Kelantan Floating Markets - Pulau Suri.

   After a long hiatus, two years to be exact, I am blogging again. Thanks to Wan Faridah Wan Jaafar of the A Story To Share blog who encouraged me to blog again. I promised her I will write about the Floating Markets of Kelantan which should promote Kelantan as a tourist destination. To Wan Faridah, I am dedicating this blog to you.

    Many people even the Kelantanese themselves do not know about the existence of floating markets in Kelantan. Most people know only the floating market in Bangkok or Hatyai and might have even gone there but not the one in their own country.

    Thanks to the many exposures from televisions, the newspapers and social media the floating markets in Kelantan are gaining popularity not only among locals but also from domestic tourists from all over Malaysia. A Google search of Floating Markets in Kelantan will bring you to this site whereby not one but there floating markets were listed. 

    1.     Kelantan Floating Market located on an inhabited island close to the habit-ed Island of Pulau Suri.

    2.     Kelantan Floating Market Masseroja Village on another uninhabited island close by.

    3.     Pasar Tani Terapung Cerana Villa in Kg. Pengkalan Datu.

The first two are in the District of Tumpat and accessible only by boat by either from the LKIM Jetty on the west bank of the Kelantan River or via Pengkalan Kok Majid on the left bank. Both will offer a boat ride experience for a small fee. Via Kok Majid, visitors will experience a 45 minutes boat ride along scenic riverine villages along the route. 

    The third one is in the Bachok District and is accessible only by road, thus it will be easier for the elderly, the obese and those with small children. 

    For this post I will just concentrate on the floating markets located near Pulau Suri and deal with the third one located at Pengkalan Datu for a the next blog.

    My acquaintance with Pulau Suri began as far back as 1995 when I was managing a travel company by the name of Kesedar Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd which had an office in Kota Bharu. I brought a group of about 15 French youths to visit Pulau Suri. Later Pulau Suri caught on with the tourism business by providing Homestay program. I do not really know how far was the success of this program. Back then the floating market was not in existence yet. It was only in 2016 that a resident of Pulau Suri by the name of Pak Ngah Ghani together with a group of friends started the floating market on a small island near to Pulau Suri and named the market as Kelantan Floating Market Pulau Suri.

Pak Ngah Ghani (with skull cap) the founder of the first floating market in Kelantan and probably in Malaysia.

    I first met Pak Ngah Ghani in early 2018. He had already started the floating market but had to cease operation at the end of 2017 due to the monsoon which turned the island into a piece of mushy ground due to many people visiting the place as the monsoon set in. The meeting was to arrange for him to accommodate the arrival of 140 visitors comprising of the 1972 Alumni of Serdang Agriculture College who were coming for a Reunion at the nearby PCB Resort located at Pantai Cahaya Bulan. 

    According to my plan the group will take a boat ride from the jetty of Kuala Besar and the entourage will ride in 14 boats travelling in a convoy. They will be met upon arrival on Pulau Besar to the sound of live silat music, a silat performance and later treated to lunch while a Dikir Barat entertain them. Everything will be paid for.

    Unfortunately the idea had to be aborted because the visiting group was all in their late sixties and some already in the seven series. The problem is the 15 minutes boat ride across the estuary of the Kelantan River. Many of the members in the group had wide girth at the waist and riding the small narrow boat sitting on the boat floor will be very uncomfortable. 

    For the reunion, they were taken to the floating market at Pengkalan Datu in air conditioned buses, so the problem was solved.

    For this post I visited Kelantan Floating Market Pulau Suri twice in September 2020 to really feel the ambiance and took photographs of the place.

    There are two separate floating markets now located on two separate islands less than 500 meters from each other. The newer floating market was founded by Pak Abu, once the right hand man of Pak Ngah Ghani. There is a friendly air of rivalry between the two places.  From my personal observation Kelantan Floating Market seems to enjoy better patronage from visitors as the place has more shady palm trees and well laid out. Often times when there are too many visitors, the place nearly exceeded its carrying capacity and overflowed to the newer floating market. 

    You have to decide early on your destination as boats from outside the LKIM compound will take you only to the Pak Ngah's Kelantan Floating Market while those from within the LKIM jetty will take you to the Masseroja Market.

    Both jetties provide a parking place for your cars for a small fee but on a good day the car parks will be full so you better be early.

    The boat ride costs RM6.00 return per person inclusive of insurance for tickets sold by Masseroja Holidays Sdn. Bhd who handled where as RM1.00 extra is charged for entry to Pak Ngah's Kelantan Floating Market for the upkeep of the market. Each boat can carry six persons and all were provided with a life jacket which is mandatory to be worn and the authority were always on the prowl to ensure compliance. 

Buying boat tickets at the ticket kiosk and waiting place to ride the boat to the floating market at the LKIM jetty.

 

 

The boats selling food lining the bank of the island as seen from an approaching boat..

The writer enjoying breakfast with a friend Othman Hassan at the Masseroja Floating Market

The crowd.

Photo corners

Non Malay visitors too seems to enjoy the place.

Batik paintings 

Padil a member of Persatuan Seni Dan Warisan Kelantan (PESTA) provide batik painting opportunities to visitors.

    Food glorious food is what people go for at the floating market. Beside the normal fare of nasi belauk, nasi kerabu and nasi dagang, there are many varieties of dishes only found among people living near the coastal areas. Such food as kerabu nipah, lokan bakar, satey lokan and sata are available. Kuihs such as akok, kuih pelita and several others are available too.

    Handicrafts though available are not local produce. As far as I can see, only batik painting and souvenir T shirts are available. Pusat Kraftangan must be involved in developing local handicraft by the people of Pulau Suri. Most people will buy something produced by the locals as a souvenir. 

    Though the floating market is a private initiative of the people of Pulau Suri led by Pak Ngah Ghani, the State Government has given assistance in the provision of a floating jetty, a surau, a toilet and sand filling to overcome the soggy soil surface after the 2017 monsoon. All these were for the original floating market.

    They are currently in need of a proper and permanent electrical and water supply to both islands, something that can only be done by the state government.

Rubbish disposal is another potential problem as open burning as currently practiced is not conducive to a long term maintenance of the place. The operators must be compelled to carry the rubbish to the mainland for a proper disposal so as to prevent the explosion of flies on the island.

    Tourism Malaysia should look into developing these two islands as a camping side to provide further business opportunities to the inhabitants of Pulau Suri. There is already some chalets being constructed on a nearby island close to both  floating markets. This is a good sign as it shows the potential of the place to be turned into a tourist destination of the future. 

    It will be great if efforts are made to rehabilitate the Kelantan River and make them look like normal river water and not of 'teh tarik' water which is a shame to all the people of Kelantan.

    Only by visiting the two Pulau Suri Floating Markets will you be able to really experience the ambiance of the place to help spread the word around and bring in more crowd.

    

  Some pictures of food available at the floating market. Pictures courtesy of Norhisham Nawi.

Grilled fish

Grilled lokan

Nasi Lemak Pulau Suri

Nasi Kerabu

Sota and sate lokan

Ikan, udang, ketam celup tepung.

Food vendors on the boat selling their products.

Pak Abu(center), the founder of MasSeroja Floating market

An old abandoned Ferryboat to Perhentian Island

Haji Kamaruzaman of D'Thlia Homestay Bunut Susu at Pulau Suri.

Further readings - click on the topic to go to the original site:

A Taste Of Kelantan Floating Market by Khairul Abidin Nuar

A Floating Market In Kelantan by Lyf&Spice

The charming floating markets of Kelantan

By Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah - November 3, 2019 @ 1:00pm

Malaysia’s floating market in Kelantan

Pasar terapung pertama Malaysia di Kelantan

Oleh Siti Rohana Idris - September 17, 2016 @ 5:57pm

bhkb@bh.com.my