Kelantan is the most deeply conservative of all Malay states and has with just one interruption been governed by the opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS)
since 1958. The party's green flag with a white full moon flutters
throughout the state. Highways seem to have more signs with quotes from
the Koran than actual traffic instructions; many signs are written in Jawi, the old Arabic script for Malay; and even some Chinese women wear head scarves here.
Whilst Malays make up 95% of the population of 2.4 million and
there is also the usual smattering of Chinese and Indians, Kelantan is
also home to the Orang Siam, a group of 7,000-8,000 Buddhist Thais. The Thais have lived in Kelantan for centuries.
One strong point that differentiates between Kelantan and the
rest of Malaysian states is the way that the Kelantanese categorize
people based on their place of origin rather than the color of the skin.
All Kelantanese are considered as Oghe Kito (Our People or Orang Kita
in standard Malay) no matter which race or religion they belong to.
This sometimes gives the wrong impression to the non-Kelantanese
Malaysians, to whom the term Orang Kita usually refers to people of the same race.
The Kelantanese dialect of Malay is famously incomprehensible to outsiders, so much so that Kelantanese and non-Kelantanese alike jokingly refer to it as German (pronounced gher-man with a hard G, but yes, it means German).
The Orang Siam also speak a dialect of Thai called Tak Bai, but this is also quite different from standard Thai or even the forms generally spoken in southern Thailand.
As for second languages, some people speak English, but do not
expect everyone to be able to. And while no-one will expect you to speak
Bahasa Kelantan (Kelantan dialect), some knowledge of standard Malay
would be very useful.
By plane
Kelantan's only airport is the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (KBR) at Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu. Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia provide flights to/from Kuala Lumpur . While people from Penang can reach Kelantan by FireFly.
By road
To/from other parts of Malaysia: Kelantan can be accessed by road via the East-West Highway which links Gerik in Perak on the west coast, and Jeli in Kelantan. Federal Route 8 connects Kota Bharu with Central Pahang via Kuala Krai and Gua Musang. You can also enter Kelantan on the East Coast main road (Federal Route 3) which runs from Johor Bahru in the south to Kota Bharu via Terengganu and the eastern part of Pahang. Use this road if you are heading to the Perhentian Islands.
To/from Thailand: Road users can enter Kelantan from the southern Thai province of Narathiwat at Rantau Panjang (across the Golok River from the Thai town of Sungai Kolok), and across the Golok River on the newly completed bridge at Bukit Bunga, Jeli.
By bus
To/from other parts of Malaysia: Long distance express buses connect Kota Bharu with Penang via the East-West Highway, and the other East Coast towns of Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan. See the Kota Bharu page for details.
A local bus runs twice daily between Gua Musang in Kelantan and Kuala Lipis in Pahang where there are connections to Jerantut for Taman Negara National Park.
Buses depart Gua Musang at 1030 and 1530 and from Kuala Lipis at 0800
and 1300. Local buses also run from Pasir Puteh in the eastern part of
the state to Jertih and Kuala Besut (for boats to the Perhentian Islands), which lie just inside Terengganu. To Gerik in Perak, there is one trip a day via the East-West Highway, leaving Kota Baru at 0630 and Gerik at 1230.
To/from Thailand: There are no direct bus services into Thailand. Catch a local bus to Rantau Panjang, and cross the border to Sungai Kolok where there are bus connections to other destinations in Thailand. See the Kota Bharu page for details.
By train
Kelantan is linked to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia by the East Coast railway line, also known as the "Jungle Railway". The line starts from Tumpat in the north of the state and passes through Wakaf Baru (the nearest station to Kota Bharu), Kuala Krai and Gua Musang in the southern part of the state before it enters Pahang.
To/From Kuala Lumpur: The sleeper Ekspres Wau links Tumpat with Kuala Lumpur daily, pasing through Jerantut (for Taman Negara National Park).
To/From Singapore and Johor Bahru: The sleeper Ekspres Timuran goes to/from Singapore daily, also stopping at Jerantut. There are slow local trains to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan where the train joins the main West Coast trunk line, and even to Singapore. In early 2007, a daily day train, the Lambaian Timur
was introduced, allowing travellers to enjoy the jungles of Peninsular
Malaysia as it travels through the stretch during daylight hours.
To/from Thailand: Although there is a railway branch line
running from Pasir Mas to Rantau Panjang on the Thai border, there are
no passenger train services into Thailand or even to Rantau Panjang. Catch a local bus to Rantau Panjang, cross the border to Sungai Kolok where the are trains to Hat Yai and Bangkok.
By boat
Passenger boats and vehicular ferries run across the Golok River between Pengkalan Kubur north of Kota Bharu, and Ban Taba, near Tak Bai in Narathiwat Province in southern Thailand. See the Kota Bharu page for transportation details to Pengkalan Kubur.
Passenger boats also run between the Bukit Bunga immigration checkpoint near Jeli in the western part of the state, and Buketa in Narathiwat Province.
A bridge across the Golok River at Bukit Bunga is already completed.
By road
Good roads link the main towns of Kelantan.
By bus
Bus transport in the state is handled by Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu Kelantan (SKMK), a subsidiary of the Transnasional Group. Local buses link Kota Bharu with all main towns in Kelantan.
By train
Express trains (Ekspres Wau and Ekspres Timuran) make stops at major
Kelantan stations, namely Tumpat (the terminus) Wakaf Baru (for Kota Bharu),
Pasir Mas, Tanah Merah, Dabong (for Bukit Stong waterfall), Kuala Krai
and Gua Musang. Local trains stop at almost every station and halt on
the East Coast line and constitute a major mode of transport for locals
living in the interior of the state.