Bunch of peanuts visiting Kulim and Penang

You don't know the joy of having worked so hard for few months straight and then finally granted the ticket to a one-month semester break. That is called HEAVEN, if you don't already know. The feeling of finally able to throw away every single weight you're carrying on your shoulder, and go on a VACATION! Me and the squad (we call ourselves the watermelon gang) had decided to visit one another's hometown when we can during every semester break, we are made up of people coming from Selangor, Malacca, Teluk Intan, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kulim / Penang. And this time, we all agreed that it's going to be Penang. The friend guide will ultimately be our Alvin Goh and Abel Goh.

In the train from Kampar to Penang Butterworth, obviously very happy. 

 As we disembarked from the train, Abel and Alvin's brother, Terrence came to fetch us, with two cars, we went to have some really delicious supper together. Then head home, where we crashed at Alvin's. His mom even offered us mooncakes! But all in all, it's comfy and everyone called it a sleepover. Legit, sleepover. 

Don't get all jelly welly about how comfy we are. Just sneak a peak at Stella beside me, she's already fast asleep. Or maybe trying to sleep, whichever. 

We all slept after 1am that night, and Alvin gave us a heads up that we will be waking up 5am in the morning tomorrow to catch sunrise on top of Tokun Hill, Bukit Mertajam. Hiking eh? Coolz, i like. You know how you're always so determined to wake up early on the next day? I don't know where I get that, but the next day, when everyone's awake, i dreaded every moment of it. I literally dragged my body, that indescribable weight off myself and went to wash up. No, i don't bath, because why? You'll just get sweaty after all those hiking and sun-gazing shizzizle. 

We arrived 6am in the morning, everything was in pitch black, we didn't have any torchlight with us, so we used the flashlights from our phones, good that. It reminds me of my prefect camp days, i remembered the time i walked alone, where we are expected to walk alone in the night, test our bravery, it was pitch black as well, surrounded by trees, forest, silence, and insects buzzing their wiggins off.

We eventually reached the top safely, missed the sunrise, but doesn't really matter, we went way up than we were supposed to, hiking more than we should, that's some accomplishment too! Like we deserve some 'extra effort' awards or something. But the scenery, the view, and everything that appears in front of our eyes, are to be devoured and gaped with awe at, with our gadgets and phones. Snap away, watermelonians!

Here's a visual picture of what i meant. 

 You would think, or even imagine that we are on top, screaming our lungs out about the dreams we have, or just plain screaming to release all the stress built up in our body, or maybe just shout someone's name to tell them we love them (because courage, duh) BUT NO, we did something even cooler than that, we dabbed.

Good that.

 As if the way up isn't torturous enough, we still had to make our way to the bottom of the hill, where we started. And man i hated every step of the way, I think Stella had it worse, she was having a pee-is-coming emergency, and halfway down the hill, what we thought was a toilet turned out to be faulty, or not available for use, so she had to hold it in all the time until we got down the hill. I wished there was an elevator or something, like hey, we reached the destination, we achieved our target, we did what we're supposed to do, now GET US DOWN, with a helicopter, an elevator, ANYTHING BUT OUR OWN POOR FEET. But of course, wishes don't get granted. What do you think, Santa Claus? 

Some selfie-happy moment with my white colour leaf. They're all the way down the hill. At this moment, this smile is a lie, "My feet hurts, my toe hurts, my leg hurts" is all i think about. REAL. 

 We eat after that, then sleep.
Because we're not robots. We can't rush off to the next agenda on the list because we have to, then VACATION is not a vacation, it'll be a duty, a responsibility. So, we did the right thing. We slept. For hours and hours, we slept. Because who said hiking is easy? No one. Who said hiking is not tiring? No one. Even the strongest person you know, after hiking, it will definitely tire him/her out, no way they don't burn calories from all those walking and all.

Once we replenished our energy, we are up and ready to go. We visited a cafe in Kulim, Anak Kulim. Just have some cake there, slack, and have fun talking to each other like we're meeting up each other after a long time.

Fast forward to night time, Alvin suggested that we go to Auto-City. He told us that it used to be an automobile city, where they sell lots of cars and all, but now it had become, dum dum dum dum.... A lover's park. I'm kidding, but it seemed like a romantic getaway spot, i googled it up, they called it Food & Entertainment (so that's what all this is?). They have real romantic lights in the shape of hearts and love hanging around, on trees, on bikes, beside the walkway, they have really cute bird cages where they lit up bulbs in the cages and then hang several of them on trees, to create mood you know, so people can have a taste of what it's like to kiss under the mistletoe bird cages. That place is full of lights. It may be a suitable spot for young lovers, that explains why we quickly moved on to the next spot after that. They have a lot of shops and branded shops lying around waiting for customers to show themselves, but we totally skipped that, we broke.

I put this picture up because i was born in the year of the pigs. So it somewhat represents me, not that i'm pig-like, or whatever characteristics a pig displays, i just happened to be born in the year of the pigs, that's all. That's all this picture is all about. 

The bird cages i was referring to. 

What an interesting way to take a picture, with handphone still attached on selfie stick, and the mandatory leg to get a stable shot for your friend. Mmmmm, elegant. 

Moving on to the next day. We don't want to linger too long in the night, do we now? Because everybody loves to see some SPADE'S BURGER Subway sandwiches we delightfully devoured in Penang! Yayzaaa! Just located beside Spade's burger, Bukit Mertajam, how convenient. It wasn't operating hours yet, we were there early, so we hopped in to Subway! We all ordered somewhat similar sandwiches, and they really fill your tummies. It was a bit saddening when we know it's one hour away from the operating hours of Spade's burger, but we'll meet again soon, i'm sure, considering myself a frequent Penang go-er.

Here's a really pleasant looking subway sandwich that i ordered. One of the food that kept me alive, up until today, that i am able to share it with you. Irony, isn't it? 

 After filling in the gaps and spaces of our famished intestines, we all happily hopped into Alvin's mom's car and cross the Penang bridge into Penang Island. YAS. WHERE ALL THE GOOD FOOD AT. We wasn't really happy with the thought of going under the sun, getting ourselves burned into charcoal skin colours, so we parked at Queensbay Mall, one that I went before with my family and started window shopping (because broke) while waiting for the others (Ernest, Melvin, Abel [who left us in the morning to attend to some private matters]). When we all got together, we headed for the food court. This isn't some cheapsy bitsy typical food court, it looks, GOOD. And most importantly, they have GOOD CHILLI PAN MEE.

The boys queued up big time to get us these Pan Mees. Apparently many people liked eating it. Cos it's good. Do you think people would want to eat it if it isn't good? Stating the obvious. HOHO. 

After eating, Stella was really hyped up about this "ABOONG" dessert she saw on our way to the food court, so being the angelic me, i accompanied her back to the way we came and bought this delicacy. Yoghurt, Nutella, marshmallow all stuffed into this edible fish. This Instagram worthy food ain't cheap, you pay for what you post up on the social media, that's why kids, social media ain't cheap. This thing costs RM11+, didn't mattered to me anyway, because Stella the goddess told us that it's on her (Wan sui wan sui wan wan sui!)

Needed a little bit of dramatic effect before we see the expensive food.

Drum rolls pls. 
dum
dum
dum
dum
dum
dum
dum
dum dum
dum dum dum
dum dum dum dum 
dum dum dum dum dum dum dum...

Behold the almighty ABOONG....

Looks like a three tipped mountain. Safely digested by my intestinal systems, happy that. 

I wasn't kidding when i say "All these food are not eaten by me, and only me alone", like the four of us girls are always sharing food, to just get a "taste" of how they taste like, instead of eating them whole, we don't have big tummies like the guys (intended), like the Pan Mee? That small bowl of Pan Mee was shared amongst us four, that Aboong as well, and we shared SO MANY food together, we didn't even truly eat a whole meal by ourselves often (And that, ladies and gents, is how i keep sli...fit). You know, i kinda regretted not eating the Pan Mee alone, I am drooling as i typed this, legit. *muffled sobs* Gawd bring me back! 

Around some time past noon, the guys rushed us to the next destination, War Museum located on top of Batu Maung, some up the hill road, it seems. My dad, who's originated from Penang, didn't even know this place. Later the receptionist told us that this place was found not long ago, it was real fortress left by the British when they ruled our countries many years ago. It was abandoned for good 60 years or so, and then recovered to become a museum (clearly haunted). Considering mass murder, rape, torture chambers, killings happening at that very location, that very museum, it's hard not to think that the fort is very much haunted. There, i said it, HAUNTED. Receptionist did told us, that if we happened to see or hear them, maybe they're trying to communicate with us, maybe they wanted a proper burial for their physical bodies. "We don't address them as ghosts," she said, "We'll call them spirits" 

(I don't know how stupid an idea this is to off your bedroom lights, typing this at 11.50pm almost past midnight, and then my brother's apparition showed up on my door scared the crap outta me). 

Thingie they used to shoot down helicopters, yeap, because it's the normal thing to do, shoot helicopters / airstrikes. Yep, totally normal and acceptable. 

As if knowing that there are presence of spirits all around the fort isn't enough, we had to go through pitch black tunnels. Like seriously PITCH BLACK, like when you shut your eyes in the dark? And you see nothing? Maybe a few images flying around from you imagining too much? IT'S BLACK DARKNESS BLACK DARKNESS BLACK DARKNESS BLACK! Like you can't see your own fingers DARK. I guess i emphasised clear enough. I tried to see my own fingers, to no avail, it was too dark. We hold onto each other's shoulders and waists, and then crawl through the tunnel. The tunnel function to watch enemy from outside, maybe creating an ambush, secret attack, whatever, it's so dark and so .....square for a reason. The walls were the only thing keeping our directions clear, and our minds... sane. As if opening and closing your eyes are just the same. You know how you sleep at night, you can still see your table, bookshelves, walls and all? This? NONE. Just black.

We also get to climb the emergency exists. The only time i noticed how heavy i'd become, to hardly support my own weight as i climb, OH THE STRAIN. Girl, you need to cut off some fats and start building some muscles in there (weak AF). 

We climbed this.

And came out to this.
Food for thought, we should have more of these ladders in modern days, humans are dangerously lacking in exercise, we need to cut off escalators and lifts, and start implementing ladders instead. Sounds good? Probably not, considering how more people will start falling to their deaths. Bad idea. 

I love this place, and I'm not even kidding, even though they are scary, thinking spirits are dancing around us at any moment. But it's like teleportation, it brings me back to the past (Can't help it, I just switched on my bedroom light), it allows me to revisit history like none other. It's a live museum all that i know. And it's knowledge, from how evil humans can transform to achieve their targets, to how civilised everyone seemed nowadays. It somewhat made me appreciate life, appreciate the fact that i was born 100 years after, instead of the years when they had war and killings and bombings going on like it is the normal-est thing to do. The museum was meant to BE THERE to stir up some things from deep within you, some...value. It made me think how women then could be of littlest of value, raped and killed with a snap of fingers, as an object that fulfils diasporic men's desire, to curb men's appetite, to unleash the demons built up from watching people die, and the stress to fight for their country, women...are the ones to suffer from those effects, local not local, they're all the same, as long as they're women.

Half hammock. I looked like I enjoyed it, but i'm falling any moment after the pictures were taken. I wore like how i wore when i attended prefects camp years back. 

Groupfie. Don't bother searching for invisible faces that might appear in the picture. DON'T BOTHER.
But if you do find it (intentionally or unintentionally), you can keep it to yourself, NOT AT ALL INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT YOU'VE FOUND.
You have been warned. 

During our trips in Penang Island, we have been staying in Abel's house. Welcomed warmly by his lovely parents, and cute brother. They brought us out to eat good food after mass on Saturday, gave us some real Malaysian breakfast before we start our journey, sang Christmas songs with us (even though it's still long before Christmas), gave Alvin a braided hairstyle, washed and dried our clothes, AND SO MANY MORE TO THANK FOR. We were probably over staying our welcome (Sheepish giggles). We were truly blessed.

We headed off to Tech Dome located in KOMTAR. And what unveiled before our very eyes, ladies and gentlemen, SCIENCE.

What we did there you asked?
Well, we toyed with robots, passed lasers so we don't get lasered to death (kidding, but we did pass lasers, if lasers detect us, the system will sound), we toyed with Newton's Law, physics and those things you learned in Physics SPM, free fall from 2.5 storeys above, turned 360 degrees upside down multiple of times while solving maths questions or whatever concerning about the universe that moment, saw real human organs, AND SO MANY MORE I CAN'T EVEN FINISH.

Alvin tried to show everyone that he has supernatural powers that made the ball float midair, but really, it's just some air current blowing on the ball that did some physizzizle on the ball that makes it stays midair. Slim it, Alvin. 

Marion suited up ready for her 2.5 storeys high free fall. Trust me, you'll feel like death up there. Like they gave you a stick to hold onto, while they dragged your body weight, or what's left of you up 2.5 storeys high, you might think it's just normal so-so height when you watch from below, but once you're up there, you know how it feels like to jump off a building and NOT WANTING TO DIE. I swear my life flashes right before my eyes when i released that handle and screamed my lungs out. I kept emphasising "near death experience" as i reached the bottom. Good way to destress, i concluded. 

They had 3 walls against each other for mountain climbing, and one more inside, so you could spider climb your way to the top. No thanks, my muscle decided it's enough for the day. 

Great time flies by pretty quickly when you didn't notice. We had to rush off to the next agenda on the list, M Mall, to take some pictures. Like this one right here:

Poor smurf had trouble spotting the pretty lady across the street, with his glasses with me, obviously unfit and too big for my face. For once, i felt that my face was small. 

What is Penang without good food? It'll be called NOTFUN. So we went to eat some famous tourist hawker street food, consisting of Char Kuey Teow, Laksa, Satay, and more fried stuff you'll normally find in Penang, but twice or thrice expensive, because they're mostly targetted at foreign tourists. C'mon lah, why?

Some food to make you drool lots. Typing this at midnight is a bad idea. 

After good dinner, we headed off to another romantic spot - Straights Quay. We were arguing about how to read the word "Quay" in the car. "Key" or "Kuay". We agreed that it's "Key", because Singapore had a "Clarke Quay", and we all read it as "key". Anyways...

So we went there, walked around, enjoying the breeze, feel useless after being hectic for months for assignments and finals, for once, truly and really doing nothing just thinking about nothing. Then, we came up with this idea of doing something with our bodies (pictures illustrated below). Humans never truly rest for a second, do they? Like our systems were never created to rest for a long time. Before we knew it, we're already sweating. But we had fun. The girls were holding hands, being all girly and BFF all the way until we separate to our respective cars for the next stop.

We just couldn't get it right. We've seen it in pictures, how to hold each other perfectly together, but nope, we just couldn't do it. 

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG YAS.
STARBUCKS.
Do i even need to explain?
We went to Starbucks by Ferringhi beach.
I know it's overrated and all, but actually getting one? It's cool.
The girls decided that WE WILL NOT SHARE THIS TIME. Everyone get their own cup of Starbucks, with our own names written on the cups (eyes popping out love love love love emoji) Hello, temporary happiness, which will end the moment i sip the cup empty.

Then we just randomly crashed at some hotel's beach chair, listening to the waves coming from the sea, watching the sky full of stars, and sipping on our starbucks. I was wearing WHITE Uniqlo plain tee the whole day, worried not to stain it with any food that I will eat whilst wearing this shirt. I managed to keep it clean, not a single drop on my shirt until the end of the day. Funny thing happened, at the last stop, which is starbucks-stargazing-by-the-beach night, i finally stained my shirt as i sip on my drink while lying down on the beach chair. Well done Starbucks! You live up to your name. Expensive, and leaving prints everywhere, including my shirt. Although not entirely your fault.

The hotel was situated beside the beach, and the chairs are placed on the grass, which i'm really grateful for, it's all sand on my feet, not good. 

Last day in Penang.
Abel brought us around Balik Pulau, his hometown, also my father's hometown, but Abel brought us to places that I'd never imagined existed in Balik Pulau until then. We went to Sungai Burung:

The sun was scorching hot that day, and there were trees around us, as we got into the clearing, with the trees gone, the wind was blowing so strongly onto our faces from the right, and instantly, all the heat disappeared. We were more focused on the stones we're stepping on. This is like a private dating spot, because as you can see, THERE WAS NO ONE THERE.

See, the breeze was so comfortable and nice, even though the sun was burning into our skin, we didn't feel it. I don't know how to explain it in words, about how comfortable it really is, so pictures will do me justice:

She was basically daydreaming while enjoying the breeze. 

Abel also brought us to Pantai Pasir Panjang in Balik Pulau, again, ghost beach, no human detected, just us.
We listened to the waves crashing on the sand,
held our shoes in our hands,
walked all-so-gracefully on the sand,
and enjoying the sun kissed tan.
(OMG I JUST NOTICED THEY ALL RHYMED)

That is Abel behind us. 

Again, the girls decided to go all BFF with the super romantic backdrop.

And i decided to go with the theme 'horizon', sky, sea and sand all in one picture.

To conclude our journey:
This journey is an extraordinary one, we enjoyed ourselves as tourists, and at the same time we learned new things about our country, and about the universe. Vacation isn't just about fun, it's about input and intake as well, and we got that. We're also super blessed to be able to try so many different foods in Penang, all would be impossible if Alvin and Abel's family did not invite us in their warm and welcoming crib. It would forever be imprinted in our memories, the good ones, and the bad ones, and now that the journey had ended, it will be just yet, another dream.