The Mr and Mrs Kenny Tour x 2 followed by a Miss Kenny one!!!!
Have had a great road trip around Malaysia with Kevin's brother, Dermot and his wife, Brigid. They arrived in Penang the night of a massive storm so we sat on the balcony of the E and O Hotel's Planter Lounge catching up and watching the skies lit up by the strikes of lightening. The weather is pretty unsettled at present so we dodged a few downpours during the next 2 weeks on both the west and east coasts of Malaysia. We visited many sights of Penang - the clan jetties, Fort Cornwallis,the Peranakan Mansion, Armenian Street and surrounding streets of Chinatown, Little India and the Muslim Quarter. We walked around Khoo Kongsi, Wat Chayamangkalaram with its 33m long reclining Buddha and the Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple. We ate hawker food at Red Garden, seafood at Batu Ferringhi, dim sum at Tai Tong (gearing up for the Moon festival in September with its colourful lanterns and sale of moon cakes), tandoori at Kapitan and we made full use of the complementary Happy Hour at the E and O Hotel. Brigid and I developed a taste for iced coffee (and Chinese custard tarts) and enjoyed them at the Chinahouse, Atelier Coffee and the Armenian House cafe. Saw one of the rooms to rent at Atelier Coffee and would recommend to anyone looking for a stay in a heritage building. As we wandered around Georgetown, we saw evidence of the Hungry Ghost festivities. Near the jetties, they were preparing a feast with 2 large roasted pigs. We enjoyed drinks at our favourite local bar, the Mona Lisa on Chulia Street. As we sipped our drinks, the music transported us back to our youth. Couldn't believe it when they played Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes..... The first single l ever bought!!! We couldn't get the tune out of our minds for days!
The next day, we picked up our car rental, a Toyota with no acceleration which was our transportation for the next 10 days. We drove around the island of Penang visiting the jetties at the National Park and trying durian and rambutan at a roadside cafe with spectacular views. The following day, we bid farewell to Penang at the crack of dawn to drive 5 hours to Kuala Tembeling in the centre of mainland Malaysia to catch our boat upriver to the jungle. The scenery is spectacular as you approach near the Cameron Highlands with vegetation covering large karst limestone hills. We skirted the highlands. Malaysian driving is interesting with many people overtaking badly. We hung back to avoid any close shaves! I was our navigator ably assisted by Mr Google and Reginald, our GPS voice who couldn't pronounce the Malay street names. We were in floods of laughter or it may have been Dermot recounting the items he and fellow medics have found in the wrong places over the years. All I will say is light bulbs and Hoover Dustettes starred!!! Arrived in one piece and left our car at the jetty to take a 16 man motorised local boat up the river to the Taman Negara National Park. The 3 hour journey turned into 5 hours for us as our boat broke down and we drifted around the edge of the river. The 2 boatmen tried to repair the motor but as we saw nuts and bolts falling into the river, we were sceptical. The wait was very hot as the sun beat down on the sides of the boat. Finally another boat appeared to rescue us. A very undignified process as we had to scramble across the bobbing boats! We arrived late afternoon at our hotel, the Mutiara, on the edge of the jungle. Kevin and l were keen to see how the area has changed in the last 12 years since we stayed with the children. It was surprisingly unchanged. The accommodation chalets between the river and surrounded by jungle are much the same although the restaurant is better since the Mutiara chain took over. The floating restaurants are still on the river and there is more development on the other riverbank. We went on a jungle walk (now a boardwalk) with a guide showing us the medicinal jungle plants and walked the 500 metre canopy walkway. This was a real achievement for me as l remember being terrified last time as l swung between the trees. It seemed less frightening this time!!! Maybe it was my children swinging it behind me that made it so awful. We took a boat to Lata Berkoh to go swimming. This didn't turn out as well as expected. As our boatman stopped to let us feed the most expensive fish in the world, the heavens opened and we were soaked within seconds. We were dropped off near the path for the cascading rapids on Sungai Tahan. We stumbled over tree roots along the jungle path as the heavy rain continued. After 30 minutes we reached our destination but the river was swollen and not very inviting. Kevin joined a few other intrepid swimmers in the pools as we watched from the riverbank. We returned to the resort looking like drowned rats but a trip to the bar soon restored our spirits in time for the night walk!!! You don't actually see very much wildlife in the park although apparently there are still tigers, elephants, leopards, rhino.... in the dense jungle. Our guide took us to a covered hide overlooking an open area to spot animals in the darkness. He shone his light to catch their eyes and we saw absolutely nothing!!! The most we saw were geckos in the hide and apparently the eyes of a mouse deer on the path back. Insect life was more prolific - spiders, millipedes, snakes in trees, and a 6 inch neon green cricket with such a piercing screech that it made me scream. We passed a fence to keep the larger animals out of the resort. So it was interesting to wake up to the noise of a seemly large animal eating outside our chalets during the night!!! The cacophony of the jungle at night is so fascinating, the mosquitos less so.......We ate at the resort and a boatman took us to the floating restaurants for a local meal - the smallest fish ever!!!! We met 2 very amusing Dutch girls who hated anything that moved so the jungle not really the place for them.
Had an enjoyable trip back down the river to find that our car didn't start as we had left the lights on !!! Duh..... Luckily the same car hire guy that Kevin had hired our car from in Penang was delivering another car so he arranged to jump start us and off we headed to Kuantan. We passed lots of logging and palm oil plantations ( my bête noir of the year). Huge lorries with massive loads of logs were very difficult to pass. We stopped for petrol after a couple of hours and couldn't start the car!!! Brigid and l left the guys to it and found a coffee spot. Brigid had a nasty moment when she entered a Muslim toilet by mistake to find a covered lady inside. The husband was very angry as she came out. In the countryside, there are separate toilets for the Muslims and others. Had forgotten to brief Brigid on this as it is not an issue in Georgetown with it's predominantly Chinese population. Sorry Brigid! Many calls to Europcar, swear words, coffees and a jump start later we were again on our way.
We arrived at the Hyatt Regency, on Chempedak beach, Kuantan. Kevin and l have stayed here many times, most recently after Christmas with Carol. The weather was atrocious then so we were hoping for better luck this time! In January, the hotel was being renovated so we had reserved 2 renovated rooms for August. Due to an oversight, there were no renovated sea view rooms available so they offered us executive rooms with complementary breakfast and Happy Hour in the executive lounge in compensation for their mistake. We were very happy bunnies sipping our gin and tonics and eating delicious canapés every evening. There were some evening storms and rain but it didn't interfere with our lovely sunny days on the practically deserted beach. The sea was lovely and warm for swimming. Dermot had his first (and possibly last???) sail with Kevin on a Hobie cat. It was pretty calm but the next day when l joined Kevin, l felt like l was on the spin cycle of a washing machine. Think he took me out as ballast and deflector of the waves!!! We walked along the beach and watched the antics of monkeys stealing food from tourists. We met a lovely lady, Alison, celebrating her 40th birthday when we took a trip up to Cherating to see fireflies and turtles laying eggs on the beach. Had to listen to a 20 minute talk about fireflies before getting into a 4 man speedboat with our boatman. The 'firefly expert' shone a red light and the fireflies flew across the unlit boats all jostling for space on the river. Preferred it when our boatman sped off and produced his own red light (don't think this is allowed as it had taken our expert years to develop the technique!). We soon had hundreds of fireflies surrounding us and even landing on us. Really magical!!! The turtle experience was similarly touristy. About 50 tourists all congregated on the beach ready to witness a giant green turtle laying its eggs in the dark. The guy responsible told us where to head with the rangers. We saw a female by torchlight who moved slowly around the sand and then slid off quietly back to the sea without laying her eggs. Think the prospect of being observed by so many people in close proximity could have had something to do with it!!! Later learnt that the money from tourists supplements the rangers' pay so that they don't resort to selling the eggs as used to happen. It is easy to judge the Eastern way of trying to conserve animals but they are proceeding slowly in the right direction. We help release lots of baby turtles that night into the waves (again, questions arise about them being handled by tourists). We each were told to name our 2 day old turtle before release. So, Tonto, hope you make it to a long life and that you are actually female (Tontina...) and in 20 years or so, will climb back up the beach where l released you to lay the first of your eggs. We stayed on the beach until nearly midnight and left as another 2 sighting of turtle landings had been made. Decided to head back to Kuantan and sit in a seedy bar near the hotel for the rest of my party to watch the Arsenal game.....Yes, Carol, the same one we found in January. Much preferred the Sampan bar at the hotel (an old boat which washed up on the beach in 1980 full of Vietnamese boatpeople). Brigid and l also had a lovely hour in the hotel spa having a massage. Couldn't stop giggling as we booked as Mrs Kenny and Mrs Kenny and we think they thought we were a couple. Put us in the same room and kept asking us questions Is that ok, Mrs Kenny? etc.... I basically replied ditto to each question as was always asked second to the other Mrs Kenny. Hysterical !
The next morning we had an early morning drive down the coast to Mersing. Definitely saw a tapir crossing the road ahead though no one else did! Had a smooth 30 mins speedboat crossing to Rawa. We also came here in January with Carol and the crossing was bumpy! Stayed on the hillside of this tropical paradise for 3 nights listening to the cries of peacocks which strut around the villas. The white sand feels like silk and the water is clear and turquoise. We spent most of our days on sun loungers but did attempt to walk up to see the views from the jungle peak. We were foiled by a landslide on the path. We did attempt the water slide with a lot of little children watching us and kayaked around the bay. Kevin took out the Hobie cat a couple of times. One evening turned into Kenny v Kenny as we played darts, table tennis and then snooker. Probably the most incompetent game of snooker ever! We celebrated Kevin's 60th on the island and you couldn't be in a more beautiful place. The staff are lovely and one recognised Kevin and myself from our last visit and remembered that we were based in Penang. The food is buffet style but good especially the prawns and squid.... A perfect visit we all loved and hopefully we will return....
Arrived back at Mersing and then set off for the 3 hour drive to Malacca.Stayed at the Baba House on JalanJin Tun Tan Cheng Lock. This is an old heritage house in a great location but needs to be renovated and the staff given training on how to smile and welcome guests! We were given 2 pokey rooms with no windows. When we said we couldn't sleep in them, the receptionist said we had requested no windows!!! Accepted 2 slightly better rooms with windows but wouldn't recommend this place. Hotel Puri, across the street has much better reviews. However, it was only for 1 night so we set off to explore the town. Again, we had been there with the children 12 years ago. There have been major changes (liked the river walkways) and some of them not for the better. Gaudy lit up trishaws belt out 80s music and are covered in Hello Kitty, Micky Mouse etc...We wandered up and down the very touristy Jonker Street and it's night market and the surrounding streets full of Baba and Nyonya (Straits Chinese) architecture, took a boat ride to see the sights from the river and learn a bit about Malacca's colonial past under the Portuguese, the Dutch and then the British, ate fantastic tandoori at the Pakistani Pak Putra restaurant, had drinks at the Geographer's Cafe and realised that the whole of Malacca Chinatown is a non- smoking zone and the girls had manicures (yes, fluffy but essential) while the guys toured the churches of St Paul's and St Francis Xavier. The famous Stadthuys, the Dutch town hall and governor's residence, was closed for renovation so we admired its exterior. A highlight was stumbling upon the Honky Tonk Haven Cafe on the river walk near the Hard Rock Cafe. We sat outside drinking beer when the owner, Joe, from New Zealand invited us inside to listen to him perform!! He turned out to be a musician who can play honky tonk on the piano brilliantly! Enjoyed his different interpretations of Mack the Knife. His elegant Malaysian wife, Jill, sang some songs with him. Her performance had a Hawaiian twist. Loved the way she changed her shoes and put on a garland to sing. She had a lovely voice. We returned later in the evening for another performance and saw the same Glaswegian guy who was enjoying the music with us. This resulted in many Scottish songs being performed. A great place but unfortunately, Joe and Jill are selling up to return to NZ. Joe showed us a huge monitor lizard sleeping next to the riverbank. The next day, we had a leisurely lunch of nasi lemak and laksa in a Dutch cafe on the river before heading back to KL for our flights. It was a national day of mourning in Malaysia for the loss of MH17 and all the motorways had large signs saying Mourn for MH17 and Pray for Gaza. Had a complete blond moment and said oh look they are praying for Paul Gascoigne. In my defence, we had been discussing Gazza's sad demise that morning and they love premier football here - think of Tan owing Cardiff FC. Am only allowing this humiliation to be made public as Brigid said it was her favourite moment of the trip!!!! And l wish Gazza well!!
Dermot and Brigid waved us off to Penang and waited for their later MH departure to Heathrow. Think we all enjoyed our 2 weeks together.
We flew back to see Lucy who had arrived 24 hours before us in Penang. She seemed very settled at the E and O. We have had a lovely week in Georgetown with plenty of pool time for her to relax and recharge her batteries. We went to a Chinese
opera production of the Indian tale of Ramayana which was great, we walked around the town, visited the Cheong Fatt Tze (the Blue) Mansion, went to the National Park by bus, trekked for 3 hours to the deserted Teluk Kampi beach visiting the turtle conservation project en route and were then picked up by speedboat. We saw plenty of celebrations for the last night of the Hungry Ghost festival (thankfully the gates of hell have been locked for another year so those restless spirits won't be disturbing us for 12 months). Unfortunately, the spirits seem to have been replaced by rats this week, attracted, no doubt,by lots of rotting food left out on the streets. Let's hope they disappear underground very soon!!! Lanterns are being hung for the Moon Festival. Lucy and l saw lots at Gurney Plaza when we shopped at the mall. On Friday, we celebrated Lucy's birthday. The hotel produced a cake and lots of staff appeared to sing Happy Birthday. We ate seafood at Bali Hai after a cocktail at the Skybar at the Bayview Hotel. Kevin and l picked up a sign I had ordered for him with his name in Chinese characters. It was hand carved by one of the few traditional sign makers in Penang so enjoyed chatting to him and seeing his workshop. This weekend signals the end of the month long Georgetown Festival (loved the Indigo Art Exhibition in the Mission House across from the hotel), so we are off to join in the festivities in Armenian Street and Victoria Street shortly. Today is also Merkeda, a National Holiday celebrating 57 years of independence so there will be a lot of flag waving and parades. Will have to fit that in around packing for our last trip of the year to Singapore, Bali, Lombok and Sabah on Tuesday. Will blog soon X