Discover Terengganu

Discover Terengganu (19 February, 2011)


B. Melayu

Map of towns in Terengganu

List of Towns in Terengganu

Tourist Attractions in Terengganu

Category of sights in Terengganu

Districts of Terengganu

Introducing Terengganu

Terengganu is a state on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Often spelled Trengganu, it faces the South China Sea, sharing a border with Kelantan to the northwest and Pahang to the southwest. The Arabic honorific Darul Iman attached to the official title of the state means "Abode of Faith", and in a sense reflects the state's Islamic grounding. Kuala Terengganu, at at the mouth of the broad Terengganu River is the state and royal capital as well as the largest city in Terengganu.

Terengganu covers an area of 12,955 sq km (5,002 sq mi) and has a population of 1.2 million people (2011 estimate). Its capital and biggest city is Kuala Terengganu, a town on the estuary of the Terengganu River.

Terengganu is blessed with long stretches of beautiful unspoilt beaches. Offshore are beautiful islands that are drawing sun seekers, snorkellers and divers.

Terengganu also has the biggest museum in Southeast Asia, and as a state with a predominant Muslim population, it has beautiful mosques with architectural styles from various periods. I hope that my website will do justice to everything that this state has to offer, and after browsing this website, hopefully you will feel like setting off to explore Terengganu.

Etymology of Terengganu

According to popular belief, the origin of the name Terengganu is attributed to terang ganu, Malay for 'bright rainbow'. Another theory, based on narration attributed to the ninth Sultan of Terengganu, Baginda Omar, tells of a party of hunters from Pahang roving and hunting in the area of what is now southern Terengganu. One of the hunters spotted a big animal fang lying on the ground. A fellow party member asked to which animal did the fang belong. The hunter, not knowing which animal, simply answered "fang of something" which in Malay, is taring anu. The party later returned to Pahang with a rich hoard of game, fur and sandalwood, which impressed their neighbors. They asked the hunters where did they source their riches, to which they replied, from the land of taring anu, which later evolved into Terengganu.

In the past, the Chinese characters for the name Terengganu was 丁加奴1, which is written in Pinyin as Dīngjiānú. However, in recent years, the Chinese community in Terengganu has expressed displeasure over the choice of characters, as it loosely translates as "bearing a child who would be slave", from "添丁加做奴". They therefore petitioned that the Chinese characters be changed to 登嘉楼 (Pinyin: Dēngjiālóu) which translates loosely as "progressing to an upper level". This is the Chinese character that has been employed unofficially for the past 30 years. The changed was made in 2004, but it received opposition from some in the Chinese community, who claim that the revised version have Chinese characters with too many strokes. They want to revert to the Chinese characters used before 2004, with the character for slave (奴, nú) replaced with that for perseverance (努, nǔ)

Masjid Kristal, Kuala Terengganu (19 February, 2011)


Kampung Cina, Kuala Terengganu (18 February, 2011)


The pier at Pulau Pinang in Redang Marine Park, Terengganu (7 June 2003)

How to go to Terengganu

By Plane
The Sultan Mahmud Airport (TGG) received a number of flights from Kuala Lumpur and twice daily from Penang.

By Road
The best way to explore Terengganu, in my opinion, is by road. This allows you to enjoy the coastal scenery, which is often nothing less than breathtaking.

If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, you would approach Terengganu by way of Pahang, on the East Coast Expressway (E8). From Kuala Lumpur, take the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (also E8) to Karak, then onwards on the East Coast Expressway to Balok in Pahang. There, you continue on Federal Route 3 along the coast of Pahang northwards to Chukai in Terengganu, and proceed to your next destination in Terengganu.

If you are coming from Penang, start by taking the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway to Kulim. Then continue on Federal Route 67 to Baling. From Baling, continue on Federal Route 76 to Gerik, where you take the East-West Highway (Federal Route 4) to Jeli and onwards to Pasir Puteh. At the junction just before Pasir Puteh (follow road sign, please), you head south on Federal Route 3 into Terengganu, and onwards to your destination.

If you are coming from Johor Bahru, take Federal Route 3 all the way to Terengganu, passing through Kota Tinggi, Mersing, Pekan and Kuantan along the way.

References

1. Wikipedia: Terengganu: Chinese naming

List of States in Malaysia

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.