Our flight wasn’t till the late afternoon so in the morning we went for what was reputed to be amongst the best nasi kerabu places. It was packed, despite being a Friday (weekend in Terengganu) and the day of Shab-e-Meraj, commemorating the Prophet’s ascension to heaven. Nasi kerabu is rice dyed blue with pea flower, with kerisik (toasted coconut), a handful of finely sliced herbs and vegetables, sambal and some form of protein – in this case, grilled beef. It was indeed delicious, truly the breakfast of champions.
Then we went to one of Kuala Terengganu’s main sights, an Islamic themed edutainment park which had models of famous buildings from the Islamic world scattered around a lake. It was ridiculous and enjoyable, and we made lists of our favourites, with one from Uzbekistan and the imposing model of Haram Sharif coming top of the list. A highly monumental Dome of the Rock had a Palestinian flag still under construction below it. At the far bottom of the list was the Pattani mosque, constructed under the patronage of a field marshal and claiming to resemble the Taj Mahal which it certainly did not. Ridiculous, it made me cross particularly since the model of the Taj Mahal was just by it. (I used this opportunity to take one of the classic photos of ‘person pinching the dome of the Taj’). Anyhow, an appropriate couple of hours on Shab-e-Meraj.
Our taxi was over an hour late, but eventually we returned to the hotel, packed, checked out, went to lunch at Madam Bee’s, and then coffee, and finally the airport. A swift flight back over dramatic clouds and lakes, and here we are.