Gorging In Georgetown

I have been wanting to meet up with an old mate but when the last plan didn’t go through, I quickly browsed buses to Butterworth (Penang Sentral) and after buying the bus ticket, I proceeded to buy the ETS ticket from Ipoh to KL Sentral (for RM41.00; Butterworth to KL Sentral would cost RM88.00!). I’d only found out about Komuter Utara and could only buy the ticket from Butterworth to Ipoh on the day of travel and not in advance. And I also booked a room at Sunshine House in Georgetown. I could’ve stayed at Berjaya Penang Hotel but it’s in Pulau Tikus.

 

Friday, 31 May 2024

 

I made my way from micasa to Hentian Duta but it rained torrentially on the way. I finally made it to Hentian Duta and waited for the 23:59 Quick Liner Express bus. It showed up 15 minutes later than scheduled and I quickly stored my bag in the bus luggage area and made my way to my seat.

 

Saturday, 1 June 2024

 

Of course I could barely sleep during the trip but I kept my eyes closed throughout the journey. Good thing I realised when we stopped outside Penang Sentral. I got up, went down and retrieved my bag and walked into the building. It was barely 04:30 then. I sat and waited until it was almost time for morning prayers before making my way to the prayer room.

 

After prayers, I walked to the ferry terminal. The ticket cost RM2 and counter accepted non-cash payment only. We boarded about five minutes before departure and settled down quickly. The ferry left on time and we reached the island jetty shortly after. We had to wait for the motor passengers to bike off first before we were let through. The ground looked wet, it had obviously rained too overnight on the island.

 

I walked to Sunshine House and was there about fifteen minutes later. After leaving my bag, I headed for the market at Jalan Kuala Kangsar for breakfast. I had my usual vegetarian wan ton noodle soup before checking out the market. I then walked to Aimi Lim Halal Hokkien Mee at the corner of Jalan Transfer and Jalan Argyll for a bowl of prawn noodles. The place was packed  and I managed to get a table after some customers left shortly after I arrived, and two others joined me. After that, I walked to get the CAT bus to Komtar bus terminal.

 

I wandered around and then spent time (and even shopped!) at 1st Avenue Mall before walking to Left-handed Char Kuay Teow for early lunch. I had curry noodles and bought char kuay teow to go.

 

After lunch, I made my way to Sunshine House to check in. After performing prayers, I had a nap to make up for the sleepless night. I spent the rest of the day and evening indoors.

 

Sunday, 2 June 2024

 

I woke up early for shower and prayers. I also bought my ticket for the Komuter Utara, it only cost RM12.80. I left at 07:30 (someone’s phone alarm was ringing non-stop for 45 minutes before I left and made me wonder if I should knock on the door) and walked to the jetty for the 08:00 ferry. The stalls leading to the ferry terminal were closed and I was hoping to buy some breakfast there. We left on time but had to wait for the ferry from the 08:30 to depart mainland before we could dock in the berth. I hurried out of the terminal and walked out of Penang Sentral to find breakfast. Alhamdulillah, managed to get nasi lemak and some local dessert from a stall before I headed back for the KTM station. I needed to catch the 09:10 train to Ipoh. Miss that and I’d have to take the 12:10 train. Plus I already bought the 12:02 ETS ticket back to KL Sentral.

 

We boarded the train about ten minutes before departure. It being school holidays, the train quickly filled up as we stopped at stations along the way. The train slowed down as it passed Bukit Merah lakes and it was beautiful. The train stopped midway at some point for about ten minutes. As a result, we only arrived in Ipoh at 11:25. I made my way out of the station as quickly as I could (only two or three turnstiles working!) and walked to Dato’ Sagor food court but left without buying anything. I returned to the station and joined the queue to board the ETS.

 

I read all the way back. I even performed prayers in the prayer room as it was very near my seat. We reached KL Sentral at 14:35, five minutes ahead of schedule. Alhamdulillah.

So that’s my annual trip to Georgetown done with for 2024.

Spring Vacation: Part IV

Wednesday, 8 May 2024

 

The bus was already full when I came out of the airport at 00:35. It took about 22 minutes to reach Bologna Centrale and I quickly made my way to the bus station. I went to the waiting room, not many seats were provided but I managed to get one and tried to sleep but of course I couldn’t.

 

My 04:05 Flix Bus left more or less on time and as soon as I boarded, I went to the WC to perform ablutions and perform morning prayers. We reached Milan Lampugnano just before 07:00 and I waited in the waiting room for my next Flix Bus. It came later than scheduled and the driver carefully checked our ticket against our identification documents before we were allowed to load our bags and board the bus. We left around 09:00 and headed north, passing Lake Como, Mendrisio, stopping at Lugano to drop off passengers… and the view was fantastic throughout. The sun hid itself after we had entered Switzerland though. We then had a thirty-minute break at Chur before continuing on.

Lago di Como

 

We crossed over into Liechtenstein and I went down at Vaduz Rheinpark Stadion. This is not an easy country to get to hence why I only reached it then. I then walked into the city and walked around the compact capital. There were a lot of Chinese tourists around. After a couple of hours, I made my way to Jugendherberge Schaan-Vaduz, a youth hostel (but many guests are not exactly young! There were also motorbikers staying at the hostel). Check-in started only at 17:00 hence why I didn’t go to the hostel earlier.

 

I checked in and having paid for my bed beforehand as I didn’t want to bring too much CHF on the trip, paid CHF1.50 city tax before going to my room. Oh, and the amount I paid for my bed in a dorm could get me a decent hotel room in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. I only found out that I had mistakenly booked a mixed dorm and went down to change rooms, this after having made my bed and putting on the duvet and pillow cases! Luckily there was another vacant bed in a female dorm so I quickly moved my things. Having done that, I went for a short walk before returning to the hostel to rest. There was a German girl who was on a solo bike tour and a Moroccan girl from Rabat University staying in the same dorm.

 

Thursday, 9 May 2024

 

I woke up for morning prayers and tried to sleep again. The German girl woke up and she sure wasn’t quiet! I couldn’t help wondering if that explained why she was on a solo bike tour, because no one could stand her noise. I mean, you’re staying in a dorm so try to keep your noise low. I wasn’t asleep but I was annoyed. Finally I got up and checked my social media.

 

I freshened up, finished packing and went down for breakfast. At least the hostel provided breakfast and as it would be another day of travelling, I ate my fill. After breakfast, I went to the basement to store my bag before setting off to explore Schaan. Today was better, the sun was out. It was a public holiday today so as the day progressed, I saw a lot of families biking together. A lot of shops were also closed except for two supermarkets and one coffee shop.

I came back at 12:30 and rested. I collected my suitcase and then performed ablutions. I left after performing prayers and walked to the bus stop for the free bus no. 44 to the city. It was five minutes late but I was thankful that I didn’t have to walk to Vaduz. I still had to walk to Rheinpark Stadion though. The bus arrived on time and what do you know, it’s the same driver as yesterday! He must be on his return trip. We stopped at Chur again for thirty minutes before continuing on to Milan Lampugnano. We reached Milan Lampugnano just before 20:00 and I sat down to wait for my 22:50 bus to Saronno.

Goodbye, Liechtenstein!

 

I decided to go to the platform at 22:40 and the bus was already there! We left before ETD and arrived at Saronno station around 23:00. I then walked to the nearby train station for the Milan Malpensa train. I had bought ticket for a later train but ticket holders could board earlier trains. No one came to check the tickets though. We reached Milan Malpensa T1 and I made my way to the airport and up to the departure level. I spent some time scouting before settling down for the night.

 

Friday, 10 May 2024

 

Well, of course I could hardly sleep with all the noise and bright lights. Sigh. Finally got up at 04:00 to perform prayers then walked over to the seats near where Qatar Airway counters were and sat down. After freshening up, I went to check in. I then had some pastries and buns that I bought at Milan Lampugnano bus station café before going in to clear security and passport control. The officer said I could have water in my water bottle (and I had drank quite a bit by then too). After passport control, I went to browse the shops and my, there are Loro Piana, Hermès, Gucci, Venchi, Furla…

Crazy Italians at Milan Malpensa!

 

After browsing, I made my way to the gate and pretty soon, we were boarding. Strange thing was there wasn’t any more security check before boarding.

 

We landed at Doha Airport on time but the doors took a while to open and we had to board a bus to the terminal building. I performed prayers before walking to my gate and was happy to note there was another female prayer room across from my gate. Browsed the nearby shops (it was a new area of the airport for me) before heading for the prayer room. There was some problem with the plane so we boarded and finally took off about half an hour later than scheduled.

 

Saturday, 11 May 2024

 

I managed some kip before getting up just as the plane was flying over the Andaman to perform morning prayers. We landed earlier than scheduled, how about that, but my bag came out too late for me to make the 08:22 train. Le sigh.

So that was my spring vacation, my revenge travel, my first long holiday after the pandemic and after dad left us.