trip details start from Post #53 of the 3rd pagei'll be in KL for a few days in mid january(not school holiday and weekdays)
for routes, surely we have google maps and waze
but it doesn't really reflect the true traffic condition and real life do-ability
so need west malaysian folk's opinion and recommendation regard to my itinerary
my initial itinerary
Day 1 - arrive early morning > collect car > batu caves > melaka
Day 2 - Melaka
Day 3 - Melaka > fraser hill > Tanah Rata(cameron) > Brinchang(Cameron) > ipoh(Doable?...or need to overnight in cameron)
Day 4 - Ipoh
Day 5 - Ipoh > KL
Adjusted itinerary based on maps
Day 1 - arrive early morning > collect car > melaka day trip > KL
Day 2 - KL > batu caves > fraser hill > Tanah rata(Cameron)
Day 3 - Tanah rata > brinchang > Ipoh
Day 4 - Ipoh
Day 5 - Ipoh > KL
Itinerary not fixed yet, still trying to figure out the best of it...opinion is appreciated
Recommended Itinerary by ScooterBoiOkay, here’s an offbeat destination for a driving holiday and adventure – Kelantan.
Kota Bharu is at the north-east tip of the peninsula and not the usual holiday destination due to its far distance from Klang Valley, Melaka, etc.
What to see and do in Kelantan? Visit temples and shopping! There are several Siamese temples to visit – one having the tallest standing Buddha, another temple has a big sitting Buddha, and the longest reclining Buddha is also in Kelantan and all are located around KB.
It is ideal to spend at least 2 nights in Kota Bharu to explore the town and the towns around it.
For ease of reading, this trip to Kelantan is split into several posts…
DAY 1Day 1. KL-Kota Bharu.
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Should plan to start as early as possible to arrive at Kuala Lipis by around 8.00am and check-into the hotel in KB around 4 pm. With stops for meals and toilet break, the journey is about 9 hours.
1. Karak highway to Bentong, then straight onwards to Raub, and Kuala Lipis. From Bentong to Raub, there are durian stalls at the roadside, also jackfruits. They would not be opened yet since it is too early in the morning. (Bentong, Raub and Fraser Hill, it is a possible day trip from KL.)
2. Kuala Lipis is a unique small little town by a river with steep banks, the noodle stalls for breakfast is at a back alley in between 2 rows of shops.
3. Gua Musang. The 4-lane road (the Central Spine Road) to Gua Musang and Kuala Krai should have been completed by now. You will first arrive at the new shops and new township of Gua Musang on the left of the trunk road to Kuala Krai. Further up the road is a junction splitting to the old town and Kuala Krai. The old town is where the train station is and it is at the end of the road. Behind the railway track is a limestone hill pockmarked with crevices and caves. I think this is where Gua Musang got its name. This station was one of several stops on the slow jungle train in ancient times when there were no roads linking Gua Musang to Kuala Lipis and Jerantut.
4. At Gua Musang new town, there will be signboards showing the direction to Cameron Highlands. It is about 90 km on a 4-lane road to Kampung Raja in Cameron Highlands.
5. Kuala Krai. It is quite a big town. Can either take lunch here or Gua Musang.
6. After Kuala Krai is Machang. From here onwards till KB, traffic would be heavier. While Gua Musang is the rural backwoods of the state, the area covered by Machang-Pasir Puteh-KB-Pasir Mas-Rantau Panjang is much more densely populated and connected by a network of back roads.
7. Kota Bharu. Check into hotel, jalan-jalan either around KB… can also drive to Pantai Irama at Bachok, the temple with the standing Buddha is in this vicinity.
DAY 2Day 2. Tumpat-Pengkalan Kubur-Rantau Panjang.
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This is a full day touring around Kota Bharu.
Can start as early as possible like before 8am and visit the famous wet market housed in a 3-storey and round building, the wet market selling verge is on the ground floor in the centre of the building, on the upper floors are selling all sorts of dry stuff and salted fish, and cloths on the upper 3rd floor.
1. Tumpat. Small town with Siamese communities and the end of the east coast railway track. The old train station was still there.
2. Pengkalan Kubor. It is another small town and it is the furthest north-east point you can go as it is at the river mouth of the Golok river... across the river is Tak Bai, Thailand. There is an Immigration and Custom building, and behind it is a jetty for boats crossing over to Tak Bai. Boat fare is cheap – about rm2. Boats will go directly across to a jetty at the morning market and shops fronting the river. The Thai immigration building is at the far end of the market on the right. Go there and get your passport stamped before taking the boat back.
3. From Pengkalan Kubur, you can drive almost along the Golok river to Rantau Panjang. On the way there, you can visit 2 temples – the sitting one and the reclining one. The reclining one is bigger with a huge compound and there are stalls selling drinks and food within its walled compound. Can have a light meal or lunch here. You will have to use a map here to find the temples, as there are several back roads crisscrossing each other like a spider’s web.
4. Rantau Panjang. This border town (across the river on Siam side is Golok) has grown tremendously into a giant bazaar upstaging Padang Besar. Take a walk around and walk down some side lanes towards the river… the river is quite narrow here, just a short swim or boat ride and its Thailand.
5. For visits to Golok with legit passport, head towards the immigration checkpoint where the Friendship bridge is located. Show passport (our immigration no longer stamp the passport), walk over the bridge, filled in the white card and get the passport stamped… you are now in Golok. Unless you are staying a night here, it is not advisable to visit Golok if you don’t have the time and want to be back in KB around 6pm for a quick shower before going out again for dinner and jalan-jalan around KB town centre.
(The Sungai Golok town centre is where its train station is located, and about 1 km from the border. You can take trains from here to Hatyai. And from Hatyai to Padang Besar… for some time till recent history, this land route via Thailand was the easiest and fastest way to travel from Kelantan to Kedah.)
6. Pasir Mas – it is on the way back to KB. This is another town with a railway station.
DAY 3Day 3. Kota Bharu – Kuala Kangsar.
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You can spend the morning visiting places you have left out the previous day before returning home to KL. You can also extend this holiday trip by taking the longer way home by cutting across northern part of the peninsula going west. The journey to Kuala Kangsar is about 6 hours including stops.
1. KB-Tanah Merah-Jeli. Jeli is the last small town in Kelantan, the next town is Grik in Perak. There are several roads from KB to Jeli, either via Tanah Merah or Rantau Panjang.
2. Jeli-Grik. This is the east-west road cutting across Banjaran Titiwangsa, the watershed mountain range forming the central spine of the peninsula. Interesting things you would see on this road: elephant/deer sign posts, a concrete structure over the road to shelter it from falling rocks, viewpoint with a restaurant – it is about halfway between Jeli and Grik, and a sign post showing the watershed point where water will either flow to the west to Selat Melaka or to the east to South China Sea.
3. Before reaching Grik, there is a small islet - Pulau Banding on Tasik Temengor, so you will cross 2 bridges. At the end of the 2nd bridge, there is a slip road going to a small jetty underneath the bridge. It is the starting point for tours around the lake.
4. Grik-Kuala Kangsar. This road have been widened and straighten along some parts, and it is among the better roads in Perak. Not many towns along the way… you will pass by Lenggong which has a museum, and Sauk (blink and you will miss it).
5. Kuala Kangsar is just north of Ipoh. You can take the Plus highway and reached back KL very late at night or stay the night in Kuala Kangsar or Ipoh. Or you could also choose to spend the night in Taiping which is about 30 minutes drive from Kuala Kangsar via the Plus highway.
Notes:
- At Tak Bai, you must get the passport stamp on the Thai side before returning to Pengkalan Kubur.
- Before Jeli, there is a border crossing into Thailand at Bukit Bunga. The border crossing is off the main road and you will have to detour 1-2 km to reach it. Bukit Bunga is sort of like a truck stop with lots of stuff selling at the roadside. You won’t miss it.
- Grik is a quiet town and it is surprisingly to find, in this remote area, quite a big-size small town. It is at a crossroad where you either head south to Kuala Kangsar or north going to Pengkalan Hulu and Baling (Kedah).
- You can park your car at Pengkalan Hulu at a private car park just outside the immigration and duty free shop before crossing the border to Betong.
- Betong town is quite a distance and several km from the border… those bikes ferrying pillion riders are just outside the Thai immigration office.
- Between Betong and Golok, Betong is more picturesque and interesting.
- Use Google Maps to plan the travel day by day. Write down the distance between towns and the estimated travel time, then adds them up to estimate the daily travel time and distance.
- Dinner at KB. There are Siamese restaurants around KB and Wakaf Bharu, and in the Chinatown area, there is a food court with a variety of hawker stalls.
- Wakaf Che Yeh. This is a busy night market which opens from 6pm till very late into the wee hours of the morning. Located on the main road to Kuala Krai on the western side of KB. Across the street are 2 hotels.
- Pantai Sri Tujoh. Interesting waterfront and fish farms between Tumpat and Pengakan Kubur. There are holiday chalets here.
- You could select to go to Kota Bharu using the coastal road from Kuantan. I think it is better to reserve this coastal road for another 4-5 days round trip from KL, with a night in Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu; and possibly 1 or 2 nights on an island off Terengganu’s long sea coast – Pulau Kapas, Pulau Redang and the Perhentians.
Recommended Itinerary by MR_alien (with photos)DAY 1
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=91809019This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Feb 14 2019, 10:06 AM