Monday, July 23, 2007

A holiday by the beach...

We needed a holiday, a time away together. We decided to book ourselves into a beach resort at Penang. Our stay there coincided with the Middle East holiday season, so there were lotsa of them, even some of the signs in the hotel were in Arabic. The ladies were very fond of Reegan and would just pick him up to kiss and play.

The resort was nice, the staff were very helpful and friendly. We like the hotel although it’s a bit pricey. Sunset just by your balcony…isn’t it beautiful…











We were also impressed with the breakfast…freshly baked warm croissant, my favourite!



And freshly squeezed juices!


The first day was exploration out of what I read from the internet. We went to Gurney Drive and enjoyed the local food and did a little shopping.






Second day, we had fun with the water. Meredith enjoyed the slide. I had my go. And hey, it was really scary the first few tries because you literally just slip down really fast, like those roller coaster ride that stops you from breathing. But Meredith was not even afraid even the first time. I think she is all grown up, and I am getting old...
Meredith and Daddy also went jetskiing. Lucky them!

After a disastrous dinner, we asked the staff to recommend some places the locals go, no tourist trap. We were recommended Jalan Selamat for lunch but the place would be too hot for the kids. By chance, we spotted a crowded coffee shop selling chicken rice. We were lucky cos we found out later we were indeed at the best chicken rice stall in town! It’s the Goh Thiew Chik Hainan Chicken Rice at Chulia Street, founded by Mr Goh himself and now run by his three sons. It was very good!


Not forgetting also the famous Penang Tau Sar Piah which I have been dreaming about. We were told to go to Him Heang at Jalan Burma. Lotsa of Penang aunties were buying by the dozens. It was really good though. The store did not even have a chance to put the baked piah on the shelf! It was straight from the oven to the customers. We had to queue for a while to get ours. And when we have it, it was freshly baked, still warm from the oven!

Dinner was just as herbalicious. We went to a seafood place at Jalan Tokong near Gurney. The best dish has got to be the drunken prawns. Think there were about 20 fresh juicy prawns well soaked in XO and herbs…all for RM30!

We stopped by Malacca for a night before heading back home. All the hotels were fully booked so we paid a bit more for a club room. It was luxurious! We loved the room! And the view was awesome!
It was five days of listening to the Malaysian accent and almost getting a hang of it, and trying to comprehend their bizarre dress sense...but more importantly, it was a relaxing time together with the kids.
Here, the kids... and Reegan with his newest toy - his feet!


2 comments:

The High Life said...

Sounds like u guys really had fun!! I luv penang too especially for the food and cheap shoe shopping!! :)

Momo said...

That was time well-spent. Lucky you guys!