Kelantan Trip

This post will be abt my family trip to Kelantan a few weeks back. Just a brief one, so will be mostly pictures k!

All of the pictures below were taken by my bro coz he is the one with the camera.

After an excruciating 6 hours drive of being squished in a car, Uncle Chew (my dad knew him when he worked in Kelantan as a HO long ago) welcomed us warmly and took us for a late lunch at this kopitiam, at first glance it doesn't look much, but the food was certainly yummy!

fried chicken that tasted absolutely different!

probably because it was 'ayam kampung' so the meat was really lean & crispy!

delicious mutton that is oh-so-tender

And there some other dishes too but dont want to make you guys salivate too much over your keyboard la haha.

After that, we went to this place that sells batik/sarong and the women start ooh-aahing over them while the rest just hung about. Personally, the batik isn't too bad looking (have some nice patterns too) but I'd prefer them in a more unconventional design! [think those normal fancy gowns you see outside but made with batik]

We then went back to the hotel to refresh ourselves. We stayed at the Grand Riverview Hotel and for its reasonable price, the room and decor was really nice and comfy. I didn't have any 'initial insomnia' problems that I'd normally have while sleeping in a new place. Btw it was really beside a river! Luckily it didn't overflow!

After that, Uncle Chew brought us to have a sumptuous dinner with his whole extended family too!

look at all the clean plates! was that a 10 course meal or what? oh my!

and I think my bro only rmbed to take photos after everything was cleared haha

There was a lot of seafood (which is not my fav btw) but most of it tasted nice. Personally loved how they fried the kangkung till it tasted so crispy! A good way to bluff vege-haters to get some vege into their system! :P

Well, we then went to KB Mall, which is the largest mall in Kota Bahru.

eh not bad, this mall lives up to expectations!

Oh ya, the only way this mall is different from a normal one is that it doesn't have a cinema!

Yes, apparently cinemas are not allowed in Kelantan unless all lights are on (yaloh can do hanky panky in the dark hor) - which defeats the purpose of going to a cinema in the first place, right? That's why all the cinemas close shop after that rule was set out. *shrugs*

Okay la better go to Day 2 or you all will be bored to death ade. For the second day, we went to visit some touristy sites.

And believe this or not, despite Kelantan being an islamic state under PAS, they have two huge-ass Buddha figurines here and it's really peaceful actually.

enormous Sleeping Buddha

smaller Buddhas, and they have all the zodiac animals too

you can see the snake one here

We then went off for lunch. Banana Leaf Rice!! One of my favs after I was introduced to it in that mamak shop in Sri Petaling.

and can you believe how long a history this shop has?

coz my dad enjoyed the very same dish years ago! haha

And guess who has the same discerning taste buds? :P

our very (in)famous Dr. Chua Soi Lek!

Nah, this picture as proof if you don't believe me hehe

Then the next site we went on to visit another huge Buddha. The Sitting Buddha!

see how large the buddha is compared to us!

And the last place we went to is this famous beach in Kelantan called Pantai Cahaya Bulan (Moonlight Beach). If you still remember your history, this was the first place the Japanese troops landed in Malaya in 1941.

And no, I didn't remember my history. That nugget of infomation was provided by dad.

blue skies, palm trees, a sandy beach

And here's another interesting trivia. It wasn't always Moonlight Beach before this.

Its old name was Pantai Cinta Berahi (the Beach of Passionate Love!!) and no prizes for guessing why they changed it to its current name haha.

Maybe it gave people ideas, huh? *wink wink*

see how strong the waves were! coz it was near to the monsoon season

Anyway that was it for Day 2, well the interesting parts anyway. No more photos so I dunno what else to elaborate from my shrinking brain.

Nothing special for the last day, we just said our goodbyes and went on our way.

Thank you for your kind hospitality, Auntie and Uncle Chew! :) We certainly enjoyed ourselves!