WEATHER: 32 degrees, cloudy
We head down for breakfast around 9am; Miss 8yo is scared to eat for some reason. She assures us she is not feeling sick, but her reluctance does have me worried, although we have been sneaking probiotic powder into her "pink milk" in the morings. We convinced her to have some fruit after Grandpa had sent a message suggesting this and then she found the small prawn wontons and hash browns.
After breakfast, Hubby and Miss 8yo decide to splash about in the pool. I, however, use this as an opportunity to kick back listening to music and updating my blog - I never get to do this and it feels great! Surely it's "Beer O'clock" somewhere in the world, so I order a frozen Margarita (22RM), Schooner Beer for Hubby (16RM) and Vanilla Milkshake for Miss 8yo (12RM). Add 10% sevice tax and 6% government tax for a total of 58RM (almost $30AUD - not drinking at this expensive bar again!).
After finishing a day's blog entry, I decide to jump in the pool for a bit and our lazy morning winds up around 2pm. We get back on the bus and head to Penang's major shopping complex, "Gurney Plaza" so that Miss 8yo can spend her holiday money on more Monster High dolls. We find Toys R Us and she spots a number of dolls that we don't think are available back home (at least we haven't been able to find them so far) - oh the squeals of delight! Each doll was 89.90RM each (approx. $30AUD); a little cheaper than the equivalent at home. She also buys a Monster High puzzle for her friend (31.95RM).
We pop into a cafe called "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" (CBTL) and spend about 50RM on two latte shakes, a frozen (blinky) lemonade and a choc muffin. The money changer in the shopping complex gives us 2.92RM for an Aussie dollar.
The bus stop across the road is already crowded and chances of getting a seat on the jam packed bus are slim to none. We push our way to the back of the bus and a nice young man and his friend offer me and Miss 8yo a seat each. As the ride back is about 1/2 hour long through winding bits of road, I am grateful for the seat. I have Miss 8yo give her seat up immediately to an older woman and she plonks on my lap. We reach the bus stop outside our hotel around 6pm and visit the local deli across the road to purchase 3 x 660ml Tiger Beers, 5.5L bottle water, 5 x bandaids (for my sore little toe) & 40ml bottle leave-in conditioner (this humidity ruins my hair) for a total of 49.50RM.
Miss 8yo would have been happy to play with her dolls in the room for the rest of the evening, but we threaten to take them away if she doesn't eat something for dinner. At 7pm, we walk down the main road in search of "Long Beach" food hawker stalls and realise it's really only 15 minutes or so away from our hotel. It only really comes alive at night, so hasn't stood out to us before now. The place is amazing! Buzzing with people from near and far, all hungry and wanting to try cheap and delicious food cooked fresh in front of your eyes.
It's like a big food court in a shopping centre, but tucked back off the side of the road; with so much variety from all different cuisine types - even western food to please Miss 8yo. The place is not pretty, but there are ceiling fans everywhere and surprisingly the toilets are fairly decent. The prices are dirt cheap!! We order 3 x cans of coke (2RM each), 2 x Spring Rolls (4RM each), 1 x stir fry Cuttlefish/rice (9RM), 1 x Calamari/chips PLUS 1 x Chicken snitzel/onion rings/chips (27RM) and it cost us a ridiculuous amount of 50RM (approx. $17AUD).
As you walk back along the main road towards Batu Ferrenghi, the entire side of the road has magically been turned into market stalls for the night market. I conveniently do a little bit of shopping on the way back to our hotel, including Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones (25RM / $9), 2 x lanterns (20RM / $7 ea), 3 x socks (10RM / $3.50), Fan (5RM / $2), 3 x Penang doll keyrings (50RM / $17.50), 2 x girl outfits (45RM / $8 ea), 1 x singlet (20RM / $7).
It felt so good to experience the real Penang... WE ARE DEFINITELY COMING BACK TO THIS PLACE!!!
We send Miss 8yo to bed around 9:30pm and sit up sharing a few bevvies before crashing ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment