Journey of Feasts

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Sometimes Kuala Lumpur becomes too much for me to handle. The traffic, the pollution and the crowds make me rethink my decision of moving back to my beloved homeland and when this occasional doubt lingers, I know just the thing to reaffirm my love for KL – a weekend getaway!

I rounded up two of my closest girlfriends and pitched a weekend of total relaxation and fun. I promised them lots of lazing around and scrumptious food for a fraction of what it would cost in KL. Naturally, they were sold at the food bit and we unanimously decided on Penang.

The long awaited Saturday finally rolled around and we set out as the first rays of the morning broke through the puffy white clouds. We barely made it onto the highway when we decided to first stop for a piping hot cup of joe and a neatly wrapped nasi lemak. There is nothing quite like starting the day with a sambal singed tongue.

A belly filled half an hour later and we were finally making some progress. It’s funny the things you pay attention to when you’re with different company. My girlfriends pointed out funny sounding towns on boards that had us all in fits of giggles - Kampung Tersusun Batu Lima Tambun?! We reminisced about how often we’d all used to speak Malay in school and how now it took us five minutes to even string a sentence. The next half hour was deemed ‘Malay hour’, as we each took turns struggling to communicate in our national language. More giggles ensued.

Two hours into the drive and backsides so numb we no longer felt the cushioned seats of our Myvi, we decided to stop and stretch our legs. It was also an opportunity to pile up on rest stop goodies like cheap chocolate (think Choki Choki) and more importantly, fried goods. One of my friends bought RM2 of pisang goreng thinking it would tie us over to lunch but got a shock instead as she walked away with 20 pieces of battered deliciousness. We were clearly not in Kuala Lumpur anymore.

The rest of the drive into Penang was relaxing as we watched the myriad of green scenery whizz by. Our roads were cut right out of deep forests, in between plunging cliffs and hidden waterfalls. I tried to remember the drive as a little one and was confused at how I missed the stark beauty staring back at me from the backseat window. I was suddenly filled with pride of her beauty but like most things in Malaysia, nothing is ever appreciated enough. Right around the corner huge tractors and forklifts were digging into the mountain, unearthing something valuable no doubt and the bright orange earth stained the mountain like bloodshed.

That was the last thing I remembered about the drive up as I must have fallen asleep soon after. I was awoken to shrills of excitement as we finally caught a glimpse of the ocean. I had always wondered if the ocean had this effect on everyone else and where my girlfriends were concerned, we were three peas in a pod as we shook the Myvi with our boisterous enthusiasm. We rolled the windows down and for once didn’t complain about the humidity as we let the salty breeze mangle our manes. The Penang Bridge was a sight for sore eyes and we eased on the speed to savour it for just a few extra minutes. We had finally arrived.

First stop – lunch! As you can tell by now, the theme of this road trip was no doubt food. My girlfriends and I convinced ourselves that the extra calories in each bite on this trip meant more than just extra trips to the gym, it meant we were giving ourselves the option of letting loose, living life and enjoying the journey.

We parked the car and made a bee line for Nasi Kandar Line Clear which now had a swarm of people spilling onto the busy streets waiting for one of the best lunches the island served on a hot day like this. We waited patiently, in fact we waited over half an hour. Quite literally something we would never do in KL and we were still smiling as we reached the front of the line. Penang was having a positive effect on us after all. The lunch was amazing, no words can describe the satisfaction of a mouth watering, hearty curry filled, sleep inducing lunch like that.

We dragged our beached whale like selves back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation. We clearly had not come during the best of times as the large volume of children at the pool suggested a minor flaw in our weekend – peak season. That totally explained the not so cheap hotel deal.

We lazed by the pool as screaming children ran past every now and then. We tried our best to keep them at bay with icy stares and an unfriendly pout but these kids had no idea what boundaries meant and kept on coming back. Parents were oblivious to their children’s antics and seemed deaf to the calls of foul play among siblings in the pool, clearly they were on vacation too.

The sun had finally set on an amazingly relaxing day even despite the crazy children, some of which had actually grown on us and the girls and I were ready for a big night out.

As we drove to Gurney Drive, we very carefully laid out our menu. We were going to tackle the stalls by priority but needless to say, the plan flew out the window as we made our way through the stalls. We must have ordered at least 7 dishes, far too many for three KL girls whose eyes were clearly much bigger than their tummies. Food coma number two soon followed.

Several hours and lots of Chinese tea later, we were at the Hard Rock Cafe. We ordered ourselves a bottle of white wine and listened to the live band belt out rock classics by Bon Jovi, Oasis and Guns ‘n’ Roses. We sang along at the top of our voices and hit the dancefloor as the bottle neared its end. What a perfect end to a fabulous day.

Day two which was also check out day had a more sombre feeling attached to it. The excitement had mellowed and clearly an early case of the Monday blues had snuck in. Eager to keep the enthusiasm alive, we made our way into the city centre in search of more island goodness to stuff our faces with. We came across an authentic kopitiam, we assumed authentic as it had an old Chinese uncle sitting in a corner reading the newspapers. He was having black coffee and a half boiled egg.

We ordered our kaya toasts and wantan noodles and enjoyed what was left of the morning. Reluctant to leave, we decided to visit the famous sleeping Buddha on our way out. We braved the Sunday crowds, snapped a few photos and each bought a lottery ticket from the temple groundskeeper, hoping Buddha would help us nail the jackpot.

Before we knew it, we had hit the highway again, this time the island behind us. The ride back was quiet, the girls were probably immersed in thoughts of work and responsibilities that came with adulthood.

As the distance separating us from Kuala Lumpur lessened, we managed to regain a sense of love and familiarity. After all, there was a reason why we chose to live in Kuala Lumpur and not just any city in Malaysia, it was simple because Kuala Lumpur was the best part of Malaysia – at least in our books. I’m big on city living and while the breezy beaches on the east and west coast can rejuvenate me in a single weekend, I wouldn’t commit to a life sans skyscrapers.