Penang
Wednesday April 30, 2014
I've finally got a bit of down time to blog. It's been almost nonstop sightseeing and eating for the past few days.
On Friday my cousin took the four of us to Klang for some bak kut teh, then to Batu Caves for some views of the city and the giant statue out front. We were quite amused by the monkeys running around, grabbing any fruits and water bottles they could find as they clambered around the 200 steps to the entrance of the caves themselves. The caves weren't that spectacular, Waitomo Caves have more interesting features and structures, but there are some quaint temples in the deepest section of the cave. I think what disappointed me the most were the cheap touristy souvenir shops at the entrance to the cave, which made the place kind of tacky.
On Saturday, we checked into Park Royal KL and had a wander around town for a bit. I met my aunt on mum's side for an amazing Peking Duck dinner. I ate too much, but it was so goooood.
We were looking around the block for breakfast foods in Sunday when the police started cordoning off the roads in anticipation of the US Presidential Motorcade passin through. Sure enough, "the Beast" - the heavily fortified limousine with Barack Obama - passed through, accompanied with several support vehicles including caterers, bodyguards and an ambulance. Pretty exciting!
We headed to KLCC for a tour of the Petronas Twin Towers just before lunch. The views from the top were spectacular, the observation deck is pretty high up and offers a fantastic view of Kuala Lumpur. Slightly startling is the fact you can look over at the other tower, matching the first's height and aesthetic. It would be cool to see a thunderstorm from that level - especially if lightning hits the second tower - but I think the observation deck is closed during storms for safety reasons. Unfortunate!
We walked around Pavilion and Berjaya Times Square, and took a ride on the roller coaster there before heading back to Pavilion's Tokyo Street to meet Sabrina for dinner. Soft shelled crab tempura for only RM20 (NZ$7)! After dinner, we took the monorail to the Petaling Street night market for a walkabout, but my legs were starting to cramp from all the walking so it was a brief excursion. The shops there are pretty tacky and samey, so there wasn't anything that interested me anyway.
We saw Brobama again on Monday morning just before we left for the airport for our flight to Penang. I must have been so tired because I just conked out for the entire flight, only waking for the drinks and the arrival. After sorting out the hotel and rental car, we picked up Kiel and Connie and headed for some food. Unfortunately it was quite late so all the popular places that close when they run out of food were actually closed, but we found a nice place that had good assam laksa so we settled for that.
Yesterday, we managed to get the famous Air Itam assam laksa before going to the Kek Lok Si temple and Penang Hill. We also caught the uncle famous for his roadside char kuay teow stall on Jalan Siam, and had a look around the snake temple too before going for some satay. We also tried another of those escape rooms before heading down Jalan Burma to the Old Green House for some delicious prawn mee.
The itinerary for Penang seems to revolve around where the best places for food are, and it's no wonder that I am getting fat. I am thoroughly enjoying the food and experiences here, and I am looking forward to the next 11 days.
Om nom nom.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:38am on Wednesday April 30, 2014 :: 0 comments :: 
Driving in Kuala Lumpur
Thursday April 24, 2014
We had quite the driving saga today (is saga copyrighted? Can I use that word?) It turns out Malaysia roads are horribly complex and it's difficult for Google Maps to discern the correct route, especially when there are several off ramps criss-crossing over one another. For me, this meant a 7 minute trip from Bukit Jalil to Sri Petaling LRT Station turned into a 30 minute tour of the Putrajaya Highway.
We met up with Kiel and Connie eventually, and because the rain was absolutely bucketing, we decided to go to Sunway Pyramid instead of checking out Batu Caves and the Forest Institute of Malaysia. After successfully turning the 20 minute trip into an hour, AND finding a park, we wandered around the mall for a few hours, enjoying the bargains and sights on offer.
Driving is exhausting.
Apart from that though, my relatives are spoiling me sick, it's awesome to be back home (Home #3) and the food is as good as it's always been. The weather is hot and humid, but thankfully quite wet so it's cooler than usual.
It's going to be great!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:46am on Thursday April 24, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Easter
Tuesday April 22, 2014
Sitting in Auckland Airport waiting for the cleaners to clean the plane. It's been a great Easter, as usual, seeing family and friends before my trip to Malaysia. Just catching with people, playing 7 Wonders and digital darts, watching the Lego Movie, sharing meals and having a good yarn is incredibly satisfying and fulfilling.
As usual, plans in Malaysia have started filling up already. I've also booked flights to Singapore so that should be cool too. It seems like there isn't a lot of time but I will definitely be making the most of it and seeing as many people as I can. Also food. Eating all the food. I am looking forward to the food.
It appears the excitement of travelling has finally hit. Wheeeee!
Posted by Jeremy at 1:14am on Tuesday April 22, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Excitement Intensifies
Sunday April 13, 2014
The excitement of going on holiday is often stifled by things tying you to the "real world". It's been terribly busy at work, trying to plan for the three weeks I'm away as well as finish Flick Kick Football Legends v1.2 (iOS version is now out on the App Store, whee!). It hasn't particularly hit me yet, but I'm planning to do some packing this evening and hopefully that will remind me that, hey, you're going on holiday and the plane tickets are free, and you're going to have a good time seeing family and eating to your heart's content. That's plenty to be excited about. It's time away from work, I'm going to relax and enjoy the three weeks away and I'm not going to let anything spoil it.
They still haven't sorted out my domestic flights to Auckland though, but if they can't get me flights up before Easter, I'll just use my air points to buy a ticket back on Good Friday or something. It's been quite a hassle trying to correspond with MediaWorks and Malaysia Airlines over this, but I guess I've been pushing the limits and have been quite fussy over the terms and conditions of the prize.
I'll shut up now.
Posted by Jeremy at 1:23am on Sunday April 13, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
The Best and Worst April Fools Joke Ever
Monday April 7, 2014
Last Tuesday on April 1st, Google pimped their Google Maps app for mobile with catchable Pokemon scattered throughout the world. I jumped on that bandwagon so fast and by the end of the day, I had successfully caught 150 of the Pokemon they'd put into this little April Fools joke. But I soon became aware of Mew's existence somewhere in the Amazon and it was another two days of searching and staring at Reddit before the elusive Number One Five One finally presented itself deep in the forests of South America.
Whee.
It's been a pretty busy weekend, starting off with a murder mystery at the Carter Observatory. Aboard the "International Space Station", we stumbled upon a grisly scene - the owner of the Solar Flare laboratory was found dead from strangulation and asphyxiation! It was a most enjoyable night, with canapes and fine wines to be had, and some interesting people to hang out with for a few hours.
Mat was down in Wellington too and we caught up with him at Ortega before going to Hashigozake for some drinks and Tiger for some karaoke. The night was still young and we ended up at Alice before finally heading home at 1am. Thanks to daylight savings though, I was able to make it to church on time, and caught up with Mat again for a gluttonous afternoon at La Bella Italia in Petone and Strawberry Fare soon after. I also met up with the Fine Dining Club at Charley Noble by the TSB Arena for a very fine dining experience indeed.
It was just a weekend of eating, basically.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:28am on Monday April 7, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Back to a Grumpy Reality
Tuesday April 1, 2014
After my amazing bungy experience last Thursday, we continued a run of awesome activities around Queenstown with some horse riding up in Glenorchy, doing the Ride of the Rings route with Dart Stables. We visited various Lord of the Rings filming locations and learned about the history of the area - "Paradise", as it's known. Again, the scenery was absolutely stunning, seeing mountain, forest, river and sky around us as our horses trotted merrily through Mt Aspiring National Park.
In the afternoon, we did the Shotover Jet and went up the Queenstown Gondola and did some luging. On Saturday, we walked around the Queenstown Gardens and the peninsula by the Hilton Queenstown too, but because we had flights in the afternoon, it was a pretty casual and relaxed day. We got our last fix of Ferg Burgers and departed for the airport.
Queenstown was awesome. It was a short but incredible holiday, packed with fantastic sights and heaps of fun, adrenaline-pumping activities. The weather was amazing, and the only disappointment was the no-show of aurora. After a ninety minute flight, I was back in Wellington - perhaps the most notable aspect was being able to see Mt Taranaki from the plane as we were descending into Wellington Airport!
And even back in Wellington, I was busy - I caught up with Kiel very briefly at the Rogue and Vagabond before heading to Motel for Jen's birthday. On Sunday I was at church for an awesome sermon on hospitality, and the Chocolate Frog in Miramar for their famous Steak and Hollandaise, and finally to Evans Bay for Campbell and Linda's engagement party.
Yesterday, I received one of the best presents ever - Sarah brought back a Grumpy Cat plushie from San Francisco for me. It overlooks my desk, holding my Robot Unicorn Attack 2 Rainbow Flag (also from San Francisco) and pouring scorn on all those who come to my desk.
I also caught up with Andrew for a big meal at Ozeki before his big trip to Papua New Guinea. It was a tiring Monday but a bit of sake and some good conversations with cool people helped take my mind off things.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:29am on Tuesday April 1, 2014 :: 0 comments ::