Retain Terengganu’s Payang market as unique tourist attraction

Pasar Besar Kedai Payang in Kuala Terengganu, although beset with numerous controversies, continues to be the focus of local and foreign tourists during the recent school holiday. — File pic credit www.virtualmalaysia.com

http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/06/08/retain-terengganus-payang-market-unique-tourist-attraction/

Thrilling Terengganu

To get to Kelah sanctuary, we need to get on a raft to cross the river.

Read more: Thrilling Terengganu - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/thrilling-terengganu-1.576962#ixzz31YN1mpgV

IT is not all about squid jigging. The one-week Terengganu International Squid Jigging Fest 2014 is filled with inland adventure, fun and cultural exchange as participants go on excursions in the State.

SETIU WETLAND, WEAVE EASY

All seven coaches start from TH Hotel and travel in a convoy, with police escorts no less, to Setiu Wetland. The 75-minute drive along coastal road is dotted with scenic views of colourful fishing boats anchored on the country’s longest beach by the South China Sea. It reminds us why fishing is an age-old tradition in Terengganu.

Setiu is also famous for its enchanting beaches, traditional fishing villages and nature, especially its wetland areas where we are heading. Here, aside from learning about the importance of mangroves, we plant more mangrove trees.

Meantime, in the shade of a make-shift tent not far from the mangroves, old women are giving a demonstration on mat weaving. Seated on the floor with their legs tucked sideways as kampung folk do, and armed with nipah, rattan and bamboo, they showed us how this was done. Most have over 10 years experience in weaving and are often commissioned to weave mats and baskets for chalets, restaurants, resorts and individual homes in Terengganu.

Besides weaving fruit baskets and floor mats, the women also show how to weave attap leaves, often used as roofing material for gazebos and beach huts.

As some members of the media struggle at their first try, these women make it look like a piece of cake.

STOP, I’M TICKLISH!

It takes about an hour to get to Gawi jetty from Kuala Terengganu. From there, we board several boats to a few attractions on Lake Kenyir, the biggest man-made lake in Southeast Asia.

Our first stop is Orchid Garden. Located on Hulu Selimbar Island, 20 minutes’ from the jetty, here you can find various wild orchid species and exotic hybrids of local and international species blooming in an array of colours.

We then board our boat and head for the tropical garden on Tekak Besar Island, an eco-tourism, research and development centre for diverse types of fruits — tropical, wild, exotic and indigenous fruits which are close to extinction.

While the visits to both places are educational in nature, it is our visit to Kelah Sanctuary that we are excited about. It’s located on Petang river, 45 minutes from the jetty. The river is fed by 91 streams. As the river is shallow, boats can only reach up to a point where visitors get off and continue on foot.

Fret not if jungle trekking is not your thing for a new walkway makes Petang river more accessible and trekking easier.

Fishing activities are strictly prohibited at the sanctuary. However, what is thrilling is the opportunity to swim with, catch and release many species of kelah.

Our feet, legs and hands are nibbled at. Ahhh...hahahaha! Woohooo! Mak Oooiii! When the kelah feeds off your palm, the experience can be very ticklish. Upon setting foot in the river, the friendly kelah will swim towards you and start nibbling away at your feet.

REWARDING REDANG

The 90-minute journey from Merang jetty to Redang island in a big air-conditioned ferry is pleasant and smooth.

Of all the islands in Terengganu, Pulau Redang is not only blessed with tourism infrastructures but it also boasts many great dive and snorkelling sites.

Redang offers an abundance of marine life and beautiful coral gardens. A few shipwrecks will thrill scuba divers all the same.

To me, Redang is most gorgeous in the afternoon. Against the clear blue sky and white, fine sandy beach, the blue sea looks out of this world. It is on par with some of the most beautiful islands in the world such as Maldives.

You don’t need to snorkel far to see beautiful corals at Marine Park Redang. “I thought the corals must have been destroyed but I was wrong. I’m so impressed by how well the corals have been taken care of,” said a blogger from Finland. By Shuib Taib

Read more: Thrilling Terengganu - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/thrilling-terengganu-1.576962#ixzz31YMj9QnK

Squid Jigging in Terengganu

Getting Jiggy With it

Fifty fishing boats, each carrying six to eight passengers, depart from Kampung Penarik jetty and head for Pulau Chepu.

Shuib Taib gets to cross off squid jigging on his bucket list

SOTONG bakar (charcoal-burnt squid). Sotong kangkung (squid with water convolvulus). Sotong kering (dried squid). Sambal sotong (squid sambal). Unless you are allergic to seafood or are a vegetarian, it is safe to assume that you have eaten all of the above.

Squid aficionados go further by talking about their favourite sotong — whether it is sotong ghambang, sotong katak or sotong tarok.

Yet, while all these are in bountiful supply off our shores, how many of us can claim we have caught a squid?

Mention squid jigging and choppy waters, long hours and seasickness probably come to mind.

But the presence of bloggers, TV and radio crews as well as more than 100 media personnel from around the world in Terengganu (and the presence of 600 policemen, tour guides and State Tourism personnel) is enough to inspire you to kick that one thing off your bucket list.

Indeed, to mark Visit Malaysia Year 2014, Terengganu Tourism leads the way by inviting writers and bloggers from Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, UK, US, Australia, Germany, Iran, Hong Kong, India, Chile and Malaysia to attend the one-week Terengganu International Squid Jigging Fest 2014.

In no time friendships are made, business cards exchanged and selfies taken at almost every tourist stop, on the coach, on the boat and almost everywhere else.

THRILLS AND SPILLS

Fifty fishing boats, each carrying six to eight passengers, depart from Kampung Penarik jetty and head for Pulau Chepu.

In a nearby sampan, Mr Macho from Korea is sunbathing while the local media jostle for the best position in the boat to avoid the 5pm sun. After 30 minutes of cruising along the meandering river, the water changes colour from brown to ocean blue.

Fishing boats travelling in convoys.

Then we see azure blue waters as our boat approaches open sea. As it moves further from the shore, the blue sea gets darker, suggesting greater depths.

The sun is shining brightly, making the sky crimson orange with streaks of pink. It is breathtaking and so far, the water is calm. No choppy seas. After 90 minutes, the boat finally stops.

The boatmen say squid is easy to catch during high tide on a cloudy or rainy night. Since it is neither, I expect a tough time ahead.

Squid generally start feeding after dark but we take out our jigs anyway, cast them into the ocean to sink to a depth where squid may be lurking.

Although there are many ways to fish for squid, jigging is the most popular and productive method.

By now, most of the 50 boats are anchored within reasonable distance from one another. There is still some daylight left. So we wait until it turns dark before we can hope to catch any squid. I take this opportunity to get some nice shots of the sunset.

Spotlights are turned on at night to lure the sotong.

Read more: Getting jiggy with it - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/getting-jiggy-with-it-1.576957#ixzz31YLsMfEM

Nothing much happens for the next 20 minutes until someone in another boat lets out an excited scream followed by loud cheers of “yay” from the team. It can’t be more telling. Someone has caught a squid!

When it finally turns dark, our boatman switches on a spotlight and points it at the sea. Squid are is attracted to light.

We continue to raise our jigs up and down and then bam! I feel something in my jig. Excitedly, I pull it out of the water, only to find nothing!

On the contrary, one of the boatmen is on a roll. Squid after squid bite his jig, even when he is on a cell phone!

Almost three hours have passed and my team hasn’t done too badly, with our boatman having caught the most number of squid, along with a few species of fish. Altogether, he fished about 20 squid in all shapes and sizes.
“The next time you want to go squid jigging, bring me along. I seem to bring a lot of luck to you,” I say to him, much to his amusement.

Fresh from the sea.

BEST SOTONG AWARDS

At the end of the day, winners receive hotel vouchers courtesy of several hotels in Terengganu. The top prize is a Terengganu holiday package worth RM10,000. Some categories like Most Caught Squid are divided into local and international.

But two other categories send all the participants into stitches. In the Most Unique Catch, the winner has caught an octopus instead of a squid.

The Earliest Vomit award was picked up by a fellow countryman who threw up merely 25 minutes into the sea!

The Terengganu International Squid Jigging Fest 2014 was held from April 11-17.

Read more: Getting jiggy with it - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/getting-jiggy-with-it-1.576957#ixzz31YKGa3Hc

Winners of the Terengganu blog

For a full list and links to the Terengganu blog contests go this link here:

http://the-beauty-of-terengganu.blogspot.com/2010/11/senarai-pemenang-pertandingan-blog.html

Winners Invited to Attend Ceremony

http://the-beauty-of-terengganu.blogspot.com/2010/11/senarai-pemenang-pertandingan-blog.html

Meanwhile, you can browse these winners' blog and predict the winners for yourself! (this list is based on the email addresses in my mail)
Kategori Terbuka Emailed winners Loo Mee Keun " keunlu@yahoo.com 97 English A Trengganu Trek
Norhaizan binti Abdul Kadir " ?? izan_ana@yahoo.com 85 Berbaloi di Terengganu
Mohd Hairie Sufrie Abd Rani " ery.hairie@yahoo.com 105 Terengganu Sohor
Wan Hassan bin Wan Ismail " wanhassan953@gmail.com
Ahmad Suhaimi bin Said " myasuhaimi@yahoo.com 122 Truly Terengganu
Marliana binti Mohd " marliana_mohd09@yahoo.com 106 Terengganu

Mohd Helmi bin Yusof " 78 Bestari@terengganu

 Muhammad Zahran Yaacob " cikguzahran@gmail.com 81 English luv Terengganu

Muhammad Zuwairi Maslam " mzuwairi4@gmail.com 100 Jom Terengganu

Nor Azwari Che Mt Noor " azwarikspk@gmail.com 106 iluv Terengganu

"Ratna binti Mohd Omm " zq_ratna@yahoo.com 78 Jom Lawat Terengganu

Fatmiani binti Mohamad " fatmiaini@gmail.com 111 Pelanchong Terengganu

Mohd Aidil Mohd Nor " mohdaidil_80@hotmail.com 123 journey terengganu
Mohd Zulfikri bin Hassan " zulfikri.hassan@gmail.com >400 Terengganu Paradise.com
Ahmad Yusri bin Jusoh " ?? amdyusri@yahoo.com 128 Blog Pelanchongan Terengganu

Farawahidah binti Hassan " ?? faraija@yahoo.com 77 Mataku pe
"Abdul Razak bin Sulaiman " abdrazaksulaiman@gmail.com 77 Singgah di Terengganu


Sekolah (qualified)  Emailed winners Name of Blog

Muhammad Afik bin Md Yassin aku.haibar@yahoo.com Csq Terengganu

Siti Haziqah binti Ismail anemones747@gmail.com Keindahan Terengganu

Nadia binti Mohd Jaszari bahaw82@gmail.com Memori Terengganu

Ahmad Sauqy bin Ahmad Shukri bazarkt@gmail.com Menyelusuri Keindahan Terengganu

Nur Elya Syahirah buttet@gmail.com Terengganu Di Hati Kami Sokmo

Wan Aini Athirah binti Wan Mohd Rahim danieltgr@gmail.com Terengganu Indah

Fatin Mardhiyyah binti Hussin dome@digitaldome.org Terengganu Is Revealed

Syukrina binti Muhammad Razak eida832@yahoo.com Terengganu Kita

Abdullah Fathi bin Ahmad xboss182@gmail.com Terengganu Unik

Amir Hisyam bin Ahmad Sharifuddin kawekawe69@yahoo.com Terengganu Untuk Semua

Qaisara Diyana binti Zaharuddin mie_nami@yahoo.com Warna Warni Terengganu

mwmaster@hotmail.com

Pelajar IPT (qualified) myganu07@gmail.com

Mohd Fauzi bin Yaakob nael1511@gmail.com Aku Suke Terengganu

Muhammad Syazwan Safwan bin Jaafar nissainfinity@gmail.com Alami Terengganuku

Siti Aisyah Atiqah binti Rafei porosez@gmail.com IQA DI TERENGGANU

Aliashim Albani ropiani989@gmail.com Jom Makan-Makan di Terengganu

Nik Mohd Farid bin Nik Ibrahim sisnanuc@yahoo.com Keunikan Warisan Terengganu

Sumaiyyah binti Mat Yahya smsab54@yahoo.com.my Pakat Mai Ganu

Nurul Fadhilah binti Aripin syasmaasza@gmail.com Panduan Pelancongan Terengganu

Che Wan Nurul Hakimah binti Che Wan Mohd tintaemas08@yahoo.com Pesona Terengganu Di Hatiku

Aishah Zunairah binti Abdullah ustmfy@yahoo.com Terengganu Darul Iman

Mohd Azwan bin Salleh jefjusoh@gmail.com Terengganu Permata Hati


Criteria for the blog evaluation:
1. Keaslian – 40 markah Originality, authenticity, genuineness - Own pictures (esp personal pictures) and Words; personal ideas & experiences in contrast to just facts,

2. Mesra Pengguna – 20 markah Intimacy, closeness, love - Eludes warmth, friendliness & inviting to read; Brings happiness; Shows love/care for environment

3. Persembahan – 20 markah Presentation, tribute, dedication - Viewer friendly with easy links, uncomplicated, pleasing to view,

4. Kreativiti – 20 markah Creativity - With the wow factor; Not the usual plain vanilla tour guide book, gives what the others fail to give - the likes of “Lonely Planet”; sometimes even hilarious,

5. Justifikasi Tambahan - 20 markah Additional justification - eg English for world-wide audience; A blog that attract foreigners to come and visit;


email addresses of the winners:
abdrazaksulaiman@gmail.com; sisnanuc@yahoo.com; myasuhaimi@yahoo.com; amdyusri@yahoo.com; eida832@yahoo.com; faraija@yahoo.com; fatmiaini@gmail.com; jefjusoh@gmail.com; nissainfinity@gmail.com; keunlu@yahoo.com; marliana_mohd09@yahoo.com; mohdaidil_80@hotmail.com; ustmfy@yahoo.com; aku.haibar@yahoo.com; ery.hairie@yahoo.com; mie_nami@yahoo.com; anemones747@gmail.com; danieltgr@gmail.com; bahaw82@gmail.com; tintaemas08@yahoo.com; zulfikri.hassan@gmail.com; nael1511@gmail.com; mwmaster@hotmail.com; cikguzahran@gmail.com; mzuwairi4@gmail.com; kawekawe69@yahoo.com; azwarikspk@gmail.com; izan_ana@yahoo.com; zq_ratna@yahoo.com; bazarkt@gmail.com; syasmaasza@gmail.com; porosez@gmail.com; smsab54@yahoo.com.my; myganu07@gmail.com; dome@digitaldome.org; buttet@gmail.com; wanhassan953@gmail.com; xboss182@gmail.com; ropiani989@gmail.com
http://the-beauty-of-terengganu.blogspot.com/2010/11/senarai-pemenang-pertandingan-blog.html

Monday April 16, 2012

An empire built on songket

By FARIK ZOLKEPLI
farik@thestar.com.my

KUALA TERENGGANU: At a time when few people saw the prospects of a hand-made songket business, a former technician defied the odds and built an empire based on Terengganu's best fabric dubbed “Manang Songket”.
With only a secondary school education, Wan Manang Wan Awang entered the working world as a Public Works Department technician in the 1970s but soon realised it was not his calling.
The 57-year-old said making songket was initially just a hobby as he often watched his mother and grandmother make them using an old songket-making machine, but things changed when he realised he could build on the family legacy.

Family business: Wan Manang supervising his youngest daughter Wan Nadilah Safira as she operates the ‘Kei-Tenunan’ machine at their workshop Sunday.

“I took a risk and received orders from colleagues. To my surprise, they were satisfied with my work.
“It was hard in the beginning as I did not have much capital and had to use my technician's salary,” he said.
From his humble home in Durian Burung here, Wan Manang worked tirelessly on the loyal songket-making machine, which he dubbed “Kei-Tenunan”.

Celebrity customer: Siti wearing Wan Manang’s songket for her wedding

“Within a few years, even people outside Terengganu came to know of Manang Songket. I quit my job as a technician after 15 years and focused on the business full-time,” he said.
He added that his company began with four workers but now had about 120 employees.
“Initially, we only managed to produce around two songket per month but currently, we produce an average of 30 pieces per month,” he said.
Wan Manang's customers now consist of people from all walks of life, including public figures such as Malaysian diva Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and members of royal families.
Wan Manang's brand of songket was used by Siti during her wedding to Datuk Seri Khalid Muhammad Jiwa a few years ago.
Even after achieving success, Wan Manang is still hands-on in the production process as he inspects every single piece to ensure its quality while spending many sleepless nights innovating new patterns of songket.
After three generations of songket makers, Wan Manang hopes to pass on the legacy to his son aged 20, and two daughters aged 22 and 26.
He also hopes to penetrate the European market and ensure the important cultural heritage becomes popular globally.

Mass Wedding

KUALA TERENGGANU: The success of the My Idol Raja Sehari 1Malaysia mass wedding has prompted the state government to plan another grand event this year. The inaugural state-sponsored event saw 10 couples including former footballer Mohd Shaharidan Jaafarudin taking part in the ceremony at Masjid Kristal here last October. Each couple also received RM5,000, wedding costumes and spent their honeymoon fully sponsored in Malacca. Kuala Terengganu parliamentary development officer Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh described the event as “a resounding success”, noting that some of the brides were already pregnant. “Last year's event saw 20,000 people, including tourists, attending the grand ceremony held at Dataran Syahbandar,” he said. Wan Ahmad Farid said this year's event would be grander the organising committee was sourcing for more goodies and honeymoon packages for the 10 lucky couples. “The scale of the event will depend on the budget given to us. However, it will be better than last year,” he said here yesterday. Wan Ahmad Farid said the committee, comprising representatives from state government agencies and the state Family Development Foundation, would meet soon to discuss plans for the mass wedding. “We aim to help couples who earn a low income realise their dreams for a grand wedding.”