Idyllic Terengganu beckons - Part 2

Amazing hues of blue adorned the pre-sunrise sky at Pantai Mangkuk.

The pre-sunrise sky was never better elsewhere - at least that's the impression I got that morning when I made my way to the secluded beach, Pantai Mangkuk. Silhouettes of slender coconut palms against a sky in amazing shades of blue reminded me of images printed on those cheesy Hawaiian holiday shirts that I presumed could only be a figment of the shirtmakers' imagination all these while - how wrong was I! With no one else in sight, I felt totally immersed in the beauty of God's creation - humbled and thankful at the same time.

The sunrise was a magnificent private show!

Fishermen's boats throttled past my line of sight of the tourist-trodden Perhentian Islands as the first slivers of the day's sunlight reflected on gentle waves crashing upon my feet. And when the whole sun finally ascended into view, it was magnificent and moving; I enjoyed the moment alone on a deck chair, as if it was a private show meant just for me :)

Basking in the morning light while waiting for breakfast to be served.

We were quite pleased with our breakfast of nasi kerabu (blue-coloured rice garnished with finely chopped herbs), Western-style pancakes and toast, besides the rather compulsory platter of fruits. I rarely eat rice for breakfast, but I guess people from the east coast would eat rice for every meal of the day, huhu. Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em ;)

A laid back pose in front of a unique heritage villa. My mum was notably excited by those pretty frangipani flowers.

Lounging by the pool.

As agreed, a couple of the resort's staff took us on a little private tour of the compounds including a part which was under construction. I was delighted to find out that many more antique local houses would be resurrected as heritage villas, other than the wooden tower and a traditional spa. We also noticed that the resort incorporated several old Malay paraphernalia as decorations: traditional boats, rope making instruments, grinders, cow bells, et cetera. Kudos to the management for realising this project in such a thoughtful manner ;)

Inspecting the traditional sauna under construction.

A fisherman's boat in endearing colours under a heritage villa.

We took some great pictures around the resort before proceeding to Kuala Terengganu, not so far down south for an obligatory sight-seeing tour around the city. First on the list was Losong Village, made famous nationwide by its keropok lekor (a type of local fish crackers). There seemed to be zero websites or blogs in English discussing this delectable gastronomic delight, so no links here, okay. Anyway, we found several shops selling keropok lekor around the village and quite a few of them were swarmed by local holidaymakers coming by the busload, it's hard to know which one sold the best crackers, huhu. But of course we bought some anyway. Yay!

People grabbing keropok lekor left and right at this shop at Losong Village. Good souvenirs indeed!

The shopping frenzy didn't stop there. Next stop was Pasar Payang, the main market of Kuala Terengganu. It's surely a treasure trove of local delicacies and specialties! I was very happy with my purchase of a light blue songket (ones handmade in Terengganu are reputedly the best), a woven rattan lampshade, a purple mengkuang mat, and some serunding daging (spiced beef floss). Double yay :)

Pasar Payang is a treasure trove of local delicacies and specialties.

In the afternoon, we stopped by Masjid Abidin, the old state royal mosque in the middle of the city. In stark contrast to the hubbub of city life revolving around it, praying inside its white-washed walls brought us the oft-welcome peace and serenity. Also known locally as Masjid Putih (White Mosque), construction of the mosque began in 1793 during the reign of Sultan Zainal Abidin II in wood but thereafter it was renovated and expanded by his predecessors to the size and splendour that we now see.

A brief stop for prayers at Masjid Abidin, the old state royal mosque.

It was almost past lunchtime so we hurried to our next destination, Pulau Duyong to find some food. But unfortunately to our dismay all the good food outlets I read about were closed! It was later when I discovered that they only open in the evening around dinnertime. Oh well, better luck next time :( So off we went finding lunch at Kuala Terengganu's famous beach, Pantai Batu Burok (literally translated as Beach of Ugly Stone) in the form of an expensive fried calamari and whatnot...

Pulau Duyong is practically deserted by day, huhu...