ParentWonder

We decided to travel locally during the recent school holidays. Instead of flying, we chose driving. And we chose the less explored and less popular places.

With some research notes and a GPS, we embarked on a road trip to East Coast of Malaysia last June – with my wife, in-laws, and two children tagging along.

Since my parents-in-law were with us, we drove to Penang to pick them up. We started our road trip on June 1 in Penang. Then to Kelantan via East West Highway (from Butterworth Kulim Expressway) to Kuala Terengganu (via coastal road) then unto Kuantan. The final destination is of course our home – on June 6. [Read more…]

Hotel Vistana Kuantan Pahang

We checked in at Vistana Hotel Kuantan at about 6 pm. It is a small hotel but the all-white building is clean and well-maintained. Though it is only a 3-star hotel, the service is excellent: from bell boy service to parking attendant. Yes a hotel staff was there to guide me while I was back from town trying to park my car at the hotel. Excellent service.

The breakfast buffet at Hotel Vistana was way better than what we had at Primula Beach Hotel Kuala Terengganu. Even though the restaurant is not big, but the buffet spread was excellent. And the food there was fine too. [Read more…]

Kuala Terengganu – Primula Beach Hotel

From Rantau Panjang (Rantau Panjang – Tanah Merah – Machang – Pasir Puteh – Jertih – Kampung Raja – Kuala Terengganu), we took the coastal road (Jalan Pantai) to Kuala Terengganu – the capital of Terengganu state.

On the way we had a quick and simple lunch at a beach stall in Pantai Rhu Tujoh. They were selling deep fried squid and fish, keropok lekor. And that was about it.

By the time we reached KT, it was in the evening. And with the help of GPS, we quickly located our hotel. We chose Primula Beach Hotel because we wanted a hotel with a beach within walking distance.

Everything was fine and dandy except one thing. When I did the booking, I specified that I wanted a non-smoking floor and non-smoking rooms. But they didn’t allocate such rooms to us. I insisted what I wanted. Only then did the receptionist hesitantly change the rooms to what I requested initially. [Read more…]

We didn’t expect to take so long to reach Kota Bharu (also spelt as Kota Bahru and Kota Baru) – the capital of Kelantan – the north eastern state of Peninsular Malaysia bordering Thailand.

We started our journey at 8 am after a dim sum breakfast in Penang. We embarked on to Butterworth Kulim Expressway then to East West Highway.

We stopped by in Gerik town for a break: both toilet and snack. The road after Gerik is winding as we cut through the “backbone” of Peninsular Malaysia. [Read more…]