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Tiga Hari Dua Malam
I remember telling you not too long ago about my trips to
Port Dickson, Malacca, Penang or Johore. Those
days, people only knew that pycnogenol was a blogger, though his age remained a
mystery. Nowadays, most - if not all - bloggers know that pycnogenol is not as
young as people thought him to be (young here being the likes of ayumi, iFos,
crimsonskye and hiyoshi).
Now that some of you know of pycno’s true identity, here is
a little something that I want to share with you: Those trips that I took
before; not all of them are related to work. You would know by now that I like
to be with my family, going on holidays and all. But there are times where I
just need to be by myself, to retain my sanity (family can be a constant source
of insanity, as I say). It is just that from time to time, I needed that ‘tiga
hari dua malam’ to just be all by myself. Coincidentally, Fazley has a new
programme going to be shown (or has it already been shown?) over tv9 called
‘tiga hari dua malam’. The producers should’ve called me earlier, for I could
have easily fitted in.
I’m actually just back from my tiga hari dua malam. I wanted
to write this entry in a cybercafé. Indeed, I already stepped into one in Penang. However, with my tired old eyes, it was a challenge
to recognize the letters on the keyboards which had already been ‘typed’ away
by kids frequenting the cybercafé to play games.
You may be wondering “What can a married man with a number
of kids do on holiday by himself?” Well, there are lots of things to do. But
before we go to that, let me tell you that I was at a hotel at 1-Stop Midland’s Park, Burmah
Road, Penang.
It’s located just a stone’s throw away from Gurney Plaza.
Yes, that shopping haven by the beach.
So back to what I did on holiday. Everything I did on this
holiday was so relaxing, even from the beginning of the journey. I took the 12.30
a.m. “flight” from Puduraya to Penang and reached the bus terminal (did I say
bus? Wasn’t it a flight just now?) at Sungai Nibong, Bayan Lepas Penang, just
before Subuh. After performing my Subuh prayers, I took another (flight?) bus
to the hotel. I just enjoy doing this kind of traveling i.e. traveling as a
commoner, without the fancy aeroplanes whatsoever, and meeting friendly, ordinary people (the occasional
rude ones too) on the bus. At the hotel, the receptionist was kind enough to
let me check in early.
The morning was spent just sleeping. I’m a light sleeper and
get easily agitated when people make noise when I start to doze off. And this
curse of mine results in stress. So basically on this kind of holiday, I can
sleep as peaceful as I want to without anyone interrupting me. Sleep is a big
agenda on my solo holidays.
Second on the list would be food. And it’s a well known fact
that Penang is a serious destination for diners.
Not that I can eat that much, but it’s a nice treat for the tummy. My favourite
has got to be Nasi Kandar Kassim Mustafa. Just a simple plate of nasi kandar
with the chicken, mutton or fish curry, and a portion of vegetables. Best of
all is that they add a tad bit of kuah-kuah. This small concoction is what
brings out the magic of nasi kandar, and till today, no outlet in Kuala Lumpur has managed
to offer the same taste. There’s something about the soft and fluffy rice which
goes down so well with the kuah and lauk. It’s so good that I have it three
times a day, as compared to back at home where I only take rice once a day.
I don’t go to fancy restaurants. Why should I when I only
need to pay under RM 10 for a delicious plate of nasi kandar. Call me
cheapskate whatever, but it’s these small pleasures that make me happy. Another
favourite on my list is the ABC found at the foodcourt of Gurney Plaza.
The vendor just keeps on heaping the red beans, the sweet corn, the agar-agar….Definitely
not healthy, but I don’t mind. Another piece of sinful eating would be
cheesecake from Secret Recipe, whilst watching television in my hotel room.
The other thing that I would do is go to a small, quaint
bookshop in the shopping complex found next to the hotel itself. Here, I got
myself Sue Townsend’s book entitled “Adrian Mole – The Cappucino Years”. It’s a
really good book, and really funny too. Got me in stitches while on the bus,
and I’m still reading it now.
Besides that, I also go to the movies by myself. People
normally go to movies with their friends, family members or any other stranger.
But not me. I just want to enjoy the movie all by myself. If it’s a sad movie,
I just want to cry my heart out. If it’s a comedy, I want to laugh my heart out
too. This time around, I watched “The Sentinel” and “When A Stranger Calls”.
Out of the two, I’d recommend the former.
Last but not least, shopping. But if you ask me, this time I
didn’t buy anything. In the back of my mind, I remember that Bea and the kids
are busy spring cleaning the house. I must admit that our house definitely
needs this exercise from time to time. If not, there’d be not enough oxygen to
go around. However, my clothes are sacred and can never be touched. The others’
clothes are okay to be recycled.
Tomorrow, after fetching my fourth son from boarding school,
we’re going back for yet another tiga hari dua malam, but this time around,
it’s a family affair to visit my mother at the kampong. Inspired by drroza’s
entry actually, I decided it’s time to perform my sonly (is there such a word?)
duties. I wished I could bring along the whole family. Unfortunately, my
daughter has debate practice and can’t come along. Otherwise, it’d be nice to
have the whole family visiting the grandmother.
p.s. Now that I’m going for another tiga hari dua malam,
should the title be enam hari empat malam?????
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