My wife and I decided to run in our new Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 4-Motion, an SUV we picked up after I crashed my brother-in-law’s Volvo XC90, with a trip around the northern loop of the Peninsula.
March 25-27 Penang
The journey along the expressway north was, as usual, a swift affair. However, we did swing to Teluk Intan to top up the car’s fuel tank. I could not recall if I had visited this royal town before, but since we were there, we thought we might as well visit the palace precinct. The colonial style palace is certainly impressive. Otherwise, the town is quite typical of the country’s.
Penang was our first destination. It is a city where my wife hails from and where I did my sixth form and where I met her. Of course, we loved to be in Penang again. We went to take a look at her old house; we could hardly recognise the new neighbourhood. Her old neighbours, especially Poh, were kind enough to help us recall long-forgotten names and landmarks.
Penang’s hawker food is simply amazing. The varieties are also available in Kuala Lumpur, but those prepared by Penang hawkers somehow taste very heavenly. We would always be spoilt for choice there, but chendor is always a must for us.
Shangri-la’s hotels are always a cut above others. This time we put up at Rasa Saya. Although it has been around for decades, the hotel has not aged. Everything was great. And breakfast was fantastic. (I was in Jakarta’s Shangri-la just about a week or so earlier; it certainly lived up to being a Shangri-la too!)
As usual, we drove around the island. It is as thriving as ever.
My high school mate Huee Hong, who was also my roommate while we were both studying at the University of Malaya, bought us dinner. We met his wife Yvonne for the first time. They are lovely!
March 27-29 Kota Bahru/Golok
We had to pass Kulim on our way east. The outskirts
are full of industries now. (No wonder the state government wants an
international airport to be built there!) I do not mean to be chauvinistic;
Chinese entrepreneurship is simply mind-boggling.
The road to Kelantan is hilly and windy; many parts are quite rough. Fortunately, traffic was light, and I could stretch my new Felali a little. The road also cuts through virgin jungles and scenic lakes. My wife was quick to spot a wild elephant along the way.
I first visited Kota Bahru probably in 1978 when I was with Bank Pertainian (now Agro Bank). The Kota Bahru branch was the bank’s biggest at that time. Poh Guan who was the bank’s branch manager there showed me around the town and even took me to the border town Golok. I made a second visit in the 1990s, when the late Tan Sri Low Yow Chuan was keen to set up a cement plant in Gua Musang. I did not remember much about the city.
The fasting month had just begun, the city looked very tired to me. Most buildings are in dire need of a new coat of paint. There are also few trees in the city. There was not much to see in its Chinatown. We put up at Hotel Grand Riverview. It has an impressive lobby, but the hotel as a whole has not been well maintained. Things were not well thought out and staff appeared a little lethargic. Our room looked pathetic; we were quite uncomfortable with the condition of the linen that was provided in the room.
On the whole, we found Kelantan wanting. It is hardly keeping up with the rest of the country, economically speaking. There you do not see any decent factories, let alone industrial parks. There are few signs of prosperity amongst its people. Cars are mostly the lower-end Perodua varieties. Many of the last general election’s political flags are still flying high, but most of them are in tatters. (This certainly speaks volumes of the type of “tidak apa” attitude held by politicians there,)
Yes, Thailand’s Golok is just a stone throw from Rantau Panjang. We did not want to take our car across. There was a private car park which charged reasonably. One of the people attending there – a Malay gentleman probably in his early 60s – impressed me with his good Mandarin. He said he had done six years in Chinese school. No wonder!
The usual means is for one to be ferried across on a motorcycle. That was not an option for us; instead, we negotiated for a car to show us around Golok.
How much?
Two hundred Ringgit?
One hundred and fifty, can?
Okay.
What cropped up next nearly spoilt our intention. After scanning my passport, the Thai immigration officer took longer than usual to look at his computer screen. His computer record showed that I had not exited after a trip I made to Bangkok a couple of years ago!
How could that be?
He took me to his boss who believed that the mistake was theirs. But I had to show my old passport for him to see the “chop”. Not possible, I told him. How could he expect me to bring an expired passport along? I was about to give up; but he was genuinely interested to help. I called Caroline, my most able colleague in my Singapore office, to see if she had a scanned copy of my old passport. Not only did she send the copy, she also whatsapped me the itinerary, including the flight details of that particular trip.
I was all cleared to enter! I am going to write a letter of appreciation to Thailand’s Foreign Ministry! They have an extraordinary immigration officer at Golok!
There was not much to see in Golok. We had a meal in one of the restaurants. (We were the only customers!) The driver took us to a shop where we could pick up some local stuff.
Upon our return, I gave the driver MYR220. He was a little confused. “I have no change to give you”, he said. I told him it was all for his keep. He thanked me profusely; I must have made his day.
March 29/30 Kuala Terengganu/Kuantan
The journey from Kota Bahru to Kuala Terengganu was
rather uneventful. The city is certainly more pleasing to see than Kota Bahru.
With the help of Waze, we navigated into the city’s Chinatown to have an early lunch and to pick up some dried Keropok.
There is a toll highway that can take one from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur. We chose to travel by the coastal road to go to Kuantan first.
On seeing Resorts World’s signage at Kijal, we decided to turn in to take a quick look at the resort that I once had the opportunity to be associated with. In the compound, I suddenly saw a somewhat familiar face talking to another man. I stopped to ask if he was Mr Chuah. Yes! Are you Mr Chuah of Chikuyotei? Yes! “Who are you?” He asked.
This must be a one in a million-chance encounter!!!
Kin Tat is a long-lost friend! He used to own the famous Chikuyotei chain of Japanese restaurants, and a dear friend since the early 1990s. Together with a couple of other colleagues, we had even spent some days in this resort!
Kin Tat, who is now in his early 80s, but still very robust, is now living in the resort with his wife.
Swiss-Belhotel Kuantan is a typical local hotel with international pretensions. The size of the room is quite generous, otherwise, things are quite basic. It was just for us to break the journey, no big deal.
Kuantan was famous for its salted fish; I used to visit the town from time to time in the 1980s. But it is a big town today. I could not find the shops that sold salted fish anymore. Unwilling to give up, I stopped to ask a young lady if she knew any of these shops. Without hesitation, she told me I still could find it at Jalan Besar, near the Kuantan Tower. We had passed the place earlier; I backtracked but only to find that it had closed for the day.
Next morning, before we set out for Kuala Lumpur, we decided to return to visit the shop, even though it was hardly 9am. To our pleasant surprise, it was already open for business.
Back to Comfort
The toll highway is a pleasure to drive. We decided to
break journey and turned into Bentong to pick up some yong-taufu. With Waze, it
was easy to find.
Home sweet home! After six days and five nights of playing local tourists!
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