SEA-15-Book 1.indb

MALAYSIA

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – EAST COAST •• Kuala Besut Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels

region, and it attractively sprawls over land-

scaped gardens along the banks of the Sungai

Terengganu. Traditional architecture, fishing

boats and textiles comprise the bulk of the collec-

tion. The museum is 5km south of Terengganu;

to get there take minibus 10 (RM1).

In the middle of Sungai Terengganu, Pulau

Duyung Besar carries on the ancient boat-

building tradition handed down for genera-

tions; the village is good for a day of wandering

and snacking. Take the local ferry (60 sen) from

the jetty near the Immigration Office across

Bukit Puteri.

Sleeping & Eating

Ping Anchorage Travellers’ Inn (%626 2020; www

.pinganchorage.com.my; 77A Jln Sultan Sulaiman; dm/r from

RM10/26; a) Spread over two floors above the

travel agency of the same name, Ping’s rooms

are reasonably clean, but it doesn’t have much

going for it besides a vaguely social vibe and

a central location.

Awi’s Yellow House (%624 7363, 622 2080; r RM18-

25) Built over the Sungai Terengganu river on

Pulau Duyung, Awi’s welcomes you with the

smell of fish paste, salt and chilli, no air-con and

nights that stick to you like a wet kiss. Don’t

come here if you don’t like roughing it a little,

but do if you want a taste of kampung life.

Restoran Golden Dragon (%622 3034; 198 Jln

Kampung Cina; mains from RM5; hlunch & dinner) The

Golden Dragon is constantly packed, serves

beer and has one of the finest menus of

Chinese seafood in town – anything steamed

and off the fish list should serve you right.

Terapung Puteri (%631 8946; Jln Sultan Zainal Abidin;

mains from RM5; hlunch & dinner) This busy Malay

restaurant is perched on stilts, kampung-style,

on the seafront next to the jetty. There’s a huge

menu, with fish, prawns and crab featuring

heavily, as well as local items such as kerepok

(prawn crackers) and a few ‘Western’ dishes.

There are cheap food stalls inside the main

bus station and a night market along the

beachfront every Friday evening; the latter

is a great place to sample kerepok, satay and

sweets. Chinatown’s outdoor hawker centre

(off Jln Kampung Cina) is divided into Chinese and

Malay sections and sizzles with cooking and

socialising at night.

Getting There & Away

AIR

Malaysia Airlines (%662 6600; Airport) and Air

Asia (%32-171 9333; Airport) have direct flights

to KL, and Firefly (%03-7845 4543) has flights

to/from Singapore four times per week. A

taxi to/from the airport (%666 3666), located

13km northeast of the town centre, costs

around RM30.

BUS & TAXI

The main bus station (Jln Masjid Abidin) serves as

a terminus for all local buses. Some long-

distance buses depart from here as well, but

most use the express bus station (Jln Sultan Zainal

Abidin), in the north of town.

At the main bus station, there are services

to/from Marang (RM3, 30 minutes, every

half-hour from 6.30am to 6.30pm).

From the express bus station, there are

regular services running to and from Kuala

Besut (RM10), Johor Bahru (RM37, nine

hours, two daily), Ipoh (RM40, 10 hours, two

daily), Kuala Lumpur (RM35, seven hours,

frequent), Melaka (RM37, nine hours, one

daily), Mersing (RM29, seven hours, two

daily) and Kota Bharu (RM13, three hours,

seven daily).

The main taxi stand is at Jln Masjid Abidin

across from the main bus station.

KUALA BESUT

The primary jetty town for boats to Pulau

Perhentian is Kuala Besut (bee-su), south of

Kota Bharu. It is a sleepy fishing village with a

handful of collaborating boat companies and

a small bus station.

Some taxi drivers get paid commission to

take travellers to the jetty of Tok Bali, just across

the river. Ferries here are nearly as frequent

as Kuala Besut–based boats so this shouldn’t

pose a problem for you. For details of ferries

between Kuala Besut and Pulau Perhentian

see p482.

There is no direct bus running from Kota

Bharu – you’ll have to travel via Jerteh or

Pasir Puteh for an onward connection. The

total fare ends up being between RM5 and

RM10. A taxi to/from Kota Bharu costs RM65

per car (to Tok Bali it’s about RM60); most

people choose this easier option. From the

south, you can go to/from Kuala Terengganu

by bus (RM8) or taxi (RM80 per car). There

are also two daily buses to/from KL (RM34,

nine hours).

The agent at Kuala Besut’s jetty also sells

minibus tickets to the Cameron Highlands

(RM85, six hours) and Taman Negara (RM110,

eight hours), which leave at 10am daily.

480