My Travels: 28 Jan 2010

And then there were none. The last eligible bachelor amongst the SAS crew has finally hung up his spurs and found Mrs Right. Marvelous has met Mrs Marvelous. And he invited some of the (older) crew up to Penang to partake in the joyous occasion.

As Saturday (30 Jan) was the wedding date, some of us elected to fly up a few days earlier to eat, drink and be merry. Marty aka Contrary aka The Pink Flamingo had arrived on Tuesday with his entourage (wife, 2 kids and their caregiver), and Rickey and I landed on Thursday morning.

As usual, flying Jetstar meant the flight was delayed. As much as I like flying Jetstar, it has not once been on time. We were delayed an hour leaving, and 2.5hrs on the way back. Jetstar still ranks number 1 for me in terms of flying budget (1. Jetstar, Air Asia, Cebu Pacific... NEVER FLY TIGER) but I really wish they would be on schedule.

Because of a date clash with thaipusum, our first choice of hotel was fully booked. Luckily, we managed to get rooms at the Gurney Resort Hotel. It was a blessing, as GRH was by far the better hotel with an entire floor dedicated to various fun activities. They had converted their 7th floor into a fake beach (with plenty of real sand), 2 pools, including a beautiful eternity pool, and a slide pool. There was also a volleyball court, pingpong tables, foosball, an faux-venice-muscle-beach gym and an archery range. We could've stayed within the hotel premises all day. If you go to Penang with kids, this would be the prefect place to stay.

The rooms were wonderful as well. Huge rooms with a sofa and gorgeous views of the waterfront. There was even a dining area if one chose to order room service. Of course the clincher for me was the jacuzzi bathtub. My one requirement when I choose a hotel is that it must have a bathtub, and this one definitely took the prize. And of course, lots of makan places close by.

The only downside to the hotel is that it's on the opposite end of the Gurney beachfront from the Gurney Drive night makan and Gurney Plaza mall. As Martin had rented a condo just behind Gurney Plaza mall, we pretty much walked the 1km+ stretch a couple of times every day (our standard meeting point was the macdonalds at Gurney mall, though I did manage to convince Martin to meet us at a prata place nearer our hotel on one morning). The walk was great at night as the weather was cool with a lovely breeze blowing in from the sea, but not so good in the day in the searing heat. Penang was hotter than Singapore for sure. On the plus side, all the calories taken in at the Gurney Drive food stalls were easily worked-off on the walk back.

Our first day was pretty much uneventful. The rooms were ready for us to check in, so we left our bags and took the walk down to Macs to meet Martin. Grabbed lunch at Nandos, then chilled at his condo with the family. Martin walked us back to the hotel where Rickey and Marty started a pingpong tournament in the rec area. Martin won the tournament (beating both myself and Rickey). In our defense, he had the sun behind him, and the wind in front of him and the better bat and the table sloped on his side causing depth perception problems....

Dinner was down at the famous Gurney Drive Night Market. Its a little like Newton, with the exception that the stallholders won't cheat you. There's still touting and restricted seating (you can't sit in front of a stall if you don't order from them). I had probably the best fried kwey tiao of my life. I hate the Singapore version, with the sweet sauce and the hum and the yellow noodles mixed in. The Penang version is the superior by far. And healthier as well. Simple rice noodles fried over a high heat with prawns, an egg and bean sprouts. Thrown in a dash of chilli, and perfection. Absolute perfection.