Arrived at the airport in Penang and piled into Keng Xhik’s Wira and Rou Yen’s Getz
Checked in at Vistana with the aid of Rou Yen’s dad, dumped luggage and headed out to begin our adventures
Hiked up Kek Lok Si despite scorching heat and grumblings from our end
First meal of the day at a coffee shop; Hokkien Mee (aka Prawn Mee) + Lo Mee + Char Kuay Teow + a noodle-like dish of which I can’t remember the name
Short tour around Air Itam
Stopped for an in-between-meal snack of Ice Kacang and Cendol, with a bowl of Siam Laksa to share
Attempted to get to the top of Bukit Bendera for the view and cool air but cable car was under renovation. Boo.
Detoured to Chung Ling High School for a cup of Soya Bean
Second last natural location of the day: the beach
A Thai dinner overlooking the sunset
Warm milk for supper
Day 2
Dim sum for breakfast
Shopping at Prangin Mall, where I spent half the time in my book heaven (the Popular there was freaking huge)
A visit to Him Heang Sdn. Bhd. for edible souvenirs
A tour around the city part of Penang, with the most memorable stop at Hard Rock Hotel
Brother left us to our own devices at Gurney Plaza
Dinner along Gurney Drive
Lingered in the pub of G Hotel for half an hour or so to listen to the jazz band
Day 3
Had yam cake and apung takeaway for breakfast in the apartment
A bowl of laksa each on the way to the mall
Spent 3 and a half hours in Queensbay Mall
Last dinner at a hawker centre; tom yam noodle soup and Ling Teh (aka Liang Cha)
So long, farewell
In the key of C, I shall sing you an octave of the sensations we felt throughout our 3 day-stay in Penang (Note: C4 to B4 is the middle range on the piano):
C4 (C for, get it? Get it?) Carefree spirit and a sense of Contentment
72 hours of escapism. No assignments, no practices, no bounds or chains of our college life to dilute our elation and that somehow contributed to the spring in our footsteps, the giddiness of our heads and the sheer madness in our voices.
It was like when Keng Xhik brought us to the seaside and the mysterious plan was finally unveiled after an eternal car journey of bumpy, winding mud road, we screeched hysterically at the sand, at the seawater, at the sun and at anything and everything, as if we hadn’t seen a beach before. And while taking a photo with our legs soaked ankle-deep in the salty water, a small wave gushed up and sloshed against our knees, which made us squeal and giggle in a manner a 4-year-old would. Honest.
Wheeeeeee...!
To the left, to the left
An effect that only retarded cameras, such as mine, are able to accomplish
I believe I can dive
"Look! Seawater seawater seawater!"
Me and the soon-to-be Degree students of Contemporary Music
Zi Ming the Prince
According to Jia Wai, aka Wai Ma;
Jia Wen: Nak naik motosikal ar?
Carmen: Da bian da bu chu
Audrey: Like kena belasah
Ying Hui: This one paling 'classic'! Sembahyang pula! Ya Allah!
Xin Xin: Monkey pose
Emily: Superwoman blasting off....NOT!
D4 Drunk with a high Dosage of Delirium
Over sunset.
Another one of Keng Xhik’s and Brother’s ingenious schemes. After a trip down to the sea, we journeyed up to the hilltop, to a place aptly named ‘Little Genting’. Considering the cool weather, it was said to be 2 degrees Celsius lower than sea level temperature, though I thought it dropped much more, I was kind of hoping to be shrouded in mist. But then again, its presence might have intruded the scenery, which was breathtaking, to say the least.
Everyone was lingering and inhaling mountain air while I followed the 2 tour guides up the Thai style wooden roofed platform and suddenly found myself embraced in the most stunning sight I had ever seen. I simply stood and gasped at the perfect picture of the entire state (or half of it) bathed in the last rays of the setting sun.
When I had woken up, “Oh my God! Carmen! Jia Wen! Audrey! COME SEEEEEE! SUNSET SUNSET SUNSET!”
Bodies scrambled to where I was standing a moment ago and, as if on cue, “AHHHHHHHH!”
*Extremely loud exclamations ensued*
And before you know it, we were all doing a Mexican Wave of flashing cameras.
The wooden roofed platform on which we dined and did merry-making
Keng Xhik and Brother
Breathtaking, isn't it?
The only group photo we had that included all 3 tour guides: Ah Xhik, Ah Chew and Rou Mei
Toured around for a bit. The decoration reminded me of that place my family had lunch at on Krabi Island in Thailand. Typical Thai style much?
Over Hard Rock Hotel.
From the design and layout of the entire hotel, to the display of instruments of and costumes worn by various artists, to the ambience, we were utterly floored and dazzled.
All that came out of my mouth was a steady flow of “OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod”.
Behold the magnificence of the Hard Rock Hotel!
Homage to M.J.
Guitarized Carlsberg
Just a thought, when Sting died, would he be called Stung? -FunnyJoker, Twitter-
Restroom icons
Dad, these are for you!
Beatles' counterpart
Imagine simply sliding open the window and plunging into the 'river' whenever the weather gets too unbearable or when the clear blue water beckons
It looks as if we have coconut trees growing out of our heads
Judging by the fluid movement of his arms and the sureness of his gesture while the staff guy tilted the camera to take this photo for us, the demand for a shot with this statue must be damn high.
E4 Enveloped by the clouds of Exhilaration and Ebullience
In the case of Audrey and Carmen’s shopping mania.
If 2 days of scouting through Prangin Mall, Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall could produce 4 pairs of heels, couple of blouses and 2 bags full of accessories and knick knacks, between the 2 of them, I fear to think of the goods accumulated over a longer period of time.
No, I didn’t manage to grab any souvenirs throughout the course of our mall-hopping. ‘Coz it was darn tough combing through the shops and trying to spot something distinctively Penang to buy. And yes, I failed to do so. You know, half the time I had to convince myself I was in a Penang shopping complex and not One Utama. I mean, I could be insincere and go pick an item off any shelf in One Utama and claimed it was from Penang and you probably wouldn’t know. But what’s the point? Sometimes, I question the purpose of handing out souvenirs And it isn’t as if you hadn’t been there before, save non-Malaysian readers.
Queensbay Mall
A sense of contemplation
See the Penang Bridge?
Gimme gimme more
Tea break in Prangin Mall while the other 3 shopaholics were getting high
Insanity within the vicinity of the washroom in G Hotel after a day of shopping at Gurney Plaza
F4 Fatten up like a turkey for Christmas
We had 6 meals on the first day: Breakfast at Chocolate, the mixture of noodles as stated in the agenda above, Ice Kacang and Cendol for dessert, soya bean as a-sort-of tea, a Thai dinner and warm milk for supper. 3 on the second, with a tea break for the non-shopaholics in between and a round of drinks to sip while listening to a jazz band in G Hotel. We reverted back to the normal 3 meals on the last day, but still stuffed to the brim by Rou Yen and Brother.
Day 1 lunch:
Hokkien Mee + Lo Mee
Post-lunch:
Tea break:
We were astounded
Dinner:
Method of eating: Shape the leaf into a cone, add bits of each ingredients into it then stuff it into your mouth
Fishie fishie!
Steamed chicken skin
Otak-otak
Fried chicken
Supper:
Warm milk + sugar + raw egg (yes, you read correctly)
Day 2 brunch:
Our personal waiters, Brother and Zi Ming, and waitress, Rou Yen. Haha.
Egg tarts
Some sort of tea:
Homemade mushroom soup
Official tea break:
Chocolate Ice Tower
Fried ice-cream
Peanut Ice Tower
Sweet, sugary delightness!
Dinner:
An assortment of food
Drinks at the pub:
G Sunset and Pink Perfection
First, there was Audrey and me
Then came Carmen
Then came Zi Ming
Free margaritas for the ladies
Day 3 lunch:
Tom Yam Noodle Soup and some herbal tea
G4 Gradual Grogginess as the day wore on
We began each day not quite alive, being late sleepers in the first place, and after all the activities dedicatedly scheduled for us by the 3 Penang dwellers, we would be more or less dead by the time we reached the apartment, usually around 11pm to midnight, which sufficed to say that we would take an extremely late bath, doze off at an even later hour and start the next day as before.
Imagine sleeping at around 1am, due to bad habit, waking up at 4am in order to reach Central by 6am and LCCT by 7am to catch the 8am flight, and then being made to climb Kek Lok Si first thing upon arrival. Insane.
From sleep-deprivation
From all the walking
I was kind of slow in buying the water bottle so by the time I got to the little bridge over the pond full of tortoises, everyone was already in the midst of taking photos. And you know what Keng Xhik remarked on my slowness?
"Eh 颖会, 来看乌龟！看乌龟！记得啊，看到自己的种类不要笑!"
Ooi Keng Xhik! @^!%#^&*%#
I felt so holy in their presence
Keng Xhik
From listening to late night jazz
From shopping
From sailing
A4 Attuned with Mother Nature and Awed by the beauty of what She had to offer
Somehow a peaceful feeling would settle over us after bouts of euphoria upon witnessing the sunset or any natural scenery. And for some reason, it also gives you a sense of deep contemplation, looking at something immobile and calm. I bet I would write better sitting on a hilltop overlooking the sea or under the shade of a tree by the riverbank. Hmmm. Maybe I should try blogging on the swing in my garden.
Blessed to have a friend like Keng Xhik, who attended to every of our food cravings and who showed us that Penang was more than just a food heaven and a land of rich Chinese culture. Blessed to have a friend like Dave, aka Brother, who drove us in and out even if he was busy, simply because he knew it would be troublesome for Rou Yen to travel twice to fetch the lot of us, and who, also, ceaselessly pointed out the to-eat and not-to-eat stalls. Blessed to have a friend like Rou Yen, who helped made sure our stay there was smooth-sailing and comfortable and who was a photographer of candid moments in her own right.
Keng Xhik, Brother, Rou Yen, we were blessed to have you as our tour guides for 3 full days. Thank you (:
Keng Xhik
Dave, aka Bruh-der
Rou Yen (second from left)
Without the 3 of you, I doubt this much shopping would have been possible.
