Here is a report about a 5D4N trip to Kota Bharu, organised by Paul and Fahmi. When I showed my interest, they invited me to join, It’s a long drive from KL to Kota Bharu, we used the inland route via Gua Musang, it took us about 7 hours, with some sanitary stops and lunch in the Gua Musang R&R.

Paul and Fahmi had booked a homestay a bit south of the town center, in a kampung, but the house was modern and big enough for us, with three bedrooms.

After a rest we went out for dinner The KST restaurant has good reviews and was not far from our homestay. Fahmi selected a fish for the Ikan Bakar and picked a variety of fresh vegetables for the Ulam, a Malay salad, where you dip the raw veggie in a sauce of your choice. .

Left the ulam with two sauces, right the Ikan Bakar.

We also had Mango Salad and Tomyam soup. I nice start of our trip.

The next morning I took a photo of our homestay.. The owner (?) is living in the left part of the house. We had very good privacy in our part.

For our breakfast we went to another popular eatery, Kopitiam Kita. Famous for its Roti Titab, toasted bread with an half boiled egg and some kaya in the four corners.

We had to queue, but found a table reasonably fast.

The Roti Titab looks a bit weird, but was actually very tasty. Coffee was also good. Friendly service.

We drove to the center of the town and parked our car. Left the clock tower in the town center. Inspired by the Big Ben (?), could not find the date when it was built. Right a recent one, near the river. Both not really special.

One of the attractions of Kota Bharu is its Mural Art. Nowadays Mural Art can be seen all over Malaysia, after Zacharevic’s creations in Penang and Ipoh started the trend. Often they are of mediocre quality, using a wall just as a canvas. Here in Kota Bahru they are quite acceptable, often depicting Kelantanese topics, like wayang kulit or kite flying.

One section is dedicated to the Palestine war, a bit depressive but quite interesting. Kelantan is probably the most conservative Islamic state of Malaysia, strongly against Israel and in support of Palestine.. Here is a collection of scenes.

Another section, less depressive, is about Kelantanese life, food, customs etc.. The carpet on the floor has been painted!

Various scenes of kampung life.

Nice countryside.

Left Wayang Kulit, right Silat (Malay martial art).

And of course food 😉

After walking around in this quarter of town, we had a look at Kota Bharu’s famous Siti Khadijah Market. The market is not old, it was opened in 1985 as the Buluh Kubu Market, but in 1997 renamed Siti Khadijah, after the wife of the Prophet Mohammed. Three storeys high, very colorful. The ground floor is a wet market.

Kota Bharu has quite a number of museums. We only visited Istana Jahar, built as a royal residence in 1855. Now it houses the Museum of Royal Traditions and Customs of Kelantan.

When you are interested in colonial architecture, there is no need to visit Kota Bharu. We found only one building, a bank, built in 1912 and completed in 1922. It now houses the War Museum. In 1941 the Japanese invasion of British Malaya started with the landing of troops on the beaches of Kota Bharu.

Nearby is the Royal Landing Pier, We found a suitable place for lunch. In the background you see the clocktower near the Royal Landing Pier.

Walking back to our car we passed one more example of street art, an interactive one this time. Of course I had to try it 😉 .

After a long rest in our homestay we went out again, to the Cahaya Bulan beach.

Paul is not really a cat lover, not clear why cats always like him !

The beach is nice, but not spectacular.

Many food stalls along the beach.

We ordered deep fried squid (celup teping sotong) and prawns. With a coconut as a drink.

The stall even had an outside toilet!

The next day was already our last day in Kota Bharu. We still had to try the Nasi Kerabu and went to Liniey Nasi Kerabu Tumis, where we had to queue for some time, as it is a very popular eatery. But it was worth it.

Our first destination for the day was the Kampung Laut Mosque. We had to cross the Kelantan river to reach the mosque.

The mosque is one of the oldest in Malaysia and has an interesting history, which is explained in a number of panels. Its original location was close to the Kelantan river and erosion and flooding threatened to destroy the building. After a major flood in 1966-67 it was decided to dismantle the building, transport it to another village and rebuild it there. But that was a temporary solution only, Now the mosque has been brought back to Kampung Laut, at a safer distance from the river and protected by a heavy cemented wall from future flooding.

We could enter the mosque but as Paul and I were wearing shorts, we first had to cover our aurat (in this case our knees). The caretaker was very friendly.

The state of Kelantan has been in the past part of the Kingdom of Siam, Only in the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 it was decided that Kelantan would become one of the Unfederated Malay States , controlled by the Brits. .This explains why there still is Thai influence in Kelantan.

We visited two Buddhist temples in Tumpat, first the Wat Phothivihan with a giant Sleeping Buddha.

A few more photos. The entrance of the temple is guarded by two lions, one male and one female. When you look carefully you can see that the picture shows the male one 😉 .

We continued to the Wat Machimmaram, with a giant Sitting Buddha.

After so much local food, we were in the mood for something Western, so we went to the Aeon Mall, where we had already done some shopping the day before. But the whole mall was closed from 12:30 until 14:30! We had forgotten that it was Friday, Prayer Time, and that Kelantan is a very conservative Islamic State.

Luckily we had some biscuits at our homestay where we took a rest, before we went out in the afternoon. To another beach, Pantai Senok. A pleasant surprise. The main attraction is the forest of casuarina trees, planted in a grid pattern. Many families were enjoying the shade under the trees

Because of the grid pattern, you can see through the trees in certain directions.

A nice background for pictures.

Really a nice location.

The beach is also attractive. People were riding horses and flying kites.

We walked along the beach until the dam, separating the beach from a river. A small lighthouse marks the mouth of the river.

Using Google Search Paul and Fahmi had found a restaurant, not far from the beach, which specialised in oysters (tiram in Malay). When we arrived at this Maggi Tiram Kmah restaurant, we found a pleasant place, with friendly staff.

It’s all oyster dishes they serve 😉

We had a delicious dinner, starting with fresh oysters , followed by nasi tiram, nasi telor sotong and maggi tiram (soup)

The left picture shows the telor sotong (squid eggs) and the right picture shows three cheese-baked oysters, given to us free of charge. The total bill, including drinks, was RM 45. Unbelievable 😉 .

Here is a Google Earth screenshot with the locations we have visited. Click on the map to enlarge and see details.

The next day we started our drive back to KL. We stayed overnight in Kuala Terengganu, where Paul and Fahmi had booked a hotel.

Kuala Terengganu has two interesting mosques, This is the Crystal Mosque, built between 2006 and 2008.

And this is the Floating Mosque, built between 1993 and 1995. A real beauty.

It was a nice trip. Thanks to Paul and Fahmi for inviting me.