On to the subject matter, Penang, ahh yes where do I begin. Since I have traces of amnesia, I'd use the pictures I've taken as the timeline. I'm using those unedited unfiltered ones because I'm too lazy to edit them before uploading so yes, excuse those zits and and bad lighting please :)
So, it was precisely a Monday when I boarded the 12 noon bus to Kulim, Kedah where I was conveniently seated right behind the driver. The first hour was exciting. Not the "Oh goodness look out the window its snowing" kind of excitement but more of like the feeling you have when you look next to you and you don't see your little sister jumping up and down the seat, you don't see your mum giving that constipated 'anger control' look trying to get your sis to sit still and you don't see your dad being the unofficial tour guide going "Guys, we're now currently passing along the North-South highway"(I see that its a 'dad' thing to act all Know-It-All on all things directions and geography). THAT, my friends, is the feeling of independence. The first time I've traveled for a trip, alone. (Not including my Doha and Singapore trips because those were with debatemates)
The following hours were not important to elaborate on because eventually it just became a junkfood fest and trying to tune out all the annoying songs they play on the bus. Although I do have quite a diverse music inclination, I simple cannot tolerate those 'rock' tunes that sound in between of a man being strangled and a teenage boy hitting puberty -.- Oh and not to mention the moment when the driver oh-so-suavely pressed the remote and this LCD TV slowly swings down from the bus ceiling, he had this "Oh yeah who says buses ain't cool" look only to have the entire movie playing with no visuals. I kid you not. You hear these voices coming out from the screen which.is.blank. That was when I knew it couldn't get more pathetic.
Day 1 (Monday)
Arrived at about late evening so my grandparents decided to go for early dinner at this fish pond area where they rear gazillion fishes which they conveniently catch upon every order. Personally I don't find it fascinating to dine somewhere like this. It makes it harder to swallow the fish. God knows what else the rear and plant around here. Apparently, its a good promotional strategy. Its sort of like an Eco tourism, they say. Ahh yes, those Nasi Kandar fellas should learn a thing or two from this shop. Relocate near a goat's farm; it makes your mutton curry that much tastier.
Day 6 (Saturday)
The days in between were sucked by a massive blackhole. A blackhole that comprised of common daily routines which I shall not talk much about since it would be very repetitive. BUT, HOWEVER, NEVERTHELESS, some of the events that took place during this time would remain one of the most heartwarming events ever. I'm referring to the love from thy grandparents.
How would I know?
1. I had The Star on the coffee table EVERY morning. And Grandpa only reads Sunday Star.
2. They brought me for McD breakfast because they thought 'our generation' would dig those kind of stuff.
3. We could have stuck to the traditional Chinese meals but no, they brought me for Western because again, they assumed I'd like those food better. (My last name being all English y'know? LOL)
(Oh yeah only the pics of ze food are edited ones btw. And and bottom right is the durian which I had it all to myself because they know its my favourite :P )
Venue: Boston Cafe
Place Setting: Very dim, and candlelight-ish, notably more apt for couples but oh well :)
Food Review: Top left was the seafood spaghetti which I found unique because unlike the white sauced or tomato ones (which I don't like) it had no sauce at all but yet tasted not bad. Though it was slightly on the oily side and had chili flakes, I thought it was alright. Top right is the Barley Lemon and bottom left is the traditional fish & chips. The F&C was pretty good for a small town standards. It wasn't fried but grilled so definitely a healthier option, but then again the cheese sauce sort of balanced out the healthy bit :( ( but cheese lovers like me ain't gonna complain! ) And last but not least, bottom right is you know what, my fav fruit :D
Okay back to Saturday, I await the arrival of my uncle and his family to drive me back to the island for the weekend before I head back home. They arrive 6ish and we drove to this another Eco Tourism place in the form of a restaurant in the middle of a jungle!
...And it was obviously named....
(My lil cousins were very excited at the thought of dining somewhere oh-so-exotic while the older ones like me and my aunt weren't really convinced with the whole set up. Sigh. The downsides of growing up. )
Oh btw, we had more durians there and thats where my uncle came up with this whole theory that "If you love sweet durians, you are not a hardcore durian lover. Only those who love the bitter ones, are" Along those lines, I'd be thrown out of the durian lovers fan club :( But hey! Coffee lovers are entitled to choose between bitter, milky or sweet so why not durians too? #indenial :D
As you can see in that shot with my Yu Xuan, its really dark there and our table was on a transparent floorboard that sees through the pond beneath. That was probably where the amazingness ended because the food was nothing to be excited of and mosquitoes soon became our uninvited guests.
Dinner done, we drove back to the island, without Ah Ma and Ah Kong :'(
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| My personal bellboy ;) |
And not to forget that sweet proposal I'll never forget, when he asked "You be my girlfriend, okay?" right after this shot:
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| *melts* Awwh :') <3 |
After checking into their room, I was greeted by a sight of a flood of soft toys! I felt like a kid in a candystore! I thing its true what they say, you always feel the safest in the confinements of childhood. And all those soft toys did just that- it transported me back to a time when you slept alone but never felt lonely as these cuddly things made you believe in their company.
It was almost midnight but I didn't come all the way without ending the night with a Pyjama partaaaaay!
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| The background shows you exactly what I meant about the room being all cuddly colourful :D |
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| No, I did not break my collarbone, fortunately. Though I reckon neck braces are the next big fashion statement! ;) |
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| They look soooo similar. Must be that grin! |
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| Again, no backbone was broken either. Back braces wouldn't be too cool. Piggyback rides FTW B) |
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| Us, channeling the famous squinted Asian eyes look ^^ |
Day 7 (Sunday)
Woke up almost 11am! Blame the excessive partying the night before (\/)
Skipped breakfast because my uncle and aunty had some serious brunch buffet in store for me!
Pulled in to Trader's Hotel, Penang and the rest, was (gastronomic) history in the making!
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| Trust me this is just 1/10 of what they offer but lets just say these were my appetizers! #nokidding What i liked about it was its variety from Japanese cuisine to Asian to Western. I'd let the pics to the talking and save time on food reviews! |
On the way home, we pulled over by the roadside when an eyecatching monument begged for us to take a shot!
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| Ambassadors ;) |
Upon contemplating on how to spend the lazy afternoon, we decided to laze at the balcony and do a lil bit of sunbathing (like as if I'm not tanned enough as it it) and gardening (which in our dictionary means touching the leaves and adjusting the pots postions. Its those little touches that matter, okay?)
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| Leaves care 101 Although the lil one is not buying it, it seems! *skeptical expression* |
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| Ahh I did mention unedited right? So the zit is excusable. :S |
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| Sunkissed tanned and loving it B) |
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| Credits to my personal photog- a kindi going kid. So who says you need to be a pro to take pro shots :P |
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| Giving those plants some much needed love XD |
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| Oh he was excited to get there, alright? |
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| Who needs Andrew Garfield when you can get an oh so adorable Spidey like this? ;) |
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| Imprisoned. For excessive cuteness ;) |
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| I won't ask if that's painful. I'll just assume it isn't. *straight face* |
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| Credits to Yu Xuan again. It amazes me his little fingers don't suffer from Parkinson like mine does at times -.- And the kids were obviously not the only ones having all the fun! I was swinging my way down memory lane of childhood :') |
After some running abouts and shouting out of my name by the kids, I was convinced like the entire park knew my name #perasanmoment. So we left for a stroll at Gurney Plaza. We were supposedly supposed to do some shoe shopping but nothing caught our eye. Even if it did, it caught our wallets first. So yes. Shoe shopping on hold.
Dinner that night was special! After all the fancy dining, the perfect way to end my trip really was all about going back to basics. Hence the whole reason why I chose Penang as my solo trip destination. Because I was born here. What better way to go back to your roots :) So an authentic Penang fare was all I need. I wasn't disappointed!
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| One of this shop's speciality. Basically its toast with Planta and sugar. But that's generally a favourite! |
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| The lil boy's fav! He's a meat lover! ALL kinds of meat! |
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| I'm sorry you're cute and all that but right now, my heart and eyes are set on that beauty behind you! Fab background I must say ;) |
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| Okay, the shop's main speciality is actually their seafood noodles. Being the seafood lover that I am, I wanted to be really 'involved' in the making process so I handpicked my condiments. But turns out, I wasn't very adventurous because the frogs and fresh fish meat were the must-try and i chose to settle with fried fish pieces, fishballs and quail's eggs (also my fav) The fried fish pieces were awesome! Very compact in taste and texture. I don't know what they used for batter but it sure was yummy! :D |
Since it was school day the next day, we couldn't have Pyjama Party 2.0 :(
My bus back was early next morning so we slept off while I was requested to sing 12 Days of Christmas as their lullaby.
P/S: Lemme tell you, its a bad idea. You end up more awake than ever, trying to recall all the 12 things -.-
Final Day (Monday)
I woke up to a gentle tug by Yu Xuan wanting to bid me goodbye before he goes off to Kindi. He pulled my neck up and gave me a peck on the cheek. (I swear my heart couldn't have been heavier that moment :'( )
That's ByeBye for him while XinYi was to follow me with her mom to send me to the station.
Rushed through the morning coffee and packing and sneaked a final shot:
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| Yep thats the view from ze condo :) Gonna miss this... |
I shall not ramble on the emotional goodbyes at the station because really, at 2am now, the last thing i need is an emotional outburst. Took my seat and sat the whole journey reflecting my experience. I'll end this post with some random shots :)
This family-themed drawing is the perfect way to end this entry (Or as my friend sarcastically puts is; travelogue -.-) because I really managed to do some much needed soul searching. It boils down to the fact that I always have that little piece in me that puts my family first. When given the choice to do ANYTHING I can after exams, with no doubts, my instinct was to spend it with my grandparents and my uncle's family back in my hometown. And I have no regrets. It was quiet and very laid back, much like how I like my life to be really. Away from technology (though I cheated a little because I hacked my neighbour's Wifi, eventhough it was password protected! Blame my uncle for teaching me the trick but atleast i get to be all spy-like whilst I'm doing it!) and closer to loved ones.
This is home. And I'll be back in August!
<3
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| Drawing by XinYi on the room wall. I liked this one the most. It has some Picasso-ish quality to it especially because of the two toned face colouring. Not bad. And artistic pair of siblings indeed. An artist and another...a pro photog ;) |
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| Our drawings. Top: Yu Xuan's (extra 'a' to my name, I assume out of enthusiasm :P) Middle: Yours truly Bottom: XinYi's |
This is home. And I'll be back in August!
<3
P/S: Please please ignore any typos or grammatical errors because as I type, its 2.15am and I can barely feel my neck Therefore I didn't proofread or do much editing to the fonts etc. It's just a simple, honest post. So yeah, much apologies :)
