Holiday in Penang Part 1

And so, I took a Holiday.

Yep, you heard me. I took a Holiday.

Under the extreme advice of the Home Ministry, of course.

I was not so keen on taking one because there was so much work to do and this year, its a very difficult year for me, mentally and... well, let's just stop at the mental part. Anyway, there are a lot of reasons for this Holiday. For one, I need to deliver some stuff to a certain person. Two, I need to relax. And three, the girls need a break from disturbing everyone and screaming in the house.

On the night before, we have packed everything and made sure that its all in the car and not in the house. Not only that, for a normal drive up to Penang, it would take us about four hours. But for us, with the girls, the trip took a little longer.....

The Drive Up There
Driving long distance used to be one of my favourite past times (heh) due to my work but now, its even more fun. The only difference is that this time, I had the whole family to keep me occupied so that I do not fall asleep. Even the thumbdrive full of MP3s were of no help until Barney came in and they sang along. And this is one of those drives which I really did not need to speed or hurry along.

So, this is the package which I must hand over to a
secret person within a certain hour. Very cloak and
dagger stuff but I was assured there would be no
suspicious substances in there. And he did not even
give me a Cyanide pill either.

Barely an hour into the journey, we stopped by the
Sg. Buloh Overhead Bridge rest stop. If I am not
mistaken, this would be the girls's second visit.

For their sake, we went to KFC for breakfast. Again,
we were fooled by the posters because when the
chickens were being served, well, I have no words
to describe it, except for the usual "WTF?"

Luckily for me, both girls do not want the mashed
potatoes, which I accepted with relish. These are
the best treats because once you add in a dollop of
those Thai Chili sauce, its heaven. OK, pink heaven.

Although its a weekday morning, the mood in the
restaurant feels very empty. Its like as if we're
the last persons on Earth.
(You can see Kristine running in the background)

And for some inexplicable reason, I wanted to leave
the place as soon as possible. OK, if you must know,
under the chair/s I was sitting on, there were some
very suspicious oily patches and other yellow stuff
which I accidentally happen to come into contact
with when I was moving the chair closer. Yucks.

Further on, there was an accident where a lorry
overturned. I am not sure what those big white
bundles were but at least the girls were not bored.

And not only that, the Police were having a field
day catching those speed freaks who overtook
us earlier on. Was I happy? No. Because it has
nothing to do with us. Yeah, time has changed.

Next stop, Tapah (or is it?) where as usual, I am
mesmerised by this decor. You can click on this
image for a bigger view as I took it with the Nokia
n8's Panorama.

Its almost lunchtime and so, we stopped for some
fruits and bits of snack so that the girls won't make
any noises or complains about being hungry.

As usual, I took the Nasi Lemak.
This is something I do from my
previous job where when we did
an outstation trip, we would stop
for some food which usually ends
up being Nasi Lemak.

And so, without much problems, we continued on
our journey. The reason I had these stops, apart
from making sure their bowels are empty, is to
make sure they do not fall asleep at the wrong time.

Yes, I wanted them to see and experience the Penang
Bridge. Alas, Kaelynn fell asleep as we crossed the
bridge. It was a magnificent sight for Kristine, though.

Finally, we arrived at the Hotel, which was called
Paradise Sandy Beach located in Tanjung Bungah.
We actually booked this room via Internet and I
also made a boo-boo due to the dates. Luckily,
they were happy to amend my error without
any extra charges. Again, you might want to
click on the image as its a n8 Panorama.

And this is the bedroom, which after this shot,
we moved the beds. Oh, another reason why
the girls loved Hotels were that they can fill
the bathtub to the full and slosh around

Uncle Aaron
Aaron was my sort of replacement best friend in work. During the late 90's where the economy went south, everyone was very demotivated. But we kept our wits up by challenging each other who is the first to piss the Boss off everyday. Yep, that was fun and not only that, in a weird sense, it made the work bearable. We went almost everywhere, from Night Markets to late night dinners and, well, other places which was a bit crazy now that I think of it. But I can tell you, he was the fun guy and the most rambunctious (vocally) to boot. There was no fear in his statement or syllables. Yeah, he was there when Kristine was a baby and held her too.

After checking in to the Hotel, we
called up Uncle Aaron and he brought
us to the Kek Lok Si Temple. And I am
so amazed and humbled by the 120 feet
bronze Kuan Yin Statue. Unfortunately,
it was under some construction.

And so, he brought us around the temple grounds
instead. Here, the girls went absolutely wild with
all the 12 statues.

You need to click on this image to see better. I love
this scenery. A lot.
(Taken with Nokia n8's Panorama App)

Bridge shot

Bench shot

Later on, the girls followed me to for prayers while
Mommy and Uncle Aaron had some private talks.

A few minutes after this session, the music stopped
and everyone was packing. Yes, the temple closes
closes around 5PM or so.

And now, for some inside jokes which no one would
ever understand except for those who did.

Kristine was not happy when we
returned to find the main door
closed. She was knocking non stop.

Another n8 Panoramic shot. Please click on the
image for a better picture.

Did you still not get the joke?

One more try...
No? OK, its time to go home anyway.

The temple is located at the top of the Hill and so, on
our journey back, it was quite a ride. You can say that
everything went downhill

Not only that, I realised that it is not possible to
capture the mood from the perspective of a camera
lens. So, dear Readers, please put your monitor
screen on the floor and then do the Ostrich pose...

Much later, we had dinner at the Food Court
and since we're early, most of the shops
were not opened yet. Which is strange
because its now past 7PM.

The girls fooled me with this one. I thought it was
a special satay only to discover that they poked
another bamboo skewer...

But its still cute to just look at them doing that. I'll
bet that no one else has thought of this idea.

As the evening wore on, more
and more food were brought in
and it was a thrill for the girls
who had never eaten the good
stuff in Penang.

You can tell that they
loved the food a lot.

And after the initial order, we had to order more.

It was fun to catch up with Uncle Aaron again, after
so many years. I mean, I always hear his voice on
the phone but not his ugly mug. Wah ha ha ha ha!

By now, you would also have
noticed that Kristine is getting
quite good at holding her chopsticks

Later on, back in the Hotel, I finally found out that
there is a high possibility that there would be no
wake-up call service.

OK, with the Kids settling down and Mommy taking
care of them, its time for me to rest up a bit as the
next itinery for the night is...

Yep. Explorin the Hotel's swimming pool

Plus, this would be the girls's first time on a beach.

And boy, are they scared. First, they are scared of
those tiny little crabs that scuttle around and also
digs into the sand. They are so fast, it was not an
easy task to step on them.

And secondly, they were scared of the waves. It
was a bit funny to see them clinging on to
Mommy and screaming for dear Life
everytime the sea water came in.

For me, it was hard to catch these little buggers
(Not that I wanted to, anyway)

Night Panorama Shot. Click to enlarge, K?

In the end, although it was
exciting and funny, the joke
was on us as we ended up
carrying them all the way
back to the Hotel's Lobby

And now, for the remaining itinery for the night...

Which is to meet up with one Mr. Benny,
who is a fan of Dr. Who/Star Trek/Star Wars/
Green Lantern/Iron Man/Thor/X-men, etc.
It was an inseparable moment, I tell you.
Want to see what got him so fascinated?

An extremely rare Die-cast Star Trek NCC1701 toy,
which, of all places in Malaysia, was being displayed
in front of us as we were both talking. Unfortunately,
there were no one about to sell it to him since it was
very late into the night.

And not only that, a James Bodn Gyrocopter too

And so, after all that, it was now the time for me to
REALLY enjoy myself.

And what better way then to drink all the melted
Mango/Nata de Coco Ice I bought during dinner.

Seriously, after a few hours in front of the TV, it was time to go to sleep. And we had to share the beds, making it very uncomfortable. Note to self: Next time bring my own pillow and blanket...

XL-SHop HQ

Its been years since I've been to XL-Shop's HQ in Ampang. In fact, its close to almost ten years. The very first time I was there, it was like suddenly, as if I was in Santa's place. But in reality, I know this wasn't true because unlike Santa's place, this one has price tags. Everything and anything was there and wel.. heck... its just there.

Personally, it was more of a time machine for me too. Or, should I say, walking inside a time machine with unpredictable worm holes. OK, OK, for those of you who are not familiar, think of it as a unorganised storeroom of a toys museum. At the front of the counter, you would have the latest toys all displayed. But as you move further back, you can see older toys that are years old. And sometimes, when you though you have seen it all, you would unexpectedly do a double-take and look closer because hidden in the there would be more toys you have never even seen before. And so, this was how I can relay my joy when I was there. It was also the same for me when I went there the fist time many years ago.

But there was one difference. I was looking for an item which they do not have but I have seen it on their shop located in The Empire. "So, why did I not buy it there and then, you asked?", "Simple, you fool", I would have replied. In fact, I would reply using the tone of a nonchalant smelly fart who, by miracles of miracles, bothered to reply to a lowly peasant who disgraced himself with a cheap RM9.90 deodorant bought in a cheap sale, "Because, you fool, I could ot count past one."

So, what the girl did was, being short for amazing, she Skyped all other shops to get them to look for it. Afterall, this is HQ and no one dares to say NO. Eventually, after a few minutes, one responded and can deliver it to HQ to me. But in the end, I decided to go there myself and they promised to keep it for me. Was it the Empire Branch?

Nope. It was Mid-Valley, of all places. Not bad.

On they way out, the I noticed that there was a
big fair for Chinese goods. I did not notice this
was I came direct from the basement carpark.

And you can tell that the Fair was a huge success
with all the customers visiting and the sales reps
being kept off their feet.

Funny Dinner

Well, nothing funny la. Just that I want to spice up
this post. Anyway, I have successfully made the two
tosai sauces last beyond two hours by putting them
in the fridge. They usually go bad after 2PM.

And since there are some left-over non- crispy
crackers, I decided to spread the surviving sauce on
it. Boy, it was delicious but because it has lost its
crispiness, it was like eating soggy biscuits.

Remember the Teluk Gong trip?
Yep, thats the deeep fried sotong
we doggy bagged. Kristine was eating
her rice and it was boring.

Because both girls were eyeing
the steamed chicken the whole
night.

Well, once each of them
got their own drumstick,
you can see their eating
habits...

Kaelynn uses a bowl...

...while Kristine, well, uses
a pair of scissors.

Batman Begins Grappling Gun

This is one of the fastest delivery I have ever got. It arrive in less than a week. But then again, this is from Singapore. But if it was up to me, I can get it in less than a day. However, driving down there and up again is not a way to spend to much time and money for a little piece of plastic costing not more than RM60. I could save money but not time by cycling there but somehow, common sense insists I just pay for the postage, then shut up and wait...

I mean, have you ever cycled using a GPS to Singapore? There are so many problems to start with even when the bike has not gotten past the door. For example, you would have to modify both the dynamo and your phones car charger so that you can charge your phone while you're cycling. If not, you'd be lost in under an hour. Also, once you have gotten past that problem, you would have to maintain your cycling speed for the dynamo to work. In other words, you have to cycle very fast.

Thank goodness the GPS does not come with a voice (Nokia's OVI Surfer Dude voice) that kept saying, "What's the matter' dude? You're way below the legal speed limit." every few minutes. And we're not even finished with what you need to wear for the trip either...

So, now, it is so easy to just clickety click with the mouse...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnndddd, here it is!

Its the Batman 1/6 Grappling gun. I am not getting
the 1/1 scale not because of the Customs but the price.

Still, for that scale, it is very big.

And how big? Well, it is just about to hit the
6cm mark. I wonder if I can recast them and
do a crazy diorama out of it at a later stage....

Going to Klang

Although today is a Sunday, it is still a School Holiday for the girls and it was going to be a treat because we decided to eat out! And not just a normal 'eat out' trip, mind you. We're going to Teluk Gong for seafood. Teluk Gong has a special spot in my heart because it contained a lot of memories for me. For one, during my first job, we went there to celebrate a colleague's last day and on another occasion, mine. Not only that, I was there with my family and my newly kidnapped slav...er, Wife because...

because...

because it was the only place I could think of at that time for seafood besides Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin in Northport Klang. Then we heard stories about robberies and so, we stopped going there for a while. I can't remember the details but someone told me that a gang of robbers would surround the whole restaurant and all the patrons would be forced to handover their belongings. Now that, is not something that I would look forward to.

And so, before we got into
the car, the girls struck a
pose for the Nokia n8

And both of them were wearing ponytails...

And so, it was off to Kota Kemuning first because there was something I needed to pick up from Bruce before our Penang trip. Its a top secret package meant for... erm, I should not be telling you that. I just hope that there were no white powder in there.

While we were in Kota Kemuning, Kaelynn
wants to make sure that her hairclip really
makes her look beautiful.

Unfortunately, because of her stunt with
the scissors sometime ago, the short hair
sticks out and no matter how hard she
tries to hide it. I was a bit cruel and so, I
laughed at her, which made her cry.

Luckily, Kristine came to her rescue
and helped to hide the hair.

Aah, now she looks better

By the time we arrived at Kota Kemuning, there was some problems with Dinner arrangements and so, its Westport instead of some Bak Kut Teh which I thought was the main attraction. The girls did not like it as their thinking was, "We want crab and not piggy bones". Oh, dear.

And so, after a long drive, we reached Teluk Gong and since I know nuts about ordering food (it is rude to just pull the waitress by the hand, go to other tables where people are eating and point to the types of dish you would like to eat), I left this delicate situation it to my Wife. So, the first thing that came to our table was the vegetables. I loved it but the girls were hoping for the crabs.

And finally, for the second dish, the crabs came. Which is a bit of a relief for us as this really made the girls quiet. And so, its hammer-time! As usual, we had to break the shells so that the girls can have access to the juicy bits in the claw.

And then the deep-fried squids came and it was nice. But the girls were more interested in the crabs. By this time, the meal was going great and I was starting to forget the news about robbers and so, I relaxed a bit too.

Then the fish came. OK, so it was a bit small and all but the sauce was nice. Still, it had a lot of bones and I had to make sure that most of the bones, if not all, were taken out before any of the girls could eat the fish.

Yum-yum. A nice dinner for everyone. We did not order much drinks and other stuff as although it is a treat, it does not mean we have to splurge.

And an even nicer bill. The fish was a fucking rip-off. And I was not happy about it. Still, because the evening was nice, I decided not to spoil everyone's mood.

In the end, we did not meet any robbers coming from all directions but, we were robbed nevertheless. Shall we go back there? No.

Finally, after all that, I got back to Bruce's house and we talked and talked until 1AM. While the both of use were upstairs, my Wife and girls were being entertained by Lee Ping, Bruce's wife. Still, this was easily the best part of the night for me as I finally go to go to his house, which ironically, was next to the shops which we always go to when we were staying in Kota Kemuning. And the above picture? well, one is a new project and the other is top secret. There was another item which I could not show it to you as I have promised Bruce.

Friday Night...

What do you people usually do on a Friday night? Movie marathons? Sleep overs? 48-hour Internet Surfing? Extreme pillow fights? Beer binging?

For me, this was a first because right after dinner, I decided to go to the Curve. And the most surprising thing was, Mommy agreed.OK, OK, it was planned all along but no one else knew about the plan except me since I planned it...

The girls are ready for dinner, right out
of the shower if you want to know.

So, their hair was really wet. So they
kinda looked a bit moody.

Or maybe it was the fact that Mommy is
serving curry chicken, the type which I
loved, and the ones they cannot eat.
Too bad there's no french fries around...

By the time we rushed them and got them ready,
it was almost 9-ish when we reached Ikano, which
is now called IPC or something. And what do you
know? They're having a Movie Carnival! Here.
they were posing wit the Smurfs (but they do not
know who or what they were)

But they do recognise Alvin from
Alvin & The Chipmunks.

Or maybe it was because of the big
banner/poster behind them.

The real reason I needed to be there was because of
Richard. I have completed his Borg cube and he needs
to display them on his shelf because this week's Movie
Carnival theme was Sci-Fi.

Lots of star Trek related merchandise here.

I like the painting of this nuBSG Battlestar Galactica

It was rumoured that the Ikea's restaurant was
closed because of some Halal issue. Fortunately,
this was not true and alas, I was too full from the
curry dinner to try the meatballs. Then again, its
almost closing time anyway and it is not wise to
stuff 10 meatballs into your mouth in 5 minutes.
I mean, what would the kids eat?

The 1/24 Hughes 500MD

Well, I tell ya, sometimes, there are things that makes you really want to kick yourself in the butt and also, at the same time, shout with joy. I think you know that feeling very well: Its like you competing with your arch nemesis to buy the only rare model kit left in the shop. But you lost because you were RM10.00 short. Then your arch nemesis discovered his new model kit has a missing part which you happened to have in your collection. And that 'sometimes' happens to me today.

I was still in the Ma.k fever and so, the egg shape of the Hughes Helicopter attracted me. And you guessed it, I tried to get them in any scale possible, short of remote control ones. It all started with a 1/48 from Academy and ending with a 1/35 from Dragon. However, both models were not enough to satisfy what I had in mind because they were, well, a wee bit too small. Then one fine day at Hobby HQ, as I was going to the washroom, I spotted this model kit.

Yep. A 1/24 Hughes! Hidden in one corner reserved for Chinese-made kits, which no one even paid any attention.

This was made in China and its box was so small,
you'd think it was a 1/48 kit instead. And for the
price, it was on par with the 1/48 Academy.

And I can tell you that this is a very big kit.
However, the quality of the kit leaves a lot
to be desired but then again, for Ma.K, it
is not supposed to be shiny or new, so
this is perfect.

As I am not an expert on the Hughes, this joined
pilot seat makes me think about the kit's accuracy.
But as I have said again, this is not important.

Want to see how big this kit is? Let's
measure the 'teardrop' cockpit.
On the top is the 1/24 (5.5 inches)
while the middle is the 1/35 (3.75 inches)
and the bottom is the 1/48 (2.75 inches)

Here is another comparison. This time, its with
the 1/20th Falke. Yes, big isn't it?

And the funny part? No one would suspect that the
box on the left housed a 1/24 helicopter.