Balik kampung... wooooh balik kampung

I just got back from my "original" hometown, Penang. I was born there but only stayed there 1 year before my family moved in search of greener pastures.

Had to rush off from Easter service early because I had to catch a flight to Penang :-( All because the 7th-day Adventists' Sabbath is on Saturday, they work on Sundays... and my presentation was in their hospital so I had to work on a Sunday too. Too bad for me loh. Oh well, the talk turned out pretty good! The audience was nice, majority were really old folks. I was so worried I'd end up having to give the talk in Hokkien but wa lau eh! Their English manyak powerful leh! Not only they had pretty interesting questions to ask me after my talk, they could answer the quiz I set for them! Wow!!

After that, I went for a shoulder and back massage at a reflexology centre that bf brought my to several times. Pretty good, especially since my my neck and back still hurts a bit from "silap bantal".

What's a trip to Penang without stopping for some of these?
yummy Nasi Kandar at Kassim Mustafa!
Super light and crispy papadam!
I took 2 types of meat and 1 type of vege and it only came up to RM5!! Good ole Penangites who really know value for money!

Then it was back to d big ole empty room at Gurney Hotel. Sometimes I wish I don't have to travel alone so often. You'd feel kinda lonely. And next week I have to go to Kota Bahru pulak, worse...
big ole empty bed
big ole empty room
No one to share the big room with, no one to share d yummy nasi kandar with either. All my friends from Penang have moved away in search of greener pastures like my parents long time ago. So I just spent the evening eating roast chicken wings I ta pau from some hawker along Gurney Drive and watching TV. Thankfully, my newest cheer-me-up song kept coming on: Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On". Don't you think that's such a nice cheer-up song? If I had driven to Penang, I definitely stay with my grandma instead. Her house is too far away for me to go to the hospitals when I don't have a car though.

Taxis in Penang? Unpredictable and they do NOT go by meters! Some do not even have receipts to give out. Sheesh! Now I know how lucky we are in KL.

The next day, after working in GH I took a cab down to Bangkok Lane for my favourite Mi Goreng. Ooooh!!! Yum! I was soooooo looking forward to when when I saw this!!
Argh!!! NOOOOOO!!!!
It was closed! So I went for another round of Nasi Kandar. Had the Nasi Tomato this time. I know that mount of rice and lauk is probably a gazillion calories but it's well worth it! I don't know why I can always clean up a whole big plate of rice at Indian stalls when I can't eat even half that amount of rice at Chinese stalls.
I'm so full!

Next stop was the airport... home sweet home!!