Archive | December, 2018

Know Your Breakfast Hours, Part 2

16 Dec

Today is our last day in Penang. Despite saying the night before that we will wake up early to have breakfast and a final round of sun and swim, we changed our minds this morning. As it is, the sky looked gloomy when we woke up. So we went back to sleep! But the sun did come out when we finally woke up. Oh well.

I think breakfast at this point is not important, doing what you like is better, which is to sleep in and not be in a hurry. Also I don’t think we can get an extension for a late check out if time was not on our side.

Imagine breakfast during the heavy traffic sector, I wouldn’t relax and might probably end up with an indigestion. There might not even be a table available and we would waste precious time waiting for one. Then getting a sun tan can’t get any faster because you can’t hurry the sun to burn you quicker. You know what I mean?

With the Resort’s occupancy at full capacity, they would want us to check out by noon and get the room ready for their next guest. Can’t blame them, it’s the holiday season.

So we took our time to pack, and will be having brunch instead at Batu Lanchang savoring local street food delicacies.

Goodbye Golden Sands, we had a good time. It will be some time before we come back again to experience your hospitality.

Where Shall We Eat?

15 Dec

We all felt so lazy after the rain and just lazed in bed in the room until dinner time. And when it was time to go out, we decided to venture to the same area across the road from the resort opting for Chinese food this time.

It was simple choices of Assam Prawns, Mixed Vege, Sweet & Sour Pork and Steamed Clams. Sounds a lot for us with four dishes when we would normally order just three but I must say the portions were small.

The Clams had a tomyum oomph to it, laden with chili padi and enough flavors to tickle the tastebuds. And it was so strong that it overpowered the rest of the choices. Perhaps we ordered the others wrongly?

We were surprised to discover after the meal that the restaurant has Trip Advisor certificates! The certs were displayed proudly on the pillar in the middle of the place.

Put it this way, I certainly wasn’t impressed with the 30 minutes wait before our food was served. Hmm… we will have to give it another chance the next time I guess. Until then this experience aside, I must say we have had a fun and relaxing time this trip.

A Lovely Morning

15 Dec

It was indeed a lovely morning after breakfast. The sun was bright and hot and I got toasted a wee bit while working on Codewords on the book instead of the phone, my dying iPhone5S.

An occasional dip in the sea then the pool, we couldn’t ask for more. By lunchtime, automatically our tummies were rumbling and we opted for sandwiches and a Tandoori pizza by the poolside.

Unfortunately, the beer that I intended to drink did not materialized as the mocktail Margarita concoction on the menu sounded very tempting, so we had a jug of it. It was very good and refreshing.

Feeling contented and with a light breeze blowing, the setup was perfect for a snooze! And we almost did but decided to go for another dip in the sea after resting long enough for the food to digest.

Soon after, our Penang friends dropped by the resort to catch up with us and it was nice to see them again. Amidst our chatter, the sky turned dark and cloudy again. Yes it rained.

Thank goodness I managed to work on my tan earlier in the morning. Let’s hope tomorrow, being our last day (how quickly time went by), I can still catch a bit more sun in the morning before we check out and leave for home.

Know Your Breakfast Hours

15 Dec

I saw the signage the day before and decided that we should all wake up earlier than normal for an early breakfast before the crowd. It wasn’t easy because being on holiday, the tendency to sleep in is very strong.

We got there slightly before 8.30am and managed to get a table for a leisurely paced breakfast despite the noise and people building up. And the best part, the sun is out! Yay.

Needless to say, we will be lounging and doing nothing for the next few hours… I love Penang.

Cloudy and Gloomy

14 Dec

The weather had other ideas for us, staying cloudy and gloomy. There was no sight of the sun. But that didn’t bother us too much as we still have the weekend.

And I, being old school and also having major battery problems with my iPhone5S resorted to a physical copy of Codewords whilst hubby napped and M2 was on her iPhone6. Eventually it did rain and we went back to the room to chill before deciding what to eat for dinner.

When technology fails you, a hard copy is best!

We opted to walk across the street from the resort to check out the street food stalls and was pleasantly satisfied with our choices. Spicy, generous in portions and very cheap, dinner was just as satisfying as our lunch earlier.

Pasembur Special (top), Assam Laksa with Egg (bottom left) & Ayam Penyet Special (bottom right)

All in all, despite the weather, it’s a good start. Let’s hope tomorrow the sun will be out for me to work on that tan.

A Much Needed Break, Part 2

14 Dec

We left home at 9.09am for our much needed break. The drive was pleasant and unhurried but it rained after two hours on the road. Traffic was sparse; we saw and trailed a car with its tyres at an extreme angle. Other than for aesthetics, this intended modification serves no purpose for performance. The things people do for attention and they certainly caught ours!

By 12.30pm we stopped at Nibong Tebal for crab porridge and boiled squid, a must have and something we missed out the last few trips North. Very satisfying I must say.

After crawling pass the heavy traffic on the bridge, we made it to Golden Sands Resort and had to wait almost an hour for our room to be ready. The resort is packed apparently.

It was almost 4.00pm when we finally got our room and donned our swim wear to lounge by the pool.

A Much Needed Break

14 Dec

We go off for our much needed break today! This year, M1 is not coming back for Christmas so the year-end family trip will just be the three of us.

Hopefully traffic won’t be heavy but we’re in no hurry. And it’ll be nice if the drive is a leisurely one without stress to Penang. We will of course detour to some favorite places along the way for food before we get to the island state.

I am really looking forward to spending my time lounging by the poolside, with a cold beer and hopefully, catch some sun to get a nice tan!

A Pod of Whales

13 Dec

The whale carving deviation has taken off really well. So much so, Citizens, Gnomes, Gnome Homes, Monuments and Superheroes of Gigglesville have taken a back seat. On top of the big whales that double up as smart phone holders, I have also carved up baby whales to add to the pod.

Now these babies don’t just exist for the sake of existing. They double up as name card holders, making themselves just as useful as their mummy whales. Clever, isn’t it? I feel so proud of this latest direction.

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Getting Organized

11 Dec

Two months ago, hubby had a big package delivered to the office. The package, wrapped in newspaper and clear plastic, was a racking system for his plants. And it has been set up at the side garden.

It took some time to get things organized and when it did, the garden is now looking much better with less potted plants everywhere. It’s a good thing too because with the constant rain, the garden floods due to the excessive water as the drainage is not fast enough to clear the onslaught.

And the display? I must say it’s looking very organized with all the pots sitting on all three tiers of both racks. He even had shades put up to protect the leaves of the bromeliads from the direct afternoon sun. But now with the rainy season, the shades shelter the leaves from rain.

Although I don’t look at the plants daily, I am appreciative of the neat garden.

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Setback for the Frangipani

10 Dec

The frangipani tree has sprouted new leaves. Initially the new leaves looked fine but it was too early to tell. But now that the leaves are more and bigger, the situation has not improved even with treatment some time back.

In fact, the rust fungus seems to be even more! Yikes. It’s a setback for the tree. So this time, hubby trimmed off all the leaves by himself without waiting for the gardener and his team to come and do it.

And it’s a good thing the netting that he placed over and on the branches was not removed. So it’s still functional to shade all his collection of air plants and bromeliads from the sun now that the tree is bald again.

The tree itself is fine, standing tall and sturdy; it’s only the leaves that are problematic. I guess this problem will not go away nor be cured. Sigh.