An Evening Stroll

After a long day at Gurney Plaza, the boys were hungry by the time we touched down. We decided against ordering in since the menu was pretty limited. We went for dinner buffet at Sarkies instead.

The boys were charged at half price and on the whole considering the quality of the food on the spread, it was well worth it.

It had the usual Malaysian food, plus roast, salad, seafood including oyster - which I was not into, sashimi - my favourite, and some local delicacies including some flaming char kuey teow, which was the bomb!

The previous evening, there was roast lamb on the skewer, but not tonight. They had satay instead and it was really nice as well. The hidden gem was the chicken curry. Almost as good as the nasi kandar outlet to be honest. They really knew how to cook here, that was for certain!

Since both Anita and I overindulged, we had to take a walk. In the sea breeze towards the room, it was a really nice walk. The air was fresh. Shame that Irfan couldn't wait to get into the room. We could have done with another hour or so at the sofa by the lobby .....

At the Movies

After breakfast, Anita hatched an idea that we should go out to watch a movie. The vote was 3 against 1. Irfan wasn't keen. For him, the whole idea of the holiday was to stay at the hotel and never having to go out ...

After much persuasion and bribe, he agreed and we went to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. It turned out to be much better than we thought, although the dialogue may not be really suitable for young children. Some ample use of swearword and sexual innuendos were about ....

We left the theatre rooting for Groot, the plant character in the movie.

The theatre was located at a shopping mall along Gurney Drive. Anita went to do some shopping afterwards, while Irfan demanded his bribe .... We ended up staying until about 6 pm, back in time for dinner.

First Impression

When it comes to hotels, first impression could mean everything. It could be the maker or the breaker. So, we were expecting great things from Eastern & Oriental when we landed there yesterday, and we were not disappointed. In fact, for Puan Anita, she was impressed the moment she first set foot. As for me, I needed some warming up. The reception lady looked at me with a certain look when I arrived, and I got the distinct feeling that she was sizing me up. Especially when I booked for four nights ....

We booked at the Heritage Wing, the older and more exclusive site. Not exactly the most expensive room, but all the rooms at that particular wing didn't come cheap. They were all suites, and the key word when I opened the room door - no, I did not open the door, the butler did - was opulence.

Where we sat at whil being checked into our roomThe grand old staircaseAnita exploring the room of course. Before things get messy!Everything screamed antiques and quality. The butler took time to explain the workings of the rooms and the services provided.

We then went for a late lunch at one of the cafe - named after the Armenian brothers who built the hotel - Sarkies. Idlan went straight for the sirloin and scones. My God, it was gorgeous. Me? I had some laksa .... Old school ....

Time for a late lunch at SarkiesIdlan in his elements after ordering his steakSnap courtesy of IrfanThen came the photography session. I had to compete with a couple of Chinese couples doing their wedding photography there. There was a small patch of grass where my boys duly ran on. We went combed through the hotel looking at all the decorations and and services.

There were a couple wings at the hotel, the traditional one which we stayed at - called The Heritage Wing - and a more recently built Victory Wing, six floors with a car park.

Time to explore the rest of the hotelMaking our way across the compoundAlong the marbled corridorAt our wing, we had our private pool on the ground floor. I sampled it yesterday evening while waiting for dinner - it was room service. Nice relaxing laps while enjoying the sea breeze and the sound of crashing waves.

We left the windows opened during sunset to listen to the waves. Unfortunately the hotel faces the north part of the island. One had to venture outside to see the sunset. But we did face the sunrise this morning. So, GoPro to the ready tomorrow morning .....

Setting Off

Finally, the packing was done. But not before realising that a few things were amiss - such as my pants. That meant a stop in Gombak before setting off proper.

We finally rearranged the seating in the MPV - losing the last row and pushing back the middle row - into a four seat configuration. The boys actually ended up sleeping on the floor!

The journey back to Penang was a smooth one, although the stops were still pretty packed. We decided against making any pit stops, a straight drive to Penang, via the new bridge. We were already at the hotel by 3.30.

The room was already ready, and before we knew it, we were already unpacking. More about the rooms later ...

The Track

I had still to use my Fenix 2 for fitness. With the combination of busy days and hazy weather, I had yet to take the watch out for a spin.

Maybe I would be using it a lot more when I walk in Penang. With my camera of course. Hopefully the weather there would be nice ....

So, once the watch record the walk, the data would be uploaded into the cloud and could later be shared using a GPX file format. That way, you could open it in Google Earth, or in this case, an app called ConnectStat. You can then track your activity at the click of a button.