MALAYSIAlonelyplanet.com PENINSULAR INTERIOR •• Jerantut
will drop off passengers near here, but do not
depart from here. All long-distance compa-
nies serving Kota Bharu have ticket agents
nearby. When buying your ticket, verify which
long-distance terminal the bus departs from.
Most Transnacional long-distance buses de-
part from Langgar bus station (%748 3807; Jln Pasir
Puteh), in the south of the city. All the other
long-distance bus companies operate from
the external bus station (Jln Hamzah).
A few handy local buses include the ones to
Pasir Puteh (RM5) and Jerteh (RM7) – for con-
nections to Kuala Besut and the Perhentians –
Kota Bharu airport (RM1.20, every 20 min-
utes), and Wakaf Baharu (RM1.20).
Long-distance destinations from here in-
clude Butterworth (RM29, seven hours, one
daily), Ipoh (RM25, eight hours, five daily),
Johor Bahru (RM49, 10 hours, five daily),
Kuala Lumpur (RM31, 10 hours, hourly), Kuala
Terengganu (RM11, three hours, two daily) and
Kuantan (RM24, seven hours, five daily).
TA X I
The taxi stand is on the southern side of the
central bus station. Destinations and costs
per car (which can be split between four
passengers) include Wakaf Baharu (RM25),
Kota Besut (RM65) and Tok Bali (RM60).
Taxi drivers in Kota Bharu are uncharacter-
istically aggressive; do your homework on
fares. Most guest houses arrange shared taxis,
especially for early morning departures.
TRAIN
The nearest train station (%719 6986) to Kota
Bharu is at Wakaf Baharu, on the Jungle
Railway line (see p486 ). There is also a train
to Bangkok, although services have some-
times been suspended due to violence in
southern Thailand.
PENINSULAR INTERIOR
A thick band of jungle buffers the two coasts
from one another. Within the middle is
Taman Negara, the peninsula’s most famous
national park, and the Jungle Railway, an
engineering feat.JERANTUT
%^09
Jerantut is the first of several stepping stones
to Taman Negara. It’s a dingy yet easy town,
where you can pick up supplies, change money
or stay overnight to break up your trip.
There are two ATMs, both near the bus
station, where you can cash up before head-
ing to the jungle.Sleeping & Eating
A food court specialising in tom yam (spicy
Thai-style) seafood is on Jln Pasar Besar.
Chinese liquor stores line up along Jln
Diwangsa hoping you’ll want to stock up on
booze before heading to dry Kuala Tahan.
Hotel Sri Emas (%266 4499; tamannegara@hotmail
.com; 46 Jln Besar; dm RM8, d with shower RM38, d with-
out shower RM15-35, tr RM21, f RM64; ai) Many
people get herded here by the handy NKS
minivan that picks up at the bus and train
station and it’s not a bad place to end up.
Fan doubles with shared hot-water bath-
rooms have saggy mattresses but are clean
and excellent value (RM15).
Hotel Chet Fatt (%266 5805; 177 Jln Diwangsa; dm/d
RM10/20; i) Stumble across the street from
the bus station if you arrive late at night to
this place with window-lit rooms, internet
terminals and free filtered water.
Greenleaf Traveller’s Inn (%267 2131; 3 Jln
Diwangsa; dm RM10, d RM20-30; a) Run by a sweetGETTING TO THAILAND: RANTAU PANJANG TO SUNGAI KOLOK
It’s not advised to cross the border here due to violence and instability on this coast of southern
Thailand. If you must risk it, buses depart on the hour from the central bus station (RM3.80, 1½
hours) to Rantau Panjang where you can walk across the border; it’s about a kilometre from here
to the Sungai Kolok train station. Share taxis from Kota Bharu to Rantau Panjang cost RM30 per
car and take 45 minutes.
An alternative (and some say safer) route into Thailand is to take a regular bus to Pengkalan
Kubor, on the coast, cross the border to Ban Ta Ba, then get a songthaew to Tak Bai, Sungai
Kolok from there. Do know, however, that this entire area is considered unsafe and crossing
here is a risky endeavour.
For information about getting to Malaysia from Thailand see p804.485