Continued from Penang Update 1, Penang Update 2, and Penang Update 3.

Tagged along with my dad’s cousin and his wife - he who is the same age as I, to Plaza Gurney to trade in some old phones and get a couple of new ones. Them that is, not me.

First we dropped by a HK-style restaurant for lunch. They ordered fried rice and cheese-baked rice with pork-chops. I ordered the “tung-nai-cha” or iced-tea with milk because I had eaten at home. This is supposedly the staple drink of HK, much like teh-tarik is to Malaysians. I tasted it and thought, “Nothing special what.” It’s just tea with ice. :P

The woman running the phone shop is a childhood friend of my uncle. I love the way Penang ppl talk - the banter in Hokkien would always be filled with double-meanings and innuendoes. Them locals thought it amusing that me the “tourist” found it entertaining. :)

After that we headed to Segafredo downstairs for a jug of beer. It was 11am. Nothing wrong with that. ;) Over the beers, my uncle regaled me with stories of his job - he’s a merchant sailor who is the captain of a dredging ship. These are the ships that do land reclamation and harbour deepenings.

Whatever stereotypes you’ve heard about sailors are all true. Well, to a certain extent. He’s encountered pirates, bar brawls and the seedier sides of humanity that we in the cities do not ever see. I’m sure there’s more stories once we get to Langkawi.

We then headed into town to collect my passport and to have some lunch. Nothing to report here - except the food again was delicious.

Speaking of Langkawi, we will be going there tomorrow for 3 days and 2 nights. What better way to end my holiday than with duty-free booze and cigarettes on the beach? Woohoo!