The night train here refers to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad's (KTMB) Wau Ekspress (Kite Express) that departs from Kuala Lumpur at 8:30 in the evening for Kelantan. The journey itself takes close to 14 hours to complete, and it is highly recommended one goes for the sleeping berths. Would be travelers are advised to book their tickets for the sleeping berths at least a week ahead in order to avoid disappointment or suffer ignomity of slumping upright in the hard seats of the third class carriages.
The time exposure shot taken above reflects the passage of the train as it departs from Seremban station upon picking up passengers. A week earlier, I booked berth No. 22 of carriage E1, a relatively comfortable second class sleeping berth. It was originally envisioned that I would depart from Johor Bahru instead, but due to misreading on the availability of tickets and forgetting that then it was the beginning of the school holidays, I had to accept departure from Kuala Lumpur instead. The germ of this travel took place two months ago, and having the time and money thus I decidedly committed myself to this personal jaunt to Kelantan Darul Naim, or Kelantan The Blissful Abode. At this juncture, I had the vaguest of idea what I wanted to see and do. My digital and analogue cameras were loaded and ready but their master clueless as to their employment.
Sometimes the scenery on the carriage can be somewhat cluttered. Bags strewn all along the walkway that divides the carriage into two; and a sleeping infant in a baby carriage blissfully awaits transfer to a far more comfortable bedding.
Somewhat around midnight, the night train makes an extended stop at Gemas station in Negeri Sembilan, somewhere around 20 minutes, where locomotives are switched before making a hairpin turn up north after traversing for more than three hours down south. This will be first and the only of extended stopover for this leg, and if one is feeling decidely perky and chatty for the next few hours, one could get off at this station for a cup or two of hot coffee at two coffee shops here. No such opportunity will present itself after this and the offerings of the buffet coach leaves much to be desired. The Gemas train station has a pedigree of a sort, being erected at 1922 and is the hub whereby the Malaysian west and east coast rail lines meet.
You can always risk jumping the train if you are in a hurry to reach somewhere quick. This is not tolerated in bigger stations such as KL Sentral or Johor Bahru whereby one must present tickets for inspection before stepping unto the station platform, and is more prevalent in the stations located in the rural areas. One pays a penalty of RM20, and if possible, the conductor will attempt to seek out an empty seat or berth on which additional normal fares are payable. Failing such, as this train jumper amply demonstrates, one suffer the double ignomity of making the journey by the carriage entrances. Near the washrooms. Train jumpers are kept well clear from the first- and second-class sleeping carriages by KTMB's personnel.
I had a somewhat sleepless night tossing and turning, partly due to the fact I was not yet acclimatized for train travel, and partly also due to the loud snoring of a particular fellow on the upper berth. The night train will race the dawn to Gua Musang (Fox's Cave), parliamentary constituent of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the first of the few stops in Kelantan. The Gua Musang stopover yields two willing passengers for the camera. The 'pakcik' on the right will get off at Tanah Merah (Red Earth) whereas the one on the left is destined for Pasir Mas (Golden Sands, not the Vegas variety).
Through the heart of Kelantan on board of the Wau Ekspress.
Encik Sabri of KTMB posing for the camera.
The wait before arrival. Ten minutes away from Pasir Mas.
Encik Sabri stands by with his whistle and signal flags at the Pasir Mas station. From here, it will take another ten minutes to Wakaf Baharu, where I will get off for Kota Bahru. I will eventually arrive at 10:45 in the morning.
There are two ways one gets from Wakaf Baharu to Kota Bahru. First is by public bus, which is far and few in-between for RM1.60. The second is by taxi for a ten minute, five kilometer journey that will set you back for RM20 or 'dua puluh riyal' in the local parlance. But if you are willing to suffer lugging your luggage for 100 meters or so onto the main road from station, one can hail a shared taxi, which is utilized more by the locals, whereby the same trip will only cost you RM2. However, with these shared taxis, your luggage must be hand carried. Otherwise, it is better off to engage many of the taxi drivers eagerly awaiting passengers at the train station who would also assist in carrying the luggage to and off the taxis.
After finding myself a place to stay in and disgorgement of my worldly belongings in the room, I proceeded to Siti Khadijah Market, a unique market in that it is one known market in Malaysia, whereby women dominates the marketplace. I shall elaborate on this further later...
...and what looked like pasta to me at the marketplace turned out to be deboned chicken legs in 'tom-yam' flavor as seen below. Best taken hot with rice. RM2 a packet from the lady vendor shown above.
McValue lunch at RM5.95, exclusive of tax. Yes.
Weekdays in Kelantan is Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday being the weekends. Kelantan, being a state considered by liberals and moderates as a socially-conservative Islamic state, regard Friday as a half-day whereby Muslims are obliged to attend prayers at mosques. Signboards by businesses here are required under the law to put up signages in the Jawi script as seen here in this photograph. In Kelantan, Islam and the trappings of a modern consumer culture comes head-to-head in the adage of 'different sides of the same coin'.
SKMK bus station for traveling to the outlying areas of Kota Bharu and nearby towns.
The quaint trishaw still exists in Kota Bharu, though not as numerous as in Georgetown, Penang. A trishaw operator obliges with a pose in his 'beca', as depicted in the photograph below.
Night-time scene of the Old Market shortly before 8.00 pm. Parts of Kota Bharu will be deserted with shops boarded up and streets clear of significant human activity. When I retired to my room later the same evening, I decided to best employ my limited time there by photographing Siti Khadijah Market and three of the most picturesque Buddhist Wats of Kelantan. Getting a photograph of Tok Guru Niz Aziz, State Chief Minister of Kelantan and Spiritual Adviser to PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia) would be considered a bonus.
The time exposure shot taken above reflects the passage of the train as it departs from Seremban station upon picking up passengers. A week earlier, I booked berth No. 22 of carriage E1, a relatively comfortable second class sleeping berth. It was originally envisioned that I would depart from Johor Bahru instead, but due to misreading on the availability of tickets and forgetting that then it was the beginning of the school holidays, I had to accept departure from Kuala Lumpur instead. The germ of this travel took place two months ago, and having the time and money thus I decidedly committed myself to this personal jaunt to Kelantan Darul Naim, or Kelantan The Blissful Abode. At this juncture, I had the vaguest of idea what I wanted to see and do. My digital and analogue cameras were loaded and ready but their master clueless as to their employment.
Sometimes the scenery on the carriage can be somewhat cluttered. Bags strewn all along the walkway that divides the carriage into two; and a sleeping infant in a baby carriage blissfully awaits transfer to a far more comfortable bedding.
Somewhat around midnight, the night train makes an extended stop at Gemas station in Negeri Sembilan, somewhere around 20 minutes, where locomotives are switched before making a hairpin turn up north after traversing for more than three hours down south. This will be first and the only of extended stopover for this leg, and if one is feeling decidely perky and chatty for the next few hours, one could get off at this station for a cup or two of hot coffee at two coffee shops here. No such opportunity will present itself after this and the offerings of the buffet coach leaves much to be desired. The Gemas train station has a pedigree of a sort, being erected at 1922 and is the hub whereby the Malaysian west and east coast rail lines meet.
You can always risk jumping the train if you are in a hurry to reach somewhere quick. This is not tolerated in bigger stations such as KL Sentral or Johor Bahru whereby one must present tickets for inspection before stepping unto the station platform, and is more prevalent in the stations located in the rural areas. One pays a penalty of RM20, and if possible, the conductor will attempt to seek out an empty seat or berth on which additional normal fares are payable. Failing such, as this train jumper amply demonstrates, one suffer the double ignomity of making the journey by the carriage entrances. Near the washrooms. Train jumpers are kept well clear from the first- and second-class sleeping carriages by KTMB's personnel.
I had a somewhat sleepless night tossing and turning, partly due to the fact I was not yet acclimatized for train travel, and partly also due to the loud snoring of a particular fellow on the upper berth. The night train will race the dawn to Gua Musang (Fox's Cave), parliamentary constituent of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the first of the few stops in Kelantan. The Gua Musang stopover yields two willing passengers for the camera. The 'pakcik' on the right will get off at Tanah Merah (Red Earth) whereas the one on the left is destined for Pasir Mas (Golden Sands, not the Vegas variety).
Through the heart of Kelantan on board of the Wau Ekspress.
Encik Sabri of KTMB posing for the camera.
The wait before arrival. Ten minutes away from Pasir Mas.
Encik Sabri stands by with his whistle and signal flags at the Pasir Mas station. From here, it will take another ten minutes to Wakaf Baharu, where I will get off for Kota Bahru. I will eventually arrive at 10:45 in the morning.There are two ways one gets from Wakaf Baharu to Kota Bahru. First is by public bus, which is far and few in-between for RM1.60. The second is by taxi for a ten minute, five kilometer journey that will set you back for RM20 or 'dua puluh riyal' in the local parlance. But if you are willing to suffer lugging your luggage for 100 meters or so onto the main road from station, one can hail a shared taxi, which is utilized more by the locals, whereby the same trip will only cost you RM2. However, with these shared taxis, your luggage must be hand carried. Otherwise, it is better off to engage many of the taxi drivers eagerly awaiting passengers at the train station who would also assist in carrying the luggage to and off the taxis.
After finding myself a place to stay in and disgorgement of my worldly belongings in the room, I proceeded to Siti Khadijah Market, a unique market in that it is one known market in Malaysia, whereby women dominates the marketplace. I shall elaborate on this further later......and what looked like pasta to me at the marketplace turned out to be deboned chicken legs in 'tom-yam' flavor as seen below. Best taken hot with rice. RM2 a packet from the lady vendor shown above.
McValue lunch at RM5.95, exclusive of tax. Yes.Weekday Breakfast Special at RM4.00, exlusive of tax. No.
Weekdays in Kelantan is Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday being the weekends. Kelantan, being a state considered by liberals and moderates as a socially-conservative Islamic state, regard Friday as a half-day whereby Muslims are obliged to attend prayers at mosques. Signboards by businesses here are required under the law to put up signages in the Jawi script as seen here in this photograph. In Kelantan, Islam and the trappings of a modern consumer culture comes head-to-head in the adage of 'different sides of the same coin'.
SKMK bus station for traveling to the outlying areas of Kota Bharu and nearby towns.The quaint trishaw still exists in Kota Bharu, though not as numerous as in Georgetown, Penang. A trishaw operator obliges with a pose in his 'beca', as depicted in the photograph below.
Night-time scene of the Old Market shortly before 8.00 pm. Parts of Kota Bharu will be deserted with shops boarded up and streets clear of significant human activity. When I retired to my room later the same evening, I decided to best employ my limited time there by photographing Siti Khadijah Market and three of the most picturesque Buddhist Wats of Kelantan. Getting a photograph of Tok Guru Niz Aziz, State Chief Minister of Kelantan and Spiritual Adviser to PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia) would be considered a bonus.Next. The Buddhas of Blissful Abode and Sisterhood of Siti Khadijah.
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