Kota Bharu
Sat 11th Apr
Although the alarm was set for 06:45, I was awake around 06:00..At 07:00 I went to reception and ate a little breakfast. I picked up a sandwich/bun to take with me on the bus. My room was checked and I got my 50RM deposit back.
I booked a Grab and it was on its way straight away. It only cost 7RM to the bus hub…and the taxi the other day wanted to charge me 25RM for that same distance. I was a bit early, but I needed to figure out the system. I went downstairs to the gate, but had to go back up again to get a boarding card. Then about 10 minutes before departure, we could board. We left on time at 08:30.
I was in seat 12 directly behind the driver; I didn’t get the view I expected. I was too high up and there was a solid ‘shelf’ drectly in front of me. Anyway, my seat was one of those armchair sized ones and was very comfortable.
The scenery wasn’t very interesting. At about half way, at Terengannu, we stopped for lunch. I had beef…I think it was beef rendang…with rice and some salad. The location was very pleasant; across the main road was the ocean with an island not too far offshore. There were trees and people picnicking…a nice place to stop off.
I reclined the seat a long way back and shut my eyes. Eventually we reached Kota Bharu, although it took around 8 hours instead of the 6 hours I was expecting. The terminal wasn’t way out of town so I decided to walk in the direction of the centre and the majority of hotels.
The first hotel was too far out. I had to walk along a bit of main road to reach Tunes, but at 127RM I thought I could do better. More walking in the heat…and nothing doing.
So, back to Tunes. I commented on the price and the receptionist suggested that I book online. He helped me, and I got a reduced rate of 83RM, saving 44RM; I dont understand, but wasnt complaining. There was a 12RM tax on top…but I was happy with the outcome.
Room was on the 4th floor where I dumped my stuff and, as it was after 6pm, I went looking for a bar. I was hot and sweaty and found what seemed to be the only bar around…Kim Leng. No draught beer ( taps were broken ), but they had large Tigers…660ml?…at 25RM, or under 5Gbp each. I had a nice long chat with the barman, finding out there was street with murals in Kora Bharu as well. I had 2 of the Tigers and couldn’t face the walk back, so I ordered a Grab…only cost 6RM.
The room looked comfortable. I had a much needed shower. I could only find one channel on the TV !! Anyway, by this time it was getting on for 9pm and it had been a long day so I needed to relax.
Sun 12th Apr
I noticed in the morning that the room faced a bypass. Although noisy at times, I had a good sleep…big bed with lots of pillows. I checked downstairs if the room came with breakfast; the answer was No, but worth a try.
I walked half way into town and found somewhere to have a teh tarik. Chatted a bit to a guy who had visited L’pool/M’chester/E’burgh, and he ended up paying for my tea. I passed another place, and when I saw Roti Chanai on the board, I decided that was my breakfast. I had one egg roti…it comes with 2 dips…and a teh. So, 3 + 2 was my 5RM breakfast…just under 1 Pound.
I had a general wander around town after that. There was a War museum that I didn’t visit. There was a small side street with street murals; a lot were Palestine related which I didn’t take pics of. I thought the river might be of interest, but it was wide with no trees and the water was muddy, so that was a failed mission.
I wandered back to Tunes and relaxed. By mid afternoon I was off again. I found a chair on a side road and sat in the sun for 20 minutes. I decided to have lunch and went round in circles looking for the same place where I had my morning tea. I found it and had spicy noodles with chicken for 6RM…with a large bottle of water it was still only 1.50 Gbp.
I had a walk near the river and talked with a local guy who was exercising. I took a pic of someone fishing. I walked over to Kim Leng; they were in the process of refurbishment but I could still go in and have a drink.
I chatted with Han and then one of the co owners. As a result I had 3 bottles of large Tigers. But I’d had dinner so I felt absolutely fine. I booked a Grab to take me back to the hotel. Another good day, and I relaxed in my room.
Alor Setar
Mon 13th Apr
Again, I awoke well before the alarm. It gave me plenty of time to get ready and I managed to fit in a FB post re the last 3 days. I checked out after 08:15, and although I knew it wasn’t far, I wasn’t sure how long it would take to walk to the bus terminal. It was only 20 minutes and I had lots of time for a teh tariq.
Then I waited at the terminal for the Queen Express to turn up. It was a double decker and seat 4A was the first one in the single line of comfy seats. It wasn’t at the very front because in front of me was where the stairs came up.
We left just before 10:00. All smooth and steady. We stopped after 3.5 hours for lunch; I had a fried egg on rice with greens and spicy sauces. We left on time at 14:00. From there we were travelling through a mountain range…many hills all covered with trees. Taking videos/pics was very difficult because everything just merged into one. It all looked lovely in real life, but I could see that the pics were boring.
We also passed / went through a ‘lake district ‘ which was very pretty. In terms of area within the country, the lake region seems to be quite large. There were road signs saying ‘beware of elephants’, but I wasn’t fortunate enough to catch sight of one…that would’ve been amazing.
We reached Alor Setar bus stand at 5pm, so the journey was exactly 7 hours. Actually that was better than I expected. I had considered keeping going and getting a Grab and aiming for the 7pm ferry to Langkawi. It was possible, but added travel stress and not arriving in Kuah until at least 20:30, then finding a hotel (but I would’ve headed to Baron again) which would’ve been well after 21:00. I decided instead to leave very early from Kuala Kedah the next morning.
There were a few hotels near the bus stand. I went for the second hotel (Wangsa Inn hotel ) at 70RM, after the 1st one dropped his price from 95 to 85RM… And the 70…13Gbp…was en suite with a/c.
I went to a nearby petrol station to use an ATM and drew out 300RM…just in case. I walked around in circles looking for a bar. As the snooker bar was a long way off, and didn’t sell beer anyway, I went to option 2…the Thai restaurant where I relaxed with 4 little cans of Tiger.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at 7 Eleven for 2 cans to take back. There was street food being prepared outside and I ordered a Mee (noodle) dish to eat in my room…no alcohol was allowed to be drunk outside.
Then to sleep. The alarms were set for 06:00.