Tired Out, Penang Photo Dump

... as in, I am. So I apologise for not coming back here sooner - I've found myself coming home and collapsing into bed for a nap on any day I'm not occupied with some other thing. If there's food rescue, lessons, or medical appointments then I have no choice but to keep on pushing through the day. But oh how I relish my free afternoons. I am actually GLEEful about getting home and showered quickly so I can get snoozing!

I blame the menopause. And the heat. 

On the relationship front, things have been good with us recently. I can't complain. BIKSS is supportive of my rescue efforts. He is also very supportive financially, contributing to my retirement plan as well as my holiday efforts. 

On the work front, piano school pulled a shit move on me last month so I've given them my notice and will be out of there in October. I was considering going back to teach with my previous school, but in the end decided against it as I really don't want to be tied down to fixed hours. I've decided that I will just keep on with freelancing and giving myself the space to enjoy life. Especially with these aches everywhere and feeling so tired all the time. I'm coming up to 4 months without a period since I've switched HRT medications, altho it's hard to say if I've already menopaused since the last few years I've been on a cyclical HRT, which means I could have very well already passed the one-year-no-bleed mark.

But, all in all, life has been pretty decent. I've been to Penang recently with the sis and managed to visit with an old friend who used to work in my part of the world. He moved back home a few decades ago and I've seen him twice since then. This was the third time I managed to catch up with him in 3 decades. My last trip over there was 13 years ago with my folks, which was the last he saw of them. I shall make it a point to visit there more frequently.

It was a last minute trip, as our Macau plans got washed out. Typhoon Wipha and all that. Still, we managed to get decent priced tickets even tho it was the night before, and on a full service carrier on top of that. 

We turned it into something of a mission trip/pilgrimage. We spent half of our first day there shopping for requested items and other supplies for St Joseph's Home (orphanage) and then carted everything over there.  

Then since there was a thrift shop near the St Francis Xavier Church that shares the same plot of land, we spent an hour or so in there too.

The pile on the left is CG's (mum's caregiver who is now MY caregiver!) picks, and the pile on the right is mine (black skirt, brown sweater, navy tee) - the bag was bought as a gift for a friend who is absolutely nuts over Naraya bags.

Then we walked over to the Church of the Assumption, which seems to have been recently completed. It's so clean and bright!

And even has its own Catholic stuff musuem.

With things like this on display. 

Some of the art / murals / wire pictures around Georgetown, Penang

The view from the Rainbow walk, 68 storeys high. 

Here's a video...

For dinner we ate at the revolving restaurant at the top of our hotel. It was kinda interesting. The buffet spread was on the part of the restaurant that DIDN'T move, but the tables did. So technically if you sat long enough you would be able to just get up and pick at the different dishes as you moved along! 

TRIGGER WARNING - BAKERY OFFERINGS COMING UP

CLICK AWAY NOW IF YOU FIND IMAGES OF CONFECTIONARIES DISTRESSING

(EITHER TO YOU OR TO YOUR DIET)

Near our hotel there was a bakery called Kenny Hills Bakery - we ate there on Day 2 for breakfast then went back again on Day 3! The fish pie was highly recommended but I prefer some of their other bakes. Still, it wasn't bad. It was just not my thing, I guess.

Scones on the other hand... now we're talking! I bought a couple to bring home with me and just had one this afternoon. So good. So so good. They pack some tiny tubs of strawberry preserve and clotted cream along with your scone so there's no risk of not having the full English Scone Experience. 

Sadly I did not buy any of these to take back with me. We had already bought too much.

I did get 3 of these - one of each flavour, except the strawberry one. 

Also very good. Very very generous fillings. 

I picked up some chicken mushroom pie, REAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM pie, not the rubbish we sometimes get here which is just bits of chicken in a cream sauce with frozen mixed vegetables. 

Let me find you a pic - 

There we go. Just Chicken. and Mushroom. Delicious. There were 8 chicken pies in the display case when we got there. There were no more chicken pies in the display case after we left.

Between the two of us we bought 4 bags worth of pies, puffs and other sweets!

I didn't get the quiches because the sister wanted all of them. 

I'm not a huge fan, so I told her she could have the lot. 

Banoffee - more banana, less toffee. All delicious.

Crumble Cheesecake - oats and nuts and fruit are healthy right? Cheese has calcium, and I'm sure chocolate is good for SOMEthing.

Alright. That's done. You can breathe a bit easier now that the 

OMG-I WANNA EAT ALL THAT 

portion of this foto dump is over. 

We spent half a day at the Penang Peranakan Museum. 

While my ancestors hail from Malacca, there are also Penang peranakans, altho they tend to be a bit more Chinese in their dress and cuisine, while the Malacca peranakans tend to have more Malay and even Portuguese influence in their dishes.

An entire room was dedicated to the display of ceramic and porcelain bowls and pots. The most famous of these is what is known in Hokkien (Chinese dialect) as "Kam Cheng" :

A Kamcheng is a decorative, lidded porcelain container, particularly significant in Peranakan Chinese culture, often used for ceremonial purposes or as a symbol of status and marital bliss, and although its exact original purpose varied, it was commonly used for storing food or other items. The name "Kamcheng" is believed to be derived from the Hokkien dialect, meaning "covered jar" or "covered vessel".

Here are some pretty kamchengs taken off the web from a Google search - and no, sadly I do not own any. I love looking at them, but only when they're not in my house. 

I also spotted this Polyphon which I admit I had to look up. It's so fascinating.

After the museum we hopped onto a ferry to get to the mainland (Penang is an island) -

The view of Penang bridge (on the left) and Penang island from Butterworth (mainland)

That ferry ride to the mainland was so that we could come visit the Minor Basilica of St Anne. We were there during the week leading up to the feast of St Anne so we decided to pay a visit to the church and say a prayer. It was something of an experience. In where I live when there's a feast day of something or someone, the church is usually just busy for 5 hours on the day of.  And then it's back to normal. 

*The old church on the right with the steps leading up to it*

*The new church aka Minor Basilica*

BUT not so for these folks. The grottos (yes plural) were ablaze with candles and fragrant with flowers. 

(I didn't take any fotos with the candle light cos it messed up my camera's ability to adjust for light.)

The church was open till late (this was close to 9pm) cos they had Masses 5 times a day the entire week to celebrate the upcoming feast day, with different special intentions for every day of the week leading up to the actual feast.

There were some shops set up in the courtyard selling flowers and candles and bottles for collecting Holy Water, which is where everyone got their flowers and candles for placing at the grottos, and inside the old chapel. And souvenirs. Of course, souvenirs. Tee shirts, book marks, all the usual Catholic stuff too - medals, rosaries, prayer books... 

Anyway after all that churching we decided to get ourselves a ride-share across the bridge all the way back to our hotel instead of dealing with a car-ferry-car transfer. Well, not quite to the hotel. Just before we got there I remembered seeing a Tarbush Restaurant (of Kuala Lumpur fame) and decided I absolutely HAD to take the sister and CG there for dinner. So that's where we went. We all ate too much.

Top left - Shish with bechamel pot (chicken and mushrooms in bechamel sauce)

Top right - baba ganoush (roasted eggplant / tahini / lemon juice / garlic / spices) 

and foul bil laban (fava beans / tahini / yoghurt plus other bits like tomato and parsley)

Bottom - Shawarma Chicken Roll - with tahini / yoghurt / coleslaw

It was an easy walk back to our hotel, thankfully, so we COULD walk all that food off instead of having to get a cab. But it wasn't SO near that it wouldn't have done any good. Along the way we spotted this pair of pubs. We suspect they're owned by the same people... LOL

The next day we were heading off home so there was very little by way of sight-seeing, but we did end up shopping for some cheaper-here-than-back-home necessities since I had luggage space and we had nothing else to do. (Toiletries, face mask, deodarant... that sort of thing.)

And that's that guys. I'm getting out of this chair. Part of the reason I haven't been posting (or using my laptop to do any of the things I really should get down to doing) is that sitting in one spot for anything longer than 10 minutes makes my hips / back / shoulders hurt. And so I will say sayonara for now, and see you for the next foto dump after my trip to Manila with CG!

Photo Dump KL

Alright as promised here are some highlights from the recent KL trip. Also, we're likely going to be in Bangkok at the end of May. BIKSS just got the green light from work today. I've applied for days off and had a quick chat with my HR person today who basically said GO MORE! DO MORE! TRAVEL MORE! Heh. I mean, if the boss thinks I should go and HR thinks I should go, I'm not going to fight it. LOL

And now, in no particular order, pics, vids, and my thoughts... 

We had tapas at a restaurant that opened till late as I only arrived at the hotel closer to 10pm. The ride from the airport to town was an hour and a half. And to make things worse even tho my plane landed ahead of schedule, the bay wasn't ready so we sat in the plane for a half hour.  NOT FUN.

Tun Razak Exchange - it's a shopping mall with fancy stores. But this is also where the nearest Puras store to me was so I decided to check it out. It was my first time here. Met a friend here for lunch too. It was HER first time as well. And she LIVES in KL. I guess it's just too upmarket for us regular folk. 

We had afternoon tea at the coffeehouse at the Marriott. 

The sugar syrup came in what looks very much like a test tube! 

Not a bad spread. The cannoli was pretty good. Better than the ones I've tried before which had super hard pastry. This one was flaky and fluffy and had some pineapple filling!

The linkway from the hotel to the dining zone. Trippy!

Seen in one of the shops. I mean, what is the purpose of this thing?

We had dinner at Tarbush restaurant TWICE while we were there. And we were only there for 3 dinners. The baba ghanoush was delicious. Lime and pomegranate made it refreshing throughout the eating of it. Most of the ones I've tried tended to get 'jelak' after a while. I tried translating that.  

And this is what Google AI threw at me -

In English, "jelak" translates to feeling sick of eating something, particularly overly rich or greasy food. It's a Malay word that essentially means "bored" or "sick of," and in the context of food, it describes a feeling of being overwhelmed and repulsed by a dish, often due to its richness or overwhelming flavors.

That's the chicken and sauce and french fries from this lovely thing - SHISH WITH BECHAMEL POT

The menu reads "You can only find this dish in Tarboush restaurants, which is a harmonious mixture of bechamel sauce, grilled chicken pieces and the finest types of mushrooms covered with a layer of mozzarella cheese and prepared in the oven."

Top - goodies from Puras in Tun Razak Exchange 

Middle - slides and mules from an outlet store to replace the sandals that I left behind 

as the straps were giving way and they were ready to give up the ghost.

Bottom - Gardener's shower gel from Crabtree and Eveleyn / 

Coconut blossom sugar - lower GI apparently

Chocolate treats for the people at work /

An olive green quilted "dumpling" bag with a long crossbody strap that I can wear across my torso without having to fuss with it now that my right shoulder is pretty much out of commission. 

BIKSS got it for me from the Mr DIY store in Fahrenheit 88.

Dim sum and some Chinese dishes (brinjal in claypot / black chicken soup) at 

Luk Yu Tea House in the dining zone in the basement of Starhill KL.

Went to a Tamil - English bilingual Mass on Maundy Thursday while BIKSS was at work. 

It was a good walk there and back. I felt that I worked off all the awesome food I was eating.

More Tarbush. This time a salad and some Mandi lamb. The meat was tender and fell off the bone. The rice was adequately flavoured, and that red gravy (whatever it was...) with the rice was perfection! 

From the finest types of basmati rice with a chef’s touch, the original Arabic spices and ghee with fresh chicken or two pieces of lamb with bone, we offer this dish for Mandi lovers.

And this was dessert - Warbat Qeshta... 

... a delicious Arabic pastry dessert consisting of layers of crispy filo dough (warbat) filled with a rich, orange blossom-flavored clotted cream (qeshta), and drizzled with a rose-flavored simple syrup. It is often sprinkled with ground pistachios and rose petals. 

I went to the supermarket and caved. Bought a box of peppermint tea. There were so many different tisanes tho... sigh. Too much tea, too little time.

Some of the delicious offerings seen at Japanese bakery - Top left - tom yum garlic bread

The date and peanut sticks and oreo cream puffs have labels (shown); 

That round yellow thing is a yuzu orange danish, and the triangle is one of 2 cheese scones I got for us in case we got hungry on the way to the airport.

And that, is that. I've emptied my gallery and in a few hours I will be making my way to the sister's house to spend the night as we leave at 5 tomorrow morning. And it's way nearer to the pick up point from her place than from mine. 

Stay tuned for more pics when I return!

Where to Next? And Some Foto Treats from Bangkok

We've just recently come back from a trip to Thailand (Bangkok) where I spent a lot of time walking about the malls. Well, just the couple of malls near the hotel, because all the "traditional" sight-seeing had already been done in my youth when I visited with my family (it's a popular short-holiday destination if you live in Asia).

BIKSS was there for work. And I tagged along. It was more of a quick get-away than an actual vacation, if you know what I mean. 

BUT we're planning next year's holiday and have no idea where to go. Well, I have ONE idea, but am thinking about other possible options. 

At the moment we were thinking we could go to a different part of Tasmania than Hobart, since BIKSS enjoys the slower more laid-back pace in general, but that involves a pretty long flight.

Or we could do Hue in North Central Vietnam cos I want to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang (which is 90 mins drive from Hue) and some of the churches in Hue itself, the Phu Cam Cathedral being one of them - click the Images tab to see pics.

Hue also feels like the kind of place BIKSS might like. It's got a citadel, fort, moat etc., things that appeal to his love for military history. And it also has a great menu! That's something *I* will enjoy!

We also looked at Delhi. But I'm not sure I'll be able to survive the smell. 

There's the option of Dubai. But all that desert. And heat. 

So I dunno.. if you have any ideas about where we could go in Asia (if there's somewhere you've been that really made an impression on you) do leave a suggestion in the comments!

Since there aren't a lot of touristy pics, I'll leave you with a few choice selections from BKK - 

A fried donut bun with pork curry and cheese filling. It was surprisingly good. 

I'm going to stick cheese on my curry bowls from now on!

The view from or dinner venue the night before our departure.

Bikss got a mani (no polish) while I got a pedi. With their high tech drying system LOL. I mean, that's ONE way to get your customers out of the chair quickly. Time is money after all. And the shop had a steady stream of customers to be sure!

If there's ONE thing BKK has no shortage of, it's sweet treats! 

Here's more - 

(How cute is that hippo!)

(Local brand, based on K-beauty formulation and manufactured in Korea. I didn't get this, but I did pick up some foam cleansers and a bottle of bakuchiol serum.)

Japanese desserts and Korean cosmetics are really big in Thailand evidently.

MORE sweets - 

I had Afternoon Tea for brunch at the Cath Kidston Tea Room. It was probably the best scone I've ever had in my life. Lightly toasted, warm, and just a little hint of crisp on the outside, but fluffy, light and full of buttery flavour on the inside. The cakes were delicious. That there was an option for roobois was simply perfect!

My favourite brand for tinted sunblock. I made BIKSS buy 5 tubes for me the last time he was here without me. I still have some left from then. So I didn't need more this round. I DID pick up a powder compact for about $4 USD. Even tho' I do own and use Western brands like Clinique, Revlon and Physician's Formula, I find that Thai cosmetic brands have a better / wider / more nuanced range when it comes to matching their bases to Asian skin tones.

Spoils from the first day's shopping - 

This lot plus the big box of aromatherapy stuff I ordered to be delivered from Chiang Mai made up the bulk of my loot. I did pick up a few more small items (essential oil rollerballs, lip balms) but nothing I couldn't stuff into my already-gonna-be-too-full luggage. 

And last of all, my favourite thing to eat in Thailand - skewered grilled pork (left) aka Moo Ping. We went to get some the very night I arrived! 

---------------------------

EPILOGUE

This trip has taught me 3 things - 

1) Don't bother bringing a swimsuit cos hotel pools are never really good for laps. And if I'm going to be swimming, it's gonna be for exercise. 

2) From next year onwards I'm not going to bother with souvenirs. It's just too much stress having to think about what to get everyone. 

3) I'm going to have to get a Medium sized suitcase cos my Cabin sized one is way too small for clothes AND shopping. As my girlfriend and I were discussing over the weekend - there is a minimum volume of luggage space that's automatically gonna go to the toiletries bag, the tech bag, the pharmaceuticals bag, and the one extra pair of shoes. Those 4 things are non-negotiable. That's already HALF the cabin bag. 

And with that, I shall leave you. I hope you enjoyed the pics/vids!