MALAYSIA ROUND UP IN 2018 - Cont'd

This is not the Istana where the Sultan of Kelantan lives. It is a "palace" where dignitaries paying courtesy calls on the Sultan are received.

This is one of  several museums in Kota Bahru. Among the items displayed here are weapons and arms used in olden days and lifestyles of the Kelantan Royal Family.

A horse cart used by the Royal Family before motor vehicles were introduced.

White House Coffee Shop which is featured in Lonely Planet. It was started in the 1930's and serves coffee, tea, kaya toast and various Kelantan staples like Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Minyak, Nasi Dagang,and Nasi Tompang. Some claim they serve the best half boiled eggs east of Suez but I found them boiled more than what I am used to. Still a great place to get the morning fix. They close around 1 pm.

Siti Khadijah Market, built in 1985. It serves as the central market that sells various fresh food produce, cooked food, clothing and household items.

Vegetable stalls on the second level of the market.

In the East Coast of Malaysia, this type of keropok is popular. In Thai it is called "khaoyam" and Malay "Keropok Lekor". It is fried and sliced up to eat. The traditional keropok is also available.

A fish monger on the ground level. No ice is seen. Perhaps, like in Sri Lanka, where freshly caught fish are sold, they are not iced at the point of sale.Seafood is readily available in the East Coast and it is inexpensive. Tuna especially is used extensively in Nasi Dagang.

The oldest mosque in Malaysia - the Masjid Kampung Laut in Jln Kuala Nrai, Nilam Puri. The mosque was built near a river circa 1730's. Legend has it that a group of missionaries (of Pattani, Javanese and Bruneian descent) were travelling from Pattani to spread Islam when they were caught in a storm, after which their boat sprang a leak. Making an oath that if they could land safely, they would build a mosque there.. They did and thereafter set about to build the mosque at Kampung Laut, Tumpat.. The original was made of wood with a leafy roof and was small in size too. It survived two floods in 1926 and 1966 after which in order to preserve it, it was relocated 20 kms away to its present location. The roof  has been tiled and other facilities added to make it bigger. It is located opposite an Islamic unversity in its present location.