Wednesday 15 February 2017

FSTR (8 - 16 August 2016), Day 9 - History Lessons


LTF getting a piece of WW2 history
Cupcake

Moulmein Close for Lor Mee and Prawn Noodles
Good Feng Shui
Resistance is futile
Chickens at Mount Erskine Chinese Cemetery
Dusky Langur at Mount Erskine Chinese Cemetery
Having takeaway Nasi Kandar from Toon Leong Coffee Shop, Jalan Transfer.
Resting place of Sir Francis Light, founder of Penang
Some graves at the Northam Road Protestant Cemetery
Somewhere here lies the grave of Thomas Leonowens, the husband of Anna from the biographical drama film, "Anna and the King"



This morning, Mike collected us again for our second round of gastronomical adventure. This time, he came with a borrowed Foldie with intent to throw in a free bicycle tour as well. Little did we realize, he had a morbid interest in history....

We toured mainly George Town and Tanjung Tokong as we were short of time. The Johoreans had to leave after lunch, taking a 6 pm Airasia flight back to JB which was rescheduled from an earlier slot of 5 pm before the trip even began! It had not dawned on them yet, but Airasia had more tricks up their sleeves!!!



The morning started well with prawn noodles and lor mee from Moulmein Close. Then, Mike took us to the World War 2 pill box on Mount Erkskine. It shared the same good feng shui with the other Chinese graves; water in front, hills behind and luxuriant plants around! Strategically located on top of the hill with a great view of the sea, it was the perfect look out for impending enemies.



We circled the burial grounds, passing by homes and homes of the dead! Where the living live, we weaved through their wastes; rubbish, cow dungs and dog poo! On one narrow lane, an old bull stood his ground, staring and not budging while we gingerly took our leave.



We weren't so lucky when we entered the gateway, leading to another part of the cemetery. While we escaped being gored earlier, a pack of geese honked and chased after us. These feathered creatures were not humoured with our trespassing, perhaps thinking we were necromancers with evil intent!



At the open hall for burial rituals, we took a rest to soak in the tranquility of the whole place. We spotted some shy monkeys in the trees and a hen guarding over her chicks. Very few cars passed through giving rise to the rightful thesaurus of "resting place of the dead"!



Our tour continued with durian on the streets of Tanjung Tokong. Here, we paid our respect to the King of Fruits and the Queen to Mike's heart for we bumped into Mike's mom at the same durian stall!!! Sprightly and elegant at over 80, Claudine can only wish she will grow old and graceful like her!



Heading back to George Town, KC was almost run over by a motorcycle bent on making a left turn. Thankfully, both braked on time or we will never be able to enjoy a treat of Assam Laksa and Siam Laksa at one of Mike's favourite haunts.



Well, he was certainly bent on spooking us, for the next visit up his sleeves was the Northam Road Protestant Cemetery!!! We visited the graves of Sir Francis Light, the founder of Penang Island and other famous personalities connected with the early growth of the island. 


Enjoying our tea and coffee with kaya toasts done over charcoal fire at Toh Soon Cafe, we all passed the "walk of fire" tests. Akin to the Taoist purification rituals, we walked past the charcoal stove in the narrow coffee shop operated on an alleyway. We left totally unscathed!

Returning to Tido, the Johoreans rushed through their priorities. While VT and Claudine packed their bikes, Sue wanted her bike cleaned before packing. A quick run to the Dhoby shop to check on Claudine's lost Pearl Izumi glove came back empty handed! Everyone including Sue, managed a good lunch at Khoon Pastry House. They served the best Hainanese Chicken Chop in the world!



Finally boarding Boon See's van hire, they left for the airport, only to receive a free McDonald's meal compliments of AirAsia for a 4 hour delay. They did their time at the airport, watching fellow Malaysians coming together to cheer for their homegrown pair of Tan Wee Kiong and Goh V Shem in badminton men's double, defeating China in the semifinals Olympic Games Rio 2016.

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Life is full of surprises :

• While the Johoreans bought the same returning flight tickets, VT and Claudine boarded a flight that landed in Senai 10 minutes earlier than Sue. The former had changed their flights during the delay hoping to get back earlier as VT had an early morning flight to catch the very next day! 
• The "lost" Pearl Izumi glove was finally found the next day! It crawled up the sleeves of Alvin's jersey during laundry! 




 • A text to the Singapore group for forgotten Arabian dates at Tido found not only the dates but VT's bike shorts and a black handbag left by a former occupant!!!!
• The Singaporeans had an extra day with Mike in Penang. They boarded a night bus for Singapore but had to ride home from the Malaysian CIQ! Since they were the last passengers on the bus, the driver refused to take them any further!!!

Tuesday 7 February 2017

FSTR (8 - 16 August 2016), Day 8 - Penang, Pearl of the Orient


The ever flexible Uncle KC
Train's canteen
Train's kitchen
On Malaysian soil
Sniffer dog at the immigration department
Enroute to Butterworth
At Butterworth Station
Enroute to the ferry terminal
Climbing the flyover to the ferry terminal
Ferry Charges
No dogs, birds, deers and even Tom Cats allowed on the ferry!
Waiting for the ferry
Boarding
Looking for space!
No drones required for this shot!
Docking
Here comes the ram
Alighting
Touch down, Penang Island!
Ferries
Pulau Pinang


Our train to Butterworth made a few stops during the night. Like a baby rocked to bed, Claudine stirred every time the rocking motion came to a stop. During the night, she wondered if the steward was assigned to wake passengers up at certain stops, for clearly, the passenger in the bunk below her, left just before dawn, making a lot of noise as she moved about.

Just as Haatyai was approaching, she gave up her sleep. It was getting bright and whatsapping has begun slightly before 6 am. A sentinel guarding over our bikes, alone and away from the team, YC took an additional half hour of shut eye!



Brushing one's teeth over the moving train can be tricky. One had to take aim and time one's spit together with the train's jerky movements!!! Forget about washing one's face as the water from the taps comes in trickles, just like on board an aircraft but a lot less posh!





The stewards came around to turn the beds back up as passengers alight or upon requests. It was a mere 30 seconds job!

A Caucasian family traveling with their 2 young adults children were served a complete breakfast of juice, fruit and sandwiches while the LTF team munched on 7-11 fare. Despite that, we were not complaining as we knew a gastronomical fare awaits us in Penang!

Minutes before the Padang Besar station, the staffs walked down the coaches briefing the passengers on the 2 stops; the first Padang Besar stop for Thailand before the train rumbles down the tracks to the next Padang Besar stop on Malaysian soil. Both stations were within sight of each other. All baggage had to be removed from the train as this is its last stop.



Finally back on Malaysian soil, we went through customs and immigration of both countries. Then, we took a long break at the canteen upstairs which served surprisingly good authentic nasi lemak in banana leaf wrap.



It seems our tickets gave us the option to board any train heading down south. As the commuter train runs more frequently and arrives earlier than the southbound train, we boarded it.



It was a good move as there were more room for our bikes and panniers. Downside to it though were the inadequate air conditioning and the "NOT" so plush seats. However, it did get us to Butterworth in slightly less than 2 hours which was perfect as lunchtime was approaching.



We had to wait for a further 2 hours before we finally sat down for our meal on Penang island. Transiting from the train station to the ferry terminal, plus the long wait to board and get off the ferry is time consuming. Most coffee shops were beginning to pack up when we finally arrived in Penang.



After lunch, we continue to break traffic rules going counter traffic on Penang's multitude one way streets. That helped us to get to Tido Hostel in the shortest time possible. Not the wisest choice but our sage pastor had had the whole team in his prayers!



8 of us were put together in a room with bunk beds. Within 10 minutes, we choked up the air conditioning system. It could not filter out our body odour and for the next 24 hours, the room stank of sweat and grime collected over the last 8 days!!!!!!!!!!



Mike collected us soon enough! He had rode his non environmental friendly two wheelers all the way from KL to Penang to host us. The minute we made contact, our gastronomical adventure began.................................and did not end till close to midnight!!!!

Lor Mee
Cendol and Assam Laksa
Kueh Tiau Kia
Putu Mayam
Wantan Mee
Roti Tissue and Vadae
Half Time, Bike shopping!
Lights out at Tido
You can't really tidur when someone is snoring....



Photo courtesy :
KC Au Yeong
Ped Al