Just Shea, So Shea~: Bank Kerapu & Dewan Syurga, Kota Bharu

Hello~!

Happy school holiday to friends in Malaysia! Cuti sekolah ni nak pergi mana? I know ramai yang pergi vacation but ada yang prefer to stay in town, tengok circus at The Curve tu :p

Hari ni Shea nak share fasal Bank Kerapu and Dewan Syurga in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

Bank Kerapu

From my understanding, Bank Kerapu is the name of the building itself. If orang cakap pasal Kelantan War Museum/Memorial inilah tempatnya. Same place. War-related exhibition is outside the building & on the ground floor. Park je dekat Tambatan Diraja or depan Bank Kerapu itself.

Personally I agree that this place is 'text heavy'. Felt like walking into a giant history text book. Kalau ramai visitors lain memang rimas sebab kena baca laju-laju. I visited early in the morning - tak mandi pun, sampai Kota Bharu terus breakfast kat Din Tokyo then datang sini. Tak ramai orang masa ni so tak kisahlah berdiri depan exhibition and baca lama-lama.

Interesting kalau awak suka sejarah sebab agak in depth cerita masa zaman Jepun, khusus kepada apa yang terjadi di Kelantan. Kalau belajar history dulu dia cerita on surface je, sini detailed. I especially enjoyed a corner with stories from local people. Cuma sayang their experience were not translated into English. Siapa-siapa pergi la volunteer to translate the stories into English, boleh international visitors appreciate the stories as well.

The upper level of Bank Kerapu houses more old treasures and stories. A bit like personal collection than a proper museum to me. Macam rumah orang pun ada. Cannot imagine how it was an office (bank) dulu-dulu.

Macam rumah kan?

See! Macam rumah sangat-sangat!

Zaman dulu lagi dah ada photobombing tau? Nampak tak?

Hobi kalau pergi museums- snap pic at some old mirrors

Park depan ni je!

View from the outdoor exhibition area

Belakang/tepi Bank Kerapu at outdoor exhibition area

Pillbox from outside

Inside the pillbox

P.s. If you want to see pillbox in-situ, go to Pantai Kundur. I found it by accident :p

Lintas jalan sikit, visit la pula Muzium Islam kat sebelah. Seriously, the Islamic Museum is just next door.

Well-shaded walkway, just a small lane in between Bank Kerapu & Muzium Islam

Muzium Islam (Museum of Islam)

Muzium Islam's main gate

Muzium Islam a.k.a Dewan Syurga. Entrance was FOC. I asked the staff why free? He said they'll only charge if there's 'special' exhibition (usually upstairs). Masa I pergi only the ground floor was open to tourists so no charge.

Even though only one floor was opened to public, there was plenty to see. I hogged at least two old books to read a couple of pages from the Jawi-written Hikayat Agung Gempita and Hikayat Bayan Budiman.