The adventure begins..

Assalamualaikum & Greetings to my Dear Family & Friends (punya lah malas nak tulis satu2),

This is a report about my 'hot dates' over the Valentine (its significance much later!) weekend.

1. Penang Hill or Bukit Bendera was fun! The temperature was (very) slightly lower than below - an occasional cool breeze. The working of the funicular train (operated by cable) is the main attraction & reasonably price @ RM4 per adult for a return-trip & RM2 for kids below 12yo. Luckily, somebody find a souvenir shop which sells XXXL sized t-shirt printed with - what else? - Penang Hill! However, we only bought 1 or 2 each since some local ppl we met on the way up suggested that we go to Bt Feringgi night market for better bargains & it has everything too! (bearinmindgreedybargainhunters..hehe)
P/s: Abang - not advisable for you to go up there - there's a LARGE ular sawa & plenty of others sewaktu dgnnya waiting...hehehe

2. Second stop was supposed to be Toy Museum esp for the kids & followed by a round tour of the island. Alas, everybody was hungry so that necessitated an emergency pit stop @ Nasi Kandar Khaleel, Jln. Gurney.

3. Left mak & k.Teh to rest my place, we continued to Bayan Lepas, in search of the best Char Kue Teow. Finally, after searching high & low, we found the place @ 'bawah pokok tepi jalan', Bayan Baru, only to be told it operates only at night time. Argh...somebody was now hungry...it was past tea time.

4. Further search up the road to whereever, looking for a place to eat ended us up at Limbungan Kapal Batu Maung - end of the road, but we saw fishermen coming in after day out@sea & an expensive looking eatery (closed)! We followed the direction to Penang War Museum, found it but didnt look interesting enough at that time (I was told today, it worth visiting afterall! there's an aquarium@govt agency nearby too). A turn of the road led us to Teluk Tempoyak - real fishing village with a jetty. The village people were busy preparing for a burial & so ignored us as the kedai makan will operate after that. No other choice for us except the chalet (dont bother asking abt the rates as I know nothing abt it) & restaurant 'next door' which open from 12pm to 2am (if Im not mistaken) - not bad at all. The seafood was freshly cooked & service was so&so lah.
Moral: never ordered lala to be cooked as masak lemak cili api la oi!

5. After a refreshing rest back @my place, we esp mak & k.Teh were eager for a bit of shopping @ bt feringgi. The neighbour who took care of mak's chicken (@hometown) didnt want to accept payment of money but she wants 'jeruk' - pickled or preserved fruits Penang are famous for. So, we set out before 9pm, got caught in bumper to bumper traffic all the way to bt feringgi & eventually saw the night market - plenty of stalls lining up the long roadside & but there's no place to park, even difficult to turn around!! It was valentine night - couples were out in force so the restaurants on the opposite site of the road were doing brisk business. We decided to try our luck in Georgetown, esp. Padang Kota Lama only to face the same scenario again & being restless, temper started to arise!

6. So, we decided to head home after a detour to Bayan Baru for the best char kue teow @rm5 per big plate -tapowed. Alhamdulillah, it was divine (sodap giler beb!) & worth the effort. We reached home just before 12am - betul2 jalan2 makan angin kosong!

7. Next morning, still in search of the jeruk, I told them to stop @Chowrasta Market, somewhere near Komtar, on Penang Road - on their way back - this time by ferry. Alas, they failed to find it & I'm no help either since I havent been there or anywhere!

So, maybe next outing perhaps? And who ever is coming over next, please arm yourself with details of places to go (direction & landmarks), where & what foods to eat etc.


Regards,
-rad-