The journey to get there excites me so much than destination itself. First up in order to get to kelantan via the sleeper's train, you've got to make your way to the Gemas ktm Station. That is the only way for you to board on the sleeper's train. I took the ets from Kl central to Gemas at 9.40pm. The ride took about 2 hours and 30 minutes and I reached Gemas at 12.10 am. At the moment there’s just one train scheduled each day for those who wants to take the sleeper's train up to kelantan being 1: 18 am. I reached there on time but i had to wait for almost 3 hours to board on the sleeper’s train which according to kakak in counter has never happened before. I guess it's just unfortunate for it to happen that day. I boarded on the train at about 4 am and the next thing i knew i was asleep. I was just too tired. The sleepers train would take you through pahang and all the way up to kelantan. I bought ticket to wakaf bharu which is the very last station of the sleeper's train route. On your way you would come across very beautiful scenery of hills, mountains and lush greenery. I was asleep the first half of the journey and woke up once the sky has brightened a little bit.
It was very very different from the other train rides, it's like a very raw version of train ride that you get to experience; with the sound of the train chugging, the motion of the train and also the coaches in it. All in all, it felt as if it came out of a movie (for me at least cause i have never experienced anything like that before). I couldn’t sit still for long so i took walk to one end to the other, they do have the conventional seating coach as well. There's a cafe at the train as well, you can get bites and even meals there but in all honestly it was below average, perhaps you might want to pack some food with you along. There is also 1 washroom at the end of every coach but the condition of it is really questionable. I mean for a running train and all i truly understand but it's just bad. You will also pass gua musang on your way which is too good to be true.
I reached the station at about 4pm and took a grab to the hotel that i was about to stay. During my 3-day 2-night stay at Kelantan, i've had the chance to visit some really nice places and had super yum food. Nasi kerabu there is the og. Besides their handcrafted item market and local spots, kelantan has some of the magnificent buddhist temple to which my grab driver explained that the architecture is mostly crafted by the thai buddhist. The thailand border is very close to tumpat and other districts nearby. I initially wanted to book kereta sewa and explore the town on my own but the person in charge cancelled my booking twice because of the delayed timing in my arrival, i took it as a sign and did not look for other kereta sewa. If i have the opportunity to go there again i would gladly rent a car and go places on my own. All things considered, it's a great place to chill a little bit with the beach and all and you can get to buy back a lot of local snacks like all the kerepek and all for a cheaper price. I guess the only downside of travelling alone is that you don't get people to take pics for you. Was it great ? absolutely yes, but would i do it again ? probably no. I took flight back to kl and the travel time was cut down to just a hour from kelantan.
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Do's
*Book your ticket as early as possible
because the bed bunk coaches sells out very fast.
*Just make sure that you know for sure
you have a plan to make your way to gemas before getting the tickets for the kelantan
route.
*For a better view, choose the lower
bed bunk as it has bigger window compared to the ones above.
*Carry a small pouch of mouth wash or
breath freshener, it's gonna get uncomfortable after a certain point especially
after you wake up from your sleep and with the washroom not in an optimal
condition you won't even feel like brushing your teeth
*If you’re a non hijabi you will get stares especially in local places, wearing appropriate clothes especially in religious places would be more apt.
Don't
*The washroom on the train is filthy so
try not to drink water as much (only until you reach your destination)
*If possible, bring food or snacks
along with you as there isn’t much food for you to choose from on the train's
cafe and even so it's not great or whatsoever. With a long ride ahead, you
would certainly want to be fuelled.
*If you’re alone and female especially
just don’t make it seem like you’re alone. I also told the grab drivers that I have
people waiting for me in the other end
*Don’t get intimidated by the malay that they speak there, it took me a while to understand what they were trying to say
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| this chef''s kiss nasi kerabu |
I have very less pictures from this
trip and i did ran out of savings but i got back home with my heart beaming
with contentment only because i made it happen. 2 years ago, or even a year
ago, if somebody's gonna come at me and say that i would go on a solo trip i
probably wouldn't have believed it. I have always been the 'up to you' and 'i
ikut je' typa friend. I do not take part in the initial planning of any trips
and it just gets comfortable for me each time because some other friend is
going to do the ground work and i just get along with it. Being accountable of
my travel itinerary has definitely gave the sense of belonging and I don’t get
panic when things go wrong because it's just going to be me and i can always
change the plan according to my liking. Through this whole journey I got to
build great conversations with the locals there and the grab drivers especially.
I never thought i could do this and I can’t wait to do this again in the future.
Becoming
my own best friend was the best thing i did for myself ✨
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