An Enjoyable Trip
"Come on everybody! Wake up! I want to see all of you in the car at 8.30 sharp, or else..." I commanded.
That day, we planned to visit the famous Crystal Mosque at Terengganu, and on our way home, stop at La Hot Springs. Everybody was ready, including my 3-year-old son, 'Ammar. He was anxious as to where I would take him.
"Where are we going, abi (father)?" he asked.
"We are going to Terengganu. You've never been to Terengganu, haven't you?" I explained, and whether he understood my explanation or not was not that important.
"Yeay!" he exclaimed, happily.
As promised, the five of us departed at 8.30 a.m. We stopped for our breakfast at Machang, near the traffic light. As the driver, I had a heavy breakfast, eating Nasi Dagang with grilled drumstick, while others only had roti canai.
That day, we planned to visit the famous Crystal Mosque at Terengganu, and on our way home, stop at La Hot Springs. Everybody was ready, including my 3-year-old son, 'Ammar. He was anxious as to where I would take him.
"Where are we going, abi (father)?" he asked.
"We are going to Terengganu. You've never been to Terengganu, haven't you?" I explained, and whether he understood my explanation or not was not that important.
"Yeay!" he exclaimed, happily.
As promised, the five of us departed at 8.30 a.m. We stopped for our breakfast at Machang, near the traffic light. As the driver, I had a heavy breakfast, eating Nasi Dagang with grilled drumstick, while others only had roti canai.
Half an hour later, we continued our journey. The signboard showed that Kuala Terengganu was 144 kilometres away, and it took us approximately 2 hours from where we had our breakfast that morning, to reach our destination.
The journey was very enjoyable. We travelled through Pasir Putih, and when we entered Terengganu border, we could see remarkably-designed mosques throughout. We all gasped in awe, because the mosques looked very clean and beautiful. They were very different from the mosques in Kelantan, where the designs and the beauty were not that apparent.
Arriving in Kuala Terengganu, I had no problem in finding the whereabouts of the Crystal Mosque because we could clearly see it from the bridge. It was situated near the riverbank, and was surrounded by many structures, especially the Convention Centre and the replicas of the mosques from around the world in the Monument Park.
First, we took some pictures at the Crystal Mosque compound. There were many people there; some of them were taking pictures also, while others were having a programme inside the mosque. 'Ammar was very excited, posing and asking me to take his pictures in front of the mosque.
Then, we entered the Monument Park. It was captivating just to see the smaller scale replicas of the most beautiful of mosques and monuments from around the world, among which were al-Haram and al-Nabawi Mosques (both were situated in Saudi Arabia,) al-Hambra Mosque (Spain), and the Taj Mahal (India).
While in the park, 'Ammar saw pupils getting on the tram unceremoniously from afar. He said, "Abi, I want to ride the tram". "We can't, my dear son. We don't have the tickets," I replied.
I was taking my camera out and starting to take the pupils' pictures when I heard them calling, "Sir, come with us!. Sir, come with us!".
It was then I realized that they were actually pupils from my school, who were travelling with the teachers in a three-days-two-nights tour of Terengganu. And luckily for 'Ammar, he had the chance to enjoy a free tram ride after all, courtesy of the group tour.
The journey was very enjoyable. We travelled through Pasir Putih, and when we entered Terengganu border, we could see remarkably-designed mosques throughout. We all gasped in awe, because the mosques looked very clean and beautiful. They were very different from the mosques in Kelantan, where the designs and the beauty were not that apparent.
Arriving in Kuala Terengganu, I had no problem in finding the whereabouts of the Crystal Mosque because we could clearly see it from the bridge. It was situated near the riverbank, and was surrounded by many structures, especially the Convention Centre and the replicas of the mosques from around the world in the Monument Park.
First, we took some pictures at the Crystal Mosque compound. There were many people there; some of them were taking pictures also, while others were having a programme inside the mosque. 'Ammar was very excited, posing and asking me to take his pictures in front of the mosque.
Then, we entered the Monument Park. It was captivating just to see the smaller scale replicas of the most beautiful of mosques and monuments from around the world, among which were al-Haram and al-Nabawi Mosques (both were situated in Saudi Arabia,) al-Hambra Mosque (Spain), and the Taj Mahal (India).
While in the park, 'Ammar saw pupils getting on the tram unceremoniously from afar. He said, "Abi, I want to ride the tram". "We can't, my dear son. We don't have the tickets," I replied.
I was taking my camera out and starting to take the pupils' pictures when I heard them calling, "Sir, come with us!. Sir, come with us!".
It was then I realized that they were actually pupils from my school, who were travelling with the teachers in a three-days-two-nights tour of Terengganu. And luckily for 'Ammar, he had the chance to enjoy a free tram ride after all, courtesy of the group tour.
After spending a couple of hours in the park, and taking pictures at all the monuments and mosques, we decided that it was time to go. But, we cashed in the vouchers given to us at the park's cafe and its souvenir shop.
It was already 5 p.m. when we got out from the place. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that there was not enough time to continue our plan with the La Hot Springs. Thus, we found a place to stay in for the night, and would carry our plan forward the next day.
