Cycle Malaysia Day 17 - Tanah Merah - Tumpat

Good morning I was checking out from D'Mawar Chalet and was ready for Day 17 and Tumpat was the targeted destination.

As usual I will be looking around for food where ever I am and I saw this Restoran Selera Timor at Jalan Hilir Pasar with a good crowd. I told myself the food must be good so I parked my bicycle in front of the shop and ventured inside.

Wow, I could see a variety of Kelantanese delicacies like Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Dagang and it was so tempting. I must eat here before I leave this place!

I opted for a Nasi dagang with a curry mackerel fish and an egg. It was so delicious. After a satisfactory breakfast I bade Tanah Merah goodbye for a new cycling adventure.

I was mislead by the information found in the internet I thought Bukit Panau has lot of historical stuff to explore and so I went hunting for her. 

I got lost in a secluded kampong, turning in circle for 10km and eventually I found the place. It was merely an old train station, dilapidated but in use. I guess it was a false excitement in the morning. GPS : 5.891014, 102.157314

Seeing mosques along the way is very common thing and each of them has different architecture and features. This is one of them was seen before reaching Pasir Mas.

After 42km on the saddle I arrived at Pasir Mas, the size I reckon is as big as Tanah Merah. Later I found out that Pasir Mas was once the second largest town in Kelantan but it has been overtaken by Tanah Merah.

The trishaw of the East Coast is different from those in Penang, the rider is seated by the side of the passengers. It is interesting to see that trishaw business is still available in this part of the world.

Again I felt excited seeing these old wooden shops in Pasir Mas and there are a lot of them in this town. How wonderful if Pasir Mas could be preserved as a heritage town with these old shops. 

Masjid Gelang Mas with nice golden domes standing beautifully at the road side of Road D23 (GPS : 6.121681, 102.121550).

Wat Phothivihan is one of the most visited temples out of the 25 Siamese temples found in Tumpat. Located at GPS : 6.130633, 102.137149 and it is about 15km away from Kota Bharu.

It has the longest reclining Buddha statue in Southeast Asia measuring a length of 40 metres. The one in Penang is about 7 metres shorter.

My lunch at Wat Phothivihan, a bowl of of Thai Kuay Teow noodle soup.

The second temple I visited was Wat Kok Seraya it has a big golden stupa. The main attraction is the white statue of the goddess Guanyin which is quite unusual for a Siamese temple.

The next temple was Wat Pikulthong which has a huge standing Buddha, the statue is covered with gold mosaic. Located at GPS : 6.183044, 102.167695 and is diagonally opposite at road junction going to Tumpat town.

At the junction of Jalan Datuk Keramat as viewed from the entrance of Wat Pikulthong.

Geographically, Tumpat is located north of Kelantan, bordering Thailand across the Golok River to the west, Kota Bharu across the Kelantan River to the east and Pasir Mas to the south

The East Coast Line of Malaysian Railway Line with Tumpat as the last station.

Cycling among the school children is common in this part of the country.

I took a parallel road into Kg. Baru Nelayan which is a narrower road but with lesser vehicles.

I wanted to stay at Pantai Sri Tujuh but could not find one as all the rooms have been taken up due to a kite festival on that weekend.

A Kite Museum at Pantai Sri Tujuh

Kelantan International Wau Festival. Colourful 'Wau' (giant kites) of various shapes and sizes will paint the sky. Visitors can also enjoy cultural shows and "dikir barat" competitions that spice up the festival. With over 120 local and 47 international participants.

Luckily I could one just opposite the beach and that was Senangin Resort located at the main road of Jalan Kampung Tujuh GPS : 6.214549, 102.127452

I took another ride to the beach and came back to the hotel with some snacks. They were fried prawns in a skewer and fried squids.

After a hard day cycling I would normally end my routine washing my clothes and uploading the photographs I have taken during that day.

Day 17 - I have reached Tumpat after travelling for 76km from Tanah Merah.

Cycle Malaysia Day 16 - Pulau Banding to Tanah Merah

It was a night of total darkness without electricity the generator set has failed again. And it was time to leave Pulau Banding with an awful night by the lake. I waited for my taxi by the main road for the journey ahead.

I requested for a stop at Perhentian Titiwangsa to enjoy the view and took a few pictures before I left the peak of Titiwangsa. Pulau Banding and this place is about 30km away.

At the top of the world at Perhentian Titiwangsa, I just cannot imagine if I were to cycle up here and I was glad that I hired a taxi for this stretch. The scenery was superb.

Even going down hill looks dangerous I requested Shoib to take me further down the hill (about 36km) until Batu Melintung 15km before Jeli.

Shoib dropped me at Batu Melintang where I shall continue my ride to East Coast. Shoib is an ex-soldier lives on his own plot of land near Baling and he has been driving the taxi for many years since he became a civilian and continues to do so to pass his time even though all his children have grown up.

Before Shoib went back to Gerik we took our breakfast at a warong where we stopped.

By the way I was already in the state of Kelantan and I had to change my plan. My original plan was to stay over at Jeli but I decided to proceed further as I have taken a fair bit of assisted ride. 

Gunung Reng is such a beautiful hill and this is seen from the main road itself, as scenic as those mountains seen in China. There is a cave to be explored if you are interested and it is located at Kampong Gunung.

Gosh I was still having  such closeness with the oil tankers.

Jeli here I was but wouldn't be staying here anymore. I was recommended by the food operator at Chalet Terapung to stay at Bukit Bunga. Bukit Bunga is located next to Thailand and it is a more happening place. 

When I reached Bukit Bunga I decided to move on further as it was still early and Tanah Merah became as my final destination for the day.

I met this guy from Estonia and he walks around the world. He told he was walking to Machang while I was cycling to Tanah Merah. My salute to this Estonian.

Batang Merbau, a small town just before Tanah Merah.

Tanah Merah or "Red Land" has a small population of Chinese community and I love seeing the old wooden shops in the town and hope that these wooden structure will be preserved and kept as long as possible.

An old semi detached room at DMawar Resort was my rest place for the night.

I was excited to find this restaurant that serves western food and beer. I always have the impression that beer cannot be sold in the public in Kelantan. The dinner was good and satisfactory.

Day 16 where I cycled for 65km and stayed over at Tanah Merah.