Last week, I went for a dinner and came back with a ear fatigue.... Sounds odd, but rest assured it is very true. I had dinner with my mum then and since she was rather reluctant to go home immediately, we decided to stroll into the That CD Shop on the same level as the restaurant.... By the time we walk out, I had ear fatigue...
As you know That CD Shops has this row of speakers where they play some music to promote their series of compilation, and they were playing one of them then, and it basically a 'boombox" as they were playing some music that has lots and lots of bass in it, just like house music - not sure if it was in that category. Anyway, since Josh Groban released a new album recently, I thot it's a good opportunity to test it out (and see if it's worth getting). Boy was I wrong!
Now in this particular shop, the players which were available for testing were place opposite the speakers, although not directly. Furthermore, the headphones they had was some AKG headphones with a cloth covering over the ear area. I am not certain if the headphone comes like that or they place the cloth over it, but at that particular time, they actually turn up the volume of the "boombox", thus making it impossible to hear anything in the headphones (as it does not cover your ears properly, thus unable to insulate the sound - due to that piece of cloth).
Most of the time, I would listen to music via headphone at a level of at most 2 knots from no sound, because of the noise, I had difficulty in hearing, thus I had to turn the volume up to half the max level. However, with this setting, my ears are being bombarded with very loud sound. So by the end of it, I simply felt pain in my ears, and unable to assess the possibility of buy the album.
Immediately walked out of the shop and got out of the way from all the noise... Sigh... I cannot simply comprehend how people can turn up the volume of their players (ipod and knots) so much that the music can flowout from their earphones and, I can hear it clearly by standing next to the person. Don't they know that they can go deaf?!?!?!
So... Did I get the album? Nope... Yes, it's Josh Groban and I did buy his 1st album... But lately I think I am becoming more discerning in what I am buying... Not just because it's this so-and-so and I did like their previous (ok, may be previous-previous) album, does not mean I will like it... I mean, if you look at what I used to listen to you would might just understand where I stand.
I think I am a person who listens to different kind of music depending on moods... Of course, I would not listen certain category of music at all (like most of the metal music and house music), but I think I can say I did listen to almost all of them.
I started listening to music when I was very young... Now if you remember the predecessor of cassette tapes, most probably you are around my age... In those days, the tapes were 3/4 of the dimension of the VHS video tapes. Huge and chunky but contain songs from the period, and my mum used to play them in the car (when she did have a car then). However, at home, she would have quite a collection of LPs. So I grew up with songs from The Platters, Skeeter Davis, and even Tracy Huang. I also remembered every Christmas, she would play this LP that has those nice Christmas songs sung by this deep calm male voice whose name has skipped my mind. I used to love those songs, but I think I ruined the LP with the tip of a paper clip - but that's another story altogether....
Then, when I was in Pri 5, I got my own transistor with the familiar cassette tape player, along with 5 ABBA cassette tapes. Of course at that time, ABBA was at their peak, and thus started my long journey with different categories of music. I also remembered listening to country music cum rock and roll, due to the influent of "Donny and Marie Osmond show". Remember the "A little bit of country and little bit of rock and roll" song??? Then it was on to The Carpenters - which my mum would dispute that as she would say she listens to them, that's how I know of them... But well, maybe... Anyway... From there, it was the 80s with the electronic wave, where I was listening to Howard Jones among other artists, which include Level 42, Air Supply, etc. But I have to say I don't really follow any of them, just their songs that I like.
During this time, being a bookworm as I was, I had spent most of Saturdays in library and they started a video section. It was this section that introduced me to musicals. I got to watch musical movies like Grease, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins to name some... I believe it was around this time that Phantom of the Opera raises it's curtains in London. However, I was not introduced to it till very much later, but I had tapes like Chess - the musical by Bjorn and Benny of ABBA fame. The very 1st Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that I saw on video was most probably "Cats", curtsey of the video library.
Then, during my time in polytechnic, I was introduced to heavy rock and I would say heavy metal music - one of my coursemate introduced me to it and he played it over and over again during those in-between classes. I clearly recall Def Leppard (I still like some of their playable ballads), and even Metallica (think they were the one who did Sandman); however that fadeout very, very quickly. I was also introduced to artists like Enya, George Winston and Yanni. I still have a few of Enya's album in my collection...
Anne Murray was the one who brought me back into the country music arena, which was followed by Grath Brooks, The Judds and Reba McEntire. Then Shania Twain came with her "Come on Over" which I had heard during a trip to HMV. I had a very good laugh over the lyrics in that album, and promptly bought the album... But no, I am not a fan of hers. It was just an album so out of the norm that I just had to have it.
I believe it was Sarah Brightman that got me started in the vocals arena. However, if listening to her albums, I cannot figure out where she fits. She had one album which was very classically linked - which give us the famous "Time to say goodbye" with Andrea Bocelli. Then it was onto a drama thematic "Eden", followed by "Luna" which I have no idea what, and then most recently, a very Arabic/Indian influenced "Harem". Of course there others like Laura Fygi, Susan Wong, Emi Fujita, and even Diana Krall.
There was also a period of time somewhere where the radio channel in my car was set to 92.4FM. Yup, classical music... Of course, there were those chessy remix done by Louis Clark and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where, most would remember, giving us a few albums where they re-arranged the music to combined and given a basic rock drum beats to combine the entire arrangement together. I remember we even had school events dance choreographed to those music. In this era, the one left the most impression (and the only CD) I have was Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overtune. I suppose it was those cannon sound mixed into the music that got me interested - I have to say the version by Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with their digital cannons sound was the best I have heard so far... By the way, if you do play those music, it will sound familiar to me... Just don't expect me to know all the names... I might get the composer correctly, but not the names... Unless it's "1812" Overtune!!!!
I am certain by now, whoever knows me and read this would go... Ah ha! No "teng nang" music mentioned... Well, yes I am not a fan of Jay Chou or any other band/singer/whatever you have... That does not mean I don't listen. Heck, I think most of you (younger ones) would not have remember Fei Yu Qing, Gao Lin Feng, Liu Weng Zheng, Tian Nu, Yu Tian, etc... The thing is - as with the other music, I don't follow the artist, ok, other than ABBA and Carpenters; I just listen to individual songs. I do listen to them, in fact I have a couple of Danny Chan's CD, Jeff Chang, Sarah Chen and even Wang Jie's. But, I have lost interest in the newer market as somehow it does not appeal to me. But if you play whatever is on the CD in your car or home, and I am there, I will listen...
So... Where does that leaves me? Good question... I have no idea but I guess if you sit in my car, just be prepared to be "bored" if you don't like what I listen to on that day... I would have no idea what it will be... Just whatever strikes me as appropriate... I already had colleagues listening to country on one day, and vocals on another... I think I had classical recently, but not sure if anyone sat in the car then....
I recall this one incident on Tehpeng & Miz Snooze's wedding day at her parent's place before they had the tea ceremony:-
Tehpeng: Which group sang the song "Final Countdown"??
Me: Erm.... Europe.
The rest (Jie meis): *stun look* How she know?!?!??!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Penang.... Or rather Penang food... :P
Because of my ties with Penang (majority of my relatives are there).... Most of the time I have been ask what to do in Penang or where to go, or even what/where to eat in Penang... So, since I received an sms from tehsi saying that she might be going to Penang in Dec and asking about the place... I thot, well, maybe I should just write about the place... But then again, I don't do touristy places while in Penang... So, I guess I can only suggest some places that it's famous for, but seriously... When I am in Penang, it's basically visitation and eating!!!!
I guess to start with, we should start at the point where you would get to Penang... It's either via bus or plane.... My preference is the plane - somehow, no matter how much they had "improved" on the bus transportation, I still cannot see myself taking a "fridge" for 8 hours, trying to make myself sleep, like me taking an 8 hour flight, where you get the road/bus noise - similar to plane noise, with the only difference where the bus needs to make some stops for people to relief themselves - which we would often do due to the coldness in the bus... I mean even the plane is not that cold... I thot I was sleeping in Artic condition... Ok... Maybe Artic would be much colder... And arriving in Penang not in a "good" condition, and then scramble from the bus terminal to my aunt's place... Nope. Taking the plane is a better choice - reach there within an hour with less hassle of carrying your stuff across the immigration at the Causeway/Tuas Link.
Anyway... Back to topic... At the Penang International Airport.... You will need to pay the consortium a fix price for your trip to town, unless someone is picking you up from the airport... The furthest was Batu Ferringhi which cost about $40 - $45 (Can't quite remember, since my trips are usually to Gurney for official trips or someone will pick me up at the airport). So just queue for the payment and ticket. Hop into the "limo" and you are driven to your destination... Just to add... You will find that majority, if not all, the taxis/cabs you find in Penang are fixed, not running on meter. Despite the recent campaign by the Govt, they are still running on fixed prices... So please check with them on the pricing and see if you could get them to price it a little lower than what they demand... In the last trip, 2 rides from Gurney to Paya Terbong range between $20 - $25. I had my aunt who bargain for it to drop to $20 in 1st trip and going solo on the other, I was not that persuasive enough to get it dropped to $20...
Ok... Places to go... Well, it depends... Most of the places, other than Penang Hill and Botanical Gardens, are with some religious connection as Penang has a lot of Chinese influence and thus most of the places to see are mainly temples... There's the snake temple, Reclining budhha temple, the famous Kek Lok Si temple where there's a huge statue of Godess of Mercy. There is also a famous mosque somewhere in Georgetown. The others that may be of interest would be Batu Ferringhi where the beaches are supposed to be... But if you have been to beaches in Surfers, or California... The beaches in Penang (and in fact in Singapore) are nothing compared to them., well, other than you are able to get a tan 365 days of the year... Batu Ferringhi, and some part of Tanjong Bungah, has stretches of hotels, where most of the tourists stays. For photos, maybe the old shophouses/warehouses along Penang Road and near Swatow Lane would be of interest... And if you believe the locals, there is this giant footprint, that was supposedly of Admiral Zheng Ho, somewhere in Batu Maung.
There are shopping malls in Penang, with the oldest, which happens to be the tallest building in Penang, Komtar complex. You used to be able to take at trip up to an observation deck in Komtar building (if I am not wrong, you have to pay for it...), but I have not been back in Komtar area, so I am not certain if this is still available. Next to it, there is a newer cousin, Prangin Mall. Then there is a newer Gurney Plaza, and Island shopping mall which is quite near to Gurney Plaza. On the other side of the island, there is a Bukit Jambul shopping mall... But I don't shop, so it does not really matters... I have seen enough shopping malls in SG. There are also pasar malam just outside those hotels in the Batu Ferringhi/Tanjong Bungah stretch which opens in the night... Nice drive-by if you have nothing to do....
Now food... ah, that's my topic... Now, let's see...
Firstly, Fruit rojak, which consist of slices of cucumber, turnip, pineapple, sour mangoes, jumbu ayer, perhaps some cuttlefish, and slices of crispy you tiao, mixed with the prawn paste, chilli, perhaps some lime juice and sugar. Yummy! The one that I usually eats is in Gurney drive food stalls, just outside of Gurney Plaza. it slip my mind the stall no. but I think it's 76 or 77. They are that popular that they are now selling their prawn paste in small tub for people to bring back...
Laksa, to be specific, Assam laksa. To me, when people say laksa, this comes into mind, not the lemak curry version which sells in Singapore. I have to confess this - I never did like this dish when I was young... I remember my aunt had to cook something else for me, or I would not have anything to eat, whenever her mood strikes her to cook this for meals... Now, I pester her to cook this, as I can't get enough of it... Anyway... The one that is an old favourite is of course the famous one in Ayer Itam market, near the Kek Lok Si temple. But recently, I found that the one in Penang Road, coffee shop just next to the famous cendol food stall, is just as good, if not better. However, since my relatives live far from Georgetown, I found the Farlim version is as good... So, any of those will do. Some other people swear by the stall in Lorong Selamat, as well as the Balik Pulau version... Whatever, it depends on what you like... But any of these area would be good enough... Just try not to eat those in Gurney drive - Seriously... I had only "ok" versions of it and some are even not "ok"...
Apom. This is a snack which mainly sold by Indians. The version they have is nice and crisply on the outer layer and then a nice thick layer in the middle. In the last trip, my coz has been chomping on this, like biscuits... Not that it matters on where to get it, but I think you rarely get this in SG nowadays, so it's a snack to try... The other would be the mein chang kueh, er, chinese pancakes(??). Flour layer and in the center youget peanuts and sugar - in Penang you can get sweet corn in the center as well. The version that I like is the very crispy one (no sweet corn), and the only place I know in Penang that you can get this is the food centre at Jalan Trengganu, near Free School. They are totally cripsy and it can keep for 1 day!!!! Pity that I don't get to eat this that often, unless someone volunteer to go there to buy it... Thinking about it makes my mouth drool.... :P~~~~
Another thing to try would be the chee cheong fun. Now the version you have in sg are mainly the HK version where it comes with something in the middle as part of the dim sum thingy, the shanghai version where there is something in the middle, but with a different sauce and finally the 'normal' wet market version. Well, for this comparison, I'm talking about the wet market version. I don't eat them in SG as I find it's not appealing to my taste and the sweet sauce somehow turns me off this dish... Now in Penang, their version is rather different, mainly because the sauce they use is different... The version they have do not have the sweet sauce, but a sauce somewhat similar to prawn paste, a bit thin. Now I might not eat it in bulk, but I don't think twice if it's place in front of me. I used to have this for breakfast as my aunt tends to buy them.
The other famous food would be the char kuay teow. The most famous one is in Lorong Selamat. I think that's the two sisters' stall, and it's crowded. I don't really like it, as their version is really oily, but everyone I know swears by it... It's different and lighter in colour and in sweetness as compared to SG version. They are supposed to be lighter in the oilness but not the one at Selamat. Of course, I would prefer penang version as it's not as sweet, but it's not high on my eating list... Heh...
Next would be the wanton mee. Most of the sg version contains tomato sauce; with some following the Hk version which is based on light sauce. Somehow the version in Penang is also different. Now, previously, I would have a favourite stall to get this (and somehow, my mum and relatives, knows him quite well, cannot remember the connection, most probably they lived in the same kampong when they were young), but he had sold his business and moved to KL to be with his children. So, the next one that was quite good is the one in Ayer Itam market. By the way, the reason for the difference, somehow the noodles that is used plays an important part in the overall taste of it... The versions we had in sg, mostly comes too soggy or soft, which is not that great. The version that stall has was different; the noodles was not too soggy nor soft, with a right "qu qu" crunch to it; add in the different slight sweet sauce, yummy!
Cendol. Ah.. This coconut based ice dessert which is another food which I don't touch in sg. Somehow the ingredients in penang seems better, especially the green, er (dang, i forgot the name of that green stuff, which is like noodles), "noodles". The most famous would be the stall off Penang road. I still cannot remember the street name where the stall is at, but, if you are there in Penang road, you can always ask for directions - Everyone knows that stall. The other would be ice kacang - most famous was the Swatow lane version. The stalls are still there and now, the ice kacang comes in different variety, that it's no longer the sweet pink colour ice mountain with only huge kidney beans... Now you have it with different colour jelly, as well as whole kernel of corn as well as scoops of durian placed on top ofthe pile of ice... Great to cool off during a hot day!
Of course there are other food stuff... A recommended food center is 2 coffee shops in New Lane (off Macalister Road, very near Sunway hotel). They got lots of food stall there, and one of the famous one, and yet most elusive one, is the deep fried pig intestine porridge. It's sold by this old man who does not operate the stall like clock work. If you are lucky, you would find the stall open in your trip there, if not, like the past 2 trips I made, he closed his shop even before the peak period starts. But the porridge, my mum and aunt swears by it...
Basically comes to food, you will find it literally everywhere in different nooks and corners, which does not goes very well with my waistline...
Enjoy your trip...
Oh.... As for stay... er... I guess Northam Suites would be a good choice - I know Shuttlebug stays there everytime I hear him heading there... I stayed in Evergreen for my official trips, and the prices are similar, and at times, he could get it cheaper than those in Evergreen. As for budget... Hmmm... That's a problem, as I usually have places to stay... So, it's kind of hard for me to recommend... Got to ask my coz... I really have no idea...
I guess to start with, we should start at the point where you would get to Penang... It's either via bus or plane.... My preference is the plane - somehow, no matter how much they had "improved" on the bus transportation, I still cannot see myself taking a "fridge" for 8 hours, trying to make myself sleep, like me taking an 8 hour flight, where you get the road/bus noise - similar to plane noise, with the only difference where the bus needs to make some stops for people to relief themselves - which we would often do due to the coldness in the bus... I mean even the plane is not that cold... I thot I was sleeping in Artic condition... Ok... Maybe Artic would be much colder... And arriving in Penang not in a "good" condition, and then scramble from the bus terminal to my aunt's place... Nope. Taking the plane is a better choice - reach there within an hour with less hassle of carrying your stuff across the immigration at the Causeway/Tuas Link.
Anyway... Back to topic... At the Penang International Airport.... You will need to pay the consortium a fix price for your trip to town, unless someone is picking you up from the airport... The furthest was Batu Ferringhi which cost about $40 - $45 (Can't quite remember, since my trips are usually to Gurney for official trips or someone will pick me up at the airport). So just queue for the payment and ticket. Hop into the "limo" and you are driven to your destination... Just to add... You will find that majority, if not all, the taxis/cabs you find in Penang are fixed, not running on meter. Despite the recent campaign by the Govt, they are still running on fixed prices... So please check with them on the pricing and see if you could get them to price it a little lower than what they demand... In the last trip, 2 rides from Gurney to Paya Terbong range between $20 - $25. I had my aunt who bargain for it to drop to $20 in 1st trip and going solo on the other, I was not that persuasive enough to get it dropped to $20...
Ok... Places to go... Well, it depends... Most of the places, other than Penang Hill and Botanical Gardens, are with some religious connection as Penang has a lot of Chinese influence and thus most of the places to see are mainly temples... There's the snake temple, Reclining budhha temple, the famous Kek Lok Si temple where there's a huge statue of Godess of Mercy. There is also a famous mosque somewhere in Georgetown. The others that may be of interest would be Batu Ferringhi where the beaches are supposed to be... But if you have been to beaches in Surfers, or California... The beaches in Penang (and in fact in Singapore) are nothing compared to them., well, other than you are able to get a tan 365 days of the year... Batu Ferringhi, and some part of Tanjong Bungah, has stretches of hotels, where most of the tourists stays. For photos, maybe the old shophouses/warehouses along Penang Road and near Swatow Lane would be of interest... And if you believe the locals, there is this giant footprint, that was supposedly of Admiral Zheng Ho, somewhere in Batu Maung.
There are shopping malls in Penang, with the oldest, which happens to be the tallest building in Penang, Komtar complex. You used to be able to take at trip up to an observation deck in Komtar building (if I am not wrong, you have to pay for it...), but I have not been back in Komtar area, so I am not certain if this is still available. Next to it, there is a newer cousin, Prangin Mall. Then there is a newer Gurney Plaza, and Island shopping mall which is quite near to Gurney Plaza. On the other side of the island, there is a Bukit Jambul shopping mall... But I don't shop, so it does not really matters... I have seen enough shopping malls in SG. There are also pasar malam just outside those hotels in the Batu Ferringhi/Tanjong Bungah stretch which opens in the night... Nice drive-by if you have nothing to do....
Now food... ah, that's my topic... Now, let's see...
Firstly, Fruit rojak, which consist of slices of cucumber, turnip, pineapple, sour mangoes, jumbu ayer, perhaps some cuttlefish, and slices of crispy you tiao, mixed with the prawn paste, chilli, perhaps some lime juice and sugar. Yummy! The one that I usually eats is in Gurney drive food stalls, just outside of Gurney Plaza. it slip my mind the stall no. but I think it's 76 or 77. They are that popular that they are now selling their prawn paste in small tub for people to bring back...
Laksa, to be specific, Assam laksa. To me, when people say laksa, this comes into mind, not the lemak curry version which sells in Singapore. I have to confess this - I never did like this dish when I was young... I remember my aunt had to cook something else for me, or I would not have anything to eat, whenever her mood strikes her to cook this for meals... Now, I pester her to cook this, as I can't get enough of it... Anyway... The one that is an old favourite is of course the famous one in Ayer Itam market, near the Kek Lok Si temple. But recently, I found that the one in Penang Road, coffee shop just next to the famous cendol food stall, is just as good, if not better. However, since my relatives live far from Georgetown, I found the Farlim version is as good... So, any of those will do. Some other people swear by the stall in Lorong Selamat, as well as the Balik Pulau version... Whatever, it depends on what you like... But any of these area would be good enough... Just try not to eat those in Gurney drive - Seriously... I had only "ok" versions of it and some are even not "ok"...
Apom. This is a snack which mainly sold by Indians. The version they have is nice and crisply on the outer layer and then a nice thick layer in the middle. In the last trip, my coz has been chomping on this, like biscuits... Not that it matters on where to get it, but I think you rarely get this in SG nowadays, so it's a snack to try... The other would be the mein chang kueh, er, chinese pancakes(??). Flour layer and in the center youget peanuts and sugar - in Penang you can get sweet corn in the center as well. The version that I like is the very crispy one (no sweet corn), and the only place I know in Penang that you can get this is the food centre at Jalan Trengganu, near Free School. They are totally cripsy and it can keep for 1 day!!!! Pity that I don't get to eat this that often, unless someone volunteer to go there to buy it... Thinking about it makes my mouth drool.... :P~~~~
Another thing to try would be the chee cheong fun. Now the version you have in sg are mainly the HK version where it comes with something in the middle as part of the dim sum thingy, the shanghai version where there is something in the middle, but with a different sauce and finally the 'normal' wet market version. Well, for this comparison, I'm talking about the wet market version. I don't eat them in SG as I find it's not appealing to my taste and the sweet sauce somehow turns me off this dish... Now in Penang, their version is rather different, mainly because the sauce they use is different... The version they have do not have the sweet sauce, but a sauce somewhat similar to prawn paste, a bit thin. Now I might not eat it in bulk, but I don't think twice if it's place in front of me. I used to have this for breakfast as my aunt tends to buy them.
The other famous food would be the char kuay teow. The most famous one is in Lorong Selamat. I think that's the two sisters' stall, and it's crowded. I don't really like it, as their version is really oily, but everyone I know swears by it... It's different and lighter in colour and in sweetness as compared to SG version. They are supposed to be lighter in the oilness but not the one at Selamat. Of course, I would prefer penang version as it's not as sweet, but it's not high on my eating list... Heh...
Next would be the wanton mee. Most of the sg version contains tomato sauce; with some following the Hk version which is based on light sauce. Somehow the version in Penang is also different. Now, previously, I would have a favourite stall to get this (and somehow, my mum and relatives, knows him quite well, cannot remember the connection, most probably they lived in the same kampong when they were young), but he had sold his business and moved to KL to be with his children. So, the next one that was quite good is the one in Ayer Itam market. By the way, the reason for the difference, somehow the noodles that is used plays an important part in the overall taste of it... The versions we had in sg, mostly comes too soggy or soft, which is not that great. The version that stall has was different; the noodles was not too soggy nor soft, with a right "qu qu" crunch to it; add in the different slight sweet sauce, yummy!
Cendol. Ah.. This coconut based ice dessert which is another food which I don't touch in sg. Somehow the ingredients in penang seems better, especially the green, er (dang, i forgot the name of that green stuff, which is like noodles), "noodles". The most famous would be the stall off Penang road. I still cannot remember the street name where the stall is at, but, if you are there in Penang road, you can always ask for directions - Everyone knows that stall. The other would be ice kacang - most famous was the Swatow lane version. The stalls are still there and now, the ice kacang comes in different variety, that it's no longer the sweet pink colour ice mountain with only huge kidney beans... Now you have it with different colour jelly, as well as whole kernel of corn as well as scoops of durian placed on top ofthe pile of ice... Great to cool off during a hot day!
Of course there are other food stuff... A recommended food center is 2 coffee shops in New Lane (off Macalister Road, very near Sunway hotel). They got lots of food stall there, and one of the famous one, and yet most elusive one, is the deep fried pig intestine porridge. It's sold by this old man who does not operate the stall like clock work. If you are lucky, you would find the stall open in your trip there, if not, like the past 2 trips I made, he closed his shop even before the peak period starts. But the porridge, my mum and aunt swears by it...
Basically comes to food, you will find it literally everywhere in different nooks and corners, which does not goes very well with my waistline...
Enjoy your trip...
Oh.... As for stay... er... I guess Northam Suites would be a good choice - I know Shuttlebug stays there everytime I hear him heading there... I stayed in Evergreen for my official trips, and the prices are similar, and at times, he could get it cheaper than those in Evergreen. As for budget... Hmmm... That's a problem, as I usually have places to stay... So, it's kind of hard for me to recommend... Got to ask my coz... I really have no idea...
Friday, November 03, 2006
Account of Penang Trip.... Heh....
Ya! I'm back for at least 3 weeks, but have been so busy that this blog has been neglected....
Had an ok time for this trip.... Had headache for the 3 days in a 5 day trip... How much can u enjoy with that??!?! Arrive in the night, so had my 1st food session - late dinner. It was just the food centre outside the streets where my aunt lives... Had a bite of Koay Tiao Thing, some Apom, a few pieces of BBQ chicken wings... I am sure I had more but could not remember...
Spend half a day on friday at my coz's shop - got a hair cut by her husband and facial by her - just for the wedding... Then because of not enough "presentable" clothes, had spend the other half in Gurney Plaza looking for clothes.... It's a long story - to make it short, I had 2 dinners to attend instead of the expected 1; other than the "prepared for the wedding day/dinner" clothes, the rest of my clothes are just t-shirts and jeans.... Bought 2 blouses (my mum would have been proud of me!!! :P) However, my coz, who was also in the same predicament, could not get anything.... Oh had Fruit Rojak at Gurney Drive where it was supposed to be the best (got 8 bottles of the rojak sauce, 5 was requested by my coz's friend) - they now sells their sauce at the stall... Also shared some assam laksa (not really that fantastic) and soya bean milk. Then it was ba ku teh for dinner - started to have a headache by then...
Sat late morning/afternoon was spent looking accompanying my coz to get herself some "presentable" (as her mum calls it) clothes... we had some cheesecake, which was supposedly to be the best in penang, but it was a tat too chessy for my liking... Then it was the drive to Butterworth for the "unexpected" dinner.... Stayed over at my uncle's place in Sugei Petani that night, and apparently there were lots of activities that I think they all left at 2am, thank goodness for my coz's (the one to wed) new house somewhere near my uncle's place... Took some shots of the activities there - if you know all the traditional pre-wedding night activities, you will know what it encompass. Had a chance to sleep early, and in aircon room!!! Headache still persist... had to pop 1 panadol tablet before I left the house...
Sunday, the "big" day.... Woke up early, bathe and quickly went back to my uncle's place... By then, there was already a large group there... preparing - not sure for what... Had wanted to pop 1 panadol tablet before the activities start, but an aunt persuaded otherwise and she did some massage of my head.... it eased off a bit, so started to take shots of the day... Then it was time to drive to "collect" the bride... More photo taking... Basically the whole morning was just the wedding activities and more photo taking... By the way, just for record... The wedding there is slightly different from Singapore... Especially the customs... Oh, did you know that the "sisters" of the bride are all from Singapore!?!?! Interesting fact... Heh...
Back at my uncle's place for the tea ceremony (and a long one too), finally pop the tablet as the headache was vicious by then... No doubt fed on the irritating smell of the incense that they used... and finally rest.... Night came and it was to the dinner... And then back to Penang again...
Monday... Went for curry mee breakfast, and then back to another coz's place.... Watched one of the cantonese DVDs... er... something on majhong but thename of the movie slip my mind.... Anyway, it was a typical no brainer, noncensical movie that occupied your almost 2 hours of time... Then it was back to Gurney Plaza because my coz wants to buy something from there... Meet Shuttlebug and Ms Clover there... Watch Shuttlebug got his haircut, and gone for dinner at Gurney drive (another long story there... wanted Seafood but the place they wanted to have dinner was closed for a private function....) Oh, my aunt wne to Penang road to get some spices (as per request of my mum) and I got to eat cendol!!!!
Tuesday... Wow... Time flies... 5 days have gone and I am going be flying back at the end of the day.... What did we do that day... well... another eating session... er.. Had Wanton mee at Ayer Itam market, oh... had this old man came over to do some massage - my coz and family wears by him, and well... it was painful... then lunch... and then went back to pack our bags... Had an early dinner... and flew back...
So... it was quite an ok trip... I think could have been better if not for the headache... My pics shows that I have not touch my cam for awhile as I seems to have misfocus in some of the shot and the others, some did not turn out as I sees it... Oh well....
Anyway... it's slog time till end Nov... Hopefully Dec will be a peaceful one....
Had an ok time for this trip.... Had headache for the 3 days in a 5 day trip... How much can u enjoy with that??!?! Arrive in the night, so had my 1st food session - late dinner. It was just the food centre outside the streets where my aunt lives... Had a bite of Koay Tiao Thing, some Apom, a few pieces of BBQ chicken wings... I am sure I had more but could not remember...
Spend half a day on friday at my coz's shop - got a hair cut by her husband and facial by her - just for the wedding... Then because of not enough "presentable" clothes, had spend the other half in Gurney Plaza looking for clothes.... It's a long story - to make it short, I had 2 dinners to attend instead of the expected 1; other than the "prepared for the wedding day/dinner" clothes, the rest of my clothes are just t-shirts and jeans.... Bought 2 blouses (my mum would have been proud of me!!! :P) However, my coz, who was also in the same predicament, could not get anything.... Oh had Fruit Rojak at Gurney Drive where it was supposed to be the best (got 8 bottles of the rojak sauce, 5 was requested by my coz's friend) - they now sells their sauce at the stall... Also shared some assam laksa (not really that fantastic) and soya bean milk. Then it was ba ku teh for dinner - started to have a headache by then...
Sat late morning/afternoon was spent looking accompanying my coz to get herself some "presentable" (as her mum calls it) clothes... we had some cheesecake, which was supposedly to be the best in penang, but it was a tat too chessy for my liking... Then it was the drive to Butterworth for the "unexpected" dinner.... Stayed over at my uncle's place in Sugei Petani that night, and apparently there were lots of activities that I think they all left at 2am, thank goodness for my coz's (the one to wed) new house somewhere near my uncle's place... Took some shots of the activities there - if you know all the traditional pre-wedding night activities, you will know what it encompass. Had a chance to sleep early, and in aircon room!!! Headache still persist... had to pop 1 panadol tablet before I left the house...
Sunday, the "big" day.... Woke up early, bathe and quickly went back to my uncle's place... By then, there was already a large group there... preparing - not sure for what... Had wanted to pop 1 panadol tablet before the activities start, but an aunt persuaded otherwise and she did some massage of my head.... it eased off a bit, so started to take shots of the day... Then it was time to drive to "collect" the bride... More photo taking... Basically the whole morning was just the wedding activities and more photo taking... By the way, just for record... The wedding there is slightly different from Singapore... Especially the customs... Oh, did you know that the "sisters" of the bride are all from Singapore!?!?! Interesting fact... Heh...
Back at my uncle's place for the tea ceremony (and a long one too), finally pop the tablet as the headache was vicious by then... No doubt fed on the irritating smell of the incense that they used... and finally rest.... Night came and it was to the dinner... And then back to Penang again...
Monday... Went for curry mee breakfast, and then back to another coz's place.... Watched one of the cantonese DVDs... er... something on majhong but thename of the movie slip my mind.... Anyway, it was a typical no brainer, noncensical movie that occupied your almost 2 hours of time... Then it was back to Gurney Plaza because my coz wants to buy something from there... Meet Shuttlebug and Ms Clover there... Watch Shuttlebug got his haircut, and gone for dinner at Gurney drive (another long story there... wanted Seafood but the place they wanted to have dinner was closed for a private function....) Oh, my aunt wne to Penang road to get some spices (as per request of my mum) and I got to eat cendol!!!!
Tuesday... Wow... Time flies... 5 days have gone and I am going be flying back at the end of the day.... What did we do that day... well... another eating session... er.. Had Wanton mee at Ayer Itam market, oh... had this old man came over to do some massage - my coz and family wears by him, and well... it was painful... then lunch... and then went back to pack our bags... Had an early dinner... and flew back...
So... it was quite an ok trip... I think could have been better if not for the headache... My pics shows that I have not touch my cam for awhile as I seems to have misfocus in some of the shot and the others, some did not turn out as I sees it... Oh well....
Anyway... it's slog time till end Nov... Hopefully Dec will be a peaceful one....
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