Happy Five Minutes at the Crystal Mosque

<—-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.

Snap….

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.

The Crystal Mosque front view.
Crystal Mosque side view.
The beautiful Terengganu River.

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—->

Eksplor Mendalam Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Aku terduduk dan intens mengawasi lalu lalang kendaraan di Jalan Batu Buruk dari bawah pokok Rhu ketika para jama’ah shalat Dzuhur mulai berdatangan. Beberapa dari mereka tersenyum melihatku yang masih saja duduk mengampar di hamparan rumput Bazaar Ramadhan Masjid Terapung.

Beberapa menit setelah iqamah dikumandangkan, bus yang kutunggu mulai memperlihatkan badan hidungnya di gerbang masuk. Bas KITē itu tak mengurangi kecepatan rupanya, mendadak merapat cepat di depan jembatan utara.

Aku gelagapan, bangkit, memasukkan lembaran itinerary yang tadinya kujadikan alas duduk ke dalam folding bag dan mulai berlari sekencang-kencangnya mengejar Bas KITē yang sudah berhenti dan selesai menurunkan penumpang. “Gawat kalau aku terlewat”, aku menahan nafas dan melaju sekencang mungkin.

Laju….Ayo, laju abang”, seorang ibu yang berjalan dengan payungnya menyemangatiku. Aku hanya bisa berlari sambil berusaha menyisakan senyuman untuknya.

Bas KITē yang awalnya sempat melaju pelan akhirnya melambatkan putaran roda, sepertinya si pengemudi melihatku berlari dari kaca spion. Aku memang berusaha menampakkan diri di kaca spion dan berlari sembari melambaikan tangan. Beruntung bagiku, pengemudi Bas KITē itu menyadari keberadaanku.

Aku melompat naik dari pintu depan…..

Oh, abang….Kirain sudah pergi ke tempat lain”, pengemudi itu masih menghafal rautku rupanya.

Belum, Pak Cik….Saya menunggu bus dari tadi”, aku terengah-engah dan menyerahkan uang 3 Ringgit sembari mencoba tetap tersenyum ramah.

Kini aku duduk di barisan bangku nomor enam dan berusaha mendinginkan gerahnya badan tepat di bawah mesin pendingin lalu berusaha kembali menikmati perjalanan menuju Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

Meninggalkan Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah, pada mulanya Bas KITē bergerak menuju selatan, bus mengantarkan penumpang menuju destinasi penting, yaitu Noor Arfa Craft Complex yang merupakan outlet kerjainan tangan terkenal di Kuala Terengganu. Usai menurunkan dan mengambil penumpang, Bas KITē kembali melaju ke utara menyusuri Jalan Batu Buruk, menyeberangi Jembatan Kuala Ibai dan melintas kembali Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah yang masih saja terlihat anggun walau dipandang dari kejauhan.

Noor Arfa Craft Complex di tepian Jalan Permin Jaya.
Menuju Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.
Kedai Makan Stesen Teksi (warga lokal menyebutnya Kedai Kak Na).

Menjelang pukul tiga sore, Bas KITē  akhirnya tiba di Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu yang berjarak delapan kilometer dari Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah.

Tetapi aku tiba di terminal bus dalam kondisi diserang lapar. Aku tetap berusaha tenang, karena sedari kemarin sore ketika usai bersantap di kantin terminal, aku melihat keberadaan kedai nasi di sebuah pangkalan taksi yang ramai pengunjung. “Makanan di kedai itu pasti enak”, sore itu aku menyimpulkan. Aku sudah menandai kedai itu dan kini saat yang tepat bagiku untuk mengunjungi dan bersantap siang di sana.

Kedai itu tak berubah dari kemarin, benar-benar ramai pengunjung. Tidak hanya para pengemudi taksi, tetapi banyak pekerja kantoran hingga aparat keamanan dan tentara tampak mengantri untuk bisa makan di tempat itu. Sepertinya tempat itu memang tempat makan favorit dan terjangkau bagi warga lokal.

Aku sendiri mencoba menikmati seporsi nasi dengan potongan ayam yang kutambahkan beberapa lembar lalapan segar sebagai pengganti sayur, tampaknya lalapan itu tak berbayar.

Kedai nasi sederhana itu hanya bertempat duduk berbahan plastik tetapi memiliki keistimewaan sendiri karena si pelayan kedai adalah seorang gadis belia berjilbab dengan raut muka ayu khas Melayu. “Pantas saja kedai ini ramai”, aku tersenyum dalam hati.

Aku menikmati santap siang itu dengan sangat lahap. Selain lapar, masakan kedai ini memang terasa nikmat sekali. Aku mengakhiri makan siang dengan menyerahkan uang lima Ringgit kepada puan cantik si penjaga kedai makan.

Masih ada waktu 45 menit sebelum Bas KITē  menuju Masjid Kristal berangkat….

Aku mencari mushola di dalam terminal dan memutuskan menjama’shalat. Taka da waktu lagi, karena aku akan terbentur dengan waktu maghrib ketika pulang dari Masjid Kristal nanti.

Bahkan usai shalat, waktu masih tersisa tiga puluh menit….

Kuputuskan untuk mengeksplore dalaman dari Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu dengan menaiki lantai duanya. Di Lantai dua, tampak berjajar kios yang sangat ramai dengan berbagai aktivitas berjualan barang dan jasa. Tetapi mayoritas tampak didominasi oleh kios baju dan jasa tukang jahit kain.

Sementara pemandangan ke arah bawah tampak lebih elok daripada sapuan mata ketika aku berada di bawah. Tampak sisi kiri depan terminal didominasi oleh area parkir taksi. Sedangkan sisi depan kanan terparkir rapi beberapa Bas KITē  yang sedari pagi tadi berjasa mengantarkanku berkeliling kota. Di sisi lain, siang itu, bus-bus antar negara bagian mulai bergeliat dan perlahan berdatangan demi mangambil penumpang untuk dibawa keluar kota.

Setengah jam menjelalah setiap sisi Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu membuatku bisa mengenal lebih dekat terminal bus andalan Kuala Terengganu itu.

Bagian belakang terminal.
Kios di lantai 2 Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.
Bangku tunggu beton di sebelah platform.
Sisi kanan depan (tamak Bas KITē berbagai laluan)
Sisi kiri depan (tampak bus antar negara bagian yang siap berangkat).
Platform bus.
Kios-kios di sisi kiri depan terminal.

Sudah jam tiga sore….

Saatnya berangkat ke Masjid Kristal….

Tapi kini aku berada dalam masalah besar. Ini adalah Bas KITē  laluan C02 trip terakhir, artinya sesampainya di Masjid Kristal, maka aku harus pulang ke penginapan menggunakan taksi….”Hmmh, mahal”, aku terus berfikir….

Aku harus mengakali keterbatasan yang tak menguntungkan ini……

Kisah Selanjutnya—->