This is a continuation of my previous rideabout around Kota Bharu on my 70 cc Honda Cub, a very reliable machine that never failed me except for those occassions when I forgot to fill her up with petrol because the fuel gauge always indicate half full even when it is empty. Not a problem really as petrol is avaialable by the bottles at most grocery or even coffee shops in Kelantan. A short push or sometimes a call to a friend can settle this small problem.
Bangunan Persekutuan or Federal Building is a 13 storey building and thus it is also known as Bangunan 13 Tingkat. It houses the many Federal Governments offices such as Immigration, Auditor General, Registration Department, Youth and Sports among others.
Next to it is The Police Contingent Kelantan Head Office. Quite an imposing sight with the letter 200 Tahun on it. Are they celebrating a 200th annivessary or something?
The Kelantan Police Contingent Head Office 
This private hospital is convenient as while the patient stays in it's well furnished wards, the relatives can saty in Perdana Hotel close by. Anyway the food served at the wards are from the kitchen of Perdana Hotel. My daughter Azini gave birth to Nur Aqila Balqiss at this hospital some six months ago. Lots of thanks to her father's employer which picked up the RM6,000 tabs as charges for her delivery. It is that expensive to deliver a child nowadays.
Next to Perdana Specialist Hospital is another construction project going on. It goes by the name of Kelantan Trade Center.
Kelantan Trade CenterBefore we turn left into Jalan Mahmood to see how Perdana Hotel looks like, lets glance to our right to see the new Medan Usahawan near the Stadium Sultan Muhamad IV. It replaces the old untidy extended stalls that was the feature of the food stalls in the earlier days when U Lee used to visit Kota Bharu and stayed at Perdana Hotel or Zaitgha's and jt's frequent visit from her police quarters not far from here.
Medan Usahawan from the stadium side.
Now lets ride on to the junction where Jalan Bayam meets Jalan Mahmood. There is no more right turn here as it used to be so only a left turn is possible. A short ride will take us to the front of Perdana Hotel. I guess the name of the Hotel is familar by know and 23 years ago, a high flying corporate figure by the pseudoname of U Lee used to stay when dealing with VVIPs for million ringgit projects.
Perdana Hotel Kota Bharu
Backtracking along Jalan Mahmood will take us to the same junction again. As u can see from the interactive map accessible from the above URL, Jalan Bayam seemed to be connected directly to Jalan Sultan Ibrahim. The truth is, it is not. At the junction the left turn takes us turn into the area where Gelanggang Seni, The State Libray, Dewan Jibilee Perak and Padang Perdana is located. The road ends immediately after The State Library as the fence that borders the Police Quarters prevent the road from joining Jalan Sultan Ibrahim. The Dewan Jubilee Perak was built on the site of where 2 tennis courts used to exist. The Dewan Jubilee which was once gutted by a fire sometime ago has now been repaired.
Gelanggang Seni HallOutside the hall, other cultural performances such as top spinning, rebana ubi, kertok, silat and gasing pangkah are performed in wall less shelters. A small cafe is also available. Though the public toilet has undergone renovations with tiled floors and walls, its maintainence is still below par. The caretakers were quite uncomfortable after seeing me taking pictures of the pretty unappetizing toilets which is considered OK by their standard.
A small cafe near to Gelanggang Seni
Outdoor performance area under renovation.
The State Public Library
Dewan Jubilee Perak.The Dewan Jubilee was built on a former tennis court and a newer and better courts were built on the other side of the field which is named Padang Perdana. This field is located infront of Dewan Jubilee Perak. This is a favourite site for expositions.
View from the top of Padang Perdana with the astro turf hockey pitch. The roof of the medan selera is in the foreground. The Telecom Tower protrudes into the skyline. (Picture courtesy of Raykinzoku)Going back towards Jalan Mahmood, we'll take a left turn towards Jalan Hospital. The Hockey pitch is on our left and the Sultan Muhamad lV is now on the right. At the traffic light we turn right into Jalan Hospital. They have built a brand new Pusat Kesihatan Besar Kota Bharu beside the nurses training center. Carrying on further we entered the Hospital Besar Kota Bharu compound proper. The old wards with it myriads of covered walkways are still there on our left, taking so much expensive
ground being built of single storey buildings. Fortunately the new blocks of wards and emergency wards on the right are built upward. If the former health minister was not caught in compromising position on tape, he would have built new blocks of wards to replace the old ones. I believe he and the previous health minister had done alot for KB Hospital.
The entrance to the old wards at Kota Bharu GH.
The new emergency ward. The new block of wards are just behind it.The presence of KB Hospital and The Teaching Hospital of University Sains Malaysia has a provided a pool of specialist doctors for the many private hospitals such as Hospital Pakar Perdana and Kota Bharu Medical Center to fall on beside their own pool of doctors. So if you want to go for medical tourism, Kota Bharu is the place to go with the comparatively lower cost hotels for the accompanying relatives to stay in while the patients recuperate in the wards. 
Kota Bharu Medical Center
Kota Bharu Medical Center, another private hospital along Jalan Yahya Petra which I missed mentioning in my earlier rideabout. I must have gone too fast on my 70 cc Honda Cub.
Let us backtrack towards the Jalan Mahmood Junction. Crossing Jalan Mahmood we come into the end of Jalan hospital on route D106. On the left is the hockey pitch, while Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Kelantan is next to it. If you need the latest map you can always buy a copy here. I need a copy of the latest map of Kelantan as well as of Malaysia myself. Some 12 years ago a large map of Kelantan costs RM5.00, a small sum for such an informative map. The topo maps are restricted though.
Jabatan Ukur Dan PemetaanOn the other side of the road is Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Garong. Anyway that was what the name was when jt studied there. Now they have renamed all schools in the vicinity of Kota Bharu as either Sekolah Kebangsaan Sultan Ismail or Sekolah Kebangsaan Zainab followed by a number 1,2 or 3 making it easier for everybody in Kota Bharu to send their children to a premier school as the above two names of royalties signify. There are too many appilcants to such a few places available in the original school. Very brilliant solution to a problem. Before I return to the landmarks on the left side of the road along Jalan Hospital, let me briefly tell you what other interesting landmarks that lies across the road next to Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Garong. Next is the Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. Nothing interesting to us but the next one is. Why? Its Bangunan Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu thats why. Thats where you pay your compounds for parking violations like when you dont top up your parking meters. Like not putting any coins in the meter thinking its a holiday and the parking attendants don't work on Sundays. Hey Kelantan works on Sundays but holidays on a Friday. Its called the corridor of Mecca you know. If the compound is RM30 which is the standard fare, just walkup a flight of steps and ask for the Secretary to allow you some discount and you pay only RM10.00. What if your car is clamped? I have yet to experience that so I can't tell you at the moment.
The old bus stand in town is really a cramped up spot. Relocating it to a bigger site should be a priority.
How about buying a shoplot here?
Giant is the anchor tenant.
The Store is the closest neighbour. Will it survive after Giant is opened?
Jalan Dewan PAS on a Friday morning.
Tok Guru giving his sermons on the slightly raised platform.
The view from the muslimat side.Let us go back to the other side of the road where we left off at The Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan.
Kelantan Golf and Country ClubBeside it is a lane leading to a famous club, The Royal Kelantan Club. Join the club if you want to rub shoulders with who is who in Kelantan. My ex boss once treated me to lunch at this club as he was a member. The Club has a golf course near Maktab Perguruan Pengkalan Chepa not very far from where Shah of cakapaje used to live when he was young.
We have nothing to do at the Club house as I am not a member. At the road exit into Jalan Hospital is the Court House. A classmate of mine was a Judge here once. Lucky thing I never had the opportunity to appear befor his Lordship there. He is rumoured to be next in line to be the Chief Justice. Another classmate confided in me that he has reliable informations that my friend is too straight forward and does not play ball with the Executives so he won't be considered. With the current imbroglio over the appointment of CJs who knows he might get there earlier? My honest opinion is that this bruhaha over the Lingump tape is just a show to humiliate an ex PM.
The New Court Complex
Kelantan Museum.
Prince Hotel was located in the building in the center. It is no more a hotel. Prior to its closure it was a budget hotel and the dance floor was converted to a guest house.To the left of the above buildings across the road from it at the entrance to Jalan Gajah Mati, is Wisma Yakin. On the ground floor some travel agencies were operating from it. The reason? MAS town office was located in one of the shop lots on the ground floor. Due to stiff competition from Low Cost Carrier AirAsia, MAS had to cut cost to be competitive and close it's town office the same way AirAsia did to its Town Office in Jalan Dusun Muda. Selling tickets online and by phone is definitely cheaper. Tickets are also available at the ticketing office at the airport in Pengkalan Chepa.
Only the signboard remains at the former Town Office of MAS at Wisma Yakin, Jalan Gajah Mati.
Moving onward along Jalan Sultan Ibrahim towards Wakaf Siku, you cant miss the glaring colours of Kelantan Tourist Information Center. Though there were many people inside the office, nobody bothered to greet me as I came in. I proceeded to collect as many pamphlets and brochures that I found relevant and called out the name of one of the guides that was I used to deal with when I was managing a travel company somewhere in Kota Bharu. He reciprocated with a reply acknowledging my thanks for letting me have the pamphlets and brochures. A different treatment would have been accorded to a foreign guests I guess, otherwise people will have a bad impression of the frontliners of our so called Tourist Information Office.
Nobody will miss this Tourist information Office if they were to pass by it as it is located quite near to the roundabout and Muzium Kelantan.
The word welcome in several languages. Very thoughtful, hopefully they will really make their guest feel really welcomed.
Palm Manor
The only bank with an escalator in town.
Fearing that I maybe charged for spying I took this picture through the fences.
Further down the road nearer to wakaf siku I saw this building.
Everyone is familiar with Court Mammoth. Here you can buy things on hire purchase and pay them by the weeks.
Across the road infront of Court mammoth is a convenience store that has taken Kelantan by storm. The popular Seven Eleven is here in several places in Kota Bharu.
Upon reaching the traffic light at Wakaf Siku, I turned right into Jalan Hamzah. On my left there is a cemetery with crosses on the grave yards. Its a Christian Cemetery. There must be quite a number of Christians in Kota Bharu too.
The Christian Cemetery in Jalan Hamzah.jt, this picture answers your question on whether it still exist. The house that you used to stay in could be somewhere across the road. Since KB Mall occupies a big plot across the road, it cant be there anymore.
The Hindu temple and a church sitting next to each other in Jalan Hamzah directly opposite to KB Mall.Finally I reach the traffic light at the junction to Jalan Kampong Sireh and Jalan Sultanah Zainab. Straight ahead is Jambatan Sultan Yahya Petra. I have completed a loop of my rideabout and I still have alot of ground to cover for Kota Bharu. We will continue the rideabout on another day. I am going home to my wife and grand children now. See you on another day.
48 comments:
Pak Zawi,
Wah, you covered most of the places I frequent in KB. The hospital, I had my three nights there. Nope, not on the bed laa. A was accompanying my dad at the end of 2004 and early 2005. Big flood that time, I am recalling the experience 'mengharung air di tengah bandar' right now hahaha. The water level was up to my waist.
So KTC is on schedule eh? It was started at early 2004 I guess, and if I was right, it supposed to be finished by mid 2009. Correct me if I was wrong. SECD offices will be transferred there when the building is done.
Medan Usahawan, that is where my friends and I would go for our Jalan-jalan Cari Makan and Jalan-jalan Cari Pasal :P. I like that place because not that many people hang out there, so we can have our sweet time wrecking havoc hehehe.
Great posting pak.
Akmal,
You experienced the flood of 2004? What a horrible experience while you are already in a difficult situation mending to your father warded in hospital.
Kelantan Trade Center is on the way to completion. A new landmark in town. Now who says there is no development in Kelantan?
Medan Usahawan is famous for it popia at one of the stalls there. They have popia mee rojak too.
Come back and we can have them together one day.
Hi Zawi
Thank you so much for the dedication. I really appreciate it.
I was almost done with my comments earlier and I lost internet connection and poof! ... I lost everything that I wrote. :( So now, I will try to retype what I had earlier.
First a few things to clarify:
1. We were living in the officers' quarters close to the barracks. My apologies if I mentioned in the earlier post that I was in the barracks. I meant to say officers' quarters.
I remember that police barracks near Jalan Bayam and it was just a few minutes walk from the quarters.
2. Padang Garong school is for boys. I went to SRK Zainab 2. It is interesting to note that now there is Zainab 3. I agree that adding school no. 3 was a brilliant idea.
3. The other church you were unsure of in Jalan Kuala Krai is Lady of Fatima Catholic church. That was our place of worship. Every Friday, my brothers and I used to walk from our house to the church for our cathechism classes.
It was so safe back then.
It was so interesting to read this post (as well as the last) because there were so many familiar names and places. Although I cannot remember the exact locations of roads, it was exciting to hear those names again.
One thing that I remember clearly about living in Jalan Bayam is that we were so close to the stadium. Whenever there was a football match going on there, I could hear the cheers and boos from our house, especially during Malaysia Cup season.
(Ah! those were the glory days of Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Arumugam - truly a muhibbah gang).
The Royal Kelantan Club was another special place of memory. That is where we attended various club parties over nine years. Well, in my case being so young, it was more Christmas parties and special family evenings organised by the club, which was rare. I learned to play tennis there (don't ask me now... I am so rusty at that game).
That old bus stand brings back memories too. That where my parents used to meet visiting relatives from KL or Melaka.
Thanks for my walk down memory lane (whatever I remember of it). :)
Salam Pak Zawi,
Ah! A delightful continuation, this entry, thank you. Especially about the golf club, though I do not know whether it is the same or a new site now. But I do remember a golf iron was used to beat a snake or two that slithered from the bush that once ringed the KBTC area.
Again, thank you :)
Salam Zawi,
Thank you for all the nice pictures in this post. Similarly have not seen most of them personnally. But Hotel Perdana is the first hotel I stayed in KB, sometimes in mid 80's. Became an expert witness in one of the courts there. First time to eat nasi dagang too, at the canteen behind the court house.
Zawi
Thank you for this illuminating post and cogent commentary. We always make it a habit to stop by infront of the Wisma Persekutuan because the colek buah is so irresistable. I really admire the way they neatly arranged the various fruit slices in the glass container.
aMiR
j.t.
The story must have tugged at your heart string to have set you to write such a wonderful responce.
Sorry to hear about the loss of internet connection when the earlier one was almost completed. Having to rewrite is of course frustration at its height. I have experienced similar thing when writing long emails. Luckily for us when writing posts Google have the foresight to let us save the work from time to time.
There is another church along Jalan Sultanah Zainab almost at the junction of Jalan Che Su. It is located on the upper floor of a modern shophouse. I am not sure of the name of that church. It was quite a distance for you to alk to the church.
As to the location of the places and roads, you could easily do them if you open up the map in the above URL and enlarging the interactive map till all the details are shown. Please use it to make yourself familiar again with Kota Bharu. It will be like reliving those times again.
I happy if I could make you happy with this post.
Shah,
The one in town is The Club House. The golf course is in Pengkalan Chepa. At the golf course they have another club house too.
Poor snakes. They could have lived longer if they didnt stray into human territory hahaha.
I have yet to reach Pengkalan Chepa and PCB. Hope Part 3 wont be too long so that I can include them in the 3rd and make it the final part. Quite worried that too much of a good thing can be harmful to hahahaha.
Can you give me some more clue as to the location of the house where you stayed? Would be nice to include a picture of the house in the next post.
You are most welcome Shah.
Zabs,
Hotel Perdana was the top hotel then. Now its Renaisance of course.
Wow! An expert witness huh? Anything the like of Ling Gump Case? Or CSL?
I think the canteen is still there. Was it the one at the entrance of KGCC?
Amir,
They have acquired the salesmanship through years of experience. Unfortunately the entrepreneurship in them didn't develop any further and they continue to peddle their trade on the same spot and the same scale till the next generation.
The SME didn't reach to such people like them who should by now own a fleet of colek buah's push cart and the original owner just stay home to collect the days taking.
Salam Zawi,
A drug smuggling case, two Malaysians caught bringing in drugs from Thailand.
The canteen is in the compound of the court building. We drove from KL up there that time, and it took us 8 hours to reach. TQ.
Pak Zawi,
Ok, as I remember it, there is only one road leading to MRSM KB from KBTC. Just prior to MRSM's entrance, I believe there is now an x juntion. On your right side, there should be a 2storey KBTC quarters. If that building is still there, then that was where we were. Last I visited PC was about 15-20years back.
zabs,
I got it.
As to the canteen, they have constructed new building at the back so I guess they must have torn down whatever old buildings on the site. If there is little traffic, KL - KB can be done in about 6 hrs now. Very rare that you have light traffic on the route nowadays.
Since when do you become a tourist promoter for Kota Baharu? You've covered it all... almost.
Maybe you should try the Pasar Khadijah and take images of our exotic food especially those with 'real exotic' names. Take Lompat Tikam for example,..or even Puteri Mandi and not forgetting images of 'etok'.
Nice effort though. How about taking images of Pasir Mas?
Nice work. Carry on.
C U Buddy
http://www.geocities.com/idachmy_handicrafts/
Shah,
Should be easy to locate. Hopefully I can find time to go over that side. I am keen to go there to photograph Penjara Kota Bharu, KBTC, MRSM and The Golf Course.
Would be great to let you see some pictures of the place before you come for the atual vivit. Tempat jatuh lagi di kenang ini pula tempat tinggal hahahaha.
Tuan Haji Azmy,
Just doing my small bit to promote Kelantan to the eyes of the world.
If you have read Part 1, you could see the progession in Part 2. Part 2 is its sequel. It is a ride on a motorbike and I will cover the place as if I was passing by it. Part 3 is coming soon and the journey will start from Jalan Sultanah Zainab as I entered it from the junction of Jalan Hamzah as I crossed the bridge.
Part 3 will cover the town Center Including Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah and MPKB Arcade. The finale will be at Pantai Cahaya Bulan (formerly Pantai Cinta Berahi) as many wants to see how it looks now and infact I have not been there for sometimes myself. I have yet to take photograph of the place though. If it is too long I may have to break it into Part 4 and make Part 4 as the final Part.
I am sorry I cant include too much details in this Kota Bharu In Pictures yet as the details are intended to be covered later under such topics as Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah, Pasar MPKB, Kampong Kraf, Ceramah Pas, Museum Kelantan etc. I have too many pictures to post and cant cram everyting in one post otherwise it will take ages for those with insufficient RAMs and slow processors to downloadWill do Pasir Mas after done doing KB.
Pak Zawi,
That's really an awful lot of effort taken by you to promote your state especially KB.From the pictures, there is no doubts, Kelantan is not what it is said to be.You probably done a better job than your Tourism Board.I would love to go there again.
Hantu Laut,
Promoting Kelantan is an obsession with me now. Especially when I find out that people reading this post. From Feedjit I can see from where the foreign visitors are coming and hopefully they will be interested to come to see for themselves what is happening here. Even Malaysians from other states are opening up their eyes now. Some disgruntled parties maybe paying me a visit soon hahahaha.
Since my blogs are read by bloggers only, I dont know how far I could reach.What we need is for more Kelantanese to post blogs about Kelantan and by doing so the reach can be much further than me on my own. By their doing so will also means more pictures will also be on the net and when people all over the world do an internet search, they will get alot of more informations about Kelantan. The problem over here is not many people do Englisg blogs which could reach further than one in Bahasa Malaysia.
Salam Pak Zawi
I'm 'visiting' Kota Baru through the lens of your camera. Macam ni, I jadi armchair traveller je.
The town's transformation is remarkable despite it being an Opposition state.
Fauziah,
Thats the general idea, to let potential travellers see what is available. Since the photographs are still photos and doesnt show the details and ambience, a visit is still imperative.
About the town's transformation, it seems to amaze everyone. Coming from you who has visited Kelantan very often really surprises me. The present state government wanted to prove that they can develop Kelantan just as well and made it easy for investors to start projects here. I heard the investors felt comfortable dealing with the authorities here as everything is above board. A rare situation in Malaysia nowadays.
Nice little tour of KB. Yes, I'd like to visit the place again soon, Zawi!
Puteri,
The more interesting parts are yet to come and you are already drooling over coming to visit Kota Bharu. Wait till Part 3 is publisged and you will be booking for your flight home to Malaysia. My offer for a guided tour for you and hubby still stands.
Zawi ... KB is way more developed than I thought. My bad. It certainly befits city status with so many aspects of cosmopolitan already in place and more in the horizon.
What is the population of KB? Also, what is Palm Manor these days if no longer TRH's residence?
A very enjoyable and informative tour. Now, we need some food pictures. OK-lah, not we, just me. Haha!
Sdra Zawi,
I see you have included the place I'm staying over CNY (Sutera Inn). I was there about 2 years ago and the rooms are quite alright. Of course, cannot compare with Renaissance. But I'd prefer Hotel Ansar as it is near the pasar, so easy for the wife to do her shopping without me having to tag along. But there are no more rooms there.
Thanks for the tour.
Hussin
Pak Zawi,
The places look familiar to me compared to the ones in Part 1. I remember I used to follow my late grandmother to the post office whenever I visited her long long time ago when i was about 5 or 6. Every month she would go there to withdraw her monthly allowance.
After that she would bring us to the old pasar for some groceries and sometimes she would stop at one of the many textile shops nearby for some materials.. her favourite was Kedai A.P. Mohamed Sharif, if I'm not mistaken. I wonder whether the shop is still there.
Thanks very much for showing us around. Looking forward for the next one!
Zawi
I really like the KECEMASAN signage at the Hospital KB. It screams emergency, is it not? I'm afraid the KECEMASAN or EMERGENCY signage at Hospital Pulau Pinang (HPP) is not so bold and easily noticeable.
About a month ago I took my Wan to the cardiothoracic unit at HPP for her appointment and it's same old same old. I wonder if first time visitor to HPP know where to go in case of emergency where time factor is paramount, and moving round and round in circle is not helping the patient at all.
aMiR
Rita,
If Kota Bharu is conferred city status, a mayor must be appointed. Quite a tricky situation under the current situation I guess.
You got me there on the population of Kota Bharu. The whole of Kelantan has 1.4 million people. Kota Bharu is the most popolated so my guess is the whole district of Kota Bharu may habe some 300 thousand while the town itself may hold 150,000. I will tell you the figures once I get it from the statistic department.
The answer to Palm Manor, his other relatives I think his brother lives there now. It was his fathers residence actually.
As to the foods of Kelantan, I will put in a few in Part 3 when I cover Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah. A blog solely on Kelantan food will be due next.
Infact I have taken some photos of food during the Pas Ceramah last Friday. Can't put it on this blog due to the big size of the current one.
Hussin,
So you will be at Sutera Inn during CNY. Quite a distance from shopping. Ansar is right smack in town. You should have checked the other hotels in town such as Temenggong or the other one close to the Bus Stand. The extremely new Ridel Hotel attached to the new Pelangi Mall should be operational by CNY.
Hang on till Part 3 is published to see more of Kota Bharu.
See you in KB.
nana,
So much has changed, some road names are changed too. After being away for so long you may not recognize the new look of Kota Bharu.
Some of the old Indian Textile shops are still there I think A.P. Mohamad Sharif is still there. I will confirm it in my next blog.
High time for you to come back to KB.
aMir,
Hospital KB is split in two by Jalan Hospital (Jalan Hospital is not a throuh road anymore as the road ends at both side of the fence. Only ambulances are allowed to enter the Jalan Dusun Muda entrance. The emergency clinic being close to the road, access to it is ofcourse very easy.
HPP must learn from HKB hahahaha.
what does zawi and u.lee have in common?
nostalgic long postings...(and with pictures related)
that was meant to be a compliment btw. i've been to kelantan (once) before but only on a short trip vacation wise and most of the time sightseeing on a bus so donch know much about this state. i swear by just reading this post itself its like i'm visiting it physically now...
ramai gak yek bloggers from this state...
kc,
There are a few common things between U Lee n me. First we are males north the half century mark and we are romantic fools hahahaha.
kc, anything from you is a compliment :).
In this blog you were riding on my bike and I was pointing to you all the landmarks in town. What pictures you saw in the blog ain't enough so you must come and look at the places yourself. It is long because of the pictures as the title itself is KB in pictures. I wish I could write much less as the pictures themselves should be explanatory. More pictures in Part 3 especially when I cover the bazaars and pasars as well as Kg Kraftangan. Hang on to your seat OK?
There are bloggers from Kelantan and there are bloggers who used to live here once because their parents once served here in the police force, KTM, Army and what have you.
Thanks for the visit.
Helo Pak Zawi,
Thank you for sharing...:) Can;t wait for part 3.
I think u can be a good History lecturer...:) or a tour guide and with ur knowledge...i am confident the tourist will enjoy themselves.
Who knows, Puteri and hubby will be ur first batch...:)
nigtwing,
Come over and I will use you as my guinea pig to be on my tour. If you aprove then only will I dare to be a tourst guide, an unlicenced one. So if you want to pay an unlicensced guide, I am avalable hahahaha.
Puteri and Doug will ofcourse be taken around.
Salam Zawi,
To ride a bike around KB everybody can do ..... but to ride and tell story like you very very few can do my friend. I am very happy to see the real part of KB instead of the usual Kelantan bashing by AMNO.
In hope KB will progress in its own pace and values ..... let the simple leader carry on with their good job. Thanks for the enlightening ride my friend.
D Jaff,
What more can I say to what you have said. But if they remain in power for too long they will become the same people like amno. The Kelantan ppl change their state govermentevery 18 - 20 yrs. It is about time now. Will they change them this time?
Pak Zawi,
My goodness. Thanks alot. It could not be better than this. I've been pining to go to KB for some time. The one and only time I was there was 15 years ago, three days after I got married. A honeymoon of sorts. My wife's last surviving uncle was too ill to attend our wedding then so we decided to visit him instead. In Pasir Mas. We were there four days, and every morning we would go to KB. Shopping. I still think that Pasar Siti Khadijah is the most romantic shopping place in the world. Don't know why. But it's charming. I sure hope it is still like it used to be.
But I must say I can't recall any of the landmarks featured here except for the Muzium Negeri.
Thanks Pak Zawi.
mior,
Most of the landmarks are new or taken from an angle rarely seen by casual visitors. By any standard KB has developed tremendously. My only hope is that they will not demolish the old buidings that gives Kota Bharu its character.Some buildings must be restored and preseved before it is too late. Some great wooden ones are already gone due to the lack of care and interest. Development and preservation must be balanced.
Ain't it time you pay your relatives another visit?
zawi
I don't remember much of KB when I went there for a short holiday about 20 years ago but it definitely looks different now. Thanks for promoting your town. Should ask Tourism Board for some allowance as they can afford to spend so much on documentaries.
Take care when riding your bike - so you belong to the 50plus Mat Rempits?!
Pak Zawi,
first of all thanks a million for this posting...sure brought a lot of sweet old times...the balai doesnt change much except for the paint...the stadium food stalls outside were where i lepakked for ABC...KB has the nicest ABC after Penang's....when i needed to get my glasses first time, i rode pillion on my dad bicycle to the town he he....
those days during flood, i would do Ian Thorpe style in the teh susu colored water in front the post office building ha ha ha....when rajin i would go to the library...loved to do that when i was on school holidays, my dad would know where to find me if i got lost for more than 2 hours....those days never thought anything like what happened to darling Nurin would happen to any young girl....
very nostalgic Pak Zawi, thanks but apology for the late comments...was here a few times but didnt really know what to say.....like U Lee said...terima kasih seribu he he
take care Pak and hug the baby for me.....
h j angus,
20 is definitely a long time. Though the streets has remained the same in terms of layout, they have been made wider and many new buidings has replaced the old ones.
I have close working relationship with TDC Kelantan and the former Director is a good friend. Will promote them in my next blog on KB in pictures without any expectation for financial rewards though.
Ok will make a proposal for a documentary on Kelantan and RM1 million fee will be fine. Thanks for the suggestion.
I have yet to learn how to do the wheelie though I am quite accomplished with the lying down position on the bike. How about that for a 57 year old Mat Rempit? Hopefully those AMNO people will notice me and send me for their next expedition to anywhere in this world.
zai,
I am glad you like it. Did you remember meeting j.t. there? She was in the officers bunggalow I think.
Balqis had her bottle of milk just now and she is lying on the mat behind me. We are enjoying the tennis game between Maria Sharapova against Jelena Jankovic in the Australian Open. Both of us love tennis. Anyway she will watch whatever I watch. Hopefully she will grow up to be a tennis player of world stature someday. At 6 months old she can only hold a miniature tennis raquet for now.
ha ha ha....watching tennis ya...my hubby loves the beautiful sharapova he he....her game against Henin was awesome though a bit one sided....i hope Balqis would be a tennis star one day....as for me i started late...only when i was in the US i started to hold the racquet so was kinda late to be a star though gotten quite ok with it...if only i started like Balqis ha ha ha.....those days tennis was considered an elite game right?...and i think even now also....
Zai,
If your hubby love the sight of Maria Sharapova, he will definitely love to see Daniella Hantuchove and Ana Ivanovich who is playing each other now. The tennis players from Europe are getting prettier nowadays. That is why men loves to watch tennis hahahaha. Anyway at 6 ft 2 inches, Sharapova will tower above any Malaysian males hahahaha.
Anyway Balqiss fell asleep after Sharapova beat Jankovic earlier.
I believe Balqiss can be trained into a formidable tennis palyer as she seems to have the size being more than 9 kg at 6 months on quite a big frame. If I were still around after she has attained 10 yrs of age, I will definitely send her to a tennis school.
Aaah....
Maria Sharapova was in Singapore on 30th December and my daughter had 6 free tickets for her match against Ana Chatkadeze(sp?) who is about 6inches shorter.
My son and I went and since no one else wanted the tickets my wife and daughter went along too. They were not disappointed and we enjoyed a beautiful game.
Maria is a real professional and she whacked Ana 6-0 in the first set and we thought it was going to be a thrashing but the second set went to a tie-break.
Next time I know where to send extra tickets.
hj angus,
Appreciate it very much. I was aware of her coming to Spore but can't afford to go there but with 2 free tickets I can always drag my son to drive to Spore to see such top world class players who would always give KL a miss.
Tomorrow's Australian Open Final between her and Ana Ivanovich will be a match of 2 beauties but I will be rooting for Maria Sharapova who seems to be so focussed to win Australian Open this year.
salam,
very good info. thanks.
atoqa,
I am glad that you find the post useful. Made it worth all the trouble for me to do it.
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