danzbuddies Penang Holiday II - 19 to 21 Sep 2009

18th Sep 2009

Just over 4 months after our last visit to Penang, we made a return visit with another danzbuddies group of 10 - we joined some 30 other linedancing friends of danzbuddy Maggie Lim and her husband Chris. Maggie had the 'connection' to get us all a very good promotional room rate at the new Penang Hard Rock Hotel at Batu Ferringhi. The hotel was having its 'soft opening' on 19th September and we were literally their first group of guests to check in on Sep 18th - before the Hotel officially opened!

The Hotel's staff were falling over themselves to make us feel welcome on our arrival - giving us hot towels, welcome drinks, express check-in and so on.......it was really a good stay at Hard Rock Hotel for us.....

Because of the 'Super Peak' Season ( Hari Raya long weekend), we obtained air tickets separately and so travelled to Penang in batches, the first two groups arriving late morning and the rest arriving in the night. The 'advance party' had the whole afternoon and evening to check out the hotel facilities (really super!), the various good food places (we tested out 'Hot Wok' Restaurant, the Penang Road Chendol stall and many stalls at Gurney Drive Food Centre) - we also checked out the shops in town and the massage saloons at Gurney Plaza.

The last group finally got in, were greeted warmly at the hotel entrance and got their 'welcome drinks' . We retired early after a good supper at the Lobby Lounge.

Day 2 - 19th Sep 2009 - We were all up at the break of dawn - for tai chi, and for some serious line dancing at the poolside next to the sea - it was such an idyllic setting and a real charming location - and we enjoyed dancing under the watchful eyes of the bronze statues of 'The Beatles' up on the roof top of the Poolside Changing Room building.

After all the line dancing exertion, it was time for breakfast at the 'Starz Diner' which offered us a full buffet spread (priced at RM55 per head - and we get it with the room rate we paid, wow!).

We were joined by Maggie and family and friends - together, we went to check out the ballroom (called 'Hall of Fame) - what a place - a Rocker's Paradise.

After the sumptuous breakfast, it was time to do the 'tourist thing' - we had hired a coach with driver to drive us around to see the sights and bring us shopping and go 'makan-makan'.

We wanted to see the 'Spice Garden' , but got rained out on arrival there - so we went shopping in the Penang Road Malls instead. After a couple of hours shopping, we were hungry again and decided to try to get lunch at the famous 'char kwoay teow' and 'chendol' stalls at Penang Road.

It was impossible to get a big enough table for all of us inside the small coffee shop, and so, we splitted into three groups to eat 'char kwoay teow', 'lor bak', 'penang laksa', 'hokkien mee'., 'nasi lemak', etc

We just had to have the 'chendol' again and so the 12 of us ordered the dish and went to the 'Green Restaurant' to secure seats for enjoyment of the nice dessert.

Lunch over, time for more shopping - the group wanted the best 'tau sar pneah' and so we went on the Penang 'tau sar pneah' trial, visiting HIM HEANG - not much bought there, have to call in and book your orders in advance.

Next stop - HWA TAI - famous for their 'chic kut teh' spice mix and their 'tongkat ali' showroom which showed a variety of 'tongkat ali' products.

The best Penang 'tau sar pneah' still eluded us - so, off went to another 'famous' shop - GHEE HEANG. What a shock when we got there - the place was absolutely packed. many popular products were 'sold out' - must be ordered in advance, etcHow..like that? We heard about another 'famous' shop in 'Kek Lok Si' at Ayer Itam. Off we went to visit the 'Kek Lok Si' complex (the BIG Kuan statue, under construction), Temple of 10,000 buddhas, etc).

Lo and behold, we found the famous 'Cheong Kim Chuan' shop we were looking for - tucked midway along the narrow stepped path leading up to the top of the complex. So, its shopping (again!) for 'tau sar pneah,' coconut biscuits and nutmegs, etc
In the end, we bought so much as a group, the shop had to pack all into proper cartons......

We were hungry again and wanted to have a seafood dinner - we decided to follow the driver, Steve's recommendation and ended up at The Oriental Restaurant. Fresh seafood were selected and sent to the kitchen for cooking. In the meantime, we had the music turned on and managed to do a series of line dances before the arrival of the food.

After dinner we went for a walk around the Gurney Drive Food Centre and landed up at the Gurney Plaza next door for yet more shopping. By then, many of us were feeling the strain of being on our feet for such a long stretch and sought out the 'REBORN Foot Reflexology' place for some massage therapy. All the foot reflexology and head & shoulder massage worked well and everybody went back to the hotel refreshed.

TO BE CONTINUED..............