Penang Vacation 2012

It's been a week since I got back from my short holiday in Penang (again) with my family! Not that I'm complaining! Although I've been to Penang a few times this year, to me, Penang will always be my hometown. Despite the fact I'm 100% a KL girl. But my mom's from Penang.

Which makes me a half-blood Islander! Haha

It was a nice Saturday morning when we took Aeroline to Penang, though I had to crack my neck for 10 minutes after reaching. After arriving at 1pm, we immediately checked into Evergreen Laurel Hotel, followed by a quick lunch nearby before crashing in the hotel room.

The blazing sun in Penang

In the evening, Kim & I went for a swim at the pool. It was pretty nice and quiet, and the water wasn't as cold as the pool at my gym! Simple and nice pool, in my opinion.

My family and I usually stay at the Gurney Hotel, so this is a nice change of environment for us. They've pretty nice deck chairs and a bar too.

Interesting place. There's a place specifically for people to sunbathe on! How thoughtful for sun-lovers!

People in Penang are just so nice. The bartender at the poolside bar was so kind to bring us a drink each on the house after seeing me sit with my book in my face and Kim just swimming around. :) Made Kim's day with the free Sprite in her hand.

Kim & I having a ball in our new Roxy swimwear! Thanks to the whole Roxy Let the Sea Set You Free contest, I won "Most Favourite" and got vouchers to purchase these nice pieces.

Yeah, that's my baby sister, all grown up.. In her Roxy bikini. 

I swear, if any guy breaks this girl's heart, I'll break his legs.

You have been warned!! 

After our swim, we went out for dinner. OK, so here is where the food porn starts. 

I mean, if life brings you to Penang, you friggin E.A.T!! 

Half-islanders like us who know Penang food and don't get the luxury of time to go to Penang frequently would consider this a all-out gorging fest!! We even had a checklist of stuff we just had to have. It's insane!

We ate around the clock! And I think I even lost track of all the stuff we really ate.

So here goes..

Prawn Noodles

Sotong Kangkung (Cuttle fish, Kangkung, mixed together with Rojak sauce and nuts)

This is the after-after-after dinner round. That's 3 Bubur Cha-cha, one Rojak, one Ice Kacang and in stuff in the plastic bags are Ah Poms... to be tapao-ed to eat back at the hotel! haha

Although Gurney Drive food wasn't the best in Penang, it was rather nice to walk out from the hotel all the way to Gurney Drive for food. And after pigging out, I think we could really use some exercise to get back to the hotel!

Saw some new buildings on the way back from Gurney Drive. Like this Gurney Paragon, which has quite nice eatery. I was quite sure I saw a Brussels there when we passed by!

The next day was a beautiful Sunday morning. 

After my family and I went to church, we took my grandaunt out for lunch at Straits Quay. Since she can't walk and hasn't gotten the chance to see Straits Quay, we thought it was a good idea to bring her there.

Straits Quay, one of the scenic paces in Penang. Boats and the pier. How romantic! 

I took some photographs to paint them out when I get home.

Took grandaunt to Blue Reef Fish & Chips (yes, here again! I've been here for lunch during the Hennessy Artistry trip in Penang : http://thepinktimes.blogspot.com/2012/06/hennessy-artistry-penang-meet-greet.html) cos the fish there was so awesome, I promised my family I brought them there to try! Besides, despite being old and Chinese, my grandaunt is one of those who loves good western food! ;)

Smoked Salmon Bruschetta 

Threadfin fish & chips

Camwhoring sisters. Of course, after seeing us camwhore, the waiter or manager was kind and friendly enough to step outside the restaurant to help us take a proper picture! 

It was quite a nice surprise that he said he remembered me from the first time I came with the media group for Hennessy. Lol!

After lunch, Kim & decided to explore the hotel's Jacuzzi. It was bloody amazing! There were two sides. The Hot Jacuzzi and the Cold Jacuzzi. And there was a specific room just for the jacuzzis! Good one, Evergreen Laurel!

Bubbly, blissful and peaceful jacuzzi.

 Except that Kim was making so much noise cos the water was too hot for her at first! Tsktsktsk.

Mom & I. Can you see any resemblance? Most people say no. Heh.

Like I mentioned about the walking to Gurney Drive.. That's one of my favourite parts of coming to Penang. This is what you'll walk past outside the hotel to reach Gurney Drive. 

Perfect for a romantic walk. 

With the seaside view and sunset, and salty air.

Yeah, for people like us, it's a romantic walk  back to the hotel with a plastic bag or boxes filled with

 tapao-ed food which eventually gets empty by the time we reach the hotel. HAHA

Nonetheless, I loved the view so much. You'd see couples paktoh-ing around as well! Like I said, perfect for just hanging out or a romantic walk. Moreover, there's like, food everywhere, including actual restaurants along the way too!

The following morning, we packed our things to get ready to hit KL. Before that, we had breakfast! Means  more food.

I had Assam Laksa, which was like RM3.50 per bowl, and tasted so heavenly.. definitely nothing like the Assam Laksa's you find in KL with that price and size of bowl!

Had White Coffee as well, to survive the bus ride back home.

That's our ride back home. I usually dread bus rides,  especially long ones! One of my worries is my phone battery dying after playing with it on the bus.. But then, I saw these things!

A plug point where I can charge my phone (my face looked as though I've hit the jackpot, btw)!

Other than that, a nice pillow to hug, a leg rest that can be elevated and a little player that you can watch movies and listen to music with!

I was amazed. It was the comfiest ride back home!

 Plus it was raining, so it was dim in the bus. I was just enjoying myself watching movies back to back and playing with my phone, which didn't run out of battery. :) I seriously recommend Aeroline if you're gonna travel by bus to Singapore or Penang. It's just RM60 per ride. Here's their website, you won't be disappointed, I promise.

Right after I got home, I immediately went for dance class and dance rehearsals at TTDI, like a champion. So that was our much needed family vacation. It was really nice to see mom take a break and have some down time. And prolly this is the time where we'll ever see her eat so much!

xxx

 Ashley Mah