Unlike Eid ul-Fitr, we don’t usually go back for Eid ul-Adha celebrations firstly because it is usually only one day off and secondly I won’t be bothered to do the 24 hours, 1,000 kilometers round trip back home including the notorious traffic jams along the way. This year however, the Eid falls on a Sunday meaning holiday in lieu plus we’ve planned an aqiqah do for one of our kid hence we had to go back. After the customary morning prayers, I went along to the aqiqah ceremony, watch the distressed cow being slaughtered and help to take the cut up meat back home. It was kind of last minute but I managed to secure a room, make that two rooms at Hotel Seri Malaysia in Kuala Terengganu for a quick getaway this short holiday.
Why two rooms you ask? Well, my family has grown as such that a single room just couldn’t fit all 6 of us anymore. So my wife, the infant and I got one room and the 3 others had one of their own. Hotel Seri Malaysia Kuala Terengganu was situated along the Terengganu river near the estuary and right smack in the middle of the city centre. There’s no white sandy beaches for us to stroll along but we are close to a few other tourist attractions in the state capital. We got pretty basic rooms with basic amenities but it was good enough for all of us.
In the evening we went for a stroll along the popular Batu Burok beach. The kids took horse rides for 10 ringgit a pop while we watch the sun set. Later we had some seafood dinner at a restaurant nearby. I’m not really a big fan of seafood but my wife loves them so once in a while I gave them a treat. The next day we wanted to go to the famous Pasar Payang market. It was quite late in the morning so parking was practically impossible to find. The one that we did found was quite far away and then Hana had one of her little tantrums so in the end we skipped the place altogether.
We did went to the state museum later in the afternoon. It was a huge sprawling complex made in the form of kampong house. The entry fee was minimal and there’s plenty of interesting exhibit to look at. Compared to the national museum in KL however, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Some of the rooms were not air-conditioned and hot, the whole place looks poorly lit and gloomy at a glance. What it needs is a major revamp or renovation to make it on par with other world-class museums. That is easier said than done of course since we clearly lack the leadership and budget of those museums. Still for educational purposes, it is still a nice museum to visit.
After that we leave for home but not before buying a few bags of the delicious Terengganu keropoks. Actually, we didn’t go straight home but stopped by my brother in law’s place near Kertih. He just got a job at a factory there and this is our maiden visit to his new house. We managed to visit a beach nearby and then had dinner at his place before leaving for KL later that night. Have I told you I hate driving at night? My eyes get tired and sleepy, especially from the glare of oncoming traffic. I had to take turn driving with the wife to get to KL safely.
And that concludes our short getaway to Kuala Terengganu (and Kertih). Obviously, 2 days and one night is never enough to explore to explore the area. 3 days is minimum and 4 is ideal. That said, we can’t afford to go holiday more than 2 days 1 night anywhere for that matter. Perhaps some day.
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