放假

圣诞前夕那天便一直为家事忙进忙出，今天难得父母 “准假”，总算争取到属于自己的一天!

早上出门，先到Square 2 吃了碗广东粥配油条。Super yummy! 店家还在店里摆了一锅热腾腾的咖喱鸡，任客人自取。我也盛了点试试，果然很赞。怪不得这么多人点他们家的咖喱鸡面。 下次我也要叫一份！

Mian 的工作地点就在乌节路一带, 我和她共进午餐后顺道shopping。

同样系列的化妆品用了多年，是时候 update。自2002年［冬季恋歌］播出后，韩流便入侵亚洲，“哈韩”指数一直飙升，这些年来从未下降过，欧美日的产品似乎已passé。改用韩国品牌［兰芝］，让肤色看起来明亮，更有精神，好好地迎接新的一年。

走累了，吃份凉豆花，度过一个写意的下午。

庆幸

某天惊觉竟然忘了跟Mian 庆生！让她悄悄地度过了50岁，真不好意思哪。上週五我 找Mian吃午饭，顺便给她补上生日礼物。相聚的时间只有短短的一个多小时，已足够让我心情up一整天！

认识我的人都知道我宅的很，工作以外很少跟人交流，朋友不多。近年来因为父亲的关系我下班后几乎都谢绝所有的应酬，赶在9点之前回到家。好多人不知道我家里的情况（也不曾试着去了解），认为我冷漠，孤独，或怪异 。先是对我嘲笑、讽刺，然后逐渐地疏远我。只有Mian体恤我。 每次一起吃晚饭她都尽早赴约，饭后总赶紧让她老公开车送我回家，免得我父亲忧郁。 

与Mian碰面，多半是我情绪激昂地倾诉着，Mian 静静地宁听，偶然给点意见和分享些人生哲学。朋友对我述说家里的情况感时往往感到到不满，我不能怪她们因为在许多人的心目中父母是神圣的。佩服她们能把不愉快或不满都藏在心底。不得不承认我还没修到这副美德。其实我需要的只是一个能发泄的空间 , a listening ear。Mian对我申诉的从不曾谴责或质疑，也不会用自己的价值观硬套在我身上。

我非常珍惜我和Mian之间的友谊。很庆幸Mian新的工作地点与我的只相隔两个地铁站，希望我们能够多见面。

哈罗！我的50 岁

真不敢相信我已经走过半个世纪了，已经人到半百！

三天前，Hwee Mian请了几位平时谈得来的亲朋好友到她家里吃火锅。花了一番功夫呢，因为Mian当天下班后必须赶到超市买需要的材料，然后又匆匆地回家弄汤底！虽说是为了小聚，但Mian 的妹妹 Choo 还是去买了个蛋糕。大伙儿－Mian 和她的先生、Choo 和她的先生与女儿、Mei San带着两个小不点 －接着连Elaine 也赶在切蛋糕前赶到了。Mian 的心意让我温暖好久。 

Tammy 特地从香港跑来新加波为我庆生，真的好感动！Tammy喜欢shopping, 她来我家小住的这几天，在 Orchard Road 的每一座 mall 都给我两从头到尾的扫了一遍。其实我不爱闲逛，更不喜欢吃肉骨茶和韩国炸鸡但因为Tammy爱吃，我也乐意陪着。

我是个生活中追求平淡的人。 知音，不需多言，要用心去交流。朋友，有你们我很幸福。

Weekend in Penang (Part 2)

BATU FERRIGHI

Sun, sand and sea

That’s Elaine up there. What can I say? She’s up for anything!

PENANG HILL 升旗山

About 6 kilometres from the city centre of Georgetown is Penang Hill. You need to take a 10-minute train to get to the top of the hill. A return ticket on the Swiss-made funicular train is MYR30 for tourists. MYR8 for locals. It was raining hard so we didn’t explore. Apparently there is much to see – a bird sanctuary, canopy walk (suspension bridge over the tree tops) and guided nature trails. Maybe next time!

STREET FOODS !

If your idea of a good holiday is fine dining, and being stuck in air-conditioned malls then Penang may not be the place for you.  Penang is where street food rules.  It'll be pointless to go to Penang and not dine al fresco.  I'm glad I have like-minded travel companions.

Fried chicken from the Indian stall at the corner of the street?  On!

Wait 25 minutes for a plate of fried kway teow?   No problem.

Eat lor mee in a rundown coffee shop?   Love the retro feel.

No tables at the famous chendol stall?   Do what the local does – slurp from bowls while standing by the road.

Raining cats and dogs while dining al fresco?   Open up three large umbrellas and place them in strategic positions.  Continue eating.

Oh, how we enjoyed the street food!  It's no surprise that Penang was ranked by CNN Travel as one of the top ten street food cities in Asia. 

Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee)

This Prawn Noodle is very popular and usually sold out by midday. We were fortunate to have met Stanley and hired him as our driver. He went to the stall early to place our orders before picking us up at our hotel.

Stewart Lane: Lor Mee

Located just beside the century old Goddess of Mercy temple, the stall has been operating from the current location since 1957 until the present. This Hai Beng Lor Mee is currently being run by its 2nd and 3rd generation direct descendants. This Lor Mee brings back some good childhood memories of my grandmother and I, slurping lor mee while seated on low wooden stools outside the wet market on 

Sunday mornings. 

Lorong Selamat: Char Kuay Teow

We had to wait for about 25 minutes for this one.

Lebuh Keng Kwee: famous Teochew Chendul and Jooi Hooi Café Char Kway Teow

Sorry, I slurped up the chendul real quickly so I can only show you a photo of the char kway teow -- LOL!  Stanley informed us that this stall uses duck egg.  Frankly, I couldn't tell if it tastes any different from hen egg.

$$

How much does a 3 day 2 night trip to Penang work out to? Well, my share came up to:

Airfare: SGD124
Hotel: SGD160
Food + Driver: MYR200 (SGD80)
Train (Penang Hill): MYR30 (SGD12)
TOTAL: SGD376

Worth every ringgit.

Read Part One

Weekend in Penang (Part 1)

Spent last weekend in Penang with Hwee Mian, Elaine and Clarise.  We covered a lot of ground in 2.5 days! We pranced from flea market to vintage shops, leapt from beach to hill, enjoyed street art and hawker foods, explored historical landmarks. 

We had such a great time, we never want to leave.

Some facts about Penang: The name “Penang Island” (槟榔屿 or “Island of the Betel Nut”) first appeared in the nautical charts of Zheng He during his expedition to the South Sea in the 15th century. Its capital, George Town was inscribed on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage list in 2007. Even though the town isn’t large, its population is diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and religion. I love it that the architecture is alive, with the most amazing heritage buildings in a variety of styles, including Chinese clan houses, mosques, Peranakan terraces, distinguished colonial buildings, all in varying stages of restoration.
 

MUNTRI MEWS 马车房

We stayed in a hotel located on Muntri Street, which has one of the best preserved row of 19th century Straits Eclectic style houses.  These grand terraces had mews, or private stables for horse carriages, with staff quarters upstairs.  Muntri Mews is beautifully restored, infused with Malay, Chinese and European influences.

Muntri Mews

77 Lebuh Muntri

10050 Georgetown

Penang, Malaysia

+60 4 263 5125

www.muntrimews.com

Muntri Mews has only 9 rooms. We occupied twin rooms downstairs. The larger guest rooms are located upstairs. The cafe serves a decent selection of breakfast that includes scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, roti prata, nasi lemak, cinnamon French toast and fresh fruits.

 KAU KENG CHU 九间屋

“Nine Houses” on Kek Chuan Road

CHEW CLAN JETTY 姓周桥

We visited a Clan Jetty. What’s a Clan Jetty, you ask? A clan jetty is a Chinese settlement on the waterfront built by immigrants the mid-19th century. Being fishermen or coolies who worked at the port, they preferred to live near the water so they built their houses on stilts over the water. 

People who came from the same village back home in China ban together as a Clan and built their own jetty. The one we visited was the Chew Clan Jetty.  It is the longest and best preserved Clan Jetties along Weld Quay.

Of the places we visited in Penang, this is my favourite. Once inside I was transported back to a time when children played with glass marbles and indulged in ice popsicles.  And granny sat on her front porch and struck up conversations with neighbours who passed by.

STREET ART

Street art dot the landscape.

“Reaching Up” by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic

"Little Children on Bicycle” by Ernest Zacharevic

“Children on the Swing” by Penang’s deaf and mute artist Louis Gan. The road sign “Step by Step Lane” is installed as part of the art work and is not an actual road sign.

“Children Playing Basketball” by Louis Gan. This piece of art work is perceived as sloppy by critics and general comments are “The girl seems to be levitating, like she's on helium, while the boy is way out of proportion”.

Read Part Two