When East Meets West (Dec 24 2020 - Jan 2 2021); Day 1 and 2 - JB to Kota Bahru; Kota Bahru sightseeing

At Pengakalan Kubor's 0 km marker

Right before kick off at LC's place

The Reclining Buddha

The Sitting Buddha

At Pengkalan Kubor's Duty Free Zone

We would have happily taken the ferry across had the borders been opened

Kampung Telaga Lanas' river estuary, near Jeti LKIM Geting

Sungai Geting's inlet

The ladies in the gardens of Galeri Tengku Anis with Thailand in the background

Some of the men with both countries' breakwater in the background. You can also spot the lighthouse on Thailand's end

Taking a breather at Pantai Sri Tujuh

After a lovely Christmas party hosted by LC and an overnight stay at her place, she led us up north of KB. We visited the reclining Buddha aka the largest reclining Buddha in South East Asia and thereafter, the sitting Buddha, passing through kampung roads and paddy fields.

Our first taste of East Coast flooding, 10 minutes into the ride!

Along the way, we picked up some local kuehs from a peddler on bike and were charmed by a paddling of ducks. LC was quick to point out the different species of ducks; serati holding true to the name Ugly Ducking is indeed an uglier breed of ducks!

Notably, with the cold winter months up north, the presence of Egrets, a migratory species from China were everywhere along the waterways and soggy fields. Every time, we came near, the whole flock will take to the sky in specks of white!

Our ride plans were changing by the minute after the sitting Buddha and so was our intended breakfast menu of Ikan Bekok. Ambitiously, we decided to conquer Pengakalan Kubor, the North Eastern most immigration checkpoint in Malaysia. This crossing happens to be by waters only, bordered by the Golok River.

Someone is about to break the law!

We even came with a "drone"

After a quick tuck in at the duty free zone's only food stall and a quick check in at the shops, we left for the abandoned Galeri Tengku Anis which stood at the North Eastern most tip of Peninsula Malaysia. Officially opened in 2004, the grand ideas of a fishery gallery is sadly left to rot. Even the roads leading up to it is nothing more than dirt tracks and broken asphalt.

Thailand in the background

Bad as it is, the place still draws avid anglers and curious visitors like us who are keen on a closer look of Thailand. As for Wong, the sheer closeness made him miss his home in Chiang Rai even more!

The tree lined coasts of casuarina trees extended from the Gallery, all the way to Pantai Geting and Pantai Sri Tujuh. Now and then, a break between the trees, allows a glimpse of the mighty South China Sea.

Stopping by Pantai Geting's Casuarina Forest, we were told there is a similar one at Pantai Senok to which Mindy and Wong had had the privilege to visit by car; hosted by LC, just yesterday! Both had arrived earlier than the rest; Wong crashing at LC's a day before everyone's arrival with Mindy following behind 12 hours later ie right before day break on Christmas eve!

While we were all enjoying the ride, our stomachs had not had the best of meals yet! Last night, the KL folks were fed worms besides the usual Thai delicacies while the JB folks, puzzled by FA Nasi Air had ordered none! Instead, they had gone for the safer bets of rice with dishes. Having said that, this morning's kueh was only enough to line the stomach. Contributing to our woes, the stall at Pengakalan Kubor's duty free shop had nothing more than rice with a few curry dishes. Their roti canai was sold out at as early as 10 am! Thus, when the smell of ICT (ikan celup tepung) wafted through the air, Kelvin and Jasmine made a beeline to the stall picking up on every fried food they could get their hands on....fried fish, fried prawns, banana fritters, etc....and we all bumped off their food !!!

It was already past midday when we arrived at Pantai Sri Tujuh! Named after 7 bays within a lagoon, the place was calming with water chalets and a park.

Watergates at Pantai Sri Tujuh

Momo cafe is a residential house turned cafe cum convenience store. There's no signboard outside the house.

When the call for lunch was sounded, we pounded the pedals, arriving at Momo Cafe around 1 pm. Run by a Thai family, they are famous for their nasi kerabu khao jum which is slightly different from the local Kelantanese fare of the same name. Instead of using blue pea flower to give colour to the rice, the Thais extracted the juices from 9 types of vegetables giving the rice a green hue!

Whilst it had drizzled lightly just as we were arriving at Momo Cafe, our ride back to LC's was again blessed with dry but overcast skies. Collecting our bags, it was time to head out to the city and check into our rooms at Diamond Hotel....

Traffic began to build up at the Pasir Pekan roundabout. Crossing the Sultan Yahya Petra bridge, heavy sand dredging works turned the river bed into tall piles of sand dunes. As our hotel was close to the hospital, we threw in a ride-thru visit at the maternity wards, making sure we were quiet all the time!

The sky took a short leak again as we were heading out for dinner. Starved for Chinese food as we had been having Malay food for the past 5 meals, we headed to Chinatown. It was not after hot meals of bak kut teh, ginger wine chicken, Thai satay, fried carrot cakes and the likes that we happily trotted back to our rooms....for our second round of merriment!

Photo credits :

Amy

Mindy

Cindy

Chooi

Henry

Simon
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Pre-ride Day

Van arrival at 7 am. 18 seater Placer X, JB to KB, Penang to JB @ RM2800

Bikes and luggages all packed and ready to go by 7.40 am

While the JB folks had just started their journey, some folks had already arrived in KB. Mindy was whisked from the intercity bus station on Christmas eve morning while Wong arrived a day before.

As the JB folks dined over lunch at 1pm, Kelvin, Jasmine, Simon and Cindy had just begun their journey from KL

Esbie Tom Yam near Kuantan serves authentic Malay dishes

Extensive spread at Esbie

While the JB team were only midway through their journey, they have begun their second round of sightseeing...Pantai Senok by car!

Temple visits

FA Nasi Air at 8 pm with LC's home, a stone's throw away. Total journey 12 hours !!!

The complete team with members from KL, Selangor, Johor and Kelantan. First night of merriment to usher in Christmas !

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Hotel Diamond, Kota Bahru