Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Glorious East Coast Sojourn

It was short but glorious. Predictable but momentous.

For a totally indoor feline like me, any foray into the "outside" is deemed adventurous (...even crossing the threshold and sniffing the neighbours' shoes...) Thus, Mama's taking me "balik kampung" was an adventure that everyone was looking forward to.

First, make sure the cat stuffs are ready to go. Here, I was stretching my limbs before Mama puts me in the carrier bag before the journey from house to vehicle. Once inside the car, she'll usually set us free with the promise of not damaging Dad's leather seats.

Once Dad starts the engine, we were told to behave - no quarrelling, no spilling of kibbles, no poo-ing outside the box, no "are we there yet?"... What were we supposed to do then? Lie back and think of England? Then someone came up with a brilliant idea - let's test Mama's knowledge of the land, especially about the jungle and trees we'll be passing by all along the way. Marvelous.

We started the journey from KL to KT early on Saturday morning. There was heavy traffic all the way from home to the Gombak toll. Apparently there was an accident somewhere near Sri Gombak and motorists, as usual, slowed down to have a look-see. People, if you're not stopping to help, don't slow down! It's causing unnecessary gridlock.

Because of that, we missed breakfast and by the time we reach the R&R at the LPT, it was almost noon. So we had brunch instead.

Saw this very colourful pay phone at the R&R. I thought it was a toy but Mama assured me it was the real McCoy.

We found ourselves in Marang around tea time. We stopped for some refreshing coconut juice, pisang goreng and kerpok lekor....yummmm....

Then we bought some red-fleshed dragon fruits from this sweet uncle. He was a good salesman - Mama ended up buying heaps when originally she only wanted two.

It was late afternoon when we reached our humble abode at the waterfront.

The view from our room. Is that Ayoh Wang's kampung of Pulau Duyong?

Where we frolicked for three days and two nights.

Mama persuaded some uncles to fish for us....kidding! This is an activity of some people we observed from the 10th floor. Of course I wish I had joined them.

Rambutans on trees - we passed by many such sights all over town.

Did a bit of shopping...

A sit-down durian session at Kkeda Payang...

Left KT on Monday morning to our next destination - Kuantan. Been ages since she's visited the town, Mama said. Booked at a seaside resort in Beserah.

Nasi Dagang @ Ladang breakfast. A hearty breakfast of rice and tuna curry for the long drive ahead.

Stop over at Aunty Ayu's place in Kerteh - just so we could visit the handsome Ubi.

Rendezvous with bloggers Aunty Ahan and Aunty Sherry in Beserah, Kuantan.

The meal we had with Aunty Ahan and Aunty Sherry. The main dish - steamed garoupa.... yummmm....

Where we spent the night in Kuantan.

Stopped for a late lunch at the R&R and stretched our limbs near these fruit trees. How thoughtful of the highway builder, eh?

Upon closer inspection - not quite ripe yet.

Euww!!! A big lizard lounging by the sink. We had a fun time chasing it.

Why this billboard? Future trip, perhaps?

Anyway, this is my last post before handing back the blog to Brad. Is Angelina still hibernating? Brad didn't say anything and I bet the usurper is enjoying the ride while it lasts. roar! roar! roar!

32 comments:

Pi Bani said...

Sounds like jalan-jalan cari makan!

p/s
Diva-diva Kuantan tu posing sokmo...

Wan Sharif said...

Yeah that is Ayoh Wang's place of birth(tanah Tumpah darah), Pulau Duyong.. Now you have stirred the "rindu dendam" to be there puasatime to listen to the Genta and bedil bbuka puasa which have been detailed by AG. Missed the "terjung ssunga" from the jeety experiences.. as access to "kkalang nnambang" Kedai Binjai might not be there anymore..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Pi,
I don't know how people can get high on Chinese tea. But that's what happened between Mama and the aunties. Didn't leave the restaurant the workers started washing the floor!!! roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
The hotel where we stayed actually has some boating services for hire. So I guess you could re-enact the nostalgia by taking the boat from there to the 'ppula. Oh, we miss the hustle bustle of Bazaar Ramadan at Chabang Tiga and Batu Enam markets. And GrandMa's bubur lambuk... roar! roar! roar!

Ellen Whyte said...

A hotel that takes kitties???? Great!

wawa said...

i didnt know cats r allowed in hotels..ooh i'll be scared :o

ive bn to KT once only n i loved it, belum rezki nak lawat lagi..

i hv a serius qn dat ive bn wanting to ask..n now dat ive found the intelligent thinking cat..cn cats sense when i m malu2 kucing? i hv a feeling u cn sense it n thats when u'll purposely come near me n show ur taring. tel me is it true?

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Au dear,
They were not happy about it but we have our special ways and means...that nobody dares refuse us. roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Wawa,
Hmmm...cats definitely have more senses than humans. So, that's why we are such sensible creatures. Oh, and we can definitely smell your fear/shyness from a mile away. Most scaredy cats (can't resist the pun) would usually stare at the cat(s). That's a no-no. In our world, looking us in eyes means "i want to be your friend" hence the approach you'll get from most cats. If you don't want any cat to come near you (but why???), don't look or stare at it. Ignore it and it will ignore you. roar! roar! roar!

sherry said...

Yeay! My picture is here. I suker!

P/s Che Pi.
Mai la turun sini, boleh kita posing and makan2.

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Wow, what a wonderful trip you had, Kitties! I love it! CovertMum's hometown is Kuala Terengganu, and we have relatives all the way from Marang to Kota Bharu, so the East Coast always holds fond memories for me! I think all the Aunties must have been thrilled to meet you, Kitties! Ubi is very handsome, indeed! Almost as handsome as Tom, Brad and all you Sydneysiders.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Sherry,
You're so pretty too....we must do that stuffed crab thing again, OK? roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
OMG! We could be related as well! Dad's relatives are spread from Kuantan to Pattani and he was born and bred in KT....hmmm... You think Ubi is handsome, eh? Lemme tell you that he hasn't had a bath for three years...compared to our regular hydrotherapy... He stinks! roar! roar! roar!

mokja said...

Dell : Mamason never takes me on any journey.She left me at the back of the house and off she went.Sometimes for days on end.Grrrrrrr.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dell, Mamason is just practising that Malay proverb: sayang anak tinggal-tinggalkan...OK, it's so different from the original proverb, but you get the drift, right? roar! roar! roar!

Unknown said...

..no wonder Ayam bristled..you ere to near her territory..:)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Abe Mat,
Maybe she was feeling kinda frisky coz we handsome boys were nearby. roar! roar! roar!

Father & Son,
Tom & Michael

Lee said...

Hi Cat, wow, all the places you mentioned brought back memories to me.
I have always loved te East Coast, Trengganu. Used to stay at Primula hotel practically every month.
In Kota Baru was the Perdana.

And my one time favourite was at Tanjong Jara resort hotel.
Thanks for the memories.
You have a swell time....and you sure have great looking aunties too.
Have a nice day, Lee.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Uncle Lee,
Primula is one of our favourites too except this time we wanted to try somewhere new. If you know the location of the MARA shipyard, this is where that hotel is. Tg Jara is wayyyy over budget for us at RM1,500 per night! Perhaps one day we'll do the journey together, eh? roar! roar! roar!

wawa said...

hey thanks, now i'll take the buat bodoh approach..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Wawa,
Har har har...suka hatilah Labu! roar! roar! roar!

Pat said...

So glad I dropped by. Lovely pix, and lovely comments as well. You sound like you're all having a great time.

Cats rock, eh?!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Pat,
Yeah..let's rock and roll baby! roar! roar! roar!

Al-Manar said...

If I were the Mayor of KT city I would have barred the entry of cats of any sorts without prior notice and my personal approval- growl.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Pakcik,
Phew! Thank God you're not the mayor. Anyway, we contributed to the local economy esp the many kilogrammes of kerpok we consumed... you know... roar! roar! roar!

TK said...

Which one of you is in the header photo now?? So adoooorable!!!
Amboi..jalan2 KT tak ckp org ye.
Kalau tak bole I belanje..

Cheqna said...

Now u make me miss my kampung more and cannot wait for the raya break..nak dengor bunyi bedil..dummmm...

u stayed at Felda hotel tu ke?..dekat doh dengan rumah bonda, wat pe dok singgoh ambik rambutan, hehe..n my mum sure wld love to see u...oh well next time lah ye.

:-)

p/s...gossiping about Ubi eh? the only time i met him, he was hiding under d seat...lucky me..ha ha..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

TK Sensei,
Dok dang kabo ssapa ssapa pung! Always unplanned. Next time, eh? Ikang bakor kuale iba.... roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cheqna wei...dok dang setabok nok ke losong tuh. Did u know Ubi once stayed at the same hotel? For real! roar! roar! roar!

Unknown said...

What a lovely post with great photos! Take care and hope you have settled down to the grind!

Salam

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Paula,
We have indeed. purrr....meow!

Unknown said...

I loike!

Coz got my pic here with the crab's shell!

Must do this again some time yerk?

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Ahan,
Aiyo....tertinggal lori balak ni.... purrr....meow!