Our journey to KB was reminiscent of our overland trip from London to Adelaide – it was by bus. Well, 3 busses actually! We were early to the pick up point, so the lady behind the counter told us to go away and get some breakfast while she stored our luggage, but when we returned we were still too early, so she gave us a couple of stools to sit on, clearly one look at David made this decision for her. When the bus did arrive, we were told by the driver this was just our transit bus, which was a shame, as it was a small, but luxury liner with just 3 seats in a row in a two-one formation. When we got to the express bus station, there was some conflicting information as to which bus we were to get on, which was a shame as it was the standard 4 in a row two-two formation. When the bus left the station we had a few more pick ups and then we turned into a garage where the bus was promptly washed.
It was 9.37am, we weren't on the luxury coach we thought we would be, but it was certainly one of the cleanest. About another hour into the journey and we pulled into another bus station. Here the driver and co-driver promptly got off and appeared to assist with fixing another coach. Lots of banging with a very long screwdriver, emptying several bottles of water into the engine, many laughs and then what appeared to be a fuse box was ripped open, a fuse replaced and that bus was up and running. The drivers then returned to our bus and and said something in Malay to the passengers, possibly along the lines of 'that's our new coach – so get your arses on it now'. So, like sheep, we transferred our luggage to our third bus of the day and it was the 3 seats in a rower that we'd been expecting from the start.
The food in KB was Malay standard – excellent with a choice of vegetarian restaurants for us to sample. However, it is a 'dry' state, so you need to look in the right places to get an after dinner drink. We managed to find such a place and enjoyed several 'illegal' beers. We were told by one of several ex-pat regulars that as the owner didn't have a licence, he was busted about once a year and had to pay a 'fine' to the local constabulary. The 'fine' however was apparently tolerable as buying a licence was so expensive as to be practically prohibitive. When we talked to the owner he voluntarily confirmed this to be the case, but seemed to accept that this was one of his business costs. The beers were served cold and with an added taste of satisfaction. Whilst sitting outside in the evenings we were also entertained by an owl flying from one tree to another looking for prey - believe us this was a better option than going inside, down the corridor, through the purple door and to the (also illegal) karaoke.
We managed to catch a local bus and sample the nearby beach a couple of times, one on the hottest of hot sunny days, another on what was a very mixed but ultimately stormy day. Sadly for us, on the way back from the beach we managed to get the school bus – we only had to survive for about thirty minutes of the journey, that poor bus driver has to suffer on an almost daily basis no doubt.
We also managed to hire the tiniest of cars. We felt like Mr and Mrs Magoo whilst driving it around. Driving around though was a challenge, not because of the roads, but the 3 crap maps that Helen had to navigate with. Helen quite rightly said that 'three crap maps don't necessarily make one good one' but we did manage to find a number of temples in and around Kelantan. Having said that, some of the BRIDGES connecting the roads were a tad suspect.
The temples have a definite Thai feel to them, being so close to the border, the most impressive of which was the Dragon Boat Temple – very aptly named. All the temples we visited though appeared to be guarded by the most scabby of dogs – and however hungry you are – you would NOT want to eat one of those fellas, although most of them appeared to be female.
The museums around KB were a mixed bag, including the Royal Palace – a place unsurprisingly previously habited by the Royal Family. The Malay English made some of the exhibits more amusing than perhaps they should have been, but the treasure contained within the building seemed to be largely 'gifts' that had been dumped, er we mean presented to the Royal Couple either on overseas trips or from other visiting heads of state. We did notice three individual signed photographs in frames by Anne, Philip and HRH Betty amongst the bric a brac.
We also visited the War Museum that gave a very comprehensive review of events in the twentieth century. Kelantan certainly had a turbulent period of history over the last one hundred years being occupied by Thailand, Japan and Britain before it's independence.
Whilst we were in KB the MOST disappointing moment was standing in a local department store and seeing segregated tills for women and men.
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