Roadtrip (Penang • Ipoh • KL)

Going Home!

We had an excellent breakfast at the hotel's Sri Tanjung Cafe and checked out at a quarter past ten. Together with Raudha and Shuhaida (Shima joined her family holidaying in Penang) we got into the car and made our way back to Kuala Lumpur.

The drive back south along the North South Expressway was largely uneventful and after a little over two hours we exited at the Ipoh (Utara) to drop Raudha off at her in-laws in Chepur. We continued our drive and reached Kuala Lumpur at about three in the afternoon.

We then dropped Shuhaida off at her home in Setiawangsa and headed back to our own home.

We hope that you will enjoy the time-lapsed footage of our drive back to Kuala Lumpur.

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Royale Chulan Penang - https://goo.gl/maps/7FvB4VK31NfBVMxE8

Havironia Music - https://goo.gl/maps/WQvrEoWPxqEuvnNy8

Royale Chulan PENANG

Royale Chulan!

Home for the past two nights, we felt it fitting that we paid Royale Chulan Penang homage, in the form of footage taken from the past two days.

We checked in two days ago and found our room to be well appointed and comfortable. Although a little dated the hotel has been making the effort to modernise itself, and we appreciate the fact that it is strategically located near the various street art murals and Little India.

We have also been enjoying their buffet breakfast immensely at the Sri Tanjung Cafe. Billed as "offering a range of delicious flavours and dining experiences" we thought that it served an excellent combination of both eastern and western, as well as local cuisines. We hope our footage will do this cafe justice.

If you are looking for a hotel that is in very close proximity to the Ferry Terminal that look no further!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Royale Chulan Penang - https://goo.gl/maps/7FvB4VK31NfBVMxE8

Padang KOTA LAMA

Penang Esplanade!

Almost at the end of our walkabout Cat suggested we visit the Penang Esplanade, or Padang Kota Lama.

Taken off Google: "The waterfront Esplanade features historical landmarks, such as the Cenotaph war memorial and Fort Cornwallis, scenic promenades and access to several museums of art and culture. Architectural gems include Penang City Hall, which combines Edwardian Baroque and Palladian styles. Cafes, restaurants and bars dot the area, and there’s a handful of hotels. The ferry port offers trips to Butterworth and Langkawi Island."

We marvelled at the gorgeous building that is the Penang City Hall, and spent time taking a time-lapsed footage from the Esplanade Walkway.

We then resumed our walkabout, so be sure to catch that video!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Penang City Hall - https://goo.gl/maps/XYUjnTJqEWd9utZM8

Padang Kota Lama (Esplanade) - https://goo.gl/maps/DtNsGQcH9Wez76JE7

Esplanade Walkway - https://goo.gl/maps/oj7bxB7MQY7TQAxU6

RAFFEE Nasi Kandar

Nasi Kandar!

Work matters out of the way we were now able to focus on content creation. While at the Penang branch my colleague Nazirah recommended we try the Nasi Kandar at Pulau Tikus.

Evening came and we walked out of the hotel onto Beach Street headed to the Police Station. Here we waited for the free Rapid Penang CAT bus that took us to the KOMTAR Bus Terminal. We then caught a Rapid Penang #101 bus for a fare of RM1.40 each (USD/EUR0.30) to Pulau Tikus.

The bus driver dropped us off at the Sleeping Buddha Bus Stop with instructions to walk southwest along Lorong Burma to its very end. We did so, then walked across Jalan Burma to Restoran Mohamed Raffee Nasi Kandar.

It was late evening and the legendary queues that is synonymous with this restaurant had not yet grown. We both ordered the same Nasi Kandar with Fried Chicken:

• Cat added the Green Chillis for RM9.90
• while I added the Lady Finger for RM10.90

together with a round of drinks our meal came to RM24.60 (approximately USD/EUR5). We hoped that the footage from our little Lumix did the meal justice.

We then walked across the street to catch another bus and begin our walkabout in earnest. Stay tuned!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Royale Chulan Penang - https://goo.gl/maps/7FvB4VK31NfBVMxE8

Balai Polis Bus Stop - https://goo.gl/maps/MEmkx1d114hT29Uj6

KOMTAR Bus Terminal - https://goo.gl/maps/LQ8Kt1tnXe6brA8X6

Sleeping Buddha Bus Stop - https://goo.gl/maps/AfwPNrEmSovtbqBC6

Restoran Mohamed Raffee Nasi Kandar

- https://goo.gl/maps/sC4NzgcpdH8hGWRM8

Evening Stroll (To Lebuh Leith and Back)

Walkabout!

We checked into the hotel at a quarter past four and settled in. An hour or so later the walkabout itch bit us and since we had some laundry to do we walked out of the hotel looking for a local Murukku (a savoury, crunchy snack, its name derives from the Tamil word for "twisted", which refers to its shape) shop.

We walked southeast along Beach Street before turning right onto Lebuh Pasar where we found KVM Thulasiraman, the Murukku shop. We were asked to get several packets of the Dhall Pagoda variant and did so. 

We then continued our stroll along Lebuh Pasar before turning right onto Penang Street then left onto Lebuh China. We continued northeast to the end of the street until we reached the Goddess of Mercy Temple built in 1880.

We then walked onto Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and continued southeast until we reached the intersection with Lebuh Chulia. We walked across then continued along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling before turning right onto Jalan Buckingham.

We arrived at 123 Laundry only to find it claustrophobically small.

Due to an error downloading the files from the DJI Action 3 we lost all footage from this point onwards!

We actually eventually arrived at Laundry 39 along Lebuh Leith, and then had dinner at Red Garden Food Paradise. We ordered the:

• Sotong Kangkung for RM18.00
• Char Kueh Teow with Duck Egg RM9.00
• German Sausages RM20.00
• Small Heineken & Keat La Juice for RM20.00
• Banana Split RM12.00
• Apam Balik x RM7.00

for a grand total of RM86.00 (approximately USD19/EUR17). 

We were able to recover footage from the DJI Pocket 2 and picked you up at St. Xavier's Institution. We walked southwest along Lebuh Farquhar past the Church of the Assumption and the Francis Light Memorial before turning right onto Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling again.

We then walked across onto Lebuh Bishop and continued southwest all the way almost to its very end before we stopped to chat with the proprietor of Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery. We then continued on past the Ali Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang before making it back at the hotel.

I will be busy in the morning attending to office matters at our Penang branch, but hope to go for another walkabout tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Royale Chulan Penang - https://goo.gl/maps/7FvB4VK31NfBVMxE8

KVM Thulasiraman (M) Sdn Bhd - https://goo.gl/maps/rM5fdSrD4p211XTF7

Red Garden Food Paradise - https://goo.gl/maps/qx7xUYGBC4XQoJzx7

Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery - https://goo.gl/maps/2FKRvb17jEqsVFQb7

Roadtrip (KL - Ipoh - Penang)

We're on a roadtrip!

Courtesy of my office we're driving up north again, starting with a short stop over at Ipoh before continuing on to Penang.

We left our home at half past seven and drove to the office a short distance away. Here we waited for my colleagues Shima and Shuhaida to join us before continuing our drive.

We headed to the Jalan Duta Toll Plaza and drove onto the North South Expressway before having a quick breakfast at the Sungai Buloh R&R. We then continued our drive to Ipoh and met up with Raudha at before continuing our drive to Penang.

The purpose of this roadtrip was to re-aquaint ourselves with the branch personnel as well as to promote a new project that our department had been working on.

Hope you will enjoy our time-lapsed footage of the drive!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

R&R Jejantas Sungai Buloh Arah Utara - https://goo.gl/maps/dgaBxxNTPUDz2DY67

Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) Kuala Lumpur

- https://goo.gl/maps/bS8d5wN7KmLRRs2t5

Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) Ipoh

- https://goo.gl/maps/HHq15oyypaeCvxLz7

Royale Chulan Penang - https://goo.gl/maps/7FvB4VK31NfBVMxE8

AJIE Car Wash

Puteh needs a shower!

My office organised a treasure hunt yesterday. It lasted the entire day taking contestants from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Selangor so by the time we got home Puteh was filthy.

I promised her a day out at the 'spa' so I went out early this morning to a car wash that I have frequenting for the past twenty years. Manned by a group of hardworking and enterprising Indonesians they have been taking good care of my cars for as far as I can remember.

We hope you will find the hyperlapse and timelapse footages entertaining!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Ajie Car Wash - https://goo.gl/maps/3QBgRVDMpwxsARmG8

Melaka Day 4 (Baba Low)

Going home!

The bad bout of diarrhoea of yesterday had dissipated while the nasty cough still kept me up most of the night.

We had originally planned to visit my parents in Bentong today, but my health situation meant that we had to cancel these plans.

We checked out of Backyard Rio at 10:00am and drove a short distance away to Baba Low for breakfast. It was midweek and we had the whole place to ourselves for a change. Cat had the Mee Siam; I had the Nasi Lemak while Ashley and Brendan both had the Toast & Eggs. Together with a round of drinks our Peranakan breakfast came to RM24.50 (approximately USD/EUR5).

We also got ourselves a bagful of local sweet cakes. The six (6) Apam Balik that looked and tasted remarkably like the Sarawak Kuih Penyaram and four (4) Pulut Inti (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Gula Melaka Coconut Topping) came to RM17.50 (approximately USD/EUR4).

Breakfast out of the way off-camera we headed to Lao Gan Bang Kopitiam to take away ten packets of their Nasi Lemak, as well as several local sweet cakes. 

We then began our drive back to Kuala Lumpur.

The three days and three nights absolutely flew by, and we will most definitely be back soon for another stay at Backyard Rio!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Warong Baba Low @ Tranquerah - https://goo.gl/maps/SRzBoQVBcZ2vriYE8

CHENG HO Hawker Centre

Diarrhea!

For the third time in as many days we found ourselves at Cheng Ho Hawker Centre for lunch. My perut was still quite sore from the 'disturbances' earlier in the morning so we both decided to have rice porridge here.

This time around we filmed our excursion here. Interestingly enough, the Chicken Rice Ball stall that we tried to visit yesterday and the day before was still not open for business.

I was especially thankful for the rice porridge since I did not have an appetite for much else here. 

Cat had the normal rice porridge while I opted for the plain variant, just to be safe. Each bowl cost RM7.00 (approximately USD1.50/EUR1.40) and together with drinks our very simple meal came to only RM20.00 (approximately USD/EUR4).

Lunch out of the way we then drove back to the Airbnb where I spent the rest of the day under the covers.

Tomorrow we head back to Kuala Lumpur 😔

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Cheng Ho Hawker Centre - https://goo.gl/maps/XxN8T2DwoDaGfWog8

Melaka Day 3 (Bronchitis?)

Day 3!

A bad bout of diarrhea and a nasty cough kept me up most of the night, so we decided to sleep in today.

We woke up late and by the time we left the Airbnb it was half past eleven in the morning. Ashley and Brendan were still asleep so we did not disturb their slumber.

First things first, we headed back to Cheng Ho Hawker Centre for the third time in as many days for lunch. My perut was still quite sore from the 'disturbances' earlier in the morning so we both decided to have rice porridge here.

After that we headed to Super Dry nearby for a spot of laundry.

All done we decided to visit a medical clinic since my cough would not go away, so we drove a short distance to Klinik Melaka Jaya. After having been thoroughly checked over the doctor feared that I was suffering from bronchitis! The doctor would have liked to have an ex-ray of my chest, but since we were going back to Kuala Lumpur the next morning he decided against it.

I was prescribed a host of medication, including antibiotics and cough syrup which effectively ended any hopes I had of roaming around Melaka today. We then drove back to the Airbnb where I spent the rest of the day under the covers.

Tomorrow we head back to Kuala Lumpur 😔

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Cheng Ho Hawker Centre - https://goo.gl/maps/XxN8T2DwoDaGfWog8

Super Dry Laundromat - https://goo.gl/maps/HDuyJuUUKgH99os48

Klinik Melaka Jaya - https://goo.gl/maps/HRaYASfFSKbQheGRA

Puteh Rooftop Bar (25th Wedding Anniversary)

It's our anniversary!

We were married on this day twenty-five years ago at the Kuala Terengganu Catholic Mission, can you imagine that? The 8th of August 1998 remains the best day of my life. Apart from welcoming Brendan to the world a year later, of course.

A quarter of a century later and we're still madly in love, and still as mad for each other as the day we first met.

The day I laid eyes on her this poem echoed in my head:

"I wrote your name in the sky, but the wind blew it away. I wrote your name in the sand, but the waves washed it away. I wrote your name in my heart, and forever will it stay."

Hannah Gould's poem “A Name in the Sand” has stayed in my heart since then, and so has my better half.

So to celebrate we decided to treat everyone to a rooftop dinner. We perused Puteh Rooftop Bar's rather comprehensive menu and after a while we eventually decided on:

• French Fries for RM15.00
• Spaghetti Carbonara for RM28.00
• Buttered Lemon Spaghetti for RM27.00
• Classic Beef Burger for RM31.00
• Smoked Salmon Sandwich for RM34.00
• Puteh Chicken Wings for RM30.00
• Virgin Pina Colada Mocktail for RM20.00
• Mojito for RM30.00
• Margarita Watermelon for 30.00
• Flavoured Mojito for RM30.00

Together with a 10% service of RM27.50 our anniversary dinner came to RM302.50 (approximately USD66/EUR60) which in our minds was reasonable given the ambiance and the occasion.

Happy Anniversary Baby. Thank you for 25 years, and here's to 25 more!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Puteh Rooftop Bar - https://goo.gl/maps/qs2fkaPrP19wQDNj7

Airbnb: Backyard Rio

Victor!

What can we say about this absolutely fabulous Airbnb Super Host that hasn't been said yet?

Due to the rather short notice Victor arranged for us stay at the loft of Backyard Rio first upon our arrival in Melaka. Situation at a bend of the Melaka river, this Airbnb unit provided us with a commanding 180 degree view.

We settled in and as always had nothing but good things to say about Victor's well appointed unit.

The following day, and as promised Victor moved us down to the intended and more spacious unit on the first floor. Again, we were blown away.

We hoped that our footage of both units will do it justice, and as a bonus we threw in a timelapse footage of the sun setting over the Melaka River captured from the Airbnb.

We'll let the videos describe the apartment units we stayed for the duration of this visit to Melaka. If you are planning a trip to Melaka, we highly recommend Victor's portfolio of immaculately maintained apartments and homes on Airbnb. You can refer to his profile for a complete list of his well-appointed units.

If the previous video was a little negative we hope that this video will spread some positivity around. 

Enjoy!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

MELAKA Day 2 (Drive Around)

#haveperutwilltravel #djipocket2 #djiaction3 #lumixgx85 #walkabout

Day 2!

We awoke and off-camera took a walk to Happy Laundromat nearby to do our laundry. As we waited we headed over to our favourite breakfast spot, Mei Sin Cafe.

We then walked back to the Airbnb and at about 11:00am were told that our unit was ready. Due to the rather short notice Victor placed us at the loft of Backyard Rio, and today was the day we moved into the intended and more spacious unit on the first floor. Be sure to catch our upcoming video on both the units here at Backyard Rio.

After moving our things we got ready for lunch. As we walked out of the Airbnb it started to rain, so we hastily made our way to the carpark.

It was here that we were attacked!

Be sure to catch our video on this unpleasant experience. Shaken, we lost all train of thought about lunch and found ourselves back at Cheng Ho Hawker Centre. Still shaken, we did not film our lunch time experience here.

We then drove back to the Airbnb and spent the afternoon indoors.

In the evening we hailed a 6-seater Grabcar for a fare of RM13.00 (approximately USD/EUR3) to Eco Tree Hotel. I made reservations for us to have dinner at the Puteh Rooftop Bar to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, so be sure to catch our upcoming video as well!

After dinner we hailed a 6-seater Grabcar for a fare of RM10.00 (approximately USD/EUR2) back to the Airbnb.

Later I developed a bad case of diarrhea, and began coughing incessantly. If things don't improve tomorrow perhaps I might need to visit a clinic.

Fingers crossed!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Mei Sin Cafe - https://goo.gl/maps/oBr73EU6WciXLJ1p7

Happy Laundromat - https://goo.gl/maps/pmAzykzS9zKRE8Yy5

Cheng Ho Hawker Centre - https://goo.gl/maps/XxN8T2DwoDaGfWog8

Eco Tree Hotel - https://goo.gl/maps/Rvs29enTrbg8CuLw8

Puteh Rooftop Bar - https://goo.gl/maps/qs2fkaPrP19wQDNj7

ATTACKED in Melaka!

Attacked!

Truth be told we debated on whether to post this video, but in the end decided to do so as a cautionary tale to those who park their cars in and around the Kampung Jawa area.

The day began inconspicuously enough with us making our way out of the Airbnb for lunch. As we exited it began to rain, and since our car was parked some distance away I made haste. As I approached Backyard Rio's private car park I heard someone asking me in a rather confrontational manner "where are you going!?". It was as though I was somehow headed somewhere that I was not supposed to.

I paid no heed and this was when all hell broke loose. The person was offended that I did not respond and went on a tirade. I walked back and asked this person what the problem was, and was met with more verbal abuse.

I then decided to ignore this person, but when Cat, Brendan and Ashley received the same abuse I decided that I could not let the matter rest. Furthermore, we were fearful that this parking tout might exact revenge on the car.

We got in the car, and I placed a call to Victor. I related the attempted extortion to him, and he promised to come see us at the car park as soon as he can.

A few minutes later Victor arrived and we met with the car park proprietor, asking him why we were stopped from entering Backyard Rio's private car park. The proprietor had no idea what we were talking about, and the deranged person then confronted us.

This deranged person then took off her cap and hit me on the arm . It was then that I decided enough was enough, and asked Victor to call the police.

We retreated back into Backyard Rio's private car park and as we waited for the police to arrive this deranged person came over to continue abusing us. At some point even Victor was hit in the arm as well!

Cat then suggested we leave the matter to the police so we left the car park, while apologing profusely to Victor for the unpleasant experience that we both faced.

We were later informed by Victor that she was 'dealt with'; we did not want to know any further and left it at that.

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Kampung Jawa Parking - https://goo.gl/maps/CGzXR4pFq7eK7wik7

MELAKA River Cruise

River cruise!

After dinner we went on an impromptu walkabout and found eventually found ourselves at the Melaka River Cruise ticket counter and treated Brendan (and Ashley) to a boat ride.

Truth be told we've been on this river cruise several times before this, but hardly at night.

We purchased our tickets from the counter for RM25.00 each (approximately USD/EUR5) and since Ashley brought her varsity student card she got an RM5 (approximately USD/EUR1) discount.

We then waited our turn and in about fifteen minutes boarded our boat. We hope the footage was not too shaky!

As an added bonus we threw in footage from an earlier boat ride taken during the day time, with an even better perspective of the Melaka river.

After the river cruise we took a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Melaka river until we eventually reached our Airbnb.

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Melaka River Park and Cruise - https://goo.gl/maps/hyMjNY1UXZrdj7P3A

Wild Coriander

It's Brendan's birthday!

And to celebrate we decided to take him to an upmarket eatery near the Airbnb. Described as "an incredible little local eatery with food that will tantalise your taste buds and leave you feeling more than satisfied in a very stylish and homely space" we knew we could not go wrong with Wild Coriander.

We walked in and were immediately ushered to our seats. As our ensemble perused the menu I took a walk around to check out this diminutive restaurant housed in a shoplot hundreds of years old.

The service was excellent and the waiters well versed in each dish listed on their menu. After a while we eventually decided on:

• Pai Tee RM12.90
• Fruit Rojak RM9.90
• Lambshank RM69.90
• Chicken Devil Curry RM29.90
• Plain Omelette RM8.90 x 2
• Wild Coriander Special Beef Rendang RM26.90
• Plain Rice RM1.50
• Lemongrass RM6.90
• Soursop RM6.90
• Iced Tea RM4.90
• Iced Water RM0.50
• Tiger Beer RM13.80 x 2

Brendan's birthday surprisingly did not attract a service charge and it came to RM215.60 (approximately USD47/EUR43).

Up next, a river cruise!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Wild Coriander Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/H99CWzeU7qsT3UuF7

MELAKA Day 1 (Walkabout)

Melaka again!

Barely a month later and we made plans to visit Melaka again. This time it was for an entirely different reason, and this time we had a special guest in tow.

We had been planning a surprise for Brendan's birthday with Ashley since April, and early this morning we sprang this surprise on him. Be sure to catch our video on this.

Since Ashley flew in very early in the morning we slept in and only left our condo at about 11am. After a leisurely two hour drive we arrived in Melaka and with time to spare till we checked into the Airbnb had lunch at Cheng Ho Hawker Centre.

We then drove over to another one of Victor's fabulous Airbnb units, Backyard Rio located along the Melaka river. Still knackered from the early morning drive to KLIA2 earlier we took a nap and emerged from the Airbnb in the evening. 

We then walked over to Wild Coriander to celebrate Brendan's birthday, so be sure to catch that video as well.

After dinner we went on an impromptu walkabout and found eventually found ourselves at the Melaka River Cruise ticket counter and treated Brendan (and Ashley) to a boat ride, be sure to catch that video too!

After the river cruise we took a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Melaka river until we eventually reached our Airbnb.

Stay tuned for our upcoming vides of Brendan's birthday surprise, Wild Coriander and our awesome river cruise!

(Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Havironia Music - https://goo.gl/maps/swtNfVmjFK4FgRsf8

Cheng Ho Hawker Centre - https://goo.gl/maps/XxN8T2DwoDaGfWog8

Backyard Rio Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/KEQjMGcqoA6tTgEt8

Wild Coriander Melaka - https://goo.gl/maps/H99CWzeU7qsT3UuF7

Melaka River Park and Cruise - https://goo.gl/maps/hyMjNY1UXZrdj7P3A