I
had earlier planned to head to the East Coast during the weekend but changed
plans when I was at Gaya Island and bought ticket to Penang instead. I wanted
to stay somewhere near Padang Kota but at the same time near KOMTAR so I could
catch the early morning bus back to the airport. Finally I decided to stay at
two hotels and booked them on Tuesday, a few days before my departure. Because
I made the bookings very close to the check-in dates, I was charged for the
rooms at the time of booking.
Saturday,
1 October 2016
I
went for my morning walk and jogged the last 1.5 km back to micasa. Back at
micasa, I cooked pasta soup then took my bath. I finished packing, had
breakfast and left for KL Sentral at 09:45. Traffic was light enough that I
managed to reach KL Sentral ten minutes later. I quickly ran in, scanned my
KLIA Express ticket barcode and ran down to the platform. There was a train
waiting at the platform but it was the KLIA Transit train. I quickly went up
the platform to find someone I could ask and one staff told me KLIA Express
wasn’t operating that day. Phew, it was a good thing I asked. If I had not asked
and missed the train, I’d have to wait another 20 minutes for the next train
and would only reach KLIA at 10:55, barely an hour before my ETD.
When
I got there, I immediately cleared security at KLIA and walked to my gate. Our
ETD was slightly delayed due to the late arrival of the plane from Alor Star
and we only took off at almost 11:00. It was a full flight and I even met a
former officemate who was heading there for office teambuilding.
We
landed at 12:45 and after using the washroom, I walked out to the bus stop.
Alhamdulillah, I didn’t have to wait long. Bus 401E bound for KOMTAR arrived
within five minutes. There were a lot of vehicles on the road though and the
journey took an hour. I even managed to doze off in the bus.
At
KOMTAR, I got down and made my way to Penang Road. There were a lot of vehicles
in George Town too. I walked past Joo Hooi Café before realising it was under
renovation (didn’t realise it due to the scaffolding). I then went to find the
building where it is temporary sited (just behind the original site) and asked
if it was operating the following day. The Chinese man in charge of laksa told
me of course so I told him I’d be back then. I then walked to Bee Hwa Café at
Lebuh Dickens and had a plate of char kuay teow and a glass of warm barleyless
barley. Things must be bad in Penang if they can’t give you some barley in your
barley drink!
After
lunch, I walked to my hotel at Lebuh Chulia. I arrived after 15:30 and checked
in. It was so dang hot and I was so glad to be inside. The hotel staff (most
looked foreign) gave me a welcome drink before showing me to my room. The hotel
was nice with a lot of Chinese furniture (rosewood chairs of various sizes with
mother-of-pearl inlay) and various rest areas but I also saw some items that
should not have been in view like the spare bed and towels in the living area
and the vacuum cleaner next to a console table and chair just to name a few.
I
left the hotel at 16:50 and walked to Padang Kota Lama. There was already a
long queue for the Hameed Pata mee sotong and I ended up queuing for 70
minutes! I wanted the fried noodles and mee rebus but the latter had been all
sold out (well, I figured after all that queuing, I deserved two plates of
noodles!). Anyway, no rezeki for me.
After
dinner, I took a circuitous route back to my hotel. I also wanted to check
Muntri Mews so I walked to Jalan Muntri before returning to my room. I stayed
in for the rest of the evening reading. There was a persistent sound of a
pitiful kitten mewing and I looked out my window a few times but couldn’t
locate it.
Sunday,
2 October 2016
I
woke up for morning prayers and after 07:30, I went out for a morning walk. I
first tried to locate the poor kitten but couldn’t find it. I walked around
before making my way to Jalan Kuala Kangsar to check out the weekend market. It
drizzled briefly in the sun at some point. After checking out the stalls, I
went to have some vegetarian wan tan noodles and another glass of warm barleyless
barley drink. There were a lot of people waiting for the wan tan noodles and it
took more than ten minutes before I got my bowl. It only cost RM2.00. How’s
that for value?
I
walked back to my hotel and showered. I then went down for breakfast (served in
the restaurant next door). Well, I must say I was glad that I had that bowl of
wan tan noodles because the breakfast at the hotel restaurant was nothing to
shout about at all. After breakfast, I returned to my room to read. I wasn’t
keen to go out in the heat yet.
I
finally left at 11:45 and walked to Lorong Macalister. I decided to bring my
suitcase along as I didn’t feel like returning back to get it. I wasn’t
impressed with the chee cheong fun I had back in August last year but decided
to give it another chance. Alas for me, the stall had already run out of chee
cheong fun. Again, no rezeki for me.
I
walked up Jalan Burma to to Penang Plaza and spent about 40 minutes there. I
then made my way in the hot relentless sun to 1st Avenue. I wasn’t
planning on shopping but wanted some air-conditioned relief. I stayed there
until 14:30 before walking to Noordin Street House.
I
had stayed here before in February 2014 (I actually booked Noordin Mews but
when I got there, I was informed that the room I booked had a leak and the
owner had no choice but to put me at Noordin Street House a few doors away) and
was impressed with it then. However, I could not say the same for this trip. I
was offered an option of either the Batik or Pelikat room and after reviewing
both, I decided on Pelikat Room. Well, the air-condition didn’t work despite me
lowering the temperature to 20C and turning on the fan. I thought it might be
because the room faced the sun and it was just hot during the day so I decided
to just stay put. Then I discovered that some water leaked from the fridge
(don’t ask). And when I turned on the TV, there were only seven channels
offered and nothing caught my fancy at all.
I
rested before leaving at 16:45 for Joo Hooi Café. I had assam laksa and then
joined the long queue for cendol/ais kacang. After that, I went to Chowrasta to
buy some nutmeg oil and nutmeg balm before returning to Lebuh Keng Kwee for
some char kuay teow. Well, I didn’t have any lunch. The char kuay teow was good
but I had to eat it hurriedly as I was being attacked by bloody bloodsuckers. Outrageous!
I
walked to Penang Times Square but as my previous trips there, I quickly found
that I really shouldn’t have bothered. The place was deserted with only a few
shop lots even rented. There is a Mr DIY there anyway although on the third
floor (I don’t think it’s a strategic floor to operate from, and especially not
when the first and second floors were empty). I didn’t stay long and returned
back to the hotel.
There
was no football action I could catch so I spent the evening reading and even dozed
off while reading.
Monday,
3 October 2016
I
woke up early and left my room at 07:35. I had a quick breakfast and left at
08:03 for the bus station. again, I didn’t have to wait long for the bus to the
airport (and Alhamdulillah too because there was this awful sour stench at the
bus station). This time, it took only 40 minutes to reach the airport. It rained
during the night/early morning and the ground was wet.
I
had checked in online but had to go to the check-in counter anyway to get my boarding
pass. I then immediately went to clear security and waited at the gate. I spent
the flight reading. We landed at 11:40 and there were a lot of people at the
arrival area – the pilgrims back fr Haj and those waiting to greet them. I had
to go up to the arrival level to meet up CT who was picking me up and sending
my munchkin nephew back to boarding school.
I
only reached micasa at 16:45 and rested. InsyaAllah there will be another trip
to Penang in 2017 and I’m already looking forward to it - scorching sweltering
hot humid sticky weather notwithstanding.
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