Terengganu has gained recent wealth from offshore oil fields and from providing services to those fields. All along this coast there are newly built sea defences paid for from oil income. Terengganu itself is going through a building boom with new multi storey edifices towering over the original two storeys and a new swing bridge being built over the entrance to the river harbour. How that will work with the high volume of boat traffic and high volume of car traffic will be interesting. The river is busy with incoming and out going fishing fleet and a steady flow of ferries from the islands, plus dredgers bringing in building sand for land reclamation projects.
construction of a swing bridge underway |
Although we are in a marina we still have to use our dinghy to cross the river to reach the town which is on the opposite bank. Terengganu marina is part of a large resort on Duyong island. Your choice is either a 2 mile road trip or a 2 minute dinghy ride with a perfect placed jetty to safely tie to and right by the main market. We took the dinghy every time.
the art of coffee |
It was a quick taxi ride and as we walk in we are at the back of four lines of customers. However, the staff must have been advised we were coming because as soon as they spotted our foreign faces, big smiles and we were beckoned forward. 'Here's your package, please sign and thank you for using Post Malaysia.' Back on the road and taxis have become as rare as a correct weather forecast and big, dark rain clouds are gathering and coming to our rescue, a very kind man with a smart SUV offers us a lift back to the town centre. He's on his way to the mosque for prayers and it's really not out of his way.
We found the people of Terengganu to be universally friendly and welcoming. The two stories of the restaurant and Post Office are only two of the many kindnesses we received during the week we were here. In addition to the thoughtfulness of strangers we were also able to complete the lists of wants and needs we always jot down before coming in to a big town. We found the right parts for boat jobs at reasonable cost, had our international gas bottled filled without having to do handstands and leap through hoops, Polly visited the vet and had her annual innoculations for the fraction of the cost if we'd been in UK. Between them two large supermarkets stocked all the items on my list, except for a particular brand of mayonnaise we prefer, and we were able to fill up with diesel ahead of our trip up to Thailand.
Our last but one task to do before leaving was to visit harbour master, Customs and Immigration to clear out from Malaysia, bound for Koh Samui. The final task to settle our account for the marina and then it was time to throw off the lines, say au revoir Terengganu (we'll be back in August) and begin the next journey.
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