What started a simple east coast trip to an island became a driving expedition to several towns and an island. It was a driving loop to east coast and back covering as many places over 4 days
The route started from PJ via Raub to Gua Musang - Kuala Krai -- Kuala Besut - Pulau Perhentian and driving along the coastal road to Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and finally back to PJ
Teluk Chempedak in Kuantan
We met at a friends place and started our journey towards Raub for a quick coffee stop. The journey was smooth and we did not encounter any traffic congestion despite being a weekend. We started our route towards the Karak Highway before turning off to the Central Spine Road bypassing Bentong Town. The Central Spine Road is a new highway and parts of the highway is still under construction, a very scenic road, hardly any traffic using this road.
The Central Spine Road
After a short drive we took a short break in Raub, a town that I have not visited for a long time. Still the same town but with some improvements to some parts of the town
The mind boggling pavement (left) and street art
Visited an old coffee shop Sun Yuen Cheong famous for its Hainanese coffee and it was quite aromatic. There is a sign that restricts customers to 1 hour dining 😁😁😁
After a quickie for coffee, we headed towards Gua Musang. Along the Central Spine Road, we came across some limestone hills on both sides of the highway, a very scenic drive and refreshing view, we took a slow drive just to enjoy the view💖💖💖
After about 4 hours driving we finally reached Gua Musang, just in time for lunch. Found a restaurant located in an old pre-war building and decided to give it a try..... no regrets!!!
The shop front of the restaurant and the sumptuous meal we had for lunch (below)
The Water & Moon Temple
The Bridge Crossing Path through the rubber estate to Cave Temple
The Goddess of Mercy Statute A Stalagmite inside the cave
A welcoming sign at the entrance
We then proceeded to Kuala Krai for our first night stay. There are not many hotels or places to stay in this town but we managed to find a homely rest house close to the city center, The HR Rest House, managed and run by a couple. This rest house is hidden behind some shops and the landmark is Mr DIY, there's a small road by the side and you will come to this nice cosy wooden house.....I should call it a home. A very friendly couple, made sure we were checked in comfortably and very accommodating to our needs. Importantly, the rooms are very clean with air conditioner. There's a balcony where we gathered after dinner to chill and "Santai".
The homely rest house (left) and the adventurers with the owners (center)After freshening up, a quick rest and we were off to hunt for dinner, our original plan was to hunt for some Nasi Kerabu but unfortunately, being puasa month, we were deprived despite scouting a few places!!! 😞😞😞😞 We had to settle for chinese food and ended up in Jade Garden Seafood restaurant.
The food was good and the price was cheap......worth the dining experience....affordable price we paid for our dinner !!!😁😁😁😁😋😋😋😋
That night, we celebrated our first night's stay with Tuak and Guinness..... we called it night after a memorable day !!!!
Day 2: Kuala Krai - Besut - Pulau Perhentian
The room was so homely that I wished I never had to get up for our second leg of our journey. After checking out and bidding our host farewell, we headed off to the old town for some breakfast. We managed to find a no name shop next to the Hakka Community Association building. A simple breakfast, fried noodles with fried egg plus coffee.....
After breakfast, we headed to explore Kuala Krai.... first stop was the Tangga Krai or previously named Bradley Stairs, built around 1927 and is named after the District Officer of Kuala Krai Mr Gerald Bradley. The stairway, leading to a small floating jetty for transportation to the other side of the river, is also used to measure the water level of the river during monsoon season.
View of Kelantan River
Entrance to Bradley Stairs and the flood level measuring pole
From Bradley Stairs we made our way to the local wet market to get a glimpse of the day to day life in Kuala Krai. You can see all varieties of meat and vegetables sold here, especially the salted and dried fishes. After the market we drove to another landmark, the "gasing" or top, a local traditional game.
From Kuala Krai, we made our way towards Kuala Besut for lunch as well to catch our ferry to Pulau Perhentian, about 1 hr 15 mins drive.
Along the way to Kuala Besut, we came across a very unique mosque, the design was different from the usual traditional dome mosque, The Ulul Albab Mosque in Jerteh. this mosques is constructed of cengal wood
The Ulul Albab Mosque
You can buy your ferry tickets at the Kuala Besut jetty but be careful as there are plenty of freelance agents selling them. After some haggling, we managed to get some tickets at discounted rates. parking is readily available close by and rates vary from different car park operators. The ferry is just a simple open sided boat powered by 2 twin engines, the journey takes about 30 mins to 40 mins. Thankfully the sea was calm
Our ride to Pulau Perhentian
After a quick rest, we explored the surrounding area, taking a short hike across the island to Long Beach. As it was the puasa month, as well as beginning of the week the whole island is rather quiet and not too many visitors. Dinner was at the resort and was so so !!!!😑😑😑😑
Every night at the resort, there are outdoor movies....however, we had an early night.
Day 3: Pulau Perhentian - Kuala Terengganu - Kuantan
After a good night's rest and a simple breakfast, I met up with the dive master of Ombak Dive Center to suit up for a diving trip. The location is just a short boat ride from the resort and is a wreck dive at 16m depth. The wreck is an old Vietnamese fishing boat that the authorities sank some years ago. The wreck is teeming with abundant marine life....schools of young barracudas, yellow tails, spotted rays, anemone shrimps and different variety of fishes. Unfortunately I didn't have my underwater camera with me for this trip.....😖😖😖😖 The next trip perhaps!!!
With my Dive Master, Stefan (left) and the dive center entrance in the resort
The other group of friends decided to do some hiking on the other side of the island. We gathered again after our respective activities and headed back to Kuala Besut to continue our journey to Kuala Terengganu.
We made our way to Chinatown in Kuala Terengganu for a quick stop to look-see around, and managed to come across an interesting alley that depicts the story of turtles, The Turtle Alley. The artwork of the turtles on the walls are made from broken ceramic pieces and there is a story attached to each artwork.
Turtle Alley
Some of the artwork that's displayed at the alley. 
The Gateway to Chinatown and a Chinese Temple close to the Gateway
Another attraction to visit is the Kuala Terengganu Drawbridge (or bascule bridge). It spans across the Terengganu River and is the only drawbridge in South East Asia. You can access the 15s towers to get a good view of Kuala Terengganu town and the sea.
Kuala Terengganu Drawbridge
The next attraction that we visited was the first floating mosque built in Malaysia, Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah. The mosque floats above the lagoon of the Ibai River and is located near the Kuala Ibai River estuary featuring the infusion of Arabian, Moorish and Mamluk architecture. Completed in 1994, the building of the mosque was the brainchild of the former Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Al-Haj and the mosque is named after his mother, Tengku Intan Zaharah,
The Floating Mosque
We continued our journey to Kuantan via the scenic coastal way, stopping in Kuala Dungun to catch some dinner at the old town. Surprisingly the entire town was quiet and the streets empty. However we came across some interesting street art....😁😁😁
After a long scenic drive, we finally arrived in Kuantan and checked in to our hotel, The AC Hotel by Marriott, a highly recommended stay. Our front office lady was very helpful, checked us in with ease and assisted us with our luggage. After a quick shower and short rest we gathered to celebrate our last night together
The next morning we met and proceeded to have breakfast at a well known "kopitiam" Kedai Kopi Hai Peng, now managed by 3rd generation family. The shop owners roast their own coffee beans, make their own kaya and butter......probably short of producing own chicken eggs!!!😆😆😆😆
After breakfast we made our way to Teluk Cempedak for some santai and to enjoy the sea breeze. The place was deserted and very quiet but the beach is kept very clean. This place has changed quite a bit since I was last here in Kuantan.
The Adventurers, one last picture before heading back to KL
The men with their Instagram posting while the pretty ladies in a simple pose
We headed off for some last minute shopping in the city, the usual salted and dried seafood at a famous shop, Kedai Chen Hing
With that we headed back home to KL via the old trunk road passing through Gambang, Maran, Temerloh and a coffee stop in Karak at Kedai kopi Yik Kee. however their coffee was a let down and so were their pastries
And like everything else when travelling, Bukit Tinggi was the final stop for some last minute shopping. And with that we headed home.
Overall it was a well deserved trip, covering some of the towns that I never ever thought of passing through and at the same time discovering interesting places to see, trying some local dishes you never get back home and bonding with my long time friends.
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