RHK's start spring Asia trip, sadly sans Gpanda's
Jun 4th, 2010, 06:24 AM
#242
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Gpanda, we know it can't be anything political, nor does it apparently involve Balinese constabulatory customs. Before leaving my last place of employment, I obtained a copy of a book entitled <u>The Scavengers' Manifesto</u>, so perhaps that's what his Bobness is reading (no doubt much to Karen's chagrin!).
BC
BC
Jun 4th, 2010, 05:45 PM
#243
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Have enjoyed the report, especially the driving in Bali/Police incident. I was laughing aloud, Great report.
Because DH is wanting me to cancel our Bz Tickets to BKK for Jan !!!! b/c of the recent problems, I have been thinking about a plan B to travel onwards from BKK. Bali sounds like an option (however, am so encouraged by the reports on this list of "everything back to normal" ) I'm still planning on 2weeks in BKK and 2 weeks on Phuket. But, will keep on top of alternative options should things heat up again at the end of the year.
Thanks all - for the fun and insights.
Sue
Because DH is wanting me to cancel our Bz Tickets to BKK for Jan !!!! b/c of the recent problems, I have been thinking about a plan B to travel onwards from BKK. Bali sounds like an option (however, am so encouraged by the reports on this list of "everything back to normal" ) I'm still planning on 2weeks in BKK and 2 weeks on Phuket. But, will keep on top of alternative options should things heat up again at the end of the year.
Thanks all - for the fun and insights.
Sue
Jun 6th, 2010, 12:04 AM
#248
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well we finally got to the hotel about 1AM, about 5 hours late.... we still love air asia however....
loving clove hall---see seperate post...
toured E&O today.... very nice.... looked at deluxe room which was beautiful---have not looked at prices yet however....
one thing that struck me however as we entered.... the doorman did not hold the door for us or welcome us--- very very odd.. he just stood there... even at ROS you get a royal welcome... more thoughts later.... gotta get in the pool....
loving clove hall---see seperate post...
toured E&O today.... very nice.... looked at deluxe room which was beautiful---have not looked at prices yet however....
one thing that struck me however as we entered.... the doorman did not hold the door for us or welcome us--- very very odd.. he just stood there... even at ROS you get a royal welcome... more thoughts later.... gotta get in the pool....
Jun 6th, 2010, 05:02 AM
#249
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Land sakes alive, what is going on there? rhk says that the shower has "room for 6 people" and then he says that the people in the hotel included "singapore mature couple, dutch 25ish couple, 2 single asian ladies seperately, and two 30ish asian guys." That's more than 6.
So did everyone crowd in, or did a couple of people just stand outside the shower and watch?
[In unrelated news, does anyone know why there were about 75 people with lawn chairs and binoculars near the entrance to Whole Foods on Alewife Pkwy in Cambridge yesterday, delaying traffic? Please don't tell me that they were spending the glorious day inhaling the fumes of 5 million cars so they could look at a couple of ugly brown birds who weren't doing anything.)
So did everyone crowd in, or did a couple of people just stand outside the shower and watch?
[In unrelated news, does anyone know why there were about 75 people with lawn chairs and binoculars near the entrance to Whole Foods on Alewife Pkwy in Cambridge yesterday, delaying traffic? Please don't tell me that they were spending the glorious day inhaling the fumes of 5 million cars so they could look at a couple of ugly brown birds who weren't doing anything.)
Jun 6th, 2010, 06:10 AM
#252
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I thought Cambridge was a collective. Why would they need an Independence Day of their own. They coast along with the rest of the Bay State on Patriot's Day so they can get a paid day off. They certainly don't need another one, their labor efforts are needed by the collective!
BC
BC
Jun 6th, 2010, 06:47 AM
#253
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The drive to the airprt was less than one hour from Tannah Lot... The airport has been upgraded on the departure side... better a/c... more shops... more efficiency... i had checked in on line but was unable to print my boarding passes... we zoomed through the checkin process... btw, AA seems to be paying less attention to bag weights... you cannot get away with huge weights but they no longer give everyone a problem..
we read for a couple of hours and then the flight was called.... orderly with express boarding payers being called first (rows 1-5 and 14).... cost about $7... 2 of you end up with 3 seats... we always choose row 2 A&C.. Flight quite full---we left 15 minutes early... food and beverage service for a fee. arrived in K/L 15-20 minutes early.... btw, AA flights are stairs with walk outside to all gates.
Our bags came out in about 2 minutes...
At LCCT (low cost carrier terminal) at K/L you have to recheck in for each flt. we had a couple of hours to wait for the flt check-in, but because i had computer check-in completed and it was less than 3 hours to flt time, we could go to baggage dropoff and proceed with getting rid of the bags and have boarding passes printed....great..
The LCCT has really improved also: starbucks, mcdonalds, shops, etc... so we grabbed a burger at mcdonalds---thank god we did as the delay which would develop would have left us starved... We found a quiet corner and read for a while... Loading time came and went... delay announced...another delay---plane stuck up north... finally plane arrived and in less than 10 minutes we were boarding... 10 more minutes and we were ready to take off...
Arrived in Penang about 40 minutes later. short wait for bags... our driver was there with a sign... 30 minute drive to hotel.. The hotel was aware that we would be late...
Into our lovely room by about 1AM instead of 9PM.... Room is lovely and cool and bed is comfortable 5 minutes later...
Sunday June 6
Up a bit late, but well rested.... Breakfast is served in the garden or on the first floor. Simple menu. Well cooked and delicious... We sat next to the pool.
See my seperate thread about the hotel and our room... we are very pleased with Clove Hall.... It is perfect for us...
Next order of business was a swim... Pool is very comfortable. Site could not be more attractive....down one side of the pool are tall trees with huge clay pots spaced between them into which water runs from a large granite block above each pot and it then spills over and runs down the sides of the pot...makes a lovely noise... grass surrounds the other sides of the pool and the building is close by... adequate seating.... you really feel that you are a weekend guest at someone's old colonial weekend house.
We requested a taxi to take us to the older part of Georgetown after our swim -- 12 R....He drove us right into the Khoo Kongsi family historical site---temple and theatre. This is truly one of the most beautiful temples i have visited... It is very colorful and elaborate... 5 R donation each... We spent about an hour there... From there we visited a couple of other temples.... It then began to sprinkle and then to rain moderately for perhaps 30 minutes... we just hung out in a covered temple and watched the street traffic....
btw, much in georgetown is closed on sundays...
When the rain abated we continued our walk into little india...some shops were open there... we watched a goldsmith for a few minutes... strolled around and started to get hungry... we were given a flier for the Gem Restaurant at 66 Bishop St...a/c... fantastic. We walked a few blocks to get there....PERFECT.... clean, newish, comfortable and a good menu: K ordered chicken tikka, plain naan, plack paneer, marinated chicken kabob, tons of bottled water and a mixed veggie and nut rice....delicious.. 79.80 R.... btw, about 3.3 R= $1.
From there we headed for the waterfront. marveled at the colonial town hall and the former british hqts next to it....walked further along the waterfront until i thought the heat would melt me.... Finally we reached the esteemed E&O Hotel.... we went inside for a self guided tour... we told the staff, 'Kathie from seattle sent us...'
The hotel is a colonial gem... It's simple lobby area is charming. The bar overlooks the large pool which is beside the sea wall....The sarkies grill is a throw back to the old days with old wookwork and old tables--- quite charming... the ballroom was almost set up for a large wedding and very beautiful..... The subdued room where afternoon tea is served could easily be found in london--- we hope to return better attired one afternoon for tea---45 R...
We'd both had it by then. We took a taxi back to clove hall---12 R...
I did some internet and karen headed to the pool. I joined her later. i stayed in the pool for ever... We decided we would just go across the street for a thai dinner.... We enjoyed getting to know the young dutch couple better....His dad works for KLM so he has traveled everywhere. He was also very interested in american healthcare and politics, so i gave hime my totally unbiased and sensible views on each.
btw, his sistewr lives in Cambridge, so he had tons of biased views about america...
Dinner was ok, not one of our better experiences on this trip....
We returned to the room for internet and tv....
Tomorrow we have hired a local man, from the internet (may have been a fodors trip report) for a motor tour around Penang.
the heavens just opened up and it is pouring with thunder and lightning.....
we read for a couple of hours and then the flight was called.... orderly with express boarding payers being called first (rows 1-5 and 14).... cost about $7... 2 of you end up with 3 seats... we always choose row 2 A&C.. Flight quite full---we left 15 minutes early... food and beverage service for a fee. arrived in K/L 15-20 minutes early.... btw, AA flights are stairs with walk outside to all gates.
Our bags came out in about 2 minutes...
At LCCT (low cost carrier terminal) at K/L you have to recheck in for each flt. we had a couple of hours to wait for the flt check-in, but because i had computer check-in completed and it was less than 3 hours to flt time, we could go to baggage dropoff and proceed with getting rid of the bags and have boarding passes printed....great..
The LCCT has really improved also: starbucks, mcdonalds, shops, etc... so we grabbed a burger at mcdonalds---thank god we did as the delay which would develop would have left us starved... We found a quiet corner and read for a while... Loading time came and went... delay announced...another delay---plane stuck up north... finally plane arrived and in less than 10 minutes we were boarding... 10 more minutes and we were ready to take off...
Arrived in Penang about 40 minutes later. short wait for bags... our driver was there with a sign... 30 minute drive to hotel.. The hotel was aware that we would be late...
Into our lovely room by about 1AM instead of 9PM.... Room is lovely and cool and bed is comfortable 5 minutes later...
Sunday June 6
Up a bit late, but well rested.... Breakfast is served in the garden or on the first floor. Simple menu. Well cooked and delicious... We sat next to the pool.
See my seperate thread about the hotel and our room... we are very pleased with Clove Hall.... It is perfect for us...
Next order of business was a swim... Pool is very comfortable. Site could not be more attractive....down one side of the pool are tall trees with huge clay pots spaced between them into which water runs from a large granite block above each pot and it then spills over and runs down the sides of the pot...makes a lovely noise... grass surrounds the other sides of the pool and the building is close by... adequate seating.... you really feel that you are a weekend guest at someone's old colonial weekend house.
We requested a taxi to take us to the older part of Georgetown after our swim -- 12 R....He drove us right into the Khoo Kongsi family historical site---temple and theatre. This is truly one of the most beautiful temples i have visited... It is very colorful and elaborate... 5 R donation each... We spent about an hour there... From there we visited a couple of other temples.... It then began to sprinkle and then to rain moderately for perhaps 30 minutes... we just hung out in a covered temple and watched the street traffic....
btw, much in georgetown is closed on sundays...
When the rain abated we continued our walk into little india...some shops were open there... we watched a goldsmith for a few minutes... strolled around and started to get hungry... we were given a flier for the Gem Restaurant at 66 Bishop St...a/c... fantastic. We walked a few blocks to get there....PERFECT.... clean, newish, comfortable and a good menu: K ordered chicken tikka, plain naan, plack paneer, marinated chicken kabob, tons of bottled water and a mixed veggie and nut rice....delicious.. 79.80 R.... btw, about 3.3 R= $1.
From there we headed for the waterfront. marveled at the colonial town hall and the former british hqts next to it....walked further along the waterfront until i thought the heat would melt me.... Finally we reached the esteemed E&O Hotel.... we went inside for a self guided tour... we told the staff, 'Kathie from seattle sent us...'
The hotel is a colonial gem... It's simple lobby area is charming. The bar overlooks the large pool which is beside the sea wall....The sarkies grill is a throw back to the old days with old wookwork and old tables--- quite charming... the ballroom was almost set up for a large wedding and very beautiful..... The subdued room where afternoon tea is served could easily be found in london--- we hope to return better attired one afternoon for tea---45 R...
We'd both had it by then. We took a taxi back to clove hall---12 R...
I did some internet and karen headed to the pool. I joined her later. i stayed in the pool for ever... We decided we would just go across the street for a thai dinner.... We enjoyed getting to know the young dutch couple better....His dad works for KLM so he has traveled everywhere. He was also very interested in american healthcare and politics, so i gave hime my totally unbiased and sensible views on each.
btw, his sistewr lives in Cambridge, so he had tons of biased views about america...
Dinner was ok, not one of our better experiences on this trip....
We returned to the room for internet and tv....
Tomorrow we have hired a local man, from the internet (may have been a fodors trip report) for a motor tour around Penang.
the heavens just opened up and it is pouring with thunder and lightning.....
Jun 6th, 2010, 07:56 AM
#255
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Yes, stellar reporting as always Bob and Karen. Have been lurking on this thread and following along but haven't commented yet as everyone else has been,lol
Eat, shop, sight see, relax.....sounds like the perfect vacation to me!
Aloha!
Eat, shop, sight see, relax.....sounds like the perfect vacation to me!
Aloha!
Jun 6th, 2010, 07:58 AM
#256
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Glad you are enjoying Penang. Cheryl and I talk about making a return trip, but there are just so many places we want to go. Once we're retired and have the luxury of time, no doubt we'll re-visit many of our favorite places.
Jun 6th, 2010, 09:57 AM
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Gee, Smeagol (LOL!), I feel so sorry for you...if I were "stuck" "longer than intended" near the Jewellers it would be like Dracula hanging out longer than intended near a blood bank!!
Bob & Karen, hope the guy you've hired is wonderful and that you thoroughly enjoy Penang.
BC
Bob & Karen, hope the guy you've hired is wonderful and that you thoroughly enjoy Penang.
BC
Jun 6th, 2010, 10:02 AM
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Please try some of the hawker/street food in Penang! There is no reason to be eating Thai food, or anything else but the local fare (lasagna!) while you are there because Penang is a true food mecca!
