic Terengganu Kampung Cina Gate. Of course it was a dragon. Yes, it had always been a symbol of good luck in Chinese society. Two perfectly green dragons faced off at the top of the gate.

One of the sections of Kampung Cina Street on the south side.

Alliance Islamic Bank in a side of Kampung Tiong Street.

The identity of Kampung Cina, so lanterns were also a distinctive decoration of their existence in any country, even in Kuala Terengganu. Red lanterns were scattered on every side of the street.

While at the T-junction there appeared a dominant yellow temple, i.e Ho Ann Kiong Temple. This was a Chinese temple dating back a century, the oldest Taoist temple in the state of Terengganu dedicated to Mazu, the Goddess of Sea.

After observing the beauty of temple, I started exploring a new streets. It was Kampung Tiong Street which would be my shortcut to Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu. I knew there was a terminal canteen there. “It’s better to have dinner there”, I didn’t think long and decided.

At first glance, the Terengganu government seemed to offer the beauty of Lang Tengah Island as a mainstay tourist destination along the road. Meanwhile, signs prohibiting selling street vendors without a permit decorated several alleys. “It is forbidden to peddle without a license”, that’s what Datuk Bandar Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terngganu’s direction. Passing one or two towering buildings in Kampung Tiong Street finally led me to the end of the road.

“Hmmh, where’s the shortcut way?”. I looked around and was reluctant to walk around to get to the bus terminal. The top of terminal’s roof was visible from where I was standing. “Maybe that”, I saw a small alley straight towards the terminal, I followed it until I arrived at a large parking lot whose its existence was successfully hidden by the thick trees. It turned out that that was the Paya Bunga Square parking lot. Indeed, shopping complex, hotel and office complex were clearly visible in the south corner. “Yiaaiy, the canteen was still open”, I inwardly cheered seeing the crowd in the terminal’s canteen. I didn’t hesitate to enter it until some merchants in the canteen kept offering me their menus. Finally, I decided to enjoy a portion of fried rice for only five Ringgit.

I voraciously ate the simple fried rice because of the hunger I had been holding back all that time. The fried rice tasted a little curry, either because my smell detected the presence of a curry stall to the left of where I was sitting or indeed this fried rice merchant was too bold to spice up his fried rice. But no matter what, I was actually a fan of Indian curry.

Half an hour of dining with local travelers at the bus terminal, made me feel like I was just a resident of Terengganu.

Now it was time for me to go back to the inn…..

I got off again at Masjid Abidin Street. If before I always walked on left side, now I tried to cross the road and comb from the right side to the south. A few meters ahead, my steps were stopped by the presence of a large parking lot and shops. It seemed that that was a flea shop which became the idol of citizens. Towards dark, young people could be seen carrying their skateboards and sitting enjoying the afternoon under shady trees in the east side of the stretch of land. That was PB Station which was quite famous in downtown because it always presented a festive bazaar on weekends. But sadly I was here on a monday night. Of course I wouldn’t find a crowd even if I waited until the night was over.

Canteen @ Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

I unsteadily continued walking towards The Space Inn. Passing a large intersection where a six-story building belonging to RHB Investment Bank firmly stood, I finally arrived at Air Jernih Street. Continuing through a few inches of Kota Lama Street which connected the main road with the location of my inn.

I arrived….

It was time to take a shower, washed up and went to bed early……..Hufftt, my eyes were already really heavy.

Next Story—->

Moored at Kedai Payang Market

27 July 202228 July 2022travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

“I’m not from India, I’m from Iran”, the bunk bed neighbor’s traveler answered my question.

“Do you know where is a middle eastern salon near here?. I think I need a salon for relaxation”, he suddenly asked the receptionist and hotel owner.

I inwardly laughed at that “funny” scene that morning, a light conversation before I set out to explore Kuala Terengganu for the first time since arriving.

I rushed down the stairs to get out of The Space Inn, along Engku Pengiran Anom 2 Street, heading north, repeating the original way when heading to the inn. Of course, I went back to Air Jernih Street, met again at the intersection where Politectic Kuala Terengganu became a landmark besides PMINT Tower and retraced Masjid Abidin Street until I arrived back in east side of Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

The east side of Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

So here it was…. The tree just got “dressed up”……

It was just that, two hundred meters before arriving at bus terminal, I was fascinated by the art of yarn bombing which pinned colorful knitted threads to a row of trees in a side of Masjid Abidin Street’ sidewalk, right on the west side of PB Square. Make the city atmosphere more lively.

Arriving at bus terminal, I immediately struggled to find an Interstate Bus ticket to go to Kuala Lumpur the day after tomorrow.

“There are even cheaper ones, Sir?”, I joked at an Arowana Bus ticket counter staff.

“Nothing…. It’s only 43 Ringgit, Sir…. this is the cheapest”.

“Okay, I’ll take one, Sir …. For the date of 31st”.

A few minutes ago, I had secured a ticket to Kuala Lumpur, now I was a little calmer to start exploring my first destination.

Yupsz, I was going to Kuala Terengganu’s market.

That market is only a kilometer from Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, so I decided to just walk. I slowly enjoyed the crowds around Kampung Daik Street, under the shade of roofed corridor along sidewalk, what a comfortable way to walk. My steps also had to turn right in front of Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Jalan Kota’s Office, which were identical in color to the fire brigade offices in Jakarta (my hometown), bright red.

Now I felt reluctant to continue swinging steps due to the scorching heat of sun in the path in front of me that wasn’t longer covered. Finally, I decided to take a break at the end of covered corridor, sitting in a concrete bench, waiting for the cloud to cover the sun.

A few moments of waiting while enjoying the passing of local residents, the cloud was present, now the street didn’t sting anymore, I immediately took a quick step down Sultan Zainal Abidin Street. Finally, two hundred meters ahead, I arrived at Kedai Payang Market which was starting to get busy.

The Kedai Payang Market dis seem to show off its beauty, it was said that the two-year-old building functions to replace the old building that had retired.

Rows of tents with white cloth roofs stretched across market’s face, separating the parking area from commercial area. The large tents showed that market’s interior area wasn’t enough to facilitate the bustling commerce in downtown Kuala Terengganu.

Now I’ve entered market inside which was very crowded, the stalls with red brick motifs still looked new, the alleys seemed full of visitors passing by. Several clowns and pet equipment sellers were seen cramming into several corners of stalls selling songket, batik, handicrafts and traditional snacks from Terengganu. While in the back area, it appeared that a special area was provided for a row of culinary stalls with a mainstay menu of Nasi Dagang, Laksa, Nasi Lemak and several other specialties.

Come on, first enjoy the beauty of Terengganu River!

I just kept going until I reached its backyard. Apparently that market is right on the outskirts of very clean Terengganu River. Bot Penambang (Passenger Boats) could be seen moving back and forth to mobilize Terengganu residents from a bank to another. The Bot Penambang (Passenger Boat), which is relied upon as the city’s water taxi, seems to have originalized the atmosphere of Terengganu that morning.

The beauty of the expanse of Terengganu River finally started to make me fall in love with that city and managed to tame me to just linger for a while enjoying the gentle breeze in a concrete gazebo which is part of public facilities belonging to Pasar Kedai Payang.

“Don’t be in a hurry, Donny….Sit down and enjoy”.

Next Story—->

Impressed in The Space Inn

25 July 202227 July 2022travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

Adventure to neighboring country is easy and fun. In addition to culinary which is familiar with Indonesian tongue, their tourism also provides a lot of super cheap lodging which gives possibility for anyone to explore the country.

That morning, I had just jumped off myBAS which had brought me from Sultan Mahmud Airport, now I had just turned around when I had just moved north leaving Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu. For a moment, I stared at it from a distance, enjoying the simplicity of that mainstay bus terminal of “Keropok Lekor” Country.

A moment later I headed to WIN DOTCOM Telecommunications Equipment Store, the busiest shop in Syed Hussein Street to hunt for local SIM cards and internet services which I would use for my four-day adventure in Malaysia.

Inside the shop, I was offered various types of SIM cards by shop owner who was of Chinese descent. Meanwhile, a young girl wearing a black headscarf with an authentic Malay face patiently explained my ignorance from shop owner’s quick explanation. At the end of that transaction, I got a SIM Card with a 2 GB quota for 25 Ringgit. The price was very affordable, at least I had been guaranteed by Hotlink for 10 days to have access to internet surfing.

Now I was starting to head south, entering a road inside the block, crossing Twin Towers of PB (Paya Bunga) Square, owned by Perbadanan Memajukan Iktisad Negeri Terengganu (PMINT) which became Pusat Transformasi Bandar Terengganu or public better known as UTC (The Urban Transformation Centre) . The atmosphere began to get excited that morning, the routine activities of Terengganu residents had just begun.

The intersection at Abidin Mosque Street.

Seeing the architecture of Twin Towers of PB Square, I began to understand that Kuala Terengganu carvings were always embodied in every city building. Nice and elegant.

Leaving Twin Towers of PB Square, I now head south through Masjid Abidin Street until I arrived at a large intersection decorated with a slogan Sign Board “Visit Beautiful Terengganu”. The PMINT tower which functions as Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu looked solid, occupying a corner of intersection and exhibiting city’s main slogan “Bandaraya Warisan Pesisir Air”.

Finished waiting for the turn of green traffic light, I crossed intersection, continued heading south. Entering Air Jernih Street, a hundred meters ahead, I turned right at a fork. Location of The Space Inn wasn’t far from T-junction. The inn I chose was a dormitory which utilized a shophouse complex along Engku Pengiran Anom 2 Street.

My steps finally arrived at the door of inn, but I was enveloped in confusion because the door was tightly locked. For a while I just silently stood in front of inn’s door without any idea. Even the sidewalks around seemed deserted, it was impossible for me to ask anyone. Luckily, ten minutes later, an inn guest came down the stairs and was about to leave the inn. It was this moment that I then used to sneak in.

I climbed the stairs and finally arrived at 2nd floor reception desk which was guarded by inn’s owner, a middle-aged man of Chinese descent. He friendly greeted me and of course asked how I could get in because I didn’t have an access card. I told him my “cheating technique” and he burst out laughing.

As a result he gave me an access card to go in and out of inn after handing over my passport to be scanned and the staying cost was 41 Ringgit per night. Finishing all administration, I went up to 3rd floor to look for a bunk bed according to a number listed in back of access card.

Taking off my shoes in front outside, I started to enter a quiet room with cool air conditioning. Not all bunk beds were filled so that it was possible for me to move to other mattress I liked, next to bulkhead with travelers from Iran and Japan.

Mr Okamoto

The traveler from “the Land of Rising Sun” worked as an English teacher in the capital city, his name was Okamoto. I met him when he was busy fiddling with the small padlock which was attached to a locker handle of inn.

“There’s no key in my locker, did you get that padlock from the reception desk?”, I ventured to ask.

“Oh, of course not. I bought it by myself”, he answered with a smile.

“Oh, okay. I’ll better put my backpack in bunk bed”, I replied with a frown.

From that conversation, the two of us became acquainted and became best friends at inn.

Eventually it became a habit, when morning and evening, before and after adventures, Mr. Okamoto was always the first to greet me at shared-khitchen table. It made me powerless to refuse his invitation to just talk about anything while sipping coffee together. Mr. Okamoto’s brewed coffee mix always had a special taste. I didn’t know what kind of coffee he brought from Tokyo.

Mr. Okamoto whose English was good….But he still had a Japanese accent.

His friendship made me know more about Japanese culture and some interesting locations in Japan which he suggested to I visited, Okinawa being one of them. He was also honored because I had visited his country three years before our meeting. Likewise, I felt honored because he had traveled to Aceh just to enjoy original coffee from that area at the western tip of Indonesia.

Washing

The advantage of this tiny inn iss the availability of a space which connects share-bathroom and bedroom. In that small room, the inn manager provides a hanger and a fan. During my stay, I noticed that none of visitors used the connecting room.

Except for me, who casually used that room to dry t-shirts which I washed every afternoon in shared-bathroom. Washing wasn’t a complicated thing for me when I get acquainted, just rub t-shirt, trousers and socks using bath soap, then rinse it under faucet, wring it hard and then hang it in hanger in connecting room, just wait until tomorrow morning until it dried.. OK? That was why five t-shirts were enough for my long journey which could even last three weeks.

Faucet Water

It was output of a light conversation with The Space Inn staff on duty that afternoon, I finally got information that the tap water in Kuala Terengganu is very safe for direct consumption. He even demonstrated in front of me how he put the glass under kitchen faucet, streamed the tap water and then drank it casually. “Of course it’s safe…. You’ll see, every day I drink this water,” he lightly joked with a faint smile.

Three days in Kuala Terengganu, I didn’t even spend a single bite money to buy drinking water. The price of 1.5 litre drinking water in Kuala Terengganu is around 3 Ringgit, if you are only three days in the city, it means you have to budget 18 Ringgit just to buy for drinking water.

How?….Is Kuala Terengganu tap water useful?

So, if you go to Kuala Terengganu, where do you want to stay???….

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myBAS from Sultan Mahmud Airport to Downtown Kuala Terengganu

24 July 202225 July 2022travelingpersecond

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Similar to my experience when visiting Ipoh a year earlier. In several cities in Malaysia, finding a bus to downtown from the city’s entrance gate was something that sometimes was rare to find in internet. The consequence was, I had to try my best to find it on the spot when I arrived in my destination. Calmness and mental strength were really tested to find that public bus.

Exploring the entire Sultan Mahmud Airport, I took time to ask a cleaning service who was pushing his trolley. Through simple conversation, he informed that there was a bus service to downtown every hour. myBAS, the name of that bus and that public transportation would drop passengers in the top floor of airport.

Armed with that important information, I decided to immediately go up to Departure Hall to hunt it down. But I wasn’t lucky, just as I exited Departure Hall’s front gate, the bus was already puffing a thin layer of smoke, started its engine and leaving the airport.

“Well, in next a hour, I must wait”, I lightly thought.

The waiting moment which was actually boring, I used to enjoy an atmosphere around the airport from top floor. After that, I sat in the edge of Departure Hall terrace waiting for myBAS to arrive.

Filling the waiting time, I decided to record all expenses I had spent since leaving my home on yesterday afternoon. I really paid attention to the passing of private cars which dropped off prospective flight passengers, until I realized that many people had been paying attention to my presence when passing by. It might seem a little strange, there was someone sitting in the edge of terrace waiting for a bus. I myself was a little surprised, why not provided a seat in that wide terrace. Of course not, I had to stand for an hour waiting for bus to come. That was similar to my experience in Manila when I was reprimanded by an MRT officer when I sat on the floor waiting for MRT to arrive.

Exactly a hour, the sound of a slight engine growl came from the far right of Departure Hall, the airport bus slowly crawled up to top floor. I immediately stood up and waved as a sign I would use its services. The bus slowly slowed down and stopped right in front of me.

I jumped up from front door of medium-sized bus with a capacity of 34 seats. Give the driver a fare of 1.8 Ringgit and sat in back seat. The passengers were dominated by women and I was really amazed that all of them were wearing headscarves. “The Islamic nuances in Terengganu are thick,” I quietly thought.

None of passengers got off the bus. “Oh, maybe Terengganu people prefer to use a private car to go to airport, but what do I care, the important thing is that I can go to downtown at a low cost,” I concluded in my heart.

Sitting there, I enjoyed the local dialect which was passed between passengers, the Malay dialect which I always missed when I got home. I was still in the aisle seat when myBAS first out from airport, I had to wait for some passengers to get off to be able to enjoy Kuala Terengganu’s view from seat in window side.

The time I was waiting for arrived when after a few minutes, the bus dropped passengers and left a few empty seats in the side of window, I took the leftmost seat in the middle and started following bus’ pace in showing the original view of Kuala Terengganu.

On a time, the view of Terengganu River and the view of downtown at the far end caught my attention. Meanwhile, rows of passenger ships and mining boats were seen going back and forth on the vast expanse of river, showing that Kuala Terengganu’s economic strength was supported by its waters.

Seen in the distance: Felda Residence Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Drawbridge, UTC Terengganu and Wisma Darul Iman.

Air Jernih Street. 1.5 kilometers from Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu

myBAS at Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

The next view which appeared were several one-story government buildings which occupied several sides of road leading to downtown. The bus continued to follow road signs which lead to downtown, while other signs pointed to Terengganu State Museum. Also a direction to big road to Kuantan, that was my way out to Kuala Lumpur the day after tomorrow.

Unconsciously, fifteen minutes have passed, myBAS whcih I was riding began to reach to downtown. For ten kilometers, I was exposed to Kuala Terengganu travel spoilers which made me even more curious.

Descending from the tiny myBAS, I immediately walked to The Space Inn where I was staying.

My adventure in Kuala Terengganu began…

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Tag: Air Jernih Street

Closing Night in Kuala Terengganu

Happy Five Minutes at the Crystal Mosque

BAS KITē ….Kuala Terengganu’s Mainstay City Bus

Kampung China at the End of First Day

Moored at Kedai Payang Market

Impressed in The Space Inn

myBAS from Sultan Mahmud Airport to Downtown Kuala Terengganu