Friday, December 5, 2008

Penang - day 1 (25 Nov 2008)

Right, the journal continues. Despite my prayers for the train to be very delayed, it reached Butterworth a few mins to 5am. Even though not on time it was not late enough (You can read about the train ride here). HB knocked on our cabin door at 4am with Balqis behind him. Yasmin & I were already awake. Yasmin at 3am & I earlier than that. I could hardly sleep. The moment my eyes were about to surrender in dreamland, the train would somehow stop at a station & another & another. Maybe I did sleep for 3 hours the most.

Somebody did not seem to be disturbed slumbering though. The dead to the world on a train ride award went to.... Nadeen & Wardah. They continued sleeping until the announcement about the train approaching Butterworth Station made ;-)

Now, check us out. Face washed, teeth brushed at 5 in the morning. My girls were not grumpy at all... excited yes as the trip was only the beginning.




The train we were in. It sure was long. Didn't have the chance to explore the train from one end to another though.



The only family portrait for this Penang trip. Good that it turned out OK despite us without a shower... ;-)



To kill time, we hung out at the station whilst waiting for the Subuh Azan.



The deco of the station. Some antiques used then.


None of the girls went back to sleep. Yasmin was looking around the station with HB, reading the charts or any info pasted on the notice board. Nadeen was entertained by the other 2 sisters. When thirsty, I nursed her. The vacant stroller was made use by Wardah & Balqis. Taking turn pushing with one inside. Imagine how cheerful that morning was for us... hahaha!

After performing
Subuh prayer, it was still too early to get the ferry. We wanted the girls to experience the ferry ride upon sunrise. It wouldn't be fun in darkness.

We then decided to look around outside the station premises.... to snap snap snap! First, only this mischievous two posing at the railway track.




Yasmin then joined them.



They looked like having a great time. It reminded me of a musical video of a local band... apa ya? I too wanted a pose on a railway track! Imagine doing this in KL... hahaha!



Nadeen simply watched the silly us from her stroller.



We found this old train. Didn't get the chance to read about it as it was still dark. But gambar mesti ambil... ;-)



At half past 6, we made a move to the jetty which was very nearby.




The ticket prices



We were in the Pulau Undan ferry.



Next to us, the Pulau Rimau.



The girls' first ferry ride. The morning breeze was very cooling.



HB entertained Nadeen as I was busy with the camera.



The Pulau Pinang ferry.



Of course this 2 could not sit still but it was rather too dark for them to enjoy the view.



This girl of mine chose to read! She brought along one of her Secret Seven books.



This was at the jetty in Penang island. If I'm not mistaken Pengkalan Raja Tun Uda.



From the jetty, HB wanted to take us to Padang Kota Lama. Wanted to have breakfast & visit the fort there. But it was closed & no breakfast either. We enjoyed the bus ride though. Never been in Rapid KL but we did in Rapid Penang ;-)



From Padang Kota, we walked to search for a place to eat. You should be there to witness us going in circles ... hahaha! At this point the girls were still OK. So, what do you think of us in this picture? We called ourselves the Amazing Race Family Team ;-)



Notice that HB had Wardah in his left hand, Nadeen in his right arm & not to mention the weight on his back... Who do you think was in the stroller? Balqis... who else? We rather carried Nadeen than her...


We settled with a mamak restaurant. Mustaffa if I'm not mistaken. The camera person was too tired & hungry to even shoot any pic at the restaurant. We had the regular of roti canai, roti telur and tosai for me. Even Nadeen had her share of my tosai. And the iced Milo was really, really kaw!

With full tummies, we refused to walk. A trishaw man wanted RM10 for the ride to our hotel. Obviously at least 2 trishaws had to endure the weight we carried. But we need a shower so badly & fast... A taxi stopped by & the girls were all smiling. Off to the hotel we went.

Once at Dorsett, we hit the shower. Cleaner but not fresher. We surrendered ourselves to the luxury of a proper bed. No swaying, no stopping, no moving. By 10am, all of us slept like a log.

At noon, we had lunch in the room. Nay... not room service! Penang is known for her lovely foods. HB sneaked while we were asleep & bought us our lunch.
Nasi Padang Penang style. Again, no pictures... Not that I was famished but too occupied feeding my platoon. Hehehe!

I had made arrangements for a rental car earlier. Hence after
Zohor prayer with jamaq takdim, we explored Penang. Well, with such limited time we could not cover everything. Told the girls to choose the place they wanted to go from the Penang-tour brochure. Penang Hill was omitted from the plan upon finding out that the cable car was on service. What's thrill of Penang Hill without the cable car?

They chose to go to the Toy Museum. Situated somewhere in Tanjung Bungah, in front of the Copthorne.


According to HB, the museum used to be a disco. From the interior inside, I could tell. The museum was worth going to. Even though it looked like a budget museum, the girls even us were fascinated with the collection of toys. Enjoy the pics.

"Kak Yasmin, look your first Barbie." "Wardah, remember this Barbie" "Aqis nak semua... Aqis nak semua...." Adoiii!



Barbie, more Barbie!



Jack Sparrow




Lara Croft



Shrek



Batman



Spiderman



Monster inc.


And also Eddie the Head. For Iron Maiden fans this is not foreign. This is kind of nostalgic to me... hahaha! How shall I put this? I've known HB for a long time... & the first thing that he gave me was a small note with a sketch of this Eddie the Head. That's him in his own romantic way! Hahaha! I still keep it somewhere at my parents'.


After the museum it was already 5pm. Asked the girls where they wanted to go & simultaneously... the beach! Butterfly park, the aquarium, batik craft did not really get their attention. So off we headed to Teluk Bahang.

When it comes to the beach we take extra careful. Both HB & I are no good swimmers. Hence, the girls understood... beach time would only restricted to sand play, kite flying, picnic & water play by the beach. Hahaha!


These are the photos taken at Teluk Bahang.



Once at the beach, they knew no dipping in the water without adults' supervision. So, they played with the sand.



Beach boy is here... off to the water girls! Hehehe!



Having fun with the waves by the beach.. ;-)



Balqis at first was afraid...



After a few attempts, she agreed to join the fun.



This girl really had a wonderful time unlike...



this one... Poor Nadeen! Wait until you can walk independently OK.


We spent about an hour there & by the time freshened up, it was almost dinner. I really wanted to eat ikan bakar in Penang but it was drizzling. To kill time & hoping for the rain to stop, we took a ferry to the mainland. Besides meeting my good friend & helped ourselves to a late dinner/almost supper in Permatang Pauh (sorry no pics, as my friend was not keen with the idea), HB wanted the girls to experience being in a car & on a ferry. They had a good time! We were also blessed to be parked on the first lane, in front (Sorry, no more photos for the night. Was too tired to even press the shoot button...hehehe)

Another reason for driving all the way to the mainland was for the girls to experience the ride on the Penang Bridge. We were going back the next day by plane so it was the only opportunity. Half way through the bridge Yasmin, Nadeen & yours truly dozed off. Balqis didn't even make it to the bridge! Only Wardah was awake assisting to navigate HB to our hotel. What I heard, they were lost. How?, Where?, When? No idea. HB woke us up when we reached the hotel.

*to be continued

18 comments:

MAMAMIA said...

Adventurous sungguh famili ni....

Mesti your kids happy sangat...

Ezza Aziz said...

Jar,Kami telah ke Penang last April.
Memang best but one thing ialah jalan dia banyak one way saje.

Nak pergi ke pasar Chowratsa tu,kami dok pusing sampai berkali kali. The locals pun tak boleh di harap..At last ada sorang pakcik ni sudi jadi rider kami.Sebenar nya tak jauh mana pun...cuma jalan berbelit2.

shahid said...

best sgt reading this post... waaaay better than reading sophie kinsella's ( wink2) jangan marah.. i know u r a die hard fan of SK..hee...he..

SpiderLily said...

MAMA,WHY DIDN'T U TELL THEM ABOUT THE BEACH SHOWER? U KNOW, THE 1 THAT HAS NO ROOF.(HEHEHE)

MrsNordin said...

It amazes me how you managed to maintain your charm and appear so calm travelling with a baby and 3 young kids like that. Some more naik ferry/taxi like that! Aiyo... I sure stress punya!

I'm travelling next week with hubby & children. And I'm so worried now takut I lose my cool!

wanshana said...

Ja,

I just love all the pics when your kids posed in the Toy Museum tuh! So cute and so kelakar. Yang tak tahan tu - si Lara Croft junior you tu, siap "tonggek" real. HAHAHAHA!!!

Lovely, lovely photos indeed. And i'm sure you all had such a lovely time in Penang :)

Dalam Dakapan Ibu said...

Fun-Fun-Fun! Enjoy sakan nampak..hehehe... Jangan lupa pekena Nasik Kandaq Line clear nanti!

jabishah said...

Mamamia,

Mama famili ni bukannya lah adventurous sangat tapi papanye ye laa. Kids of course happy sangat. Demi anak2 ku kuatkan semangat menjadi Megan McCormick! Hehehe...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

jabishah said...

Kak Ezza,

Ye laa. Jln One way aja kan. HB tu OK jugklah with the town area sbb slalu jgk ke sana tapi bila driving mmglah confused.

Chowratsa tu we all pergi. Nanti dlm next sequel Ja akan tulis. Nasib kak Ezza mentioned dlm comment ari tu. Klu HB mmg tak kisah pun nak pergi sana...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha...

jabishah said...

Shahid,

Hahahaha... Jgn kutuk2 my SK tu. But I know not everyone can appreciate her work.

Thanks. Glad you liked it. One more post on Penang. Perhaps after raya.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha...

ps- I gave your blog url to Puteq ;-)

jabishah said...

Yasmin,

Yes.. I totally forgot about that one. Should have snapped some photos too right? Why didn't I? Oooh.. I was nursing Nadeen in the car. Good that you mentioned it. Now my readers know ;-) Thank you darling!

ms hart said...

Huiyoo Jabishah....I surrender dulu baca post ni!! Subuh sepi'i pun senyum colgate trademark you tetap tak tinggal!! Tabik!!

Bolehlah your girls tulis composition on transportation!! Dari train, sampai ke ferry, bas, taxi, plane!!! Mujur tak de kayak ke..!! he he Was there last December. Jammed teruk sangat masa tu! Yours looks like jam-free, eh? Lucky you! Otherwise, waste time je, kan?!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha, ya.

[danial][ma] said...

hej! jabishah...happy holidays and happy eid adha mubaraq...

jabishah said...

Mrs.N,
Well, only pic with charms & controlled cool selected...;-) It was easy traveling with Nadeen as she is still bf. The 2 elder girls are big enough to keep an eye on Balqis & on top of that I am granted with this voice that none of the girls is fond of.
All the best with your trip... have fun!
About the cuppies. Tx. I knew Nizzar wld love them ;-)

jabishah said...

Kak Ja,
Mmmg fun. Yup, Line Clear.. dah pekena dah! ;-)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

jabishah said...

Tx danial. Same goes to you..

jabishah said...

Hi Kak Shana,

Hahaahaaa... tang tonggek yg mahal tu. After your comment I viewed the pic again & realised my typo on lara croft. Edited. Tx for highlighting.

They had fun yes but not so many places nak pergi pun in Penang...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

jabishah said...

Hahahaa.. ms hart,

Itu signature senyum is platered whenever ada cam. Tak mandi pun.... but lipstick kena refresh. Heheheehe.

Ye lah, mostly all means of transportation ada but not trishaw tho. Saving it for Malacca! ;-D