After a nice day in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, we got up in the morning and got ready to leave for Penang. We were to depart on Air Asia flight AK6310 from the LCCT. Our ride to the airport was arranged and we were picked up from our hotel after breakfast. The drive to the airport was nothing spectacular. But we did manage to view the developments in and around Kuala Lumpur. The high-rise buildings, elevated tracks for the mass transit system, the roads and highways all seems very impressive and almost on par with developed countries. As we drove towards the airport, the road ran alongside the high-speed train tracks from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to KL Sentral and one of the KLIA Express trains just zipped right past us. The non-stop trip takes around 28 minutes to cover the distance of 57 kilometers. Would have liked to try that. As we approached the road to the LCCT we also saw the way to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), venue used for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, etc.
Since our flight was not to leave for some time we got ourselves a quick brunch. We went past security and then waited for our boarding calls. We could see a line forming in front of the gate and as always I was getting impatient to just sit around and wanted to join it right away. Once the gate was opened we had to walk through a series of passages till we reached our aircraft. I motioned to Snehal to follow me and we boarded the aircraft from the stairs at the back. We got the window and aisle seat in the second last row. Luckily the flight was not 100% full and no one bothered to try and take the empty middle seat between Snehal and me. The flight took off on time and soon we were at cruising altitude. Our flight took us mostly along the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Our approach to Penang Bayan Lepas International Airport was from the south and as we descended, we got closer and closer to the beautiful aquamarine waters of the sea below us.
After landing and baggage claim we made our way outside to get a cab to get to Batu Ferringhi where we had a reservation at the Lone Pine Hotel. We found a taxi that would take us there for RM60. Along the way, the drive also told us about all the places in Penang that we were passing by and which we should visit. Unfortunately he didn’t know that we didn’t have that much time in Penang and would probably not be able to see even one of the things he mentioned.
We reached the hotel and found the staff at the reception already waiting for us. One of them checked my passport and the reservation confirmation we had. She then said that since we were going to be at the hotel only for one night they would upgrade us from the Standard Room to the Superior Room overlooking the pool and facing the beach and sea. Needless to say we were thrilled.
After putting all our stuff in the room, we got down and enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool. We then took a nice long walk on the beach till the sun set.
We came back to the hotel and relaxed for a while and then got ready to see the famous night market. The whole area seemed to be a completely different place compared to what we had seen in the afternoon when we arrived. There were lots and lots of little stalls all along the road from right outside our hotel which seems to have everything on display from handicrafts to leather works to clothes to toys. There were lots of things we liked but somehow didn’t end up buying much. Somehow I kept convincing myself and us both that we’ll get better stuff for lesser money in Thailand where we were headed next. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. So here’s a tip: if you like something (especially in Malaysia) buy it! (and don’t wait to get to Thailand).
Another thing we really enjoyed in the night market was the street food at the hawker centers. We first ate at one hawker center in the middle of the night market. And as we walked back we saw another hawker center past our hotel on the other side. It was Chicken Satay at its absolute best. We also had Japanese fried rice and star fruit juice. All the food was delicious and definitely not to be missed. We then called it a day and headed back to the hotel and packed for our travel to Thailand the next day.