22-23/2/2014 - Weekend Getaway - Kukup Island

Without knowing where is it located and what does the island have to offer, I just blindly followed my friends to Pulau Kukup on a last minute decision because they promised that it was going to be a fun-filled trip.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by a bunch of friendly UTM folks who were actually our friends' friends. Before breaking the ice of course, things were a little awkward.. so we decided that we should probably go grab lunch together and have a simple "get to know you" session there.

While the rest of them were already getting along pretty well with one another, I was still stuck with myself not knowing how to initiate conversations with my new friends. I wonder what did working life do to me? Lol.

Thank God for the card games after lunch. It was probably the simplest way to start interacting with new friends as it didn't require much effort to think of what to talk about. haha!

Few hours later, we went to the Summerly Ice House for some shaved ice and rojak. Another round of "getting to know you"?

Well, according to the group, shaved ice is a must try at the Kukup Island because they are pretty famous for that. Here are some of our orders..

Nothing really worth bragging about, but it was certainly a decent place to chat and relax.. to chill and past time like how the retirees do. 

We decided to take a walk around the floating village after that.. and that was when I really opened my eyes to see the real side of the Kukup village.

Being a coastal village, most of the buildings at Kukup are built on stilts to protect them from getting damaged by water, waves or shifting soil or sand. I really do wonder how deep does it require for these stilts to be constructed underground just so they could hold the entire building together. hmm...

Also shown in the pictures above, there are a maze of plank walkways everywhere that serve as roads for the villages.. While Xiu was excitedly hopping here and there to snap pictures, I on the other hand, was struggling to just move from one point to another as though I was really gonna fall off anytime. hahaha! Useless, useless city girl.

What a beautiful view.

Dinner was served after that. So we went back to our chalet to have a quick one before we ran out again for more after dinner activities =)

And by more activities, we actually did what most of the tourists do at Kukup - playing with sky lanterns. tadaaaa!

I've always seen people making their wish and fly their lanterns during CNY at mum's home town.. but I've never really gotten a chance to play with it until this time around. Here's us penning down our wishes on the lanterns..

and let it fly in the sky!!!

May our wishes come true!

We went back to our chalet after that, and continued playing games with the rest of the group. Killers vs Residents is the name of the game - sounded lame at first, but got us all excited and hyped up until 4am in the morning. hahaha! We really had fun bonding and fooling around that night. and I guess that was when I actually opened up and became closer with all of them.

Sadly though, the UTM peeps had a seminar to attend on the very next morning. So they had to leave without saying goodbye.

As for the rest of us...

We continued with mah jong and karaoke in the chalet until it was time to leave. On our way back though, we did actually stop by at Pontian for their shaved ice and Won Ton Noodle.. since that's what Pontian is famous for.

To wrap it up, even though it was really just a short getaway, I'm glad I actually agreed to join this trip. Sure Kukup has a spectacular view to offer, but it was the company and the friends I made from this trip that made it so much more fun and memorable. Thanks for asking me along! =)

15-16/2/2014 - a Weekend in Penang

After a harsh day at work on that Friday (I remembered it so clearly because it was valentines and I got shouted over something I still find a bit hard to accept.. but well.), I flew to Penang for a short getaway! wheee!!

Took my brunch at Paris Baguette before I boarded..

and got my ex-roommie Mei Hong to fetch me from the airport.

She brought me to this hawker centre to try out some of the local delicacies, which was perfect because that's the main reason why people love Penang in the first place - for its food!

After resting and showering, I was then brought to the town area. If there's a point to note on Penang for this trip, it would definitely be for the artwork.

All around the town area, there were interesting art work created by artists with scrap metals. I was really impressed with how creative and good people can be at art, really. So I took a couple of pictures there for remembrance =)

Dinner was held at Kebaya Restaurant, Georgetown.

A quiet restaurant set in an old colonial building, with attentive staff serving us professionally and a live piano playing all my favourite musical pieces. I was in cloud nine!!

Our dinner was served in set menu. Started of with appetizers..

Main courses..

and lastly, desserts!

If I could write a review for the Kebaya Restaurant, I would say it is a fantastic restaurant, serving outstanding food in a superb ambiance. Certainly worth a try.

After dinner, I got the opportunity to take a walk at Auto-City, a one-stop station for general needs. Not only does it offer various F&B, it also comes with a shopping area that features factory outlets, boutiques and a fashion market. Youngsters would definitely love this place.

Woke up the next morning to have a bowl of delicious curry mee at Butterworth. Yum yum!!

Took the ferry back to Penang Island after that.. another one of my first experiences. tsk tsk!

Visited the Made In Penang Interactive 3D Museum for its artwork after that. As the name of the museum denotes, it is a place where the combined artworks done by Penang artists were collected.

On the ground floor, there were a series of miniatures show casing lifestyle of the locals in Penang.

At the 2nd level on the other hand, there was this Trick Art Gallery filled with a kaleidoscope of 3D wall painting which really impressed me. Here are some of the pictures taken..

Don't they look real? Thumbs up to all the artists who came out with such great artworks. It was almost impossible to imagine one could be this good at art. Impressive, really.

Last station in Penang before I departed for Singapore was of course, to have my bowl of authentic Penang Asam Laksa - a must eat when one goes to Penang. teeheeee!

And that marks the end of my short short trip to Penang last February. Thanks to my dear friends, Mei Hong and Aaron for making this trip such a wonderful one. I'll certainly come back again in no time! =)