Penang Bridge International Marathon 2009

I have talked the talk, it was now time to walk the walk.

With just four sessions of training amounting to a total distance of 27.5km, 22nd of November was finally just a day away. As if the lack of preparation was not bad enough, I found myself stuck in office, being swarmed with telephone calls and escalation emails from 1.30pm all the way to 10.30pm; all these shits while my colleagues were having a good time munching away at our department's annual dinner in the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel Penang.

Since I have to report myself in at Queensbay Mall by 3.15am, I figured that it would be pointless to return home after work, thus opting to take a short two hours worth of uncomfortable nap before my colleague came to pick me up at 2am.

Not even two kilometers out from our office, we saw a man lying on the pavement by the side of the road with his motorcycle in the same state as he was - motionless - five meters away. As he was being tended to by two other motorcyclists, we drove past them and reported the accident to a group of idling traffic policemen, barely 300 meters away from the spot.

Me: Encik, kat belakang sana ada accident. Ada seorang tu terhumban kat tepi jalan.
Traffic policeman: Accident? Ha... biar dia mati la.

If you find it hard to comprehend the Malay conversation above, try the English translation below:

Me: Sir, there was an accident back there. A victim was thrown off his motorcycle and landed on the roadside.
Traffic policeman: Accident? Bah... just let him die.

Wow, somehow I was not surprised to hear him utter those despicable words; he was a civil servant after all and they were meant to make all the right things go wrong. *rolleyes*

Sensing no help from them, we gave up and proceeded to our destination. At the back of my head, I could not help wondering if he would have responded in a better manner if we were a bunch of foreigners instead.

Due to the sheer number of cars been parked haphazardly near Queensbay Mall, we had to leave our car in front of a colleague's house in the Pantai Jerejak residential area. From a distance away, we could feel the carnival-like atmosphere with music booming loud in the background and rows of tent being erected, each distributing freebies that were more or less related to the marathon.

With less than ten minutes to go, I dunked three bananas into my mouth and did a series of minor warm up, only to realize that I have not drank even a single drop of water since I woke up. With no time to hesitate any further, I picked up an unfinished water bottle that had been left on the roadside and took a few full gulps. Sounds familiar?

I think there was no gun off or maybe I was too far at the back to hear it as I did not even realize that the half-marathon runners have been flagged off - we were just following the crowd, walking forward, presuming that we were being led to the starting line - until I saw our Penang Chief Minister, YAB Lim Guan Eng waving to us from the side of the road.


To have the Chief Minister up at this ungodly hours, I must say that I am very impressed!

I joined this race with two objectives in mind:

• complete the half-marathon in less than three hours
• do not stop running until I reach the finishing line

Forking out RM40 to torture myself for 21km. What has this world comes to?

Based on the time I clocked during training sessions - 5.5km in 40 minutes - I should be able to survive the whole ordeal if I did not overexert myself along the way. In fact, I started out so slow that it took me 25 minutes to reach the very same point that the women category runners hit in 10 minutes!

-sigh-

I spent most of my time looking down at my own two feet alternating between each another - pulling me a step forward at a time - to avoid myself from subconsciously following the pace of other runners. However, once in a while when I looked up, I bore witness to many things that I did not get to experience in my normal everyday life.


The new marathon statues along the coastal highway.

For example, I saw a man with deformed right leg, limping his way along with other runners, undeterred by the number of runners that zoomed by past him early in the race. Meanwhile, RUNWITME managed to capture a funny video of this firing squad which I had totally missed.



Since this is the only once-in-a-year opportunity to set foot on the Penang Bridge, I truly enjoyed my run along the whole stretch with the strong sea-breeze flowing through my hair. Apart from the various stations providing drinking water, 100 Plus, banana and iced sponge, the organizer even set up a group of drummers at the middle span of the bridge to pump the runners on.


100 Plus stations were usually the crowd favourite hence I only grabbed drinking water for a few gulps before throwing the bottles to the side of the road; another once-in-a-year event where littering is tolerated.

I managed to maintain my speed until the 15km mark when my right leg joints started to feel loose but they were not bad enough to warrant a stop or walk. After doing the U-turn at E-Gate, I started overtaking other runners to motivate myself further by imagining that for every runner that I overtook, I got to absorb a small portion of their energy to push myself on and no, it was not a joke.


2 hours and 45 minutes later, I stomped my right foot - where the Championchip was tied to - on the finishing line mat to mark the end of my 21.0975km non-stop run.

My only gripe was the long queue at the finishing line due to the medals and lucky draw coupons being distributed too near to the front. Relocating them a little further to the back should do the trick.


My colleagues and friends that ran along with me in the same category.


MISSIONS ACCOMPLISHED!

Full marathon next year, anyone?

Thailand 2009: Day # 1

Phew, the Penang Bridge International Marathon is just a few days away and I have been dedicating most of my free time to get myself in shape for this special event so do pardon me for the lack of update in this blog.


I am somewhat sceptical about the above claim.

Anyway, if you still remember the hardship that I had to go through to get my passport done, I finally get to put it to good use by tagging along with my colleagues for a six days trip to Thailand. Call me an idiot but due to the various worries I had in my head prior to the trip - influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, political instability in Thailand and first aeroplane flight in my life - I have to calm myself down by handing over my treasure key to my girlfriend for safekeeping.


The key to priceless treasures.

I left my motorcycle in Alan's house and his father fetched us to the airport where we held our rendezvous with our Thai colleague, Samarn. Nothing much to describe here except for the fact that our flight FD 3542 was delayed by around 20 minutes. As this was my first time on an aeroplane, I was pining hope to get the window seat but alas, I was assigned to the seat next to it. This was a Thai AirAsia flight, so I more or less ignored all the in-flight announcements as I had a hard time making out their English that was laden with Thai accent.

Around one and a half hours later, we touched down on the Suvarnabhumi Airport and it instantly became the very first landmark in Thailand that I fell in love with. Even though our aeroplane did not have the privilege to drop its passengers off into a gangway that is directly connected to the airport terminal building, they have buses waiting to transport us there.


I love the design of the see-through elevator!

The Suvarnabhumi airport terminal is such a humongous building that we had to grab a copy of the free airport maps to prevent ourselves from walking in circles!


The departure floor's row F, G, H, J, K and L. This goes on until row W.


I bet the garden itself is even larger than the Penang International Airport building.

Our first mission was to hunt for lunch and after getting ourselves slightly lost, it did not take us long to gobble down all the food.


S&P's yummy deep-fried pork spare ribs.


Ten minutes later. *burp*

We did a minor tour around the airport while looking for a way out. Trust me, as a stranger in a massive four-storey building with glass doors on all floors, you would be under the impression that certain doors are meant to be entrances only and if you were to take a step out of those entrance doors, an ear-deafening alarm would be triggered with the airport security personnel popping out of nowhere like ninjas, ready to stuff you into a wooden crate and deport your sorry ass back to your country of origin for flouting even the slightest law there (longest sentence ever!)... well, something like that. :P


Mess with us and we will suffocate you with an extra large plastic bag!

Once you are out from the airport terminal building, there are various forms of transportation that you can take to get yourself around Thailand such as public taxi, airport limousine, the Airport Express bus and if you are really up to the challenge, walk.


We hopped on the free shuttle bus which brought us to the nearby bus terminal.


Five minutes later, we were in another bus, on our way to our hotel near Khaosan Road.

Samarn booked us a standard double room each in Sawasdee Khaosan Inn. The room rate for a standard single room was almost the same hence he felt it much wiser to opt for the standard double room instead.


No you perverted basket, I did not bring back any special friend to share the queen-sized bed with me.


However, if you are itching to call for one, there is a box of condoms on the refrigerator for your convenience.

Half an hour after checking in, we found ourselves in a pink-coloured taxi, on our way to the Chatuchak market. Public transport in Thailand is very efficient, a far cry from the situation we have in Malaysia. Not only do the taxis here run on meter with reasonable fare, they come in so many colours that I would have mistaken them as M&M's candies if I were without my glasses.


Samarn claimed that the colours are part of the Thai government's proposal to make the traffic jam looks less stressful. No joke!


Chatuchak market, the human version of Bangkok's worst traffic jam.

We initially just strolled along the market's parameter as it is wider compared to the alleys in the market itself. Just like our local markets, there were no escaping beggars but the stark difference is that the Chatuchak beggars do not just sit there with hands held high nor do they bug you. Some - especially the elderly and visually-impaireds - sang karaoke with a speaker hung around their necks while doing their rounds.


The younger generation would usually try something eye-catching, like performing freestyle football in such a cramped space.

I also noticed a group of students in uniform - presumably members of their school band - playing a wide variety of music with an open violin case filled with coins placed in front. I could not help but to wonder if such freedom would ever be granted to our students back home. In my opinion, I find nothing wrong with showcasing your ability in public and earning a little pocket money along the way as long as it does not hamper your higher priorities. Haha... who am I kidding to think that our government would endorse such a talent building initiative? Not only would the pupil be subjected to suspension from school, non-governmental organizations would intervene and sue the parents' asses off on charges of child exploitation and abuse. Malaysia BOLEH!


This guy went to the extent of dressing up as a cyborg just to distribute pamphlets.


We attempted to navigate ourselves into the narrow alleys but did not last long, no thanks to the crowd and the cloudless sky did not make the situation any better.


When all hope seemed lost, this coconut ice cream came to our rescue. It was so good that I could not help salivating whenever I heard the name Chatuchak being mentioned.

We spent quite some time on our dinner as the dishes were way too spicy but they were definitely good. By the time we returned to our rooms, it was already dark even though the clock just stroke 6.30pm. After cleaning ourselves up, it was time to hit the party at Khaosan Road, where the whole stretch of road would be closed to vehicles in the evening.


Based on the amount of neon signs, you can more or less guess how long this road goes.

Khaosan Road was flanked on both sides by cheap hotels, pubs, massage parlours and convenience stores. Talking about convenience stores, I find it hilarious that there were three 7-Eleven stores on the same road itself. Either the business must be pretty darned good or there was a big fail in the business planning stage.


You can find a lot of mini stalls selling all sort of delicacies ranging from simple fried noodles to exotic deep-fried scorpions.


It was the 31st of October, hence Halloween party was in full force.


I guess this must be where our politicians obtained their fake degrees.


The biggest signboard in Khaosan Road for a product that I never get to use. *blush*

After a few hours of eye-washing, we headed back to our rooms with a few bottles of beer, worms and scorpion, ready to 干杯 away my first night in a foreign land... only to have Alan fell asleep with all the snacks locked along inside his room.

-sigh-


The scorpion who died in vain. T_T

The Lord - and Lady - of the Rings

∞

P.S. Another Blog Comments Disabled Entry.

Running out of time breath

It was 2.45am in the ungodly hour and I was still tossing about in my bed, trying to get some decent sleep. To think that I was supposed to wake up at 5.45am for my half-marathon training, I could not help but to wonder if I would be able to make it to work on time at 11am.

Yeah, it was limitation all over again. :P The only difference is that this time, I have registered myself instead of just stopping at planning to do so.

Many of us might not know about this but Milo does contain caffeine, though in a smaller amount compared to coffee. It was certainly a mistake of mine to have a cup as supper which resulted in the owl-like awareness during bedtime. I was so wide awake that I actually decided to just expedite the jogging schedule to 3am if I still failed to fall asleep by then.

By 5.15am, I was wide awake again. Sensing no point in trying to gain myself another half an hour's rest, I got myself geared up and hit the 5.5km path that I had plotted a day earlier. The aim was to make two rounds, which is equivalent to around 11km.


You may want to view the larger map to save your eyesight.

I usually hit the jogging path along the Air Itam dam as the air there is much cleaner but it was too far away for - almost - daily practice.

Unfortunately, while drafting this new route, I failed to take into consideration the terrace houses along the road. Dogs barked non-stop even from a distance away and if any of these gates were not locked properly, it would be my LIFE that I am running for, instead of this silly marathon.

The previous night's Milo-drenched breads did not help much as it aggravated my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), which in turn caused my mouth and anus to burp non-stop all the way.

It was not until the 3.2km mark that I made my first stop due to my left shoe's undone shoelace. It was at this point in time that the progress started going downhill. Bending down to tie the shoelace proved to be a grave mistake as I started to experience dizziness with the butterflies in my stomach threatening to throw all its contents out my mouth. Now that I recall it, I find it funny how my mouth had to start multitasking:

• gasping for air
• taking over my nose's task of exhaling carbon dioxide
• belching out the air trapped in my stomach
• yawning
• getting itself ready to puke

A few hundred meters of slow walk later, my condition improved a little and I managed to switch to the running gear again.

Jogging along main roads has its pros and cons. Main roads are usually brighter and you do not need to fear for any up-to-no-good stranger lurking around in dark corners. However, you will have to compromise on the air quality due to the higher frequency of vehicles compared to those smaller roads. Imagine yourself fighting for air to land another foot forward when out of no where, an old bus leaves you enveloped in a cloud of black, smelly smoke in its wake. That was so demoralizing that I almost took the shortest route home while questioning my earlier self on the need to torment myself over this RM40 race.

I broke down again - temporarily - at the 4.6km mark due to the recurring nauseatic sensation before pushing myself home to complete the 5.5km.

36 minutes 16 seconds.

My initial goal was to complete 10km in an hour. To fail that is bad but to spend so much time just for 5.5km, that is bad bad bad! Compared to the yesteryears, my stamina is clearly fizzling away. Is this a sign of age catching up?

-sigh-

I sincerely hope that this failure will not linger on. To quote Mr. Fail-A-Lot, Thomas Edison:

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

Good luck to myself on my next attempt, scheduled to be on this coming Tuesday.

Jangan marah ya?

Incompetent. That is the only word that I can think of - at this very moment - that best describes the Immigration Department of Malaysia, Georgetown branch.

I had prepared all the necessary documents for a new passport as indicated in the official website and taking into consideration the worst case scenario, I had also intentionally booked myself an annual leave today just to make sure that I do not have to stress myself crazy over appearing late for work. After all, everyone is pretty well aware of the speed slowness those government staffs usually go about with their work.

Apparently, the worst case scenario that I got myself ready for was not exactly the worst. Tell me, how do you label a scenario that is much worse than the worst case scenario itself?

I reached the department at 9.20am and discovered that I need to have a photocopy of my MyKad.

Me: Can you help me to print a copy with one of the internal photocopy machines that you guys have?
Officer: No.

Me: Can I have a ticket number first while I get to the nearest shop with photocopy machine?
Officer: No.

Fine! The nearest shop with photocopy machine was congested and it took me 40 minutes to get back to the department again. I was given a ticket with number 1176 and the current number in the queue was 1060 WTF?! There were 116 applications to go and yet, they refused to give me a number before I went off to get myself a photocopy of my MyKad?

There were six counters to receive applications but it was not until 2.30pm that 1176 was finally announced. One look at my passport photos and the Indian lady told me that my hair covered too much of my temple WTF?! After more than five hours of waiting with no lunch nor a sip of water, this is the best excuse she could come up with to reject my application? With the amount of crowd in the building lingering about, she agreed to put my application on hold while I went to get another two copies of valid passport photo.

It was raining cats and dogs but 20 minutes later, I came back to the counter with two new pieces of passport photos, albeit very much uglier compared to the one that I took a day earlier. My MyKad photo was so bad that it had become a constant jokes among my friends so the last thing I wanted was a passport with exact ugly photo but after getting myself trapped in the sardine-packed building with my stomach growling non-stop, I did not give it a damn anymore as long as they handover me a new passport.

I told the Indian lady that I wanted to make a five-year passport which is equivalent to RM300. After three digital thumbprint scannings and an old-fashioned thumbprint with ink pad on the document, I was asked to wait for my name to be called for payment. True enough, my name was announced and this time, it was a Malay lady who demanded for RM100.

RM100? I told her that it was meant to be RM300 but she replied that I applied for a two-year passport. Again, I was told to take a seat while she sorted it out with the Indian lady.

It was 3.20pm when the Indian lady beckoned me to come over to her counter. Somehow or rather, she accidentally filled me up for a two-year passport in the digital application form and I have to go through another round of digital thumbprint scannings. Another sila duduk dulu as she claimed that she has to wait for her boss to approve these changes.

3.40pm and her boss finally came back - from his tea break I guess - and with a few looks on my document on his table, he called for the Indian lady again. The rain which had stopped pouring earlier came crashing again, as if dancing to the rhythm of my mood. After a chat or two, the Indian lady requested for me to attend to her counter again. Three thumbprint scannings again and sensing my dark, clouded face, she still had the audacity to utter a line of jangan marah ya?

MARAH?! BENCI ada la KNNMCB! was what I almost blurted out. After shoving the RM300 to the Malay lady, I was finally told that they would no longer be able to process my application by today, which literally means that I shall have to make myself present tomorrow to collect the passport WTF?!


At that very moment, I was so pissed off that responding her with f*ck you was no longer a vulgarity but a compliment instead.

As a result, I have to give my manager a call to apply for another day of annual leave. To sum it all up, I achieved totally nothing today but wasted the following:

• nearly 7 hours caged in a narrow building with malfunctioning air-conditioners
• skipped my lunch
• missed my opportunity to cancel my UOB credit card
• wasted 2 days of annual leave
• failed to set up a meeting with my insurance agent

I wonder if this is part of Najib's 1Malaysia, where rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan (people first, performance now). Gee, if that is the case, thanks, but no thanks then.

-sigh-

I sincerely hope that this was an exceptional case... or have I just stumbled upon the same type of cancer that Y.B. Jeff mentioned in his blog not very long ago?

15Malaysia

Thanks to Najib's 1Malaysia, numbers associated with the word Malaysia have appeared to be the most popular catchphrase in the country these days. Enter 15Malaysia, a short film project sponsored by P1 which showcases fifteen video clips that touch on all aspects of Malaysian life.

Among the fifteen, I like Slovak Sling the most. The cheeky conversation between Patrick Teoh and Harith Iskander made me burst out laughing with tears the first time I watched the video clip.



With the recent uproar of celebrities' naked photos and videos leaked on the Internet, I guess Lesson 38 is something that everyone has to bear in mind all the time.

-sigh-

The remaining few that caught my attention are as displayed below.

The Tree is an eye-opening video clip that reveals the importance of planting trees from the perspective of a Muslim.



House reminds me of the recent Kampung Buah Pala fracas in Penang where the previous state government has somehow sold a land of substantial size that belonged to a group of Indian families for development.



One Future is an inspiring piece which narrates the birth of opposition and rejection in a flawed system that was deemed as perfect... at least, that was what I perceived it to be. :P



Meter is interesting as the principal cast who was lambasting about the current political woes is no other than the controversial politician himself, Khairy Jamaluddin. This video clip convinced me that he has potential as an actor should he decides to quit his political career one day.



Most of these short films have hidden meanings in them and it is up to the viewers on how to interpret these invisible agendas; something that the late Yasmin Ahmad used to portray in her Petronas festival commercials.

Meme: Save Yvonne's sight

I do not usually post entries looking for help. In fact, the last time I did the exact same thing was for baby Kai Xin, where I actually created a special iConUnot section on the side panel to link visitors there.

Let us face it. I am no Kenny Sia with skyrocketing number of visitors and I do not even know how many of you actually responded to baby Kai Xin's plight in the past. I somehow stumbled upon this request in Patrick Teoh's blog and thought, Well, I shall just do my small part here and whether the rest will follow up - or not - is another story altogether. The extract below is more or less a carbon copy of Patrick's.

Yvonne Foong has been raising funds for the operations she needs to treat her neurofibromatosis which causes tumours to grow inside her body.

Yvonne had already lost her hearing and communicated through writing on a small white board. But now she is losing her eyesight and needs another operation again. The operation is due in December and once again she needs to raise funds for it. The cost of the surgery is USD44,000 (RM154,770) and the cost of her hospital stay for two weeks is USD915 or RM3,219.

She has already raised RM10,000 of this but obviously still has a long way to go. She is hoping to raise the rest by republishing her book I'm Not Sick, Just A Little Bit Unwell in English and Chinese. The books are now available in Malaysian bookshops and from her website store. She is also selling T-shirts at bazaars and via her website store. You can read about her surgery and donate to her fund here.



You can also help by sending on this meme. If you do, please follow these meme rules:

1. Create a blog entry titled Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight.
2. List three things you love to see. Add in the picture of Yvonne's book cover. The URL is http://www.yvonnefoong.com/images/banner/my-story.jpg.
3. End with the line, Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.
4. Tag 5 blog friends. Be sure to copy the rules, OK?
5. If you have a Facebook account, please check out Ellen's new invention, a "feme" pronounced FEEM, a meme designed for Facebook here. And if you want to blog about NF, that would be great too!

The three things I love to see are:

1. Everything.
2. Something.
3. Anything.

I am tagging the following blogger friends to ask them to help out:

1. Black Kid King
2. d'moments
3. CarinaSing
4. 星晴
5. ~~詠鉌の物語~~

Anyone else interested in passing on this meme is more than welcome to do so. I am sure Yvonne will much appreciate it!

Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.

District 9

Do not let such an uninspiring title fools you, for this movie will definitely put you on the edge of your cinema seat if you allowed it to. Forget about the toilet, just make sure your eyes are glued to the screen all the time. Girlfriend talking to you? Ignore her or - better still - leave her out of the cinema if she is the type that cannot keep her mouth shut while watching movies.

Touted as one of the best movies this year, District 9 is based on the true events surrounding District Six in the past. If you paid attention to your History teacher, you should be pretty familiar with the term apartheid and this movie is a perfect reminder that even after more than a decade since the death of the infamous social segregation, discrimination remains a demon that cannot be easily exorcised from every human being's soul - including those who were once being discriminated upon.

Unlike the other typical movies these days where there is a fine line between good and evil, District 9 will have almost none of that. What were deemed to be the right decisions or things to do in the beginning will not appear to be so when the movie plot starts to unravel itself. I was able to sympathise with the struggle that the prawns have to go through even though they appeared disgusting the first time they came on screen. In a way, this movie managed to successfully reflect the true nature of humanity, which is not entirely all about sunshine and roses.


NON-HUMANS BANNED!

With a mere $30 million budget, this movie has managed to surpass and put Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($200 million) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra ($175 million) to shame. While some may brand this movie as Cloverfield 2 - especially with the trademark camera shaking and documentary-like footage - I would say that District 9 has a much more human touch to it where viewers would be able to identify with the protagonist, Wikus van de Merwe's ever-changing morality.


Paving The Way To Unity.

The only complain I have is the quality of censorship that was practiced by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia. Though they did not beep the mass f*cks - suspected to be due to the South African accent which pronounced the word as fock - cutting off scenes of some Nigerians cannibalising the prawns does not prove a single point at all when there were blood and amputated limbs splattered all over the place throughout the movie. Since the movie events took place in Johannesburg, the English was very easy to comprehend so tell me, WTF is the purpose of having large Malay subtitle that covers half of the screen for?

-sigh-

I shall not be surprised if one day, we find ourselves travelling to some nearby countries with reasonable censorship and logical subtitle font size just to watch a decent movie with not much interruption.

The ending is not something that everyone will take a liking to for the movie leaves it to your own interpretation especially when it comes to Wikus' fate three years down the road. I see this as a clever decision on the director's side since he can always use this opportunity to start a District 10...

... or perhaps stop with this perfect ending and never have Christopher Johnson come back again.

Throw me a friendly stone

Mention Penang to your friends - especially those that are not Penangites - and two things will generally come to their minds; food and island. Cannot blame them I guess, since most of the hype about Penang's salivating hawker's cuisine are focused to those on the island itself... and do not even get me started on friends who were under the impression that Seberang Perai is a province under the Kedah Darul Aman state *facepalm*

Unfortunately, the same cannot be applied for Penangites who reside on the island. After years of gobbling down the same food, over and over again, our taste buds have grown numb. I cannot help rolling my eyes whenever I have enthusiastic friends from other states asking for my recommendations on what are the must-eats whenever they come over for short holidays.

Gurney Drive hawker centre? Lorong Selamat char koay teow? Bah, all these famous food stalls are nothing but overrated due to some cheap publicity they garnered when the state was trying to promote Penang as a food haven. While non-locals throng these food joints like crows to carcasses, we Penangites are always on the hunt for authentic, succulent, traditionally-passed-down-secret-recipe food stalls that have somehow remained hidden from public eyes all these while.

-sigh-

Okay, I might be exaggerating, but the point is, all that is gold does not glitter. It is not always necessary to cross the Penang Bridge over to the island side in order for you to enjoy a good meal. Last Sunday, I tagged along with a few colleagues to Seberang Perai for dinner and since Alan took his DSLR there, I shall take advantage of his photos to make glimpsing much more convenient for those who are lazy - but faithful - to read; you know who you are. :P

Our destination was Ah Yan Seafood Restaurant in Batu Kawan, somewhere near Bukit Tambun. We ordered ten dishes but the photographer did not manage to snap a photo on all of them as his mouth had intermittently taken control over his hands after the third dish was served.


Fried noodle to warm up our growling stomachs.


Spicy balitong to improve your kissing skill.


Calamari tentacles.


Edible frogs pronounced as water chicken in Hokkien.


Lala-chais and lala-muis.


Cut the CRABs!


Barry demonstrating methods to masturbate penis easily peel off the mantis shrimp's shell.


Three innocent souls having a hard time mast... removing the mantis shrimps' shell.


FORKing fried ice creams.

Altough I would not rate all the dishes 10 out of 10, I would still recommend this restaurant since the price was pretty affordable. As we were done with our dinner pretty fast and early, we decided to hit Wai Sek Gai in Chai Leng Park for a few bowls of Chinese dessert (糖水).


Spot the odd one out.

There are many food stalls here with lots of variety to choose from. If you think Gurney Drive hawker centre is heaven, then I guess Wai Sek Gai must be heaven's rooftop... unless you are the type that require lala-chais with bombastic hairstyle or lala-muis in revealing dress to gawk at in between each bite.

I do not intend to turn this into a food blog so I shall stop here before I get myself hungry at this ungodly hour.

Langkawi island 2009

I have just returned from a two days' trip to Langkawi island with 靖璇 last Sunday and I thought that it will be helpful to write an entry on my itinerary in case any of you are interested to travel there but in the dark on what to do and where to go. However, before you proceed on, keep in mind that Langkawi island is NOT a place where you can expect:

• sandy-white beaches with coconut trees swaying in the wind
• crystal-clear sea with colourful fishes swimming in schools
• beautiful historical landmarks (*cough cough* Padang Beras Terbakar *cough cough*)

To be frank, the only actual reason I decided to visit Langkawi island again after a bad first impression is the cable car ride. Heck, if it was even the slightest bit plausible, I would have opted to sail there in the morning, accomplish my objective and sail home again before the sun sets. Unfortunately, that will require me to rush around, which is counterproductive to what I was trying to achieve there.

There are two modes of transport that you can take to reach Langkawi island in one piece; ferry or flight. The ferry service is available from Penang island, Kedah and Perlis while I have no idea about flying there. If you are planning to go there in a small group of two to four, the ferry ticket - which can be purchased online - is the only thing that you need to worry about, though I would advise you to book yourself a hotel room as backup. A two-way ferry ticket from Penang island will cost you RM115 and approximately six hours of your lifetime with a few options on the departure time; 8.15am or 8.30am from Penang island and 2.30pm or 5.15pm from Langkawi island.


Super Fast Ferry Ventures' ferry is not-so-fast in reality. :P

If you have no one to drive you to the pier, you can have your car taken care of at the open parking lot near the Fort Cornwallis with a price tag of RM18 for every 24 hours. The security there is pretty good as I accidentally left my car overnight with the driver's window winded down but nothing was stolen.


Spending all three hours cooped up inside the wobbling ferry will do you no good so do take some time off to enjoy the gushing sea breeze on the open-air platform at the back of the ferry.

Once you arrive at the Kuah jetty, be prepared to get ambushed by aggressive illegal car rental agents offering you all kind of packages which might include hotel rooms as well. If you did not reserve any prior to departing and wanted to save the hassle of hunting around for available rooms, you may want to consider these unscrupulous agents' offer.

Do take note that somewhere in the Kuah jetty building, there is a booth distributing free Langkawi island maps that are bundled along with advertisement brochures. Forget about GPS for these maps are all you need to navigate your way all over Langkawi island. Even a person with horrible sense of direction like 靖璇 has no problem guiding me around... though we did a few U-turns as the maps were not exactly perfect. :)

We rented ourselves a white Perodua Kelisa for 24 hours from a legitimate car rental booth located just behind the KFC shoplot, at the cost of RM50 with another RM50 as deposit. Imagine my horror when I discovered that it was a manual transmission car, for the last time I drove one was almost four years ago! Taking this into consideration, you may want to request for a catalogue of much more high-end cars as they are usually the semi-automatic transmission type.

These rented cars are more often than not handed over to you with the fuel gauge hitting rock bottom, hence the very first venue that you have to drive to will most probably be the gas station, with the nearest somewhere in Kuah town. As we were strangers in Langkawi island, we foolishly fed the car RM30 worth of fuel, only to realize by the night that RM15 would have sufficed. :(

Most of the hotels in Langkawi island practise check-in time at 3pm so we decided to have our lunch in one of the many kopitiams in Kuah town. Although Langkawi island is famous for being the shopping paradise for duty-free goods, the same cannot be applied to the price of food there. Reading up on reviews on available restaurants near your hotel is strongly advised if you value good food with reasonable price.

Alcoholics and chocoholics can also take this opportunity to stock up on their much-needed resources for there is not much point to come back here again. I got myself a big can of Asahi beer plus an extra small whisky bottle of Jack Daniel's and Chivas Regal each.


Vacation-thwarting clouds.

With the sky looming dark, we rushed back to the Kuah jetty area to visit the Dataran Lang (Eagle Square) since it was just nearby. By the time the clock ticked 2pm, we made our way from the bottom right corner of Langkawi island to the Awana Porto Malai Resort - that I had reserved a week earlier for RM248 - with a buffer time of one hour in the event we got lost along the way.


Langkawi island's very own Statue of Liberty Eagle.


Dataran Bunga Raya (Hibiscus Square) is located just on the other side of Dataran Lang.

Due to the hotel's location at the bottom left corner of Langkawi island, I had more or less calculated the time required for travel to a selected few places for the day. The hotel is three storeys high but consists of five interconnected blocks with the room assigned to us located on the first floor, first room of the last block. You should see the puzzled look on our faces while searching for our room, one block after another. Strange enough, the receptionist requested for a deposit of RM100 even though I had completed the full transaction through the Internet.


Four more blocks to go. :S


Our next destination?

We took a minor rest to unpack our belongings before heading out to the Oriental Village where the cable car base station is located at. I did try to give the cable car station a few calls - +604 959 4225 - to confirm that they were operating as the sky was terribly cloudy but no one picked them up. As luck has it, the sky cleared up a bit by the time we reached the top left corner of Langkawi island. Do remember to produce your MyKad at the ticket counter as this will allow you to purchase the two-way ticket at a lower price of RM15 per passenger.


The Oriental Village entrance.


The cable car is not the only attraction in the Oriental Village.


Our RM15 credit card.

I am not a fan of height so no point describing the experience of going up the Gunung Machinchang, though I must admit that the Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) waterfall that came into sight along the way was pretty eye-catching. It goes without saying that the scenery from the top of Gunung Machinchang was simply breathtaking, provided that there are not much clouds to obstruct your view of the landscapes below. I actually witnessed a number of visitors - particularly those from the Middle East - who took the cable car up, only to make an immediate U-turn back to the base station without coming out which left me scratching my head in disbelief.


"Oh shit, we are PLUMMETING!"


Telaga Tujuh waterfall.


Langkawi International Airport's wave breaker and Pantai Kok islands.


Telaga Harbour Park and Pantai Kok.

Over here, you have two viewing platforms that you can climb up to but they are nothing compared to the curved suspension bridge. Walking along the swaying pathway, I could not help visualizing the scenario of the bridge collapsing all the way into the deep valley below. Every time something hit my toes, I would quickly check inside my bag to ensure that nothing - especially the ingredient - was lost. If it was not for the crowd, I reckon that this would be a suitable altitude for me to initiate my barbeque session.


On top of the world viewing platform.


Langkawi island's biggest smile from the sky.


At this height, even leaning on the railing will not give you any slight sense of security.


If I draw out from my bag an extra big pair of scissors, will the crowd leave us alone?

After some sightseeing, we decided to go down and this was when my heart started beating like a war drum. We waited and waited for the crowd to dissipate in order to have a cable car of our own but those idiots who refused to come out really make me felt like kicking them down the mountain since they were the main reason why the crowd kept building up. After more than 30 minutes of hanging around, we managed to spot an empty cable car which we wasted no time in jumping in... only to have an European couple bursting in before the door could close completely.

超级白!

超级白!

超级白!

Gone! Poof! This was the very reason why I came all the way to Langkawi island and thanks to these two ang-mohs who appeared out of nowhere, a few months worth of preparation disappeared into the thin mountain air.

-sigh-

I was literally sulking all the way down to the base station and by then, it was already almost 6pm. Our next destination was the Underwater World but we decided to postpone it to the next day to avoid unnecessary rush and instead headed east towards the Pantai Pasir Hitam (Black Sand Beach) which was highly recommended by 靖璇's twin sister. In my mind, I was fantasizing about how a beach with black smooth sand and a sunset as background could compensate for the disappointment I had in the cable car earlier. What greeted me later was a smelly, dirty, quiet beach with nothing to see except for a few pipes coughing up food wastes from the adjacent hawker food stalls.


Not-so-black sands.

In case you do not understand, avoid Pantai Pasir Hitam at all costs!


"One small bottle of Cactus mineral water, please."

With the sun halfway down the horizon, we agreed to call it a day and set out for dinner. I did a search on the Internet prior to the trip and a found a lot of thumbs up for Cactus Restaurant, which was conveniently situated at Pantai Tengah - same area as our hotel. The restaurant is a very-down-to-earth type with no air-conditioner and I noticed that a lot of foreigners like to dine there with a number of them having scribbled their testimonials on the ceiling in the past. The waiters there are not only very friendly but multilingual as well with great varieties of tasty food to boot. After an hour or so, we retreated back to our hotel room in jolly good mood with full stomach.


Fancy having your meal under a chalk graffiti'd ceiling?

Instead of beach, Awana Porto Malai Resort has an elevated wooden platform constructed between the hotel and the crashing waves. Although it was quite nice to have a stroll on, my only gripe is that it was a tad too quiet during the night, almost bordering on seclusion. After surveying around and with the day - 25th has always been particularly memorable to the both of us - coming to an end, I have no choice but to pop the long-awaited question under a starless sky with the ingredient laid bare in front of 靖璇's eyes. I did not attempt the traditional down on one knee position as there were people close-by or I would risk her running away due to embarrassment.


Awana Porto Malai Resort's very own backyard.

We spent the rest of the night watching the English-dubbed Kung Fu Hustle that was broadcast on the Vision Four channel, testing the alcoholic beverage that I bought in Kuah town - none tasted good - and played a few rounds of card game before we hit the bed. A word of advice is to shop for a pack of ice or two - if you need them - from the convenient stores along the road as the hotel may charge you an exorbitant bill for one.


My preciousss... ingredient!


嫁给我吗?

And no you perverts, nothing intimate happened in the course of the night. :P

The next morning, we had our complimentary breakfast before checking out at 11am for the Underwater World, a mere 10 minutes drive away. Similar to the cable car ride, flaunting off your MyKad at the ticket counter will earn you a RM10 discount instead of the normal RM38 per head. The built-up area is pretty humongous so be prepared to spend approximately an hour and a half there - or more if you are an enthusiastic photographer. In my opinion, the seals and penguins are the main attractions there, hence you might want to time your visit with their feeding hours.


What are flamingoes doing in the Underwater World? O.o"


Spot the two little Marmosets?


Penguins playing hide-and-seek.


Dead fat cat. Sleeping otter.


African Nemo?


Wow, look at the spiky, green seagrass!

Since the car rental duration expired at 1pm, we had to cut-short our photo snapping session and hurry back to the Kuah jetty. After a simple meal at the KFC as our lunch, we got stuck at the customs for a while before boarding our ferry back to Penang island. Alcoholics are to bear in mind that there is a certain limit on the amount of alcoholic drinks that you can carry out of Langkawi island, failing which will incur duty tax on the spot. If your ferry stops halfway in the middle of nowhere, fret not as there may be passengers dropping off or picking up at the Payar island, though this will burn another 30 minutes of your life away.

Total amount spent for the trip this time was less than RM700 for two, which is pretty okay I guess. No doubt that there may be many more interesting places that I did not manage to visit but to summarize it all up, the trip to Langkawi island WAS in fact, my barbeque pit. :)