Temple of a thousand Buddhas...Its been like a thousand years since i last came here too.. The temple I am referring to - The Kek Lok Si temple, Penang (lit. Temple of Supreme Bliss)..

Everyone knows that before you reach Kek Lok Si, you must follow an alley that is packed with souvenir stalls both left and right along the whole way...because it was a fully covered pathway, it was like walking through a tunnel...only, it gets worse when there are a lot of ppl and when the weather is hot outside..This makes the "tunnel" really uncomfortable to walk.. Well, that isnt my major complain for this trip actually, the worst was the stench from the horribly maintained tortoise pond at the end of the path.. When i was young, i used to happily take pictures with the tortoise and feed them convolvulus..Now, i could hardly wait to bypass the pond and head straight to the temple...For once, i understood why they called it the Temple of Bliss~you have to endure great smells before you enjoy bliss...

The main attraction at Kek Lok Si is actually the giant 30.2 metres tall Bronze Goddess Guan Yin Statue (Goddess of Mercy)..Trust me, its worth seeing..But for those going there anytime soon, you'll be disappointed because they are currently building a roof shelter for the statue and therefore, the whole section has been closed off.. According to sources, each pillar that supports the structure costs a whopping RM 2 million a piece..and there are 8 of them (all fully Imported from China, engraved with intricate carvings)..Hope to see that soon when its fully erected..

My trip at Penang ended here, but that wasnt the end of my holiday just yet..Next was actually Alor Setar, the capital city of Kedah..By the time we left Kek Lok Si, it was already 530pm that day..we took a slow drive to the city and checked in Regency Hotel..

Before i realized, it was already 12 noon..and it was time to check out..the next plan was actually to go makan again(isnt it insane?)...and visit Kek Lok Si after that..So here it goes, our next stop..Xuan Xin at Gurney Plaza, new wing..and trust me, this place is great.. In fact, the food was so tasty, i forgot to take pictures of them..Well, okie, i managed to take the first few..but after that, i was lost in the realm of taste..too busy savouring the dishes..especially their dim sum options such as the wu kok and tan tarts, they looked normal but their taste was unique..they tasted like they were being BBQed or something..a unique BBQ-charcoal flavour was present and its really nice..thumbs up! Time's running out..time to head to Kek Lok Si!!

Day 2, woke up early in the mornig..and its a great morning..and it was going to be a Great Day!! except for the orchestra of snores. the night before..lol...and i headed down to the hotel restaurant for their buffet breakfast..I knew it was going to be a long holiday, so i really pumped up on a lot of greens and fruits..packed in some carbs and protein, some juice, milk with cereals..Wow, i cant believe i actually said that (that's the healthy side of pink)...well, i couldnt afford to be sick actually, itll ruin everything...and Gosh! i cant believe i ate so much too..everything u see here, except for the croissant..it was perhaps the longest yet most interesting breakfast i have ever had (5 hour breakfast?)...the funniest part was the waiter thought i was a Japanese tourist(probably a sun-tanned young Japanese tourist).. cos i was taking pictures of my own food..do Japanese tourist do that? Okie, guess wat? the next plan was to go eat again actually..it was already lunch time after all that eating..madness~!! See you in the next article..

The only thing i recalled about going to Gurney drive was the traffic..The traffic sucked..and Penang signboards sucked even harder..like vacuum cleaner.. lol.. and i couldnt even differentiate between a trunk road and a main road; all roads were narrow..But anyhow, managed to get to Gurney drive with a couple of misturns..at Gurney, basic rules apply- when you dont know which shop is good, seek the one with the most people around it..so, it was seek and destroy..Cant really describe to you which stall is nice here, cos they were so many stalls..Gurney drive is super crowded..here's what i ordered that night..there was of course the famous oyster chien (oyster omelet), there was famous char kuey tiew, rojak pasembur and lastly, BBQ chicken wings.. There was one stall in particular that sold various apam types which really caught my attention-sorry, no pictures available though..if youre looking for this stall, you cant miss it..people crowd around it for freshly pan fried ones and the turnover is really fast..had to Q before you get your apams done..okie, that sounded wrong..but anyway, do check it out when youre around here..That was the end of night 1..peace~

Does the picture look familiar? Yup, imma back again Penang!! Did you miss me? 27th April marks the beginning of a new chapter.. it will be exactly two weeks from now that i will begin my journey into the corporate world, the development of my career as well...At the time i am writing this blog, two weeks has already ended..I am just recalling what a wonderful 2 weeks i have had...My 2 weeks holiday-before-start-work trip began at Penang ..The trip was true to its intention-it was free and easy...The next couple of days were spent purely thinking about -nothing!. Now that's a holiday!..Then, there was this counseling session during breakfast every morning which i thoroughly enjoyed ;)..and believe me, there is no better thing for me than this.. Gaining wisdom in paradise?

Pic: City views from Traders Hotel, Suite

I spent the first night during this holiday at Traders Hotel, Penang.. A 4 star hotel at the heart of the city, just beside Komtar..I walked into the hotel with basic holiday gears that time..the real interesting thing when i do this is the response id get especially from the valet guy..He seemed upset..LOL..and when this young looking guy enters the lounge, everyone looks; the waiter frantically approaches to ask for the room number...Here comes the best part..I politely give him the number with indicates that the type of the room- It was a suite.. his reaction, priceless..dun get met wrong, he was really professional.. he left me seated by the window to enjoy the quiet lil evening that day..the sunset of the city was breathtaking.. Soon dusk came to an end..and it was time to head on to the city for some food.. Without a doubt, it had to be Gurney drive

Pic: Finger food served at the lounge

For once, i am actually eager to end writing this particular article..and head on to writing some stuff i did during the end of April..But for now, bear with this.. Does the picture on the left look familiar..without a doubt, its again Ipoh's famous bean sprout chicken hor fun..but but but...wasnt the last article about Ipoh's bean sprout hor fun the best?..I am confused as well..The answer lies in the generation gap... This time around, i had the privilege to join a couple of old timers discover their long lost favourites..According to them, this is the "real thing"...Others are all tipu punya..wow, so confident..Well, beats me, i was really hungry that time and finished my bowl in like hardly 2 mins..its nice la, but i still preferred the stall in my earlier article..can someone confirm whether my old folks got the correct stall? Anyway, i recall someone telling me that all Ipoh food is good.."If the stall cant provide good food, they wont survive long..cos Ipoh ppl are choosy with their food"..wow, talking about standards.. well, for now, all i can say is that the statement holds true..until further notice ;)

The best part about eating in a group is the sharing process... sharing is caring...and by that statement, it doesnt mean that i will share my gf or wife sometime in the future..i dunno how u guys can interpret it until that far..but anyway, lets not go there.. Let me begin my story like any other morning..this time around, the morning jog + breakie starts with a 5 man + 1 hamster strong team, then later, 1 went down cos not feeling well... after TR that day, it was dim sum time..had the guys from Kepong and Serdang try Bukit Tinggi's famous dim sum..This place is packed with ppl!! Tapi unfortunately, the guys had tasted much better dim sum at other places..Least would i have known that i was dealing with higher level dim sum testers..Anyway, BT Dim Sum isnt all that bad..i would rate it as one of my favourites..Usually i will go light on the dim sum and a plate of lobak kou here really makes my day..For your info, its picture no.14.. The thing that got me delighted during this outing this time around was the quantity of food we ordered...Large group means more dishes, more pictures and the more opportunity to sample.. Talk about the chance to make your taste buds go wild.. BT Dim Sum scores high on my list..ill go here cos of the typical ambiance it provides..packed with ppl, hot steaming dishes, cold morning air+by the roadside-minus the sun feeling..Cheers!! (with kook pou cha)...cling~!