Located in the state of Kelantan, this city is a good crossing point enroute to the Perhentian islands and into Thailand. The latter should only be endeavoured with care given the ongoing violence in the South, particularly as the announced ceasefire during Ramadan (7th July to 7th August) didn't really achieve the desired effect (see news article: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/360733/keeping-talking-will-stop-the-bullets-in-south

In terms of sights in Kota Bharu, these are mostly centred around Independence Square and are predominantly a selection of heritage buildings and museums . 
 
I found the WWII museum very interesting and informative and was happy to find that everything was also presented in English. 
 
Coming from the UK we tend to learn about the German campaign and how the war affected Europe. It was very enlightening to learn something about the Japanese campaign and how it affected Asia and the Pacific. The information was a bit mixed up and hard to follow, but the dates soon put things right, leaving just a few blanks where the translation from Malay was missing. However, I am still at a loss as to what the 'secret...' display near the end was sharing.
 
Upstairs is the Kelantan state history and a chinese exhibit, including Chinese furniture, which was added in 2012 to strengthen the relationship among the multi racial society!
 
The population here is predominantly Muslim, and during Ramadan we found that this continued our frustrations with finding places to eat. That was until we found the Chinese hawkers and food stalls and then filled our faces with pork favourites including wan tan mee (noodles with pork and dumplings), char siew pau (fluffy white parcels filled with roast pork), char siew/siew yoke (roast/crispy roast pork) and long yoke (squares of sweet marinated pork) . I was going to share some pictures of us enjoying some of these delicacies but then read about a couple being arrested for sedition and decided to subtlety mention it here instead. 
 
Aside from the food situation, Kota Bharu is a good place to buy batik. There are some lovely designs and plenty of variety. There is also a popular half/full day course where you can learn about the art and make something of your own, but we didn't get a chance to do this. The cultural centre offers demonstrations of a number of local arts but this was another no-can-do during Ramadan. In fact, the only handicraft experience at this time of year is the handicraft museum, but I was extremely disappointed with this.
 
As with a few places that we have visited during the month of Ramadan, I would like to return and see Kota Bharu after Hari Raya is over as I am sure the experience would be a very different one. It's a bit far away from everywhere else for us to make a third visit on this trip, but it's worth considering if you are planning a trip in Malaysia.