The Buddhas of Blissful Abode

Dedicated to my Father, to whom I owe my Upbringing and Education, and whose Sacrifices and Toils to raise a Family has only begun to hit home. Thank you, Pa.

The Reclining or Sleeping Buddha is generally regarded as the second biggest in the world after the one in Myanmar. Unfortunately, being armed with only a 50mm lens and operating under a time constraint, I was not able obtain an angle of a view that could convey the majestic length of the Reclining Buddha here at Wat Phothivihan, located in Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia. The photograph below, shows the Reclining Buddha alongside life-sized statues of prominent Thai Buddhist monks who have passed on.

The Reclining Buddha is about 40 meters in length. It represents the Buddha entering into a state of Nirvana prior to his death. In the reclining position, the Buddha, with a serene and calm half smile in his face, lies on his right side with his head resting in the palm of his right hand, thus symbolizing the Mahaparinirvana (Achievement of Enlightenment).

The 30-metre tall Sitting Buddha of Wat Machimmaram of Kampung Jubakar here in Tumpat is reputed to be the largest in South East Asia. What is even more astounding that this is one of three prominent Buddha statues erected in the PAS-ruled state of Kelantan, Malaysia. PAS, the Islamic Party of Malaysia, is a conservative Islamic political party whose stated goal is the establishment of an Islamic state in Malaysia. The statue was inaugurated in 2001 and is one of many tourist attractions here in Kelantan Darul Naim. Darul Naim also translates as Blissful Abode in English, hence the title.

Taking ten years to build and costing over US$1 million, it is a Chinese inspired temple with figures from Chinese folklore surrounding it and its inner sanctum. The Sitting Buddha, or also known as the full-lotus position as seen earlier above, represents the Buddha in a meditative pose moments after or before the Buddha perceived Enlightenment thru his own efforts whilst sitting under the Bodhi tree.

The final part of my brief itinerary of the Buddhas of Blissful Abode ends here with the Standing Buddha at Wat Pikulthong, a ten minute journey from Kota Bharu. A series of steps will lead you up to this graceful statue, whereby seen on its base, is a much smaller version of the larger one in similar repose.

The Standing Buddha, with its left palm raised with a gesture of moving forth, represents the conquest of or absence of fear itself. The gesture of moving forth is an exhortation to devout Buddhists to conquer or absent fear from their hearts and minds. Buddhist iconography, in contemporary Buddhism, has little or no relevance to many Buddhists today and is now in the lay of academics and those in the know.

The Sisterhood of Siti Khadijah

Dedicated to my Mother, to whom I owe my Life, and whose Unconditional Love I have more Oft more than not Failed to Appreciate. Thank you, Ma.

Pasar Siti Khadijah, or Siti Khadijah Market is located in the heart of Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. Three storeys tall, the market's foundation was laid by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a renowned Malaysia politician and a blue-blooded Kelantanese royalty himself. The ground floor of the market is a wet market teeming with vendors of fresh farm produces such as meat, seafood, and vegetables. The lady shown in the photograph below, despite knowing that I was on holiday junket from Kuala Lumpur, kept up a barrage of sales pitch to me extolling the virtues of 'ayam kampung'. 'Ayam kampung', literally translated as village chicken, features lean meat and therefore a healthier alternative to mass-produced farm raised poultry.

My wanderings within the market took me an annexe whereby finger food and other edibles are sold. The most noticeable aspect of this market is that it is dominated by Kelantanese women. The men mainly avail themselves to the butchery section of the market, where muscle power and perhaps a lack of aversion to blood, creates a niche for themselves.

The Siti Khadijah Market, officially opened in 1985, was named after the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), a shrewd and enterprising businesswoman herself. Is it also named as such to honor the fact that, with exceptions such as those operating in the butchery section or performing manual labor, the many enterprising souls of the market are women. One of them, obliging for a pose as seen below, permitted me to sample fish and chicken 'serunding', a type of dried meat floss. 'Serunding', appearing below in small mounds to the right, goes down well with rice or bread.

None of the sellers of the market make, farm, or produce any of the goods sold within the market. As told by the lady in blue featured above, "Disini kami cuma timbang dan jual sahaja", that is after buying from external parties, they then "...only weight and sell". The two women shown in the above two photographs, are located on the second floor of the market. This floor is in essence a dry market whereby dry, preserved, and packaged goods are available. Spices of all kind, from pepper to cinnamon, are also available.

The third floor of the market is a boutique whereby apparel and bolts of cloth are on display for sale. From silk to cotton, one can obtain cloths of all persuasion, design, and colors. 'Batik' is available as well. The two photographs below shows two of the many women, obliging for a pose, engaging in their trade on the third floor.

Lest one is given the impression that the Kelantanese menfolk is either unenterprising or indolent, it is a well known fact that many Kelantanese men go out 'bertualang', that is many of them seek and obtain more lucrative employment out of the state of Kelantan itself. Kelantanese women, forced by economic necessity and a need to be less dependent upon their menfolk's remittances, have become professional entrepreneurs. This has, in the description of one Malaysian blogger, enabled the state government to thumb its nose at the federal government, both respectively at the opposite end of the political spectrum, for more than 18 years despite the fact that state funding by the federal government has been more or less constricted.

Foray To East Coast : The Night Train To Blissful Abode

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.

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.