Nasi dagang for breakfast at Kuala Ibai is a must if you are in this neck of the woods...
I had felt mightily tired when I retired to bed the night before, but somehow tiredness while on vacation is nothing compared to tiredness generated from the stress at work, and somehow I was able to rise early from bed and started the day early. If you’re in KT, it is a must for you to go to the famous nasi dagang restaurant in Kuala Ibai for breakfast. If you’re there anytime later than 11am, chances are the famous nasi dagang would have finished and you’d end up biting your lips for missing it. So we were there as early as 8am, with most of us as we were when we woke up from bed that morning.
The cheeky little girls...
I didn’t have much planned in KT that day. In fact, the reason why we actually included KT as part of our itinerary for the vacation was because my mum had plans to go shopping at Pasar Payang. Shopping never tantamount to leisure for me, and really is not my idea for a vacation itinerary. But since we had ladies in the entourage, and Pasar Payang is also known for its value for money for a place to shop, it was an inevitable outcome that most of the day was spent there. The ladies were at their mettle, looking and trying on one batik after another, whilst the men were mostly struggling to keep interested. After some hours of waiting, my dad, Insyirah and I resorted to waiting in the car. And mind you, we waited for further extra hours in the car until the ladies had had enough.
The only ladies not interested in shopping... yet! Boredom crept on them real fast...
Insyirah was boredom personified. Can't blame her. I was yawning non-stop while waiting for the ladies to be done with their shopping...
When is this ever going to end??
The men struggling to stay awake. I later took Insyirah back to the car with my dad and took a nap while waiting for the whole shopping extravaganza to end...
A visit to the Crystal Mosque
We checked out of the hotel at noon, with our destination now set for Cherating. However, we took the opportunity of being in KT to go and visit the newly built Crystal Mosque and the Islamic Civilization Park along the way, which arguably will become the new landmark of Terengganu. The Crystal Mosque is a wonderful architecture, and the Islamic Civilization Park which was mostly still under construction, has the potential to be a real crowd puller. But whispers among the people are, does Terengganu really need such an expensive structure and centre that probably cost a bomb, when the money could have been put to better use for the people of the state? Terengganu reputably have among the highest rate of poverty in the country and the word amongst the people have been that the millions spent on the mosque and the park could have been PRIORITISED to more pressing needs of its people.
Family photo in front of the majestic Crystal Mosque in KT... yours truly was behind the camera
Insyirah and I looking over the river which the Crystal Mosque is built beside. A windy and sunny day it was...
My dad and the grandkids. Dad was up to his posing antics as usual... hehe!
The kids scheming a plan. Anywhere, any place is a place of fun for them...
Wifey posing in front of a local bus designed like an old traditional house. Unique!
The drive to Cherating from KT took about 3 hours. It could have been made shorter, but hey who is rushing? Part of the vacation is the journey itself, and given the scenic views along the way, it was a pleasurable drive all the way. It probably explained the driving habits of the locals in Terengganu, who do not seem to show any urgency at all in their driving, even if you stall your car at the traffic lights when the light has just turned green. Perhaps they have that sense that they’re already where they want to be, and hence didn’t see the point of rushing themselves. Imagine the cultural shock in store for these people should they ever venture to KL with that driving mentality...
We arrived at our stay in Cherating, The Legend Resort a little bit past 6pm. As per my last trip here, we were given rooms in the Villa houses, which placed us real close to the beach. Our rooms were placed in the same Villa, so everyone was within easy reach of each other. Hannah and Insyirah were the most excitable ones, running from one room after another, exploring the place.
“It’s Gone!”
After performing my Maghrib prayers in my dad’s room, I returned to my room to get ready to go out for dinner. I was greeted by my wife at the door, who looked distressed. Something was amiss.
“What’s going on?”, I asked.
Wifey had walked away from the door almost immediately she had opened it, and responded distressfully, “Your wedding ring is missing. Insyirah was playing with it while I was in the toilet”. She was searching through the curtains leading to the balcony as she responded.
“I left it on the dressing table”, I responded, almost duh-like and obviously not affected by the stress and alarm that wifey was exhibiting.
“I know”, annoyance beginning to surface in her voice. “Insyirah climbed onto the chair at the dressing table and was messing up everything on it. When I came out I made a check of the items that were on the table, and to my horror I couldn’t find your wedding ring!”, she concluded in one breath.
Only then did my attention turned to Insyirah. She was standing motionlessly in the middle of the room, her teddy which she only recently became closely acquainted with held close to her chest in her two small hands, looking down on the floor. I deduced that wifey had already grilled her about the ring already.
“Insyirah, do you know where Abah’s ring is?”, I asked my daughter gently.
Nervously she looked up at me, and with one of her hands that was up to that point clutching on to her teddy extended out, with the palm showing upwards she replied, “It’s gone”.
She was now looking at me earnestly, giving me the look of someone who knows she’s done something naughty, and was apprehensive of the consequence that she might have to face. I was now searching on the table where I last left my ring. I asked Insyirah once again, while I continued with my search. “Did you play with my ring just now? Where did you put it?”
Like a broken radio, she chimed again, “It’s gone”. You could almost sense guilt in the way she answered.
“No point asking her abang. That’s all she’s been saying when I asked her the same. She kept on saying, ‘It’s gone, it’s gone, it’s gone’!”, annoyance apparently creeping on wifey.
I was slowly overcome by guilt. Really, it was my fault rather than this little girl that my wedding ring is now misplaced. I should have known better to keep it well out of her reach like in the drawer or something, rather than out in the open like that for her to play her games with. Father and daughter were now feeling the heat of wifey’s wrath. My eyes were fixed on Insyirah, feeling rather sorry for her. She took her eyes away from the floor again to look at me, still not moving from that same spot when I first came into the room, and probably sensing that I was going to ask her again, she prompted again “It’s gone Abah”.
I opened the drawers and searched the table again. At that point, I heard the sound of small metal falling onto the floor. My eyes quickly located the sound my ears had sensed, and I found the ring still moving in circles from the falling impact, right behind Insyirah. The ring must have gotten stuck to her sleeves or pocket and fell off from her.
I moved towards her and reached for the ring. “Insyirah, there it is! There’s the ring! It must have fallen off from you!”, I took the ring from the floor near her small feet and showed it to her face.
Her expression changed so suddenly upon discovery of the ring. The frown on her small face was immediately replaced with a look of relief, and covering her mouth with her small hand in a gesture of excitement, she responded “It’s not gone!”, and laughed out loud in relief. I gave her a hug just to give her the extra reassurance, although I sensed she was clever enough to know that she was already off the hook.
My precious...
It amazed me how my 2 year old girl could comprehend the seriousness of the situation, and how she could feel she was responsible for what had happened. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, and stroked her hair. In a matter of seconds, she was away from the spot she’s been rooted to in the last 10 minutes or so and went about the room doing the usual stuffs a 2 year old girl would do.
Stuffed crab for dinner
We had dinner at a place famous for its stuffed crab in Chukai town in Kemaman, which is about 20 minutes drive from Cherating. The food was great, and with my diet program officially suspended and thrown out of the window in the duration of this vacation, I held nothing back. On the way back to the hotel, stopped by the small shop in front of the hotel to buy some additional apparatus (small pails, spades and shovels) for the girls to play at the beach the next day. The poor girls had to wait another day...
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