Treats from Japan!

Tokyo Bananas :P

Places to go in Penang:

Places to go in Penang:

Guerney drive
Mount Erskine
Georgetown
Penang Hill
Snake temple
Batu Ferringhi
Bukit Tambun
Eco Park
Campbell st, Guerney Plaza, queensbay, rope walk, little India, lorong
kulit

Batuk Ferringhi & Georgetown are definitely tourist traps, but that
being said, are the choice locations to stay. Ease of travelling,
vicinity to attractions and a vibrant nightlife more than make up for
the slightly higher accomodation prices. The various night pasar
malams are great for strolling in e cool evening breeze.

Taking a trishaw around Georgetown is an idyllic way to spend the day.
Try to bargain below 25RM per hour and it is worth it. Some of the
heritage sites charge for entry, but the only two worth paying for are
the Nonya/Baba clan house and the Khoo Kong Si clan temple.

Remember to bring your driving license. Taxi are hard to find and
expensive to boot. So rent a car if there are more than 3 of you.
Buses are also a good alternative to taxi.

Penang Hill is fantastic for the view and fresh air, but little else
to do up there. The 4RM tram ticket isn't overpriced at least. Avoid
the crowds at weekends and sweltering mid-day sun. Best times are
either early mornings or near Sunset with a view from e restaurants.
David Brown's restaurant is a upmarket place that commands the best
view on the hill. It serves classical English foods with an excellent
selection of roasts. Had the beef Wellington and J.A had Steak &
Mushroom pie. Both were excellent, with quality shining through. We
were stuck on the hill top after clouds closed in and the skies
crashed down on us, but with a bottle of wine and a warm fireplace
(sadly fake), we happily soaked up the atmosphere till late in the
night and caught the last tram down at 11pm.

Highlights:
1) Char kway teow @ Lorong Selamat's KAFE HENG HUAT.
2) Hawkers at gurney drive nice oyster omelette and wanton noodle.
3) Ferranghi Gardens @ Batuk Ferringhi Grilled Red Snapper with cheese very unique. Pineapple rice was very fresh & I like it that it in came in a freshly cut pineapple.
4) Beef Wellington @ David Brown's. 55RM it was by far the most expensive meal of the trip and portions weren't large either. The taste though more than made up for it. Perfectly executed!

I was hoping to not need this section, but couldn't in all fairness
leave this out. To think that it was only on the last day is a silver
lining at least. Enjoying meal after meal of great food, this really
disappointed:

"Low"light:

1) Jawa Mee - a Chinese version of Mee Rubus, it was cloyingly sweet
and disgustingly sticky
2) ALL of the food at Sunshine foodcourt opposite Sunshine plaza. The
food here is just sad... Feels like it was cooked by souless robots.

p.s. Photos will be added at a later date.

Sent from my iPhone

Life is Good

"Life is good. Everyone just over-reacts....even me"

Back In Action

Been a long time since I've written anything on here and it's not for lack of anything going on in my life. Far from it in fact and I am barely able to fall over in exhaustion at times. The job in Shanghai is coming along fine - I get to learn and experience under the teaching wings of 2 experienced people in the water industry. Flying between Shanghai and Singapore is tiring of course, but the payoff is more than worth it. It is difficult to maintain a relationship in the midst of everything. To top it all off, the diving trip recently in Langkawi has GOT to be the gem.

Some housekeeping matters regarding the blog first. The chatterbox on the right has been taken down (as if anyone noticed to begin with) and I don't foresee putting up another one. Comments are still available of course, I have always preferred them to the chatterbox anyway.

For this first leisure dive, I got an underwater casing for JA's canon digital camera. Worked like a charm!

Christmas

Christmas is still roughly a month away and the glittering lights are popping up all over the shopping malls in Singapore. There might be a recession going on right now, but the stalls are still going all out to woo consumers to spend during this festive season. What I truly miss though, is something far far away, on the other side of the globe: the Christmas Markets in UK... especially the one in Manchester!

To my horror and dismay, I don't actually have in my possession any proper photos of the markets to speak of. No talking moose head on top of the wooden shed selling mulled wine and eggnog. (They are very friendly too, offering free cinnamon cookies to accompany your beverages as you warm yourself up).

The best start to visiting the market has always been this drinks shed as you pick from various brews like Mulled Wine (yes I am biased towards this, I am an alchie, so what?!), Eggnog, Hot Chocolate with flavourings like hazelnut or almond, Irish Coffee, etc. etc. You then cosy up in a corner with your friends as you warm up from the freezing temperatures and take in the crowd, smells, lights and fantastic atmosphere. From your excellent vantage point you spot an opening in the snaking queue around the Bratwurst Stall commanding the centre of St. Albert's Square and slip right in to claim some of those huge German Sausages before proceeding to browse through the offerings of the other stalls.

The old stalwarts of Danish Cookies and Chocolate coated fruit on sticks aren't to be missed. However, you don't have to rush there either because they will be there for the rest of the month, ready to gratify your sinful cravings (a mid-day or after school snack perhaps? City is sssssssssoooooooo near to Northern Campus after all) so for now, you are satisfied with just strolling amongst the crowd and checking out the newcomers and their wares. Over the past 3 years there have been delightful additions like giant choux buns, the pungent garlic cheese (I think there was once Brian, Clarence and I all bought a wedge of this back home within a day of each other), paellas were the newcomers 2 years back and hugely popular.

I will gladly admit that I am guilty of frequenting the Christmas Markets in St. Albert's and St. Ann's square way too often. I've even managed to find pick out respectable Xmas gifts from the trinkets stalls more than once. Oh yes, I am definitely a sucker for them. Maybe the Markets cast some sort of enchantment on me with their gay spirits and sprinkled Christmas dust onto me. Yes I am rambling, I know. But honestly, Christmas in Singapore just pales in comparison.

Shanghai

The dice is thrown and the roll is set. With the decision made, the clarity that comes along with it is a blessing as I settle down to working for my mom full time. I expect that I will be traveling to Shanghai very often with the inception of this new project and look forward to exploring this city on the rare occasions where I will be free. The clash of the modern city and its rustic surroundings just a few hours drive away is amazing. You could almost imagine you were in Singapore if you remained in the city center. Almost.