Kuala Besut to KL

Upon reaching Kuala Besut, we returned to the tour agency office to return our life jackets and snorkeling gear. We then headed to a nearby restaurant (April Cafe or something like that, next to the Sakura restaurant) and had a very nice lunch for only RM77/-. Bought more souvenirs at the shops at the marina.

We departed Kuala Besut at around 3 pm. This time, we took the road we had originally planned to take, which was to travel along route 84 to connect to route 3, and on to Kuala Terengganu.

Upon reaching Kuala Terengganu, we continued on route 3, aka the coastal road, towards Kuantan because we wanted to buy some salted fish.

Like route 14, route 3 is also a 2-lane federal road, with a 90 km/h speed limit. However, it isn't as winding as route 14, and the road shoulders were also much wider. More importantly (for Malaysians at least), you can find stalls along the way selling all sorts of local delicacies.

We passed through quite a few towns, at which point you'll hit a lot of traffic lights compared to route 14. Note that like route 14, the roads are not lighted up at night, unless you're near a town.

We actually didn't take route 3 all the way. Somewhere after passing the Awana Kijal resort, following route 3 to the left will lead you to Kijal town. To go to Kuantan, just keep going straight along route 145.

We stopped somewhere along here to buy our salted fish, and had our dinner.

Total distance from Kuala Terengganu to here was about 190 km. We then took the slip road to connect to the East Coast Highway, bypassing Kuantan town. Was really dark by then, and the entire stretch isn't lighted.

We entered the East Coast Highway at Jabor. It was then that I realised that our highways aren't lighted up at night too, only at the exits. However, because the highways are 4-lane highways, it's easy enough to overtake the heavy vehicles which you'll encounter along the way. Just had to be careful if you're taking point and watch out for poorly lit vehicles, of which there were a few.

We finally hit KL at around 12:10 pm, exhausted.

Would I do this again? If I was just traveling to Perhentian, I would try taking a train. However, I was thinking of taking a slow drive along route 3 and spend a couple of nights at some of the resorts, just to relax on the beach and stuff myself silly with the local delicacies. Or perhaps visit other islands on the east coast, with perhaps more vibrant undersea life.