Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Fort Puteri Hill


Fort Puteri Hill or locally known as Bukit Puteri is a place in Terengganu that gives historical vibes to the visitors. It is situated at the mouth of Terengganu River. It covers an area of almost 660 hectares and 200 meters height from the sea level. It is the highest point of this state. This place was built to defend the Sultan from enemies attack. This hill is easily accessible and there are steps to lead to the top.



The name came from the folks story that said there was a Puteri Bunian live there. The place was her residence, but it was said that the Puteri left Bukit Puteri when the local residents borrowed her cutlery and did not return them to her.


A few historical artefacts still exist on Bukit Puteri till now. There are a huge bell, cannon, a flag pole, light house, graves, and defence wall. It used to be a lot of cannons on Bukit Puteri. Those cannons are from Spain, Portugal, and the Malay states. They were given names like local royal people such as Seri Jamlor, Seri Buih, Seri Johor, and Laila Majnun.




Beside cannons, the bell also still exists even though it was built during the reign of Sultan Zainal Abidin III in the year of 1908. It was made from yellow copper, and it weights 175 kilograms. The bell is only pounded when there were rampage, fire, or enemies attacking the state. According to the folks, a boy from royal family was believed to guard the bell.
A cave, or called Gua Puteri can also be found here. This place was used to be a storehouse for gun powder, stone, and iron bullets. 


Other than that, a flag pole on top of Bukit Puteri was used to raise the royal flag when there were royal ceremonies held. The lighthouse on the peak of Bukit Puteri was used to guide fishermen and sailors to sail into the mouth of Terengganu River.


These days, Bukit Puteri is used for cannon’s firing range for royal ceremonies. Aside from that, Bukit Puteri is also a tourist attraction because of the beautiful scenery. All of the city can be seen from the top of the hill.

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Kapas Island




Kapas Island is a very famous island in Terengganu. This island is only 4 nautical miles from Marang, thus it is very accessible from mainland. It takes 15 minutes to reach this island by speedboat.  Since there are many activities can be done here, and also many facilities offered here, it is very popular among people since it is less expensive than other beaches, but the offering here is equal to others.

This island, literally translated to English means “Cotton Island”, and this peculiar name was taken because of the beaches are white like cotton. The sand slopes gently into the clear water.



The best time to go to to Kapas Island is around July, August and local holiday’s times. This island is famous for the clear waters, white sandy beaches, and the palm trees swaying with the wind, and the isolated nature of the island. In the waters, there are variety of beautiful corals, sea-shells, fish and turtles.

The main attraction of this island is a wrecked World War II ship’s body located 5 nautical miles offshore. The water is shallow, and it makes it an ideal training place for divers. The visitors can choose wheter to stay on the island or at a better resort or hotels available in town, and diving activities can be done on day trips.



Snorkelling with playful but shy fishes are a very pleasant experience. It is one of the best leisure activities that can be done in the island, aside from jungle trekking. Visitors can play spotting the turtles and kayaking, and also boating. This island was not very well-known among non-members of diving community. However, it became more well known with the promotion by the government.

There are a few resorts and chalets that are operating here. They even give guides on how to do some activities here. This video shows the beautiful places around Kapas Island.

Kapas Island may be easy to reach, but its hard to leave this island after being immersed in the beauty. ;)

Friday, 5 October 2012

The Viewtiful Batu Buruk Beach

Batu Buruk Beach or locally called Pantai Batu Burok is one of the popular long beach in Kuala Terengganu where locals go to when it is weekends and also, in the evening to take fresh air and enjoying the beautiful scenery. This beach is only 1 kilometer away from the main city of Kuala Terengganu and in front of it is a 4 star hotel, Primula Beach Resort.







This long beach is naturally sandy and beach trees grow in large quantities along the beach. Aside from that, the Cultural Centre is also situated here and to make the experience more interesting, traditional games, stage performances are on display here on Fridays, from 5 in the evening to 6.30pm. The performances is showed to the visitors includes the “silat”, Malay martial arts, sepak raga, flying the kite, and spinning the top. This beach is the cleanest in the city. Apart from that, the facility here can be compared to Teluk Chempedak Beach in other neighboring state, Pahang.








Along the road nearby, there are food stalls that sell many kinds of local food such as Keropok Lekor. Keropok Lekor from Terengganu is really famous for its exquisite taste. It is made from fish meat mixed with sago flour, and grounded to a paste. Keropok Lekor can either be eaten after boiled, or fry it after its boiled. It is usually eaten with chilly sauce.



Furthermore, there is Night Market every Friday from 3 to 7pm. Friday is a holiday for this state, and there are many stalls are set up to have capacity for people who want to visit to buy foods or to relax.








The night market is on every Friday from 3pm to 7pm, a weekend holiday for the state of Terengganu where many extra stalls are set up to accommodate the throng of people who come here for a time of relaxation. The beach is well maintained by themunicipal council and is one of the cleanest beach in the city.




It is not recommended to swim as the waves are not suitable for swimming activity owing to the location of the sea that is facing the South China Sea. However, horse riding is another activity that can be done here during the weekends, for a slight amount of fees. Beach soccer is also an activity that is common here.



For more information in local language, please do visit http://www.visit-terengganu.net/pantai-batu-buruk/.

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Terengganu State Museum


One of the main attraction of Terengganu, the state of faith, is the largest museum in the south east asia. Also called as Muzeum Losong, this museum is the pride of Terengganu peope because of its popularity all over the globe. This museum stores historical artefacts that worth many centuries of history and artworks that is a must-see for anyone that visited this museum.



This museum mainly displays the state’s and the country’s rich heritage in many galleries, such as the Islamic Gallery, the Royal Gallery, the Crafts Gallery, the Textile Gallery, the Nature Gallery, the Petroleum Gallery, and also contemporary and Modern arts and tool’s in more than 10 galleries.

Not so far from the main city, Kuala Terengganu, this museum is just 3 kilometers south of the city. A grand complex of the museum will appear upon your two eyes. This museum is located next to the river and the area with hills of Losong Hill.



Furthermore, the original Inscribe stone or locally called, Batu Bersurat is displayed in the main entrance of this museum. The stone is the proof of Terengganu as the earliest state to be influenced by Islam deeply. 
The Grand museum is a remarkable monument with magnificent complexes crossing the huge area of almost 28 hectares. Terengganu River made up the landscape of the museum, thus, making the museum accessible by road or by water.



Other than that, an old Palace of this state was moved here a while ago. This ancient palace was made out of no nails and it is a stunning architectural monument showing off the Malay’s splendid woodcarving and craftsmanship.

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Crystal Mosque and Taman Tamadun Islam Monument Park


Terengganu. It is a magical land of many unregrettable experiences. It is located in Malaysia, a small country with a high level of development in technology. In this state, you would be able to see many beautiful landmarks that you will never forget along the course of your life. The uniqueness of each landmark are more than what we can imagine because of the history and meaning behind every landmarks. The natural beauty of the land next to a beautiful river plus the gardens around the Mosque is really breathtaking.


As the name already makes it obvious, yes this mosque is ‘wrapped’ by crystals. There are 4 towers on each corner is also covered by crystals. Inside the mosque, of course it is the place to pray, divided by male and female compartments. The air-conditioner in this mosque is always switched on because of the window is never opened.

Crystal Mosque on one side.

The view of Crystal Mosque at night.


Furthermore, the garden around the mosque connects the vicinity to the city of the Islamic world, windows on Islam. Taman Tamadun Islam Monument Park around the mosque is is one of the places that should be visited too since it is one of the main attraction of being in Terengganu. The park features 21 awesome Islamic Monuments as to reminiscence the rise of Islam into a well-known religion that was globalized during the period of time of each monument.

The list of the monuments are:_

v  National Mosque, Malaysia
v  Kudus Minar, Central Java, Indonesia
v  Pattani Central Mosque, Thailand
v  Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, Brunei Darussalam
v  Taj Mahal, Agra, India
v  Nabawi Mosque, Madinah, Arab Saudi
v  Suleyman Mosque, Turkey
v  Great Mosque of Qairawan, Tunisia
v  The Palace of Hambra, Granada, Spain
v  Kalyan Minaret, Uzbekistan
v  Great Mosque of Agadez, Niger
v  Sheikh Lutfallah Mosque, Iran
v  Abu Nasr Parsa, Afghanistan
v  Xian Mosque, China
v  Kul Sharif Mosque, Kazan, Rusia
v  Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan
v  Kubbah As-Sakhrah, Jerusalem Al-Haram Mosque, Mecca, Arab Saudi
v  Aleppo Citadel, Syria
v  Mosque of Mohamed Ali, Egypt
v  Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq

Other than that, the visitors will get a free passport which described the history of each monuments briefly. A stamp will be rewarded each time you entered the Taman Tamadun Islam. It gave you benefits for next visit.