Penang Ahoy!

Idlan getting settled inEverytime I was invited to Penang for a talk, either as a speaker or just sitting in to listen, it was an opportunity to balik kampung - return home. Such opportunity came last weekend. One of the pharmaceutical company invited me to Penang, and I decided to drive the troupe along.

Morning sunrise from our roomThe main bathroom complete with jacuzzi, attached to the master bedroomI left work right after clinic last Friday, leaving KL just after 3.30 pm. Everybody was already full, so we drove on none-stop. We reached Prai at about 6.45 , crossed the Penang Bridge but only arrived at the hotel to check in just after 8, such was the traffic in Penang. It seemed that everybody was rushing around, either for food, or to reach home as on the night, Brazil were playing the Dutch - Dutch won despite Brazil dominating the first half.

The main living and dining area - I was about to unpack the WiiThe room we checked in was a two-bedroom suite, and the boys were really excited. The attached bathroom had a jacuzzi and a separate shower, hence the first order of business was a quick dip in the tub, while Puan Anita putting the room service order in. The boys were still running around until the end of the football match - which was around midnight. They were full of beans. It was not helped by the fact that the boys were asleep in the car on the drive up.

The suite we stayed in. Up on the 29th floor!We stayed at Gurney Hotel. The room was spacious. It has a main bedroom, with the jacuzzi. The other room was for the maid. She has another bathroom to use. There was a combined dining and living area, plus a small kitchenette. This was the second time we stayed here, the first being a couple of years ago. We specifically asked for this room even though the talk was actually held at the much newer and chic G Hotel, 15 minutes walk away. The round-the-clock room service was good. The best thing was the in-room breakfast. The boys just woke up, ran around and was ready for breakfast. No need to head for shower first. The added bonus was, football was shown live in the rooms.

I will talk about the hotel, and its services and swimming pool on a later entry. The slideshow of the photos taken during the trip can be seen here.