Adventurous Drive

For this post I wanna tell about the journey that I went through last week to pay my Tok Wan a visit. The journey began from Kerteh at 1.30pm, and finished in Jitra at 10.30pm! It's a 9 hours journey, which includes 3 times stopping at toilets to pee, and one time to fill up the gas! This has to be THE ultimate driving journey for me! I drove all alone and I did not stop for a meal coz most of the area that I passed by was like in the middle of nowhere.

The route that I took passed through Kerteh, Dungun, Rantau Abang, Marang, Kuala Terengganu, Jerteh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Jeli, Grik, Pengkalan Hulu, Baling, Kuala Ketil, Sg Petani, Alor Star, and finally Jitra. I passed through the 4 states: Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak & Kedah. The total distance covered was about 600km, and it was the first time for me to drive along that route!

The stretch from Kerteh to Kuala Terengganu is so beautiful coz it runs parallel to the coast. You get to see all these fishing villages and swaying coconut trees with the South China Sea as the background.

Around Jerteh area, there was a road block. The policemen asked me to stop to the side, and told me that I had exceeded the speed limit of 70kmph(I drove only around 87kmph). Damn! He asked me whether I can afford to pay the RM150 summons for speeding, and of course, I said no. Then he asked me, "How much can you pay?". The moment he said that, I knew that I have to pay him, and I gave him RM50. Damn all these policemen, makan duit haram! I really don't wanna support this kinda thing, but RM150 is too expensive! Takpe la, maybe kali nie aje..

When I was about to drive off, a Kancil with a female driver was asked to stop, also for speeding. After less than 5 minutes talking to the policemen, the female driver miraculously tak kena saman, and she did not even has to bribe him! So unfair! Ggrrrr!!!!!

But the best part of the journey has to be from Jeli(Kelantan) to Grik(Perak) coz that is the East-West Road. It's about 100km, and cuts through the center of mountainous Titiwangsa Range. The road along that stretch was so beautiful, but it was really empty. I even heard people telling me not to use that road late in the day, coz sometimes wild elephants will be crossing the road! I thought it was just rumours, but I actually saw a few places with signboards warning drivers of wild elephants. Nasib baik tak jumpe, kalau tak harus jadik the shock of my life!

From Kedah back to Kerteh, I used to PLUS Highway and headed back KL first, before used the East Coast Highway via Kuantan. My god! It's like a round-a-bout through Peninsular Malaysia!

I took several pictures along the journey, but I'm so disappointed coz my camera ran out of batteries near the East-West Road! Damn!

I am so proud of myself for being able to complete the long and adventurous journey. But most importantly, I managed to reached the destination safely.



The long and really straight road along Rantau Abang..


The unique vegetation around Rantau Abang..


Nice malay style wooden houses with beachfront...


Wooden houses with beachfront...


Terengganu's version of Malibu...


Pulau Kapas in the background...


Kuala Marang..


The white-coloured floating mosque..


Crossing Sungai Terengganu with Kuala Terengganu in the background..


Sungai Kelantan..


My grandma a.k.a. Atok Kedah....


Atok Kedah's blue house....


Driving back to KL....


Passing by my ex-hostel at a boarding school....


My boarding school's entrance....


Sawah padi....


Storm in the making....


Alor Star's skyline....


Kedah's Masjid Negeri....