Monday 20 April 2020

The Quest for Margarita 2 (February 8 to 11, 2020), Day 4 : Penang to Johor Bahru

In the alleyway behind OO Cafe
Jalan Burmah
Jalan Penang
Yap Kongsi
Seh Tek Tong Cheah Kongsi
Lebuh Acheh Mosque
Lebuh Acheh


This morning, we decided not to risk going up Penang Hill as we have a 1 pm bus to catch. Instead, some of us took a leisurely morning walk to Cafe Seow Fong Lye at Lorong Macalister for char koay kak. The shop was disappointingly serviced by that particular koay kak stall only but we were allowed to order prawn noodle from the neighbouring shop and chee cheong fun from a stall in the alleyway.





After breakfast we made our way to Pragin Mall to catch the container art piece at a closer view and onward to Sia Boey Urban Archeological Park. The Park was completed in 2019 with the aim to preserve Sia Boey Market and the Pragin Canal. 







The name, Sia Boey meaning Town's End in Hokkien dialect literally came about as George Town in the 19th century was only developed up to Pragin canal. Back then, only a small Chinese settlement with a few attap houses were located beyond The Canal, now the site of Komtar. The archeological dimension came about in Oct 2015 when a granite rock was unearthed from the canal. The rock was later identified as a canal lock placed to control the discharge.

OO Cafe
Cafe Ping Hooi
After Sia Boey, we took on Lebuh Acheh, Beach Street and Lebuh Armenian before returning to Reunion Carnavon to help Joyce with her final bike packings. With a few hours more to boarding time, May, Mr Lim, VT and Claudine decided to chow down more of what Lebuh Carnavon has to offer. They tried the beef noodle at OO cafe. Later, VT and Claudine proceeded to Cafe Ping Hooi for their delicious lor bak with May and Mr Lim calling defeat!


When it was time to leave, Mr Lim, VT and Claudine rode the short distance to Komtar to catch their bus. Uncle KC came along to say his goodbyes, deciding to stay one more night in Penang. They were later joined by Mindy and Karen who happened to be on the same bus but dropping off earlier in KL. Meanwhile, May headed for Butterworth and returned to Taiping via KTMB's commuter train.

The journey home was a nightmare. Apparently, intercity buses are no longer allowed to come into Komtar. Instead the bus company chartered a van to collect their passengers to the intercity bus terminal at Sg Nibong.

Even though our bus was scheduled for 1 pm, the 11 seater van only arrived to collect the passengers at 12.50 pm. There were 8 of us altogether and a collection of 4 bromptons, 1 tern, 2 large cargo sized luggages, 2 cabin sized luggages and a huge 100 liter backpack. 

When it could not go into the van, our bikes were being penalised even though they were luggage sized. A heated argument ensued when the operators tried to pile things on Mindy's bike. She was worried her bike will be damaged. In the midst of the argument, one of the operators scolded, "Cibai", to which Claudine retorted with "lan chiau", her first obscenities to a man.

At Sg Nibong, we went up the bus terminal to validate our bus tickets and were given our bus number. As our bus was already waiting at the station, we went up our bus but were shocked Mr Lim's seat was taken by a young Indonesian man. Counter checking with him, we found out they had sold duplicate seats for 5A !

Later, the conductress arrived and ordered Mr Lim to take any seats that was available. When Claudine tried to confirm with her which seat number, she casually said the rest of the seats will be empty for the journey. This was not true as the empty seat Mr Lim chose was already sold with the passenger arriving later. Poor Mr Lim was bumped off again. So was an Indian man who came up much later. His seat number 2C was already taken by an earlier passenger!

Our bus did not leave the station even though it was already 2 pm. More argument ensued when the conductress collected Mindy's only available printout and refused to return the hardcopy to her. When she took Claudine's copy and proceed to the back of the bus without returning the same, the ladies began their protest. 

Claudine was worried as they had no physical proof of purchase and Mr Lim was being bumped about like a nomad. Ignoring the ladies, the conductress then moved to the front of the bus mumbling to them to take a photo shot of their tickets if they wanted proof. This comment garnered a loud shout from Claudine. She screamed, "EXCUSE ME, can I have my tickets back!"

Her scream irritated the conductress who turned around and scolded Claudine for screaming at her. She claimed she is not some Indonesian to be shouted at. This prompted the young Indonesian man at 5A to join the argument. He proudly claimed he is an Indonesian and not to drag his country's name into the argument. This shut the girl up!

It was a relief when the bus finally moved out of the city. It arrived in KL Sentral close to 6 pm with a short highway stop for toilet breaks serviced by only 2 food trucks and a drop off at Jalan Duta. 

At KL Sentral, the bus driver was issued a summon for dropping off passengers on the main road. It was supposed to drive into the station.

After that, the bus made its way to Terminal Bus Selatan to drop off some passengers and to collect the conductress, assigned to check the tickets for passengers on the south bound route. It was already 7 pm and Claudine was worried to make the journey to JB without dinner. Enquiring with the conductress, she assured her there will be a 10 minutes dinner break at the depot's canteen and NOT the airconditioned terminal!!! Claudine was appalled but had no choice but to comply. The food spread consists only 4 dishes with additional options of roti canai and gardenia buns.

PNQ 8111 went up to TBS only before the air conditioning failed
The back up bus 

Returning to the bus, another nightmare was waiting. The aircon had miraculously malfunctioned. Whether it was a conspiracy or otherwise, the bus then returned to the terminal to collect the southbound passengers. As it had become evident that the bus could not journey on in such hot climate, the bus then returned to the depot where we were asked to alight and board another bus. 

All this unraveled with a near accident on Mr Lim when the bus driver revved his engine and lurched ahead while he was bending over to adjust his luggage at the trunk!!! Thankfully, Mr Lim was quick to jump off. Even the terminal's conductress gasped and kept checking if Mr Lim was alright.

Co-bus driver who made everyone wait for him! 

The last streak of light had disappeared when the "new" bus began it's journey, southbound. Tired, we were all stoned out until the driver made a quick toilet stop at Kempas toll plaza. Claudine's delight of being close to home soon turned into a second horror when the bus shot off to Pasir Gudang stopping many times along the way to allow passengers to alight. When it finally arrived in Larkin, it did not drop the passengers off immediately. A refueling at Petron was warranted and then, a further wait....

When the wait stretches on, Claudine moved to the front to check with the bus driver, only to find out, he was waiting for his co driver who had gone off to purchase a burger! All tired passengers had to wait for one man to nurse his hunger when the station was only 1.4 km away. 

Seated at the front, Claudine complained casually to the co driver on her horrific experience since Penang. Even our young Indonesian man was given a joyride, buying a ticket from Butterworth but taken to Penang and back to Butterworth before the actual journey began.

Her complains were not taken lightly by the co driver. He ordered her to take a flight next time to which she agreed. Boiling over, he cursed cibai at her as she was alighting and even threw a water bottle at her. Tired and glad to leave the bus, she bit her tongue and refrained from throwing any obscenities at him!

Photo courtesy - KC


Sunday 19 April 2020

The Quest for Margarita 2 (February 8 to 11, 2020), Day 3 : Penang Round Island

The Team waiting for Mindy by the alleyway of  Reunion Carnarvon as she returned to her hotel to change her shoe
Chowrasta Market
Riding out
Jalan Tanjung Bungah's climb
At Penang's Floating Mosque. Most of us were appropriately dressed except for Mindy who requires a scarf to cover her exposed hair. Sarongs and scarves are offered FOC to visitors. Meanwhile, a donation box is set up at the exit for all generous donors who wished to donate
Belimbing Cafe, Teluk Bahang
Riding through the paddy fields in Balik Pulau
Balik Pulau
Balik Pulau
VT checking the route just as Mike was about to leave us.
Batu Maung with view of Second Bridge
Batu Maung Bike Path
Dinner at Tek Sen Restaurant
Another night cap!



Remember to ask me, "How well did you sleep last night?" That was the second text from Claudine after her morning greetings in the chat room.

No, she had not had a good night's sleep. There were a lot of "noises" in her room the whole night. Almost like someone was playing with a light switch.

She had also felt the sheets moving. Imagining that a ghost was about to caress her thigh, she had quickly groped for VT, her bed partner! Instead of being molested, it was better to molest someone else instead!

There was also a moment when she heard a rustling in the room. Unable to keep her eyes shut, she had pried it open, only to see a figure looming in the shadows!!! ....................Thankfully, it was only VT taking a swig of water from the decanter!





Meeting up in the morning, we took a leisurely walk to Chowrasta Market or our breakfast fix. The place was crowded as how a market place should be but the food mediocre at best. VT though, took a step further by topping his breakfast menu with char koay kak from Lorong Macalister which was highly recommended by Mike Khor.

On Jalan Kelawei just before it merges with Route 6. Major intersection with Gurney Drive and Jalan Bagan Jermal 

Leaving Reunion Carnavon past 9.30 am, we rode along the famous roads of Penang. We headed to the Floating Mosque via Kimberly St, Burmah Rd, Kelawei Rd, Tanjung Tokong Rd and finally Tanjung Bungah Rd where the hill climbs began.






It was a wonderful experience visiting the mosque. The caretaker was friendly, inviting us into the house of prayers with a brief prepping. Most of us passed the dress code except for Mindy who was offered a scarf to cover her hair.

KC helping Mr Lim with the repairs
Duct tape is wound around the tube at the location of the tyre wall tear before the torn area is further reinforced with a piece of the old tube.
The finished product comes with a 100 km warranty!!!

Mike's timely arrival to our rendezvous was greeted with the sound of a gunshot. Mr Lim's sidewall had a tear and the tube, rubbed thin had inflated under the heat of the morning sun and burst !


While Mike racked his brains for bike shops that may open on Sundays, there were suggestions for Mr Lim to call a Grab service to return to the hotel. Thankfully, Uncle KC was around to save the day! Getting down and dirty, he replaced the tube and reinforced the tyre wall with a lining of rubber taken from the blown out tube. His finished work even came with a 100 km warranty!

When all was good, we proceeded to Batu Ferringhi, taking on Jalan Batu Ferringhi which hugs the hill slopes and ran along the coastlines. Unfortunately, the road was too narrow for photo stops and we were literally fighting for space with cars plying the same route.

Waiting to regroup at Shangrila's Rasa Sayang Hotel, Claudine received bad tidings from Uncle John. He had called and texted her about his health conditions. Sadly, he has been diagnosed with cancer!


The rest of the ride was shadowed by Uncle John's bad tidings. Teluk Bahang's peace and quietness allowed time for reflections.


At Teluk Bahang, Mike suggested we stopped for roti jala at Belimbing Cafe. It was an excellent decision for the next challenge was the climb to the Teluk Bahang Dam! Just past noon, we were literally baked from the sun above and the heat released from the tarmac below!





Once past the dam, we found ourselves riding through durian estates. The huge tree canopies offered a cooling respite.

Boulder Valley
Boulder Valley
Boulder Valley
Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area
Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area
Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area
On the glide to Kampung Sungai Pinang


Boulder Valley marked the peak. After that, we were rewarded with a downhill glide all the way to Kampung Sungai Pinang with a view stop at Bao Sheng Durian Farm.




At Balik Pulau, we embraced our first container art installation in Kampung Terang. Located in the middle of the paddy field, this is part of The Penang International Container Art Festival featuring 12 international and local artists. Each piece presents the works of one international artist on one face and a local artist on the other face.

Full spread at 3 pm!

It was almost 3 pm when we stopped for lunch at Yeh Lai Xiang Food Court in Balik Pulau. Taking Mr Lim's lack of form into account, we decided not to follow Mike's return route, which is via the same punishing slopes of Teluk Bahang.

Jalan Teluk Kumbar

Bidding him farewell, we took the round island route, not realizing the route to Teluk Kumbar involves another climb; this time in the rain! Coming down Jalan Teluk Kumbar's 6 lane highway, Claudine was praying hard that no harm will come to Mr Lim with compromised tyres!

Riding at the fringes of the airport runway was spectacular. Getting onto Batu Maung's bicycle lane left us perplexed.

Dicing with Death!

Coming from Bayan Lepas, there were no connecting roads to the bike lane. It left us with no choice but to be stuntmen and stuntwomen for the day. Luckily, we survived the busy intersections and with a bit of bike lifting, found ourselves in the safety of Batu Maung's bike lane.

Batu Maung
Batu Maung
Spiral Bridge of Hope

Some of the bike lane from Batu Maung to Karpal Singh Drive
The Penang Bridge
Caught in heavy downpour
Crossing Sg Pinang near Macallum
Sungai Pinang
Karpal Singh Drive
Home bound!

As soon as we arrived at Batu Maung's bike lane, the rain had stopped. We enjoyed the ride from Penang's Second Bridge all the way to the Spiral Bridge of Hope. Every now and then, the bike lane ended with barriers across and continued on a few meters ahead.

We were being too playful. Besides, we couldn't travel very fast on narrow sections of the lane whilst other sections were merely connecting concrete slabs.

As we close in on Penang Bridge, fresh rain clouds could be seen, blowing in from the mainland. Claudine tried to usher everyone to move faster but we were too late! We were completely soaked through by the time we arrived at Reunion Carnavon.