Kelantan was to be the next state to visit. Leaving home base in Penang in the early morning, the journey headed away from Penang towards Gerik in the state of Perak, via Route 4, heading east and north towards the Royal Belum National Park.

Kelantan

The journey east was already proving to be an interesting one. A chance encounter with a friendly biker added a bit of local colour to the morning, followed by a breakfast stop at Nasi Kandar Ketapang before continuing towards the Kelantan border. The weather then decided to join the adventure, with dark skies and heavy rain making the final part of the drive rather memorable. By the time we reached Kota Bharu, it was definitely time to find the hotel, dry out and think about dinner!

Arriving in Kota Bharu, we found the Hotel Bintang Indah easily enough, with its own parking just off the main road. After a welcome shower and a little time to relax, we headed into the town centre to find something to eat. The weather was still wet and miserable, but that didn’t stop us exploring the Chinatown area, where the old shophouses and busy streets were full of life. We eventually found a table at the Medan Selera Kebun Sultan, a lively food court where the evening ended with good food and plenty of local atmosphere.

And so, with Kota Bharu as our base for the next couple of nights, the journey into Kelantan had begun. There was plenty more to see and photograph.

This trip would turn out to be the last of the original Byways journeys. Not long afterwards, the Movement Control Order (MCO) brought interstate travel to a halt in Malaysia for almost two and a half years. The journey had to wait — but Kelantan has never been forgotten. Now, all these years later, it is time to start planning a return visit and see what has changed.