...where did she disappear to?

Yummylicious Food

Edo Warp Station

Elsewhere in Ibaraki and Narita

Big Island

Volcano National Park

Honolulu

Pearl Harbor

...Flagstaff, Sedona and Grand Canyon.

For captions, visit kwazy berry's Windows Live Spaces

...a good job as a tourist guide.

Kwazy berry is applauding herself. A quick pat on her shoulder. Two thumbs up.

It's always a joy to see people enjoying their holiday very much. Double joy when you know you were the one who contributed to it.

My good friend, Sookie, came to Penang over the weekend. Here was our itinerary...

Saturday
- Airport pick up
- Check in: Springfield Condo
- Breakfast: Chee Cheong Fun (yummy!), Pasembur (not recommended) @ Island Glades coffeeshop
- Walkabout: Khoo Kongsi (interesting!), Yap temple, etc @ Lebuh Armenian
- Drive around Georgetown: Clock Tower, Fort Cornwallis, Esplanade, City Hall, Town Hall, Convent Light Street school, High Court, etc.
- Lunch: Assam Laksa (yummy!) @ Penang Road
- Walkabout: Chowraastar Market
- Snack: Chendol (yummy!) @ Penang Road
- Shopping: Him Heang @ Burmah Road
- Dinner: Seafood (yummy!) @ Teluk Kumbar
- Visitation: Allanaq’s apt @ Sunrise Condo


For captions, visit kwazy berry's Windows Live Spaces

Sunday
- Church: SAGH
- Breakfast: Glutinous rice @ Church
- Lunch: Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee (not recommended) @ Ayer Itam
- Walkabout: Penang Hill
- Hi Tea: Apple Pie, Ice Lemon Tea @ David Brown’s Cottage, Strawberry Hill (pricey but fantastic garden and comfy place to chit chat!)
- Dinner: Passions of Kerala (yummy!) @ New World Park


For captions, visit kwazy berry's Windows Live Spaces

Monday
Lunch: Curry Fish Head (yummy!) @ Batu Maung
Jalan-jalan: Queensbay Mall (while kwazy berry is at work)
Depart to airport to check in
Dinner: Nasi Goreng Daging Merah (yummy!) @ Tom Yam restaurant, Sg Ara

Interesting? Interested?

It was a slightly different itinerary from the one I had with my doctor gal pal and her good friend when they came to Penang. They were my first visitors. :-)

So do come over to Penang. Kwazy berry will customize the itinerary to suit your needs and wants. Accommodation and transportation in the island are provided. Fun guaranteed. What are you waiting for?

...Chandler and LA from kwazy berry's eyes.

For captions, visit kwazy berry's Windows Live Spaces

...the definition of honeymoon walk.

Nope, kwazy berry didn't get married and gone for a honeymoon.

Kwazy berry and sleepy wabbit proudly coined a new phrase "honeymoon walk". It has yet to be listed in dictionaries. Hopefully, it will be circulated widely soon.

honeymoon walk
noun, verb
an extremely slow stroll to minimise the use of energy, usually used to disguise the lack of fitness while walking (or hiking)

Example:
It was a steep hike up Mount Sibayak. Kwazy berry said to sleepy wabbit in a breathless rasp, "Let's honeymoon walk." They then slowed down their pace to a honeymoon walk that quadrupled the time it normally took to cover that particular stretch of trek.

Confession of an unfit berry...
Yes, kwazy berry admits that she is getting old. Her last mountain hike was exactly 10 years ago up Mount Kinabalu (if minus small hills now and then). Kwazy berry have succumbed to the popular disease known as lackofexercise. Though she's aware that the disease is spread by laziness and unhealthy diet, she has not done anything to prevent it nor took any redemptive actions to minimise the impact. Symptoms include breathlessness after a 5-minute hike up a (very, very, very) steep incline, non-stop whining and complaining, feelings of regret for not staying in good shape with regular exercise, multiple rest stops in the guise of enjoying the beauty of nature but in actual fact it's due to the need to recuperate, and pain in the legs that will last a few days.

Dissatisfaction of a disgruntled berry...
After all our hard work of huffing and puffing, we didn't even get to see the volcano crater. Reason: It was too dangerous to cross because of the strong winds. But then, kwazy berry will never attempt to climb again! It was a burst berry that went away, disappointed and dejected.

...a dramatic unforgettable experience.

i took a seat at the round table. it was a muslim restaurant. he was hungry. i presumed that he had not taken his breakfast. that's a story for another time.

i was not hungry. i was worried. something was not right. i felt uneasy about the whole thing.

i glanced up and saw the clock on the wall above me. 2.45pm. i was shocked. i didn't expect time to have passed by so quickly. i began to panic. what if we could not make it in time? the possibility was there. the possibility was real.

i questioned him. are you sure we can make it? how long does it take to reach medan? when will the bus arrive?

don't worry, he said. plenty of time.

plenty of time? that didn't seem to click with the knowledge that i had. my mind whirled into calculation. i needed four to five hours.

2.45 + 5 = 7.45

my heart started beating faster. this was not good. not good at all. we have to go now, my head screamed. the words ran through my head like a mantra.

i looked at my friend. i couldn't read her expression. but i felt her fear. for it was like mines.

i reminded him again of our need to make a move. pronto. he was eating. he was eating like there were no worries. easy for him. it wasn't him who had anything to lose. my anger grew. i raised my voice slightly, said each word slowly. what in my words do you not understand? we have to go! we have a plane to catch!!

calming myself down, i again explained to him that boarding a plane is not like boarding a bus. we have to be there early. it's not going to wait until it's full before taking off. we have to be there one hour before the departure time at 8.10pm. preferably by 7.00pm. and it's already 3.00pm now. where do we take the bus? when will it arrive?

he tried to defend himself. buses here are different. he shrugged.

i glared at him. my head screamed in silence. i paid you to be my guide. you should know. you should have taken into consideration all the factors. we already told you what time we had to be at polonia. we reminded you again and again and again. last night. this morning. before we left lake toba. while on the ferry.

something must have registered in his brain. he quickly ushered us out to the waiting point. 3.10pm. but not before he cleverly tried to split the bill unevenly. but i didn't care anymore. take the money. it was nothing compared to the cost that we may have to incur if we miss our flight.

3.15pm. we waited.

3.20pm. a bus came and gone. there were no places left.

3.25pm. several mini buses came and gone. no empty seats.

my friend and i pooled our resources together. i asked him. what other alternatives are there? what other options can we consider?

he looked at me in a daze. i don't even know if he understood me. he clearly could hear what i said. to me, he had a brain the size of a dot. no further explanation needed.

3.30pm.

3.35pm.

finally, thanks to another guy, a minibus agreed to take us in even though it was already jam packed like sardines in a can. we got in. we were beyond caring. the only thought in our mind was to get there as soon as we can.

we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight. we chanted the mantra every minute.

4.30pm. we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight.

we prayed.

5.30pm. we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight. we cannot miss our flight.

we prayed harder.

6.30pm. move it! we can't stop here! keep going! overtake the slow lorry! go! go! go! make it quick!

we prayed even harder.

7.00pm. please let us not miss the flight. please. please. please.

let's hope the plane is delayed.

7.30pm. oh, please let us board the plane. please. please. please.

we can make it. we have to make it. i do not even want to think of the posssibility of what if we could not. i prepared by holding our passports and ticket info. the amount for the airport tax snugly in my pocket.

7.45pm. finally, the bus station. jumped out of the bus. ran across the street. where's the taxi when we need it? we need a taxi to get to the airport.

7.50pm. in between cars. why did it seem that everyone is out about town today?

7.55pm. why is the car in front driving so slowly? move it. we are in a hurry.

7.56pm. is that the airport?

7.57pm. yes, it is. i can see it,

7.58pm. we are almost there.

heart beating faster. please let us board the plane.

7.59pm. go, go, go.

8.00pm. finally, the international departure entrance. practically threw the money at the guide. jumped out of the taxi. flew over the few steps. ran in. dumped our bags onto the scanner machine. grabbed our bags.

where's air asia counter? the security guard pointed.

with a sinking heart, though already expected, it was closed. there was not a single soul there.

sudah tutup, said an airport official.

my flight is at 8.10pm. we can still make it. we can run. we have no baggage.

i pleaded to the guys who showed up around us. they told us to go to air asia's ticketing office located outside. i remembered seeing it. running faster than i ever had, not even caring about the pain in my legs, i zoomed out of the departure hall to the tiny office window.

my flight is at 8.10pm. we can make it. we can run. we have no baggage. please let us board the plane. please, please, please.

no. cannot.

such cruel words. my heart sank. but i won't give up. i cannot give up at this point.

please, please, please. we can make it. we can run. we have no baggage. please let us board the plane.

no. cannot.

please, please, please.

voices over the walkie talkie.

in desperation, i pleaded, i begged.

ok. go.

i need no other words. no further prompts. we ran in again. threw our bags to be scanned. raced to the counter. this time, an air asia staff was there. the airport officials quickly set things into motion. took our passports. fill in the forms for us. took our money and paid the airport tax on our behalf.

all i could do was to say, thank you, thank you, thank you very much.

they showed us the way. with gratitude, i bid farewell and loads of thank yous to them.

passed thru the immigration.

ran up the elevator.

ran to the departure gate.

ran down the escalator.

ran onto the tarmac.

ran up the steps.

walk into the plane.

welcome. glad that you could make it.

thank God that we could make it.

i walked into the aisle. everyone else was already seated. some were looking at us. i didn't care. i was overjoyed and thankful that i was on the plane. and will soon be on my way back home. i can hardly believe it.

we turned to each other. took a deep breath. sighed a big relief. thank God and our lucky stars.

we made it.


p/s: i sincerely wish to thank the minibus driver, the other passengers in the minibus, the taxi driver, the 3 airport officials and the 2 air asia staff for going all out to help us make the flight home on may 5th. they were wonderful people who demonstrated kindness, understanding and support to strangers like us in indonesia. may they be blessed for their good deeds.

...the life of city folks.

Everyone looks forward to holidays. Especially working people. It's a day where we don't have to work and yet get paid for it.

But when the holiday arrives, we realise that the anticipation is greater than the actual. Many city folks just do not know what to do. The usual stuff is to sleep, watch movies either on DVDs or at the cinema, shop, makan-makan, lepak at malls, etc.

Is that all to it?

I guess it boils down to having friends and family to hang out and do stuff with. I may be a typical city gal. I am a typical city gal. The plan for karaoke may be scrapped. The plan to picnic by the river may seem illogical coz of the rain lately. But I've no regrets hanging out at my friend's place, eating her homemade chicken pie (yummy!), chit chatting non-stop and playing Boggle with 2 of my good friends.

That was a great afternoon on a holiday.

Never mind the fact that I had to suffer the whole night with last minute stuff to complete, e-mails to send out, getting only a few hours of sleep... coz the next day, I'm on my way to another travel destination. Yipee!

...her first holiday of the year.

i can't believe it! this is so pathetic! so unlike me!

yes, i am now only going for my first trip of the year. and a local one at that. and for only two days one night. seriously, how have i lost my wandering feet? at this time last year, i was preparing myself to go down under. albeit for work purpose, but pleasure was in the itinerary.

i have lost my reputation. right from the beginning of the year, people had already questioned me about my next journey. and all i can do is smile and say "don't know". yet, the year has not ended. there's still hope. that i may cross the seas to another land. but where should i go?

my fren's father-in-law had travelled to forty countries. and so i counted mines. what? barely even ten? if it was not for china claiming back hk, it would have been ten. and so my resolution is to hit that number this year. but where may i go?

been there...

1. singapore
2. indonesia - medan, bali
3. thailand - bangkok, sukothai, chiangmai/chiangrai, kachanaburi, hat yai, koh samui
4. cambodia - siem reap (angkor wat), phnom penh
5. vietnam - hanoi, halong bay, hue, hoi an, danang, ho chi minh city (saigon)
6. china - hong kong, shenzhen
7. south korea - seoul, icheon, jeonju
8. india - mumbai, goa
9. australia - melbourne, great ocean road
10. ???

looks like i have never ventured beyond asia pacific. but i trot where the budget leads me. so where can i go?

save me. give me ideas. show me the way, literally.

for the meantime, i will dream of my highlands. two highlands actually. camerons tomorrow. and gentings on wednesday. a very much deserved break, i must add.

at least i know, or i think i will be doing something similar to last year at this time. that is... pigging out on strawberries. ooh, such lovely thought. sigh!

...the definition of a relaxing holiday.

I love to travel. But I seldom go for a holiday.

It's incorrect to say, "I want to go for a holiday." and then you packed your bags for a budget trip to Cambodia. I mean, what kind of holiday is that when you have to wake up at 5am in the morning and then climb thousand of steps and eat at odd hours of the day and sweat under the hot sun. That's what I call travelling. To move around as much as possible, to see and experience different things, to enjoy another world. Yes, I do love to travel no matter what.

And then, I went for a holiday. Totally relaxing. No worries. Eat, sleep, read and watch movies. Being fed. Airconditioning. Did I mention lots of food?

I love to travel. And I love to go for a holiday too. ;)

...the mis-adventures of my travelling mates.

"The more you travel, the more stories to tell."

If I were to write stories that depict the departure part of my travels, I would like to title them as so:

1. The I.D.iots Guide to India

2. Passport, O Where Art Thou?

3. I.C.: The Left Behind Story of an Unwanted Card

...to be continued in future trips.