The famous Pasar Siti KhadijahOne peculiar thing about KB during my stay there was the gorgeous weather during the day, but it will start to rain late afternoon, making evening stroll during the golden hour a bit of a challenge. I decided to take my camera out during the late morning instead but unfortunately time was tight and I only had a couple of hours on my hands on the Monday morning for a walk.
There were quite a few places to visit reading through the various blogs. The ones I wanted to visit was definitely the famous Pasar Siti Khadijah - not for the shopping I must add - the War Memorial, the State Museum and Islamic Museum. Unfortunately time was tight, I plotted a round route taking me to the Memorial, Pasar then the State Museum.
Can't remember what this was called, but it was partially run down alreadyThe War Museum basically chronicled the struggle during the Japanese occupation. The materials were decent, plenty to read and ponder, even though there was not much in terms of exhibits. The ground floor was mainly on the World War while on the first floor, there were rooms housing royal mementos and the such. Took me close to 45 minutes to read through. Realising I was running out of time, I headed straight for Pasar Siti Khadijah.
Remember staying at this hotel during my first trip to KB back in 1988The Pasar - or market - was unique in the sense that it was under a big dome, and the majority of the sellers were Malay ladies. It has a central wet market, while the two upper floors mainly do packed food and clothes. If you were into clothes, you should check out Pasar Buloh Kubu next door instead. But be prepared to haggle. Make sure you have a local with you since the moment you open your mouth, people can tell if you’re from Kelantan or not - 50% discount if you were local trust me!
If you read websites or brochures about Kota Bharu, Pasar Siti Khadijah would definitely be a feature. From a vantage point on the second floor, you can see all the business taking place, a neat place to snap photos. It was too conspicuous of me to carry my dSLR walking around the market snapping picture on my own, so I stayed at the vantage point instead.
Puan Anita's favourite makan place in KB - Sun Two and Hoover
The Kelantan State MuseumNext was a quick stride across town to the State Museum, passing rows of old storefront, and Hotel Temenggung. I think I must have stayed there in 1988 on my first trip with my Mum to Kota Bharu. The hotel still looked the same. In front of the museum was a round-about with a newly built clock tower right in the middle. The museum was showing an exhibit on snakes - which was a hit amongst the local. I could see schoolbus-load of students coming through the entrance as I was making my way in. The locals - at least their children were pretty mesmerised by snakes. The exhibit was rather corny when I learned that part of the draw was a lady sitting in a glass room full of poisonous snakes - “Gadis dengan Ular Berbisa”. I switched off after that. I was hoping more on historical account of the state, wau bulan, gasing, wayang kulit and the likes.
My two hours was up. I had to go to Pengkalan Chepa for lunch right after, followed by a drive to Rantau Panjang for more shopping.