So my friends and I bought tickets to Kota Bharu a while back, hoping to visit one of the nearby islands; namely Perhentian. Little did we know that we've bought our tickets for monsoon season. Although disappointed that we couldn't visit Perhentian, we decided that we'll visit KB anyway since we've never been. We didn't do much research about the city and thought we'd have a spontaneous trip this time around.
We arrived town around 12pm with big wide smiles on our faces. While waiting for check in, I thought I'd check for nearby theaters so that we could watch zee long overdue Hobbit. That was when I realized that KB might be slightly different from other parts of Malaysia where I've been to. Apparently there are no theaters in the city. The forums I read noted that it would be too much of a hassle having one as there'd have to be separate seatings for guys and girls, the lights would have to be on throughout the movie to prevent inappropriate actions, and the like. Can you imagine all the thoughts going through my head then? I was surprised, but still excited to explore the city since watching a movie was now out of the question.
We decided to lug our backpacks around with us to town. While walking towards city center, we were stopped by a toothless tourist info guy who insisted that we should come in and find out more about the attractions around the area before he closes off for prayer time. Upon knowing my friend's from the UK, he started talking about his good ol' days at the UK and constantly repeated "Cheerios mate!" He's quite a character, but we left soon after knowing that he's just trying to sell his travel packages.
We ventured on into town and by the time we've arrived, it was prayer time. A huge crowd of devotees started walking towards the mosque and I was slightly intimidated by the stares directed towards us. Almost all shops were closed and the roads cleared. It was as if we stepped into a scene of a scary movie and zombies may appear out of nowhere and start attacking us. I'm probably exaggerating but that honestly went through my head as we walked along the quiet streets with rain clouds over our heads.
We visited Pasar Siti Khadijah, a vibrant wet market mainly run by women, and eventually had lunch at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, conveniently located along the street of "dead elephant." I'm sure there must be an interesting story behind the naming of such street, but I couldn't think of any. We headed back to the hotel for a nap later that afternoon and I didn't wanna head out at all. But we did, eventually. We picked up random snacks at the night market and had an unsatisfying mille crepe at a nearby bakery.
The next day, we tried to search for a Batik place that I read about online but failed. We walked for hours under the scorching sun but couldn't find it, so ended up catching a bus back to the city with our shirts all drenched in sweat. We visited a handicraft center and a museum before frantically searching for a place to have lunch.
The most exciting part of the trip was probably the shadow puppet show (aka wayang kulit). I read about Pak Soh Wayang Kulit online and thought it'd be an interesting experience, plus you could travel by boat across Kelantan River and catch the sunset to get to the place! I've jotted down the name of the jetty and we found it with much ease, but it didn't seem like the right place as there was absolutely no one there. A policeman drove by and asked if we needed help so we asked where the Royal Jetty was and he pointed us towards it. When we saw the jetty, we stood there for what felt like hours deciding if we should take the boat across. Again, I had kazillion thriller-tragedy movie scenarios playing through my head. We decided to go for it anyway and it turned out to be a pleasant experience. We boarded the small wooden boat; guys heading straight towards the back while girls get the front seat. When everyone was seated, the driver cranked the motor a few times and switched his gears which were controlled by strings attached to the roof of the boat. When everything was in place, the driver sat back with his hands behind his head and steered with his feet. Boy, was it an experience.
We arrived Kampung Laut in one piece, but had absolutely no clue where the place was. Too timid to ask for directions, we just took a random turn and ended up walking to the main road. We bought a drink at a petrol station and asked where the shadow puppet show was. As it turns out, it's right next to the jetty but we took the wrong turn. We headed back and found the place easily. I heard tv playing in the background and timidly knocked on the door. Pak Yusoff, the shadow puppet maker, came out and greeted us with a smile. As we entered, he rolled away the mattress he was seated on, switched off the tv, and got ready to perform a show for us. He showed us the process of how he made the puppets, performed a great show (though I didn't understand half of what he said), and we even had a go at performing it ourselves! We chatted for a bit and eventually left for the jetty. We got to enjoy the sunset on our way back and that pretty much summed up our second day at KB!
We spent our last day chilling under the bright hot sun at Pantai Cahaya Bulan. The sun was scorching, the waves ferocious. How I miss the amazingly clear Hawaiian waters. That pretty much summed up our little adventure at Kota Bharu. Definitely not what I was expecting, but it was a thought-provoking trip that gave me a chance to jump out of my shoes and question what I have thought of life.
December, a jolly time of the year. Everyone gets in the festive mood, all ready to wrap up the year and start off anew with much hope and expectation. And a new year, almost always, comes with a long list of resolutions.
I'm anticipating this year to be a major roller coaster ride (speaking of which, I've recently went on the Human and Cyclon ride at Universal Studios Singapore with much persuasion). My mom's taking my siblings over to Hawai'i for their studies and will be there with them for a period of time, which saddens me ever so slightly though we weren't staying at the same state in the first place. Also, I'm supposed to be wrapping up my PhD at the end of this year! Oh dear, wonder how that'd go. Just like how I felt when I was lining up for that nerve wrecking roller coaster ride, I can barely suppress the tingling sensations in the pit of my stomach. I dread to board that ride, but I know that once I'm on it, I'll muster enough strength to brave through it. And once I get off, I'll look back and say, meh that wasn't too bad was it? Ah, and so I convince myself.
