Penang Days (2)......檳城的日子(二).....

VIEW FROM E-GATE OVERLOOKING PENANG BRIDGE
DIM SUM AT ISLAND PLAZA WITH MOM AND CHINESE TUTOR AND HER DAUGHTERS
HOKKIEN MEE AT MOM'S FRIEND'S HOME
PAO AT WEALTHY FRIEND'S HOME
THE DELICIOUS CRAB PORRIDGE
Came bck from Bangkok last week and really enjoyed the trip:) I was VERY IMPRESSED with the development of Bangkok given that my image of Thailand was always that it was relatively backwards in terms of development but my trip this time (which was my first to Bkk) completely blew me away and i am definitely going bck to Bangkok again sometime in the future.....anyways, i shall blog about my Bkk trip later cos i have other stuff i wanna blog about given that it's been awhile since i last blogged...u get lazy...hahaha....

So what have i been up to? Well, visited some of my mother's friend's homes cos i have never been before and it was a real eye opener!! Well, some of my mother's friends are to say the least, quite wealthy, well to be honest, i think they are part of the social elite of Penang and so their homes are simply something u see out of American movies of rich American families...i took alot of pics cos i was simply amazed at how rich ppl were livingi n Penang...i thought u only see it in movies....well, i am NOT gonna post any of the pics up as to respect their privacy suffice to say i was very impressed by their homes....it was like taking a tour of rich bungalows in Penang and i had the priviledge to visit 3 houses...sang karaoke at one of the houses cos they have a private karaoke room at home(u can imagine how rich they are to own a private ktv room!!)......got to meet some of my mother's friend's son's friends....one in Singapore NUS, another in Manchester University and another in.....CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY STUDYING LAW!!!!! YES! IT WAS MY FIRST TIME MEETING A CAMBRIDGE STUDENT....she is on govt scholarship.....so smart man....

Also found out a new hang-out spot in Penang, E-Gate, a line of restaurants and cafes facing Penang Bridge which means u get a view of Penang Bridge day and night!!!!! Went to eat the kaya bread and ipoh hor fun at 'Ipoh Old Town' with my mother's friend and her son and his friends.....

Had Dim Sum with my ex-Chinese tutor whom i still keep in touch...she taught me Chinese since i was young....took some photos with her....i get my stash of 1960s Chinese magazines from her...she managed to keep over 30 magazines from her younger days which are INVALUABLE AND PRECIOUS for me given that they show how society was like bck then and more importantly, have tons of wonderful qipao/cheongsams and even designs for qi paos!! She has already said she will leave me those mags in her will....hehe....only i would appreciate these priceless mags...her children would prob throw them away....i simply adore all the authentic qipaos shown in these 1960s mags, such exquisite and refined qi paos (chinese dresses):)

My Japanese friend visited out of the blue given that she said she wouldnt' be visiting Penang and only KL on her way bck to Tokyo....so took her around Penang which was also a good opportunity to explore Penang myself....went to Gurney Plaza,Chinatown, Thai and Burmese Temple,etc....had dinner at the newly refurbished Gurney Drive Hawkers Centre....said our goodbyes and wished her the best of luck in hopefully becoming a Japanese diplomat (one of her plans but she will have to pass the rigorous test)..then i will have someone to help me get my japanese work visa in my plans to return to Tokyo...hehe...

Another friend Xiao Qiao came from KL to Penang ....actually we kinda have yuan....cos i knew him off the net but due to certain reasons...ahemm....he will know y!...we never talked to each other...until he out of the blue decides to email me THREE DAYS before i was to return to Penang.....and then on MSN he messages me ONE NIGHT before i was to return....i mean he didn't even know where i was from and that i was going bck to Penang like the next day! It so happened that Xiao Qiao, who has not visited Penang in like 4 yrs, had plans to go to Penang this time that i was returning!! I mean that is surely Yuan Fen isn't it??
Anyways, we chat on the phone a couple of times.....he was staying over at his Penang 'boyfriends' place (well...first yes he is Tong zhi and second his relationship with the guy is ambiguous so may b i should just say the guy is a 'friend' who pays for almost everything in their 'friendship'..and no sexual relationship yet as far as i know...)...Thank goodness he had a car as he used his 'friend's' car (this is different from CK's experience...sooo sorry CK!! made u walk for like 2hrs and wasted tons on taxi fare)...had lunch at the Italian Place i took CK to then went to Gurney Hotel Starbucks.....he showed me his first short film called 'PLU Story' which was for his graduation piece....pretty good given that it was the first time i saw a film produced by someone i knew......chat about his 2 yrs in Taipei...he studied media broadcasting there and it was good talking to someone who loved Taiwan and wanted to work there and has a nice Taiwanese accent like me, yes he has a taiwanese accent and i felt like i was talking to a taiwanese person and not a malaysian!! I am glad he had alot of good memories in Taiwan and a short but memorable time with a 'Taiwanese man'...i think they have yuan fen as well......sooo romantic....then went to have dinner at Gurney Drive hawkers centre and treated him as the next day was his birthday..so coincidental 1st time meet him is his birhtday....walked along Gurney Drive bck to carpark and asked him to drop me off at Gurney Plaza...went to buy his presents...

Next morning met him again for breakfast.....gave him his birthday present and card....hung around out Gurney Plaza until the shops open...he told me more of his experiences...in terms of Tongzhi stuff....gosh...seems to be similar to what i have heard from my other Tongzhi friends...lunch at Chicken Rice Shop and why he was like in hurry to leave?!! Like said had to go soon when it was still 1 hr from his appointment with his friend...AND he said the night before he was free the whole day...so not very happy...some negative stuff i shall not put in the blog given my policy of ONLY blogging about nice stuff but lets just say some stuff made me quite unhappy.....anyways, went to buy Penang biscuits which i gave him as presents as well as for my Bangkok friend M whom kindly allowed me to stay at her place....

Said to keep in touch and Xiao Qiao dropped me off....and i returned to get ready for Bangkok...i was leaving on the same day at 7 30pm....