Penang Road Trip (31 Dec 2006-2 Jan 2007)

Report written on 4 Jan 2007:

Penang Road Trip (Sunday 31 December 2006 - Tuesday 2 January 2007)

Attended by: Adeline, Choi Lin, Chung Wei, Huey Ling, May Yee, Michelle, Ping Leng, Pooi Funn, Sim Ling

Drivers: Ade, CW, HL, MY
Responsible for driving us from point A to point B, while exceeding speed limits, making illegal turns and parking, and cursing the Penang drivers and pedestrians.

Map readers: PF, CL, SL (omg!!!)
Responsible for guiding the drivers from point A to point B using the best route, but actually causing us to make many many wrong turnings and getting us lost.

Accountant: SL
Responsible for recording down the expenses and who paid for them while trying to cheat the rest of us of our money =P (since no one bothered to audit her work)

Day 1 - Sunday, 31 Dec 2006
We met at HL's place since leaving from Kepong was the best... We got wake up calls from SL from 3.30am (!!!!!!!) onwards... Everyone met at HL's by 5am (SL, PL, CL stayed over at HL's) and we were off... We drove in 2 cars: CW's Myvi and MY's wira... We decided to leave very early cos afraid of any traffic jams on the Penang bridge.. First stop was Ipoh where we had dim sum for breakfast.. reached bout 7.30am and left Ipoh bout 8.30.

dim sum!!

At 10.15am we reached the penang bridge which was clear of any jams... So first thing was to get ourselves a map of penang since no one bothered to get one before the trip. We got one easily and drove ourselves to YMCA which Mich helped us book rooms. After a few wrong turnings and discovering that Penang has lots of annoying one way streets (plus not to mention the drivers there are worse than KL's), we found YMCA only to discover that it was too early to check in.. so we decided to drive to town and explore!!

outside YMCA and deciding where to go

At 11.50am we parked somewhere in town and decided to wander around on foot under the hot hot sun.. while walking we actually discovered the best cendol in town!! So we went nearby for asam laksa and the famous cendol... After lunch we drove round and found some Thai Buddhist temples and decided to go in and see... Then bout 2.15pm we headed to Penang's Botanical (which SL mispronounced as Bonia many times) Gardens... We walked for awhile looking at plants and monkeys.. and at one point SL was having a Bollywood moment, dancing round trees -_-" (we have a video!!!)

left: at the temples, right: botanical gardens

After that we drove back to YMCA at 3.20pm and managed to check-in. We had 2 rooms, one with 2 single beds and another with 5 beds. HL PL & CL shared the 2 single beds, while the rest of us took the other room and ordered an extra matress. Thankfully the rooms were equiped with air-cond (yay!) and attached bathroom (double yay!!) =D We decided to stay in the rooms and rest before going for dinner at 6pm at a restaurant in YMCA called "Boeing 747 Cafe".

After dinner, we drove out to Gurney Drive where we planned to celebrate New Year. Parked very far away cos the whole place was filled with cars and part of Gurney Drive was blocked for the nite's celebration. Since we were early, we decided to go to Gurney Plaza for some entertainment. However since that place had no bowling alley (not that everyone was up for playing.. only CW & MY =P) and the movie we wanted to watch (Night at the Museum) had no more tickets, we amused ourselves by just walking round the complex and getting bored very quickly... From there we headed out to Gurney Drive where some of us went to buy those spray cans for the celebration. They insisted on finding the cheapest ones.. RM10 for three not cheap enough, they wanted RM10 for four. Then it was time for supper!!! Bout 10 we went to a nearby place with lots of hawker stalls to eat.

After supper we walked back to Gurney Drive which was already filled with thousands of people.. Some having started celebration early by spraying their cans at people.. According to PL, we bought the spray cans for "revenge" against strangers who would be spraying us... MY decided she didnt want to get herself sprayed by anyone, so we ended up taking cover at the side of the road behind a tree for shelter :p While waiting for 12am to come, SL HL PL CL started posing for very silly photos... then some malay guy who was watching us came along and suddenly sprayed them with his can... After that CW & HL chased him to get their revenge.. all this spraying and chasing lasted for quite some time... Just before 12am, SL HL PL CL went into the crowd armed with their spray cans... leaving us behind... Ade as usual sitting on a chair she found. MY & PF taking shelter behind the tree and later squatting with Mich & CW... 12am came and went (Happy 2007 everyone!!!). While walking back to our cars, CL & PL started spraying SL... then CL ran away and SL gave chase... SL was actually out-running CL.. and some random indian guy actually said to us "Wah your friend, fat also can run very fast!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

posers!!!

When we got back to YMCA we all took turns to shower. CL HL PL Ade Mich all slept early, while CW PF SL MY played "chor tai di" into the nite and slept bout 3am.. MY who is usually so geng in chor dai di didnt win a single time and SL who is suppose to be lousy (haha, joking SL) won at least 5 times, more than CW (her chor dai di sifu) and PF!!! After that CW decided to award SL an FC status in chor dai di (hahaha)

Day 2 - Monday, 1 January 2007

About 9am we all (except lazy Ade who slept in) got up and went for our free breakfast at one of the restaurants in YMCA. Later we drove to Kek Lok Si (also known as "cannot-see" to us) Temple. For those who dunno, the temple is super huge, situated very high up a hill. This was the one time that SL help read the map and we ended up making a huge round back to YMCA because of a wrong turning... We finally got to Kek Lok Si at 11am. Those in CW's car (CW Mich SL CL PF) parked at the bottom and walked up to the temple. Those in MY's car (MY Ade PL HL) ended up driving all the way up to the temple. Those in CW's car took some cable car thingy from the middle part of the temple to the very top where those in MY's car were waiting.. We eventually all met at the top and explored a little. Then we wanted to go to the main hall of the temple which was at the middle of the hill. HL & PL went down there by the cable car thingy, while the other 7 all crammed into MY's car and drove down the steep hill to the main hall.

SL's turn to guide (omg!)


group pic at "cannot see"

After the temple we had asam laksa for lunch nearby bout 1.30pm. Then it was back to YMCA for a rest and to change since we wanted to go to a waterfall and the beach. At 4.10pm we left for the waterfall and later on discovered that most of the waterfalls are closed -_-" because of new hotels built (the map we used was obviously outdated). However we managed to go to the beach where we walked along for a while. Even while we were playing in the sea water and taking photos, Ade still managed to find a spot on some huge rock to sleep on (omg!!).

At 6.30pm we then went for a seafood dinner (poor MY :p) at a supposedly famous restaurant called "End of the World Seafood". Our dishes included crabs, chicken (for MY, lol), vege, sotong, some weird shell thingy called balitong which you have to suck on to get the slug out to eat, and fish (which alone cost RM82.40!!!!!!!!). Quote CL: "What shit cost 80 bucks?? The fish?? Eat shit la!!" (She said this in front of the waitress btw :p) The total bill was over RM200 and wasnt worth it as the food wasnt so great (according to the rest of them who actually ate the seafood). Must be the wrong end of the world :p

lousy dinner

After dinner we went to a pasar malam which was along the road of all those huge hotels.. This pasar malam doesnt actually sell food, just loads of fake stuff, pirated discs, clothes and souvenirs (which btw, we didnt buy any so dont ask, HAHAHA). Then it was time to eat again!! Went for more hawker food with some nice char kuey teow, lobak, chee cheong fun and fried oyster. Then back to YMCA to shower, play cards and sleep...

Day 3 - Tuesday, 2 January 2007
Woke up bout 7-8am and went down for breakfast. After packing and checking-out, we drove to Him Heang shop to buy those famous "tau sa peng". We left penang at 9am and manage to reach Kepong about 1.30pm and had lunch in Kepong. The lunch cost only RM80... The price of one penang fish.. hahaha...

Total distance travelled: 840km
Total spent per person according to our Accountant (not inc. day 3's lunch): RM155.60 (inc. petrol, toll, accomodation, food)


Added by Huey Ling:
actually the indian guy say....wah...that fat gal really can run!!!! haha

Added by Pooi Funn:
By the way, SL kept calling botanical gardens as "Bonita" too!

Added by May Yee:
I forgot to mention... while waiting for the countdown to new year... and shielding ourselves from the other people spraying around.. We actually parked ourselves near 2 policemen cos we thought it would be safe :p Then Mich actually took a chair she found, placed it right behind the policemen, and sat there.. lol

Added by Michelle:
SL knock her head behind the door (thanks to ade), cried a lil (it was that pain) , n now has hearing problems. hehehe. oh and HL scolds the penang drivers like this: "wah! u drive like ur father!!". when CW asked her how she knew that his/her father drives like that, SL said "she wanted to say 'u drive like ur father's road', bt was too lazy too mention the last word". haha, talk about having the same wave length =) . oh! not to forget, penang has nice umbera juice!! n nice 'muar chi' too. cannot find in kl =)

Added by Ping Leng:
let me add some thing to this report.. tat is one night before road trip.. huey ling and her bro felt hungry..
so hl bro, hl, cl, sl and me went to a wantan mee stall near to hl house.. (since we are staying over)
then.. at 1st while hl brother was there.. sl is busy asking hl's bro questions.. and act quite 'xi man'
but after he finish eating.. and went back home.. then sl back to original and i forgot wat we were talking, and she kept pushing hl... while all of us is sitting down..
then..... finally.. hl.. 'pok kai'.. and sad thing is..
none of us help her up..
cause we cant stop laughing..
then finally she able to help herself up..
erm.. but then.. we are still laughing.. erm.. cause the way she pok is really funny..
erm.. tat is some additional report for eveyone..

Added by Michelle:
hehe... sl, cl n pl were laughing about the way hl fell down for the whole 3days during our road trip. they keep recalling the way hl fell, apparently it was really hilarious. so those who have not witness their acting, pls ask sl to replay it again when u meet her. come to think of it, cl also mention about hl working for rm2.5 an hour in a shop for about a year. and since she only works for 3hours a day, she gets rm7 at the end of each day. cl found it very funny, me too actually....ekkek... sorry ah hl =)

Added by Ping Leng:
is me again.. today hl and cl was asking me to add something to this report..
the 1st thing is have u ever heard there is such theory 'the more obscene thing u say, the more suci u r'. it sounds like when u eat something toxic, after u shit it all out then u ll be healthy again..
well this is sim ling theory.
then there is a joke.. well (smart u can guess it is related to sim ling)
because penang have a lot of nice house.. bungalo.
then.. huey ling was saying.. erm.. she want to act like a poor gal who is selling match stick right in front of the big house..then huey ling continue.. if u buy five then free one box of match stick..
and sim ling help her to finish .. she said.. if the people buy all match stick..
then.. she ll free herself to tat person.
and ll write on a hair band. 'please use me'
erm.. cause i am not on that car,,
so this is the 2nd o 3rd version,.
might can ask huey ling o choi lin for the more detail..
this is for today..
i will add if i remember something else..

Added by Huey Ling:
hey guys....
FORGOT TO ADD IN SOMETHING..
something about MAY YEE de....muahaha
the 1st day when we ate dim sum in ipoh...FU SHAN.....
i thk that time someone call LENG LUI to order food..
then our beloved may yee... she said: "NEI GIU NGOR A?" in cantonese... (english: u call me ah?")
wahahaha so perasan.....

then the next time was on the way to gurney drive...
then cw was talking about the building... "tall& thin"
then may yee suddenly asked "are u guys talking about me?"
we all like shock there....n start laughing at her...
em..this was her xia shui story la...

and forgot to add up one story bout sim ling...
em..she actually came out a new theory...
that day we was saying she is not SUCI...coz she always say those obscence stuff...
then u guys guess what she said...
"em...i thk u all not suci lo...i am suci..coz i release out all those obscence stuff...then my heart now become suci di.."
basically mean that if u say out all those bad stuff u thk..then u will become a suci person...those who din say out pls remember...U ALL ARE NOT SUCI...SIM LING IS VERY SUCI....
that's all for now...

Photo Album:

Penang Road Trip 31/12/06-02/01/07