The Second Crossing

Shame as it was raining heavily when we arrives at the intersection onto the new bridge connecting the mainland to Penang. Dubbed the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge, it stood nearly 25 km long, easily surpassing the first Penang Bridge some 20 minutes away along the PLUS highway.

Heavy rain, but luckily no strong crosswind to bother the driving, it was actually a pleasant drive. Although it spanned only a couple of lanes each way, it had a separate cycle lane, ample room for the hard shoulder and a much wider lane. The driving experience was completely different from the original bridge. You hardly felt that you were suspended over water at all.

Toll was marginally more expensive than the original bridge at RM8.50, but I wouldn't complain about that. It took us about 25 minutes to get from end to end, and since we landed further south on the island, there would be an extra journey time to Georgetown. As the road feeding into the bridge were not yet complete, expect heavy jam. Luckily it was Sunday afternoon, and the roads were practically empty.

Just before you reach the island, there was a rise on the bridge for water vessels to pass underneath. Here, two pairs of guilded towers were built with cables suspending the bridge, paying homage to the original bridge.

The new bridge cut my journey time and would definitely cut the congestion on the main bridge considerably but I felt that the bridge was rushed through its opening. It was a crime to open it while they were still building the feeding highways. But then again, this is Malaysia ....

On the Road Again

I had to travel to Penang as today would be the last kenduri at my late Grandmother - Dadi's - house in Penang. The lot would be sold later this year and would be developed. This would be a goodbye kenduri for us lot and I just had to be there.

I decided against taking a flight. Traveling by road allowed me to take my parents along. And when I arrived at Bukit Antarabangsa to pick them up this morning, my sister was there and I offered her to come along. It looks like it would be a full house. Luckily I brought the van, and a driver! No need for driving again.

But, I had to stop at Subang first for my Sunday Morning round. That should give some time for my Dad to catch some breakfast.

Laksa Anyone?

One of the main attractions at Kuala Kangsar was its laksa. But as usual, it was pretty difficult to get the authentic taste. Most of the joints seemed to be commercialised and you'd be better off getting laksa in KL which tasted better.

We stopped at the main bazaar complex in town as it was open on the Sunday evening and left disappointed. Maybe we should've been picky. The stalls nearby was closing up when we passed by and we didn't have much of a choice.

Off we went to order some laksa. It was not exactly tasty, the portion was pithy and it turned out to be more expensive than we expected and the place was dirty and full of flies. No win unfortunately.

Irfan was unstoppable soon afterThat didn't stop Irfan from enjoying his afternoon meal. He finished his plate of laksa, with extra bits of egg yolk. He sampled my ABC and decided against it after a few sips.

So, we should've done some homework and find a better stall. Better luck next time.

Pit Stop

A couple of hours down the journey, then my in-laws decided to have a stop at Tapah. They ended up having lunch, while we decided to have something lighter. And for the boys, it meant junk food!

Well stocked!Weather was sunny all the way, and there were hardly any traffic. Hopefully it continues to be smooth all the way to Kuala Kangsar. Another couple more hours I reckon.

Mother's Days

Noticed the plural at the title. I'm blessed to have both set of parents still around, and for the weekend, that meant a couple of dinners. Friday, I took my Mum to Rebung in Bangsar. My Mum prefer Malay food. And earlier tonight - Saturday - we went to Corus Hotel. My Mum-in-law preferred Chinese food.

On both nights, we were caught in the rain. And the traffic was pretty bad as well.

The dinner at Rebung was nice, and the surprise was it was quite empty on the evening we went. As a result, the service was great. Food was pretty consistent as expected. Nothing special.

The dinner at Corus however was not that great. Not what I would call value for money. Luckily I wasn't the one picking up the tab. My brother-in-law did the honour.