Map Of Terengganu
Part of my new portfolio was to keep track of performance of equipment installed nationwide. Hence when a problem crop up in Terengganu, I’ve to arrange a visit to the site affected. Also they need to conduct a ‘due deligence’ study on another site, hence I could kill two birds with one stone.
But I’m having problem securing accommodation for the visit, as every place that I called was fully booked up, some up to the end of the month (school vacation coming up next weeks for two weeks). Luckily I could find a room only for a night in some obscure place and decided that I could find accommodation for another night when I’m there.
The journey starts from home at around 7.30 am, after giving Aiman a send off to school. Reached KT around 2.30 pm with lunch in Marang. Managed to secure another night in an off the beaten path chalet in Marang, and also booked a quick trip to Pulau Kapas for snorkeling when the work is over.
Decided to do the ‘tourist’ thing by visiting a batik factory and seeing them manufacture batik. For those of you who don’t know what batik is, here’s a link to help you. Terengganu and Kelantan are major producers of handcrafted batik. In Malaysia, batik is considered a formal wear. The process starts off with djanting, drawing the pattern with the hot wax by hand or stamping, using a mould to draw the wax onto a white sheet of cloth. The pattern is then filled with selected colour and the fabric treated. It is then made into clothing. Browsed through their factory shop, but nothing caught my attention (also the price is a bit steep). I couldn’t remember the whole process but for consolation, I did it during my form three art class.
Noor Arfa Batik Factory
Batik Demonstration Area
Mek 'ganu using djanting technique
Abe 'ganu using the stamping technique
After the batik factory visit, I went to find the motel where I’m supposed to stay in for the night. KT is not really a hard place to drive in but you could get lost in it. Managed to find it only to find that the room is not ready yet. Decided to go to Pasar Payang to find some batik for my nearest and dearest. Managed to find one that fits the criteria – ‘deep and rich color’ and unique (well at least to my untrained eye it met the criteria) plus I’m paying so it shouldn’t matter much.
From previous visits, food in KT has always been off-the-mark for me, so prior to the trip, I’ve asked a few friends for pointers as what to do and where to avoid. For dinner managed to find somewhere decent near Gong Badak, where the catch of the day truly lives up to its name. Somehow my confidence in KT food is slowly regaining.
After spending the next day to work, have decided to take time off myself and enjoy what nature has to offer in Terengganu. Terengganu is blessed with pristine coastline, but being on the East Coastand facing the open sea, the beaches are somewhat more hazardous than the ones on the west coast. But they do have several Islands renowned for their snorkeling and scuba diving site and some of it have been gazetted as marine parks.
So far I’ve never tried snorkeling at any of the islands, but I’m taking the plunge today. So after a hearty breakfast at Marang Jetty, I set off to Pulau Kapas by a speed boat. I was somewhat surprised to see that there's lots of people heading towards Pulau Kapas, only to find out later that they're having an independence day celebration kick-off in Terengganu by a display of underwater unveiling of Jalur Gemilang.
When I got to the snorkelling spot, I was alone in the area. According to the boat driver, it's not yet the holidays and I might spend the whole day alone there. Also, there were loads of jellyfish in the area, hence he tried to persuade me to go to the other side of the island where the jetty was and have a swim there. But, I decided to have a go there and arranged for pickup about two hours later.
The secluded spot - all to myself
Gem Island Resort
Outline of a black tip shark - 10 feet from the water's edge
Fishes, big juicy fishes, - gollum, gollum
The dreaded jellyfish, appeared in throngs after a 4 year hiatus
For me the visit is worth the time spent. There you could see the beauty of nature in it's glory. But, from what I could gather, two other snorkelling spot was spoilt due to human's indefference attitude when snorkelling. The last spot was still ok, but way far from its previous glory. Steps have been taken such as banning flippers when snorkelling, but somehow I think more effort should be made to preserve the gift of nature for our future generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment