Batu Ferringhi, PENANG!

ARSENAL’s VICTORY: Before I unfurl my excitement and fill this column with lots and lots of agendas and arrangements waiting to be realized for my trip to Penang, I’ve to make a splendid announcement about an event that took place this morning. It was a draw between ARSENAL and the-not-so-great-anymore Real Madrid, which brought them out of the Champions League. So ARSENAL is thru 2 da next round! Err the semis I guess? (Mind me, I only like watching football and a huge fan of Arsenal but has only minimal knowledge on the whole system).

INCREASED PAY: I’m going on a trip to PENANG this weekend! Yay! We have been planning to go for a holiday like months now… oh wait, maybe a year already. “Who ‘we’ you ask? Sara, Dena and Nivin. And since several weeks ago, Sara told us that she has a wedding in Penang to attend, & her soon-to-be-married friend has also invited us to go, then we have a concrete reason to go there! Not that we need any. There’s going to be seven of us altogether; Ayol (the bodyguard :P), Ariff (the Father), Dena (the Mother), Nivin (the entertainer), Sara (the organizer), Sharil (the follower) & Naili (the…). I’ve got a green-light from my dear boss already. Getting my leave approved was the simplest thing to do because during my two years of working for the company, I have never taken any leaves or MCs ever before. And if that’s not enough to make me all excited, I was told by my boss that he is going to raise my monthly salary into a quite huge figure (at least I think so)! Can you believe it? I was smiling from ear to ear the minute I got that news.

PENANG: Actually, we’ve made a few lists, juz to get us all prepared for the trip. This includes a To-Do list, To-Buy list and To-Bring list. So did the trip turn-out as planned? Keep on reading to know all about it:

· We hit the road very early at around 7 a.m. from Nivin’s house, and then reached Dena’s place half an hour later. Began the journey roughly at 8 a.m. with 5 of us in the car; Ariff, Dena, Ayol, Nivin and me. Had a coupla stops at the R&R, for a quick bfast and ciggies. Arrived at Ferringhi, Penang at noon and checked-in at the Eden Seaview Condominium (awesome condo!) 1 hour earlier from the given time. (Success)
· Went to the beach (via Park Royal Hotel) for some soaking under the sun, jet skiing and banana-boating at noon, where the heat from the sun was at its peak (really got me tanned); Had a few laps at the Condo’s swimming pool (ceh!); Ferringhi Night Market (really got meself lotsa DVDs, tho it could be more! RM 4/dvd babe!); Gurney Plaza (did some window); Jalan Swatow (I guess) and had the most scrumptious Mee Goreng Mamak (they called it Mee Sultan) and mouth-watering Ais Kacang (never a fan of ABCs but this surely transformed all my detests); Dinner at Padang Kota (munching their Pasembor’, gulping their Air Kelapa’, which I’ve been craving for quite some time); Karaoke at Bukit Jambul; Supper & lunch at Nasi Kandar Line Clear (yummmyyyy). (not quite a Success)
· Extended my stay with the others (Ayol, Sara and Sharil), while Dena, Ariff and Nivin headed back the 4th day, as scheduled. Went swimming and watched a few movies (Walk the Line etc.) juz to kill da time. Had a rather leisurely consoling time during the final day. Well, that’s what a holiday supposed to be! But it went all so dreary and I was halfway to boredom when it wasn’t even noon yet. (not quite a Success tho)

The trip was fun cuz it was PENANG, a state with a little bit of everything! Nevertheless, it didn’t really turn out as planned, as we didn’t get the chance to visit some other places like Gurney Drive, Perangin Mall, etc. (as pointed out by Ayol). And for that, I will definitely go there once more juz to ensure that we won’t miss those must-go places yet again. And certainly will get my mouthful of that oh-so-delighful Swatow’s Ais Kacang! *drool*

*The beginning of this write-up was created about 2-3 weeks ago, hence its invalidity. But it's still news!