'TOURISM ON TRAIN' BOOST FOR HOMESTAY INDUSTRY

By Noor Farhana Ahmad Norain

BACHOK (Kelantan, Malaysia), Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Travel on trains to
tourist attractions may not appeal to many Malaysians particularly to long-haul
destinations apart from the presence of alternative travel such as buses and
planes.

However some initiatives have been undertaken by the railway authorities to
boost travel on trains particularly organising twinning packages with the
homestay industry nationwide.

Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen flagged off one such event at the KTM
railway station in Tanjong Pagar Singapore last Oct 1.

This event is a collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and Keretapi Tanah
Melayu (KTM) in the effort to promote the homestay industry to tourists
particularly those from Singapore.

On the train, this writer and the other media representatives were joined by
107 tourists from Singapore. The train headed for Wakaf Baru station in Kelantan
before the participants were taken to three villages.

The train travel took 17 hours and some of the passengers killed the time by
singing songs from the karaoke set on board while others slept or talked among
themselves.

The train wheeled into Wakaf Baru station at about 10am the next day, two
hours late as its departure from Singapore was delayed.

The travellers were given a warm welcome by officials from the Kelantan
State Tourism Department where the group were treated to breakfast apart from
the welcoming 'bunga telur' (gifts of eggs) and traditional dance.

The tourists from Singapore, particularly those who came to the east coast
state of Kelantan for the first time, were delighted with the various
traditional delicacies served including the nasi dagang.

After breakfast, the train travellers were divided into three groups before
being taken to the three homestay villages.

The three participating homestay villages were Seterpa in Kota Baharu
(village in town), Pulau Suri in Tumpat (fishing village) and Kg Kubang Telaga
in Bachok (farming village).

This writer and six media mates as well as 29 Singaporean tourists were
taken to Kg Kubang Telaga.

Being in Kelantan for the first time got this writer excited. She was
enthralled with the exotic scenery in the 30-minute drive to Kg Kubang Telaga
despite the searing noon heat at that time.

Our arrival at the village was greeted with smiles by the residents who
dished out the thirst-quenching coconut juice as well as traditional music
performance.

Members of the group were later handed over to their foster parents and
laughter erupted when the participants were matched with those younger than
themselves.

ACTIVITIES

The next day, the sunshine paved the way for us to be involved in more
activities.

First the participants gathered at the Kg Kubang Telaga homestay chairman
Awang Mat Salleh before leaving for a rubber orchard not far away.

They were given some briefing and instructions on the correct way to tap the
rubber trees. The travellers, including this writer, then wasted no time as they
eagerly displayed their rubber-tapping talents to the bemused villagers.

Later, it was the fruits galore when the travellers were taken to a fruit
orhard in the village. They were treated to dokong and rambutan and the
Singaporeans wasted no time in grabbing the rambutan despite the presence of
ants on the fruits.

They said rambutan was very expensive in the republic, what more that were
freshly plucked from trees.

After the trip and fun at the fruit orchard, we were taken to a canal which
is the size of a rivulet where we were allowed to use fishing nets to snare
fish.

There were hilarious moments where the villagers themselves failed to net a
single fish and yet an attempt by a young woman journalist yielded a fish. This
was followed by a huge applause from those present.

TOP SPINNING

After having lunch at the homes of our respective foster parents, we were
taken to view top spinning show by Rajab Ali, 75, who is famed for making tops.

All those present were showed the way to make tops before taking turns to
spin the smaller-sized tops.

Next, the travellers were taken to another house where they witnessed the
making of 'bahulu' using charcoal stoves. Some of the Singaporean travellers
also bought some of these traditional Malay cakes to take home to the republic.

At night, the guests were treated to a traditional Malay wedding reception
including the 'bersanding' and 'tepung tawar' ceremonies. There was also a
'dikir barat' show performed by the villagers. "Bersanding" is when the bride
and groom sit on a dais while "tepung tawar" is when relatives, friends and
guests give their blessings to the bride and groom by sprinking yellow rice and
scented water. "Dikir Barat" is a form of singing.


FAREWELL

On the last day of their stay, the visitors were shown the way to make
ondeh-ondeh, a traditional delicacy apart from killing time by having chats with
the villagers.

After two nights stay at the village, it was time to go home.

The hospitality shown by the villaggers was simply great which made some
of the guests to shed tears upon bidding farewell to their foster parents.

A tourists from Singapore, Dr Lee Teck Kong, who particpated with his wife
and two small children had this to say:

"There was always a two-way communication in this programme. We were so
happy with the villagers and it was an experience to cherish", said the
telecommunications manager.

The visitors were also taken to shop at Siti Khadijah market in Kota Baharu
before being taken to the Wakaf Baru railway station for the trip home to Kuala
Lumpur and Singapore.

There are 42 homestay packages offered by Tourism Malaysia and travel
agents. More information is available by contacting RM Travel & Tours at
03-91318565 or www.rmtravels.com.
-- BERNAMA


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