21/06/08 - Left for Penang!


Budget holiday for us. Took the Firefly there. Managed to get the zero price air tickets so we just paid for the airport tax. In case you didn’t know, Firefly is a propeller plane so it’s a very small plane but it wasn’t that bad. It was scary during the turbulence back home but I was half-asleep then so didn’t think it was such a bad experience after all. But I won’t recommend you flying with Firefly. Will let you know why later.
When we got there, checked into the apartment and left for town shortly after. We are such city kids, I tell you. The first thing when we got to the apartment was to look for the air-conditioning unit. “No air-cond?!?!? How to sleep???” LOL. But there was a unit in every room so yes we managed to sleep after all. First stop was at this local produce shop where we bought the local biscuits(which didn’t taste so good) and the guys bought some horrible tasting blueberry tea. Then we went to Gurney Plaza where we spent ages deciding what movie to watch. Decided on Made of Honour in the end. The funny thing was we all bought our tickets separately(due to our undecisiveness) but still managed to get seats in the same row. Lol. Nothing much to say about the show. It’s incredibly predictable and I thought it was more funny than it was romantic.
Didn’t do much that day. Walked over to Gurney Drive after the movie for dinner. Food there was bad. That place is a rip-off.


Next day we rented a van with a driver to take us around. Stopped by the botanical gardens to have a
look around. Then we went to Penang Hill(also known as Bukit Bendera) after lunch. We had to take the train up and it felt like forever to reach. Amazing view of Penang and nice breeze. Bought corn-in-cup, took photos, did henna tattoos, went on a canopy walk, saw some amazing houses up there. Took the taxi back to the apartment later. Walked out to look for dinner and have a look around at the night market. A lot of pirated DVDs,imitation handbags, sunglasses, perfumes on sale. Left my sunglasses at home so I bought a RM10 pair for spending the next day at the beach. Went to the beach in the middle of the night while it was raining. Lol. *Look at the prawns in the photo! Those cost like RM5 each! Lol!*
The next day the plan was to go to the beach but it rained in the morning! But by 12 the rain had slowed down to a drizzle so after lunch at the mamak, we went to the beach. Hung around getting wet, some went jet-skiing and all of us with the exception of Yeong Ren went on the banana boat. The weather was disappointing that day. Rain, shine, slight rain again and then it stopped and then it poured. By the time we went on the banana boat ride, the waves were extremely choppy and kind of dangerous. All of us were so drained after the ride. We walked back to the apartment in pouring rain. Tired and shivering but we still went for a swim. It’s a miracle none of us got sick. Lol. Got back to the apartment and showered. Rested then went to the night market again as they wanted to buy some MORE DVDS. *rolls eyes* Oh, we manage to catch some action! Saw the police catching one of the DVD sellers. Passed by some foreigners who thought those people were the Mafia. LMAO.

Woke up on the last day there to find that Kah Mun, Chun Chang and Yeong Ren’s clothes hanging on the balcony has been blown off. We could actually look down from our apartment and see the clothes strewn everywhere. Lol. Managed to get them back with the help of the staff. Packed then went to town to eat! Wanted to go to Kelawar Road cos apparently that was where all the good food is. But it’s
closed on Tuesdays.
But with the help of the locals we managed to find some really good laksa, kuay teow and yam cake. The “famous” cendol wasn’t anything special. Went to buy some local biscuits at another shop and dropped by the Chocolate Boutique. Surprisingly, I only bought one box of mango chocolates and coffee for my family. Maybe cos I was running out of cash by then. Haha. Went to the airport after only to find out that our flight has been delayed!!! From 4.30 it was pushed to 9. Now you know why I don’t encourage anyone flying with Firefly. We managed to get an earlier flight which was at 8. So we decided to drop by Queensbay Mall where we found the toilet bowl concept restaurant!

Had dinner there after a few rounds of games at the arcade(excluding me, I hate arcades) and then rushed to the airport. We reached there just in time. Five minutes later and we wouldn’t be allowed to check in. Lol.
*I’ve got a few things to say about the trip though. We spent the most money on transport! Renting the vans and taking the taxi was expensive! And the banana boat ride caused my arms and neck to hurt for TWO days. TWO WHOLE DAYS. Shows how fit I am huh? Hahaha. By the way, three days of hawker and mamak food for every meal can cause your stomach to be pretty upset. Lol. And the chocolates I bought didn’t taste as good as it did in the store.
Edit: Things have been sorted out. I’m gonna take the whole note down now.
P/s: Move your cursor over the photos to see my captions. Next post on high school reunion dinner last Saturday and the A-levels ball!
Photos from Kah Mun’s, MIchelle’s and my camera.