Kota Bharu is the capital of the Malaysian state of Kelantan, which lies at the northern end of peninsular Malaysia's east coast and borders Thailand. Kelantan is the most Islamic of the Malaysian states and you will quickly notice that by the way people dress on the street. Kota Bharu is a large city with almost half a million inhabitants. While the city centre is pleasant and Kota Bharu has an interesting night market, from a tourist perspective Kota Bharu is primarily the access point to the nearby
Perhentian islands (accessible via taxi to
Kuala Besut + ferry). Kota Bharu is serviced by Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (IATA: KBR), which has connections to several Malaysian cities and Singapore.
