Penang May '05
Sunday, 22 May
The journey up North began at 10am. Like an eager child, Maya took the window seat. After a 6 hour ride that seemed like it would never end, we got off at the Sg Nibong bus station, starved and in desperate need for a toilet bowl.
"Are you hungry?" Maya asks while we were waiting for Jo to pick us. "Who's the genius?" I gave her the 'like duh' look.
"Hehehe....which do you wanna do first? Eat, or GO TOILET?" she queried further.
Without a pause, we chanted in unison, "GO TOILET!!!"
While we were doing our little dances to surpress the urges of our bladders in the middle of the platforms, I could hear our 'alter egos' tapping their feets loudly in impatience. Before they could exclaim anything audible, Jo's car swung into view, and all four of us breathed a glorious sigh of relief.
Amazingly, upon the hugs and how-are-you's those, disturbing fore mentioned urges mysteriously disappeared. Oklaa...it wasn't just those formalities. The moment we jumped into the car, everyone started bitching simultaneously. In the excitement, everything else was secondary.
I started, "You know what????"...Then Maya continued..while Jo listened in amazement or confusion, I never knew. When she made sense of our stories, she went, "Shit!!" and we went, "Exactly!!"
In a flurry of words, she launched into soapy episodes of Penang(ites/happenings). Maya and I this time, "Really???", and Jo, "Really!!!"
You would think that by now that our raging stomachs would have had a stronger voice than our gossiping mouths, right? No!! After racing to the toilets, we made ourselves comfortable in the sofa, and continued being girls.
Before we knew it, it was time to get pretty for the night. Sharm was gonna meet us at the apartment, then we were gonna go to Shamrock to meet up with some friends, but not before we downed home made potions of Gin and Vodka, with 7- Up (the importance of the 7-11 store downstairs was realised at that point) In terms of strength, vodka is nothing compared to gin. Maya and I were already blabbering rubbish by the time we left the apartment.
Everything that unfolded upon reaching Shamrock was unexpected, uncalled for, unnerving, unforseen, unexplainable, uncomprehendable and a whole lot of other 'un's'.
The friend we were gonna meet met with an accident on the way there and Sharm had to be back home by 12, so she dropped us off at Shamrock and left. Maya, Jo and I felt so bad that she went home alone, it was almost like we took her for taxi service. I told Sharm to call me once she got home, but after so long and still no news from her, I started to worry. When I called her, she said her tyre had burst at Gelugor and three men were helping her with it. Of all the days and times! Imagine, a young girl alone at past midnight being 'helped' by strangers.
We couldnt just sit there and pretend all was hunky dory and drink the night away. So we ended the night and took the cab home. Jo said we'd take a drive there and see if she was alright., but when we got home and told her we were coming, she cheerfully told us that she had already reached her place..missing one of her 2 phones. Apparently, she found it all to be very adventurous!
Anyway, she got her phone back the next day, she left it in the car of the kind soul who helped her out. The girl was lucky. It could have all turned out very differently, and we would not have ben able to live with the guilt.
Monday 23 May
We got up just in time for lunch. Maya and I took a short walk over to Mandarin Cafe to get us the badly missed, mouth watering Belacan Rice from the Thai lady. Maya being the useless Indian she is, finds it to be a little too spicy, so we had to 'tapau-ed' it home. We couldn't allow her to dig into her meal, hingus meleleh and tearing away!
After lunch, we just lazed around and talked, and talked and talked till it was about 5. 5 hours of non- stop yapping!
"We're such simple people, don't you think? It doesn't take much to make us happy," I said to their agreement.
We left for the beach at 6 and took a long walk along the pretty stretch to the rocky area where we spotted a couple perched on the highest stone. I used my digi cam to spy on them, but they were clean. Damn! If I couldn't get some action, I should be at least given the oportunity to see some...right?
Assam Laksa at Stall No 11 along Gurney Drive. That was dinner. Just for the heck of it, we decided to see what was playing in the movies. Both of them refused to watch Andaal, to my dismay. So it was either Chucky or One Missed Call 2, and we settled for the latter. In the theatre, Jo sat between Maya and I.
Picture this. Maya hiding behind Jo's shoulder, Jo crouched deep into her seat with both her legs intertwined with my crossed ones. It was a stupid movie to say the least. I was entertaining lustful thoughts in my head(he he..it's the hairy arms, la!) and there were parts that I found extremely silly I had to laugh, and I slept off during the boring bits, only to be woken up by pinches and slaps from Jo.
Suffice to say, we paid RM9 each for discomfort. We tried real hard to comprehend the movie the whole journey back, and the discussion ate into the next few days as well, but to no avail. It was just so stupid.
Tuesday, 24 May
Once more, we got up just in time for lunch, and it was Belacan Rice. Again.
Jo insisted that the finals of the American Idol was today, and we had no TV at home. So I made plans to crash at Sharm's place. We got there early, and we managed to catch Frasier but when 3pm came, The Bold and the Beautiful played. All eyes shot at Jo accusingly while she meekly uttered, "I really thought it was today." We checked, and rechecked. It was tomorrow.
We laughed at her quiet apologies and then the topic quickly turned to the nitty gritty of the soap. All three of them followed the series religiously, and boy, did I feel left out!
Thankfully, Sharm popped Dogma into the DVD player and that quietened them. Sweet Sharm served us awesome soya bean from Gelugor, and the most heavenly chocolate cake...such a darling. I'd recommend Dogma to anyone. I wouldn't pick it off a shelf, but I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Chris Rock was in it, need I say more?
Dengan tak malunya, we went on making ourselves at home till it was time to go home and get ready for Maya's fancy birthday treat at Mario's.
It was a special occasion, alright. Never mind that her real birthday was 2 days away, we decided to make it extra memorable anyway by wearing skirts. Yes, skirts. One of those blue moon nights.
I was surprised that Tina remembered us from the last time (Btw, Tina is HOT, HOT, HOT!) and once again, she decided what we were to eat. The food was absolutely fantabulous! I casually mentioned that we were celebrating Maya's birthday, and lo behold, a small band came to our table with a little cake, wore Maya a party hat and chorused Happy Birthday, carolling style! Poor girl blushed in embarassment..
Later, a bunch of us got together at Sega Fredo's, Gurney Plaza and played cards for a while before my stomach's and Jo's began to act up, and we had to excuse ourselves.
Wednesday 25 May
This time, we had to get up early, coz we had some banking to do. By the time we were done, it was lunch time and we decided against Belacan Rice. Instead, we drove to Annalaksmi and had their sumptious vegetarian buffet. I had to stop myself from shrieking in delight when I saw the kesari for dessert. Yummy, yummy!
The next stop was the Chowrasta Bazaar, where we wanted to get a couple of good reads. We tried real hard to look for a copy of 'The Bourne Identity' for a friend, I even interogated the poor man at the shop, but they didn't have it. In the end, I got Beloved, and another Iranian story, can't quite remember the title now.
A quick glance at the time told us it was time to get moving to Sharm's place for American Idol. For real, this time. We stopped at Sg Dua and got some kuih muih to take over to her place. There we met Shalu, her sister and Jas, her friend who happened to be friendster snooping.
The finals of the American Idol fell short of our expectations. I swear Carrie faltered in her pitching. And Bo could have done better. Randy and Paula really need to get new lines coz Randy kept saying, "You brought it home, dawg" and Paula gushed "Well, what can I say?" at the end of each performance. Really annoying!
We made a quick stop at the bus station to get our tickets home for the next morning and headed back to the apartment. The rest of the day, noses were immersed between pages of books, only to be seen a while when the eyes got tired. That's why I love these girls so much...there's no need for daily fancy schmanzy outings.
Ivan called at night, and he took us to this small pub at Crystal Point called Baileys....I liked the place,a bit like Cheers, it was small enough that everyone could know your name.
Maya was counting to minutes to 12 midnight and proudly announced expectantly.."It's 12!" and smiled sheepishly when everyone obliged and wished her birthday greetings.
I realised that I forgot how much fun I used to have talking to Ivan and the boys. I realised that night how much I missed him and his company, his reassuring hugs and words of genuine concern. I'll give credit where it's due, and Ivan has been a true friend all along, he has never failed me, or stopped short of my expectations of a friend like many others have. I remember him jokingly saying once, "Once you start working, you'll change. No longer will you be the simple person you are, and diamonds and pearls WILL matter."
Well Ivan dear, I've listed 'To prove Ivan wrong' as one of my top missions in life. Mark my word.
This was definitely the highlight of this trip
Thursday, 26 May
Got up at 7.30am, showered and at the bus station by 8.30am. We said our sad goodbyes in front of the bus driver, who upon seeing us hugging, told us to hug longer as the bus was not leaving just yet. I don't want to know what kinda rush he got from seeing that.
Jo promised to come down to KL. Yet again. But I'm holding out, girl, I really am.
The journey up North began at 10am. Like an eager child, Maya took the window seat. After a 6 hour ride that seemed like it would never end, we got off at the Sg Nibong bus station, starved and in desperate need for a toilet bowl.
"Are you hungry?" Maya asks while we were waiting for Jo to pick us. "Who's the genius?" I gave her the 'like duh' look.
"Hehehe....which do you wanna do first? Eat, or GO TOILET?" she queried further.
Without a pause, we chanted in unison, "GO TOILET!!!"
While we were doing our little dances to surpress the urges of our bladders in the middle of the platforms, I could hear our 'alter egos' tapping their feets loudly in impatience. Before they could exclaim anything audible, Jo's car swung into view, and all four of us breathed a glorious sigh of relief.
Amazingly, upon the hugs and how-are-you's those, disturbing fore mentioned urges mysteriously disappeared. Oklaa...it wasn't just those formalities. The moment we jumped into the car, everyone started bitching simultaneously. In the excitement, everything else was secondary.
I started, "You know what????"...Then Maya continued..while Jo listened in amazement or confusion, I never knew. When she made sense of our stories, she went, "Shit!!" and we went, "Exactly!!"
In a flurry of words, she launched into soapy episodes of Penang(ites/happenings). Maya and I this time, "Really???", and Jo, "Really!!!"
You would think that by now that our raging stomachs would have had a stronger voice than our gossiping mouths, right? No!! After racing to the toilets, we made ourselves comfortable in the sofa, and continued being girls.
Before we knew it, it was time to get pretty for the night. Sharm was gonna meet us at the apartment, then we were gonna go to Shamrock to meet up with some friends, but not before we downed home made potions of Gin and Vodka, with 7- Up (the importance of the 7-11 store downstairs was realised at that point) In terms of strength, vodka is nothing compared to gin. Maya and I were already blabbering rubbish by the time we left the apartment.
Everything that unfolded upon reaching Shamrock was unexpected, uncalled for, unnerving, unforseen, unexplainable, uncomprehendable and a whole lot of other 'un's'.
The friend we were gonna meet met with an accident on the way there and Sharm had to be back home by 12, so she dropped us off at Shamrock and left. Maya, Jo and I felt so bad that she went home alone, it was almost like we took her for taxi service. I told Sharm to call me once she got home, but after so long and still no news from her, I started to worry. When I called her, she said her tyre had burst at Gelugor and three men were helping her with it. Of all the days and times! Imagine, a young girl alone at past midnight being 'helped' by strangers.
We couldnt just sit there and pretend all was hunky dory and drink the night away. So we ended the night and took the cab home. Jo said we'd take a drive there and see if she was alright., but when we got home and told her we were coming, she cheerfully told us that she had already reached her place..missing one of her 2 phones. Apparently, she found it all to be very adventurous!
Anyway, she got her phone back the next day, she left it in the car of the kind soul who helped her out. The girl was lucky. It could have all turned out very differently, and we would not have ben able to live with the guilt.
Monday 23 May
We got up just in time for lunch. Maya and I took a short walk over to Mandarin Cafe to get us the badly missed, mouth watering Belacan Rice from the Thai lady. Maya being the useless Indian she is, finds it to be a little too spicy, so we had to 'tapau-ed' it home. We couldn't allow her to dig into her meal, hingus meleleh and tearing away!
After lunch, we just lazed around and talked, and talked and talked till it was about 5. 5 hours of non- stop yapping!
"We're such simple people, don't you think? It doesn't take much to make us happy," I said to their agreement.
We left for the beach at 6 and took a long walk along the pretty stretch to the rocky area where we spotted a couple perched on the highest stone. I used my digi cam to spy on them, but they were clean. Damn! If I couldn't get some action, I should be at least given the oportunity to see some...right?
Assam Laksa at Stall No 11 along Gurney Drive. That was dinner. Just for the heck of it, we decided to see what was playing in the movies. Both of them refused to watch Andaal, to my dismay. So it was either Chucky or One Missed Call 2, and we settled for the latter. In the theatre, Jo sat between Maya and I.
Picture this. Maya hiding behind Jo's shoulder, Jo crouched deep into her seat with both her legs intertwined with my crossed ones. It was a stupid movie to say the least. I was entertaining lustful thoughts in my head(he he..it's the hairy arms, la!) and there were parts that I found extremely silly I had to laugh, and I slept off during the boring bits, only to be woken up by pinches and slaps from Jo.
Suffice to say, we paid RM9 each for discomfort. We tried real hard to comprehend the movie the whole journey back, and the discussion ate into the next few days as well, but to no avail. It was just so stupid.
Tuesday, 24 May
Once more, we got up just in time for lunch, and it was Belacan Rice. Again.
Jo insisted that the finals of the American Idol was today, and we had no TV at home. So I made plans to crash at Sharm's place. We got there early, and we managed to catch Frasier but when 3pm came, The Bold and the Beautiful played. All eyes shot at Jo accusingly while she meekly uttered, "I really thought it was today." We checked, and rechecked. It was tomorrow.
We laughed at her quiet apologies and then the topic quickly turned to the nitty gritty of the soap. All three of them followed the series religiously, and boy, did I feel left out!
Thankfully, Sharm popped Dogma into the DVD player and that quietened them. Sweet Sharm served us awesome soya bean from Gelugor, and the most heavenly chocolate cake...such a darling. I'd recommend Dogma to anyone. I wouldn't pick it off a shelf, but I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Chris Rock was in it, need I say more?
Dengan tak malunya, we went on making ourselves at home till it was time to go home and get ready for Maya's fancy birthday treat at Mario's.
It was a special occasion, alright. Never mind that her real birthday was 2 days away, we decided to make it extra memorable anyway by wearing skirts. Yes, skirts. One of those blue moon nights.
I was surprised that Tina remembered us from the last time (Btw, Tina is HOT, HOT, HOT!) and once again, she decided what we were to eat. The food was absolutely fantabulous! I casually mentioned that we were celebrating Maya's birthday, and lo behold, a small band came to our table with a little cake, wore Maya a party hat and chorused Happy Birthday, carolling style! Poor girl blushed in embarassment..
Later, a bunch of us got together at Sega Fredo's, Gurney Plaza and played cards for a while before my stomach's and Jo's began to act up, and we had to excuse ourselves.
Wednesday 25 May
This time, we had to get up early, coz we had some banking to do. By the time we were done, it was lunch time and we decided against Belacan Rice. Instead, we drove to Annalaksmi and had their sumptious vegetarian buffet. I had to stop myself from shrieking in delight when I saw the kesari for dessert. Yummy, yummy!
The next stop was the Chowrasta Bazaar, where we wanted to get a couple of good reads. We tried real hard to look for a copy of 'The Bourne Identity' for a friend, I even interogated the poor man at the shop, but they didn't have it. In the end, I got Beloved, and another Iranian story, can't quite remember the title now.
A quick glance at the time told us it was time to get moving to Sharm's place for American Idol. For real, this time. We stopped at Sg Dua and got some kuih muih to take over to her place. There we met Shalu, her sister and Jas, her friend who happened to be friendster snooping.
The finals of the American Idol fell short of our expectations. I swear Carrie faltered in her pitching. And Bo could have done better. Randy and Paula really need to get new lines coz Randy kept saying, "You brought it home, dawg" and Paula gushed "Well, what can I say?" at the end of each performance. Really annoying!
We made a quick stop at the bus station to get our tickets home for the next morning and headed back to the apartment. The rest of the day, noses were immersed between pages of books, only to be seen a while when the eyes got tired. That's why I love these girls so much...there's no need for daily fancy schmanzy outings.
Ivan called at night, and he took us to this small pub at Crystal Point called Baileys....I liked the place,a bit like Cheers, it was small enough that everyone could know your name.
Maya was counting to minutes to 12 midnight and proudly announced expectantly.."It's 12!" and smiled sheepishly when everyone obliged and wished her birthday greetings.
I realised that I forgot how much fun I used to have talking to Ivan and the boys. I realised that night how much I missed him and his company, his reassuring hugs and words of genuine concern. I'll give credit where it's due, and Ivan has been a true friend all along, he has never failed me, or stopped short of my expectations of a friend like many others have. I remember him jokingly saying once, "Once you start working, you'll change. No longer will you be the simple person you are, and diamonds and pearls WILL matter."
Well Ivan dear, I've listed 'To prove Ivan wrong' as one of my top missions in life. Mark my word.
This was definitely the highlight of this trip
Thursday, 26 May
Got up at 7.30am, showered and at the bus station by 8.30am. We said our sad goodbyes in front of the bus driver, who upon seeing us hugging, told us to hug longer as the bus was not leaving just yet. I don't want to know what kinda rush he got from seeing that.
Jo promised to come down to KL. Yet again. But I'm holding out, girl, I really am.
1 Comments:
anu!!i felt like i was part of your trip...man...i don't ever wanna graduate la!!i'll miss my college friends...as it is getting over school days was hard..sigh..all the best with ya new job..i'll be back this weekend...i'll come see u k!
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