b3 b0rn.. c0nf0rm, b3 si|3nt .. di3

the day started early – was awake by 5 am to do some last minute checking of luggage and going around the house ensuring that no power sockets are connected. we nearly started off the day on the wrong foot as somehow the tickets for the first leg of the trip was missing – i had separated the west coast and east coast leg of the trip ( not to put all your eggs in one basket, you know?)

anywho, after nearly turning the living area upside down with my search, thought of asking kakak whether she’s seen a similar ticket holder. thankfully, she has so that crisis was averted.

arrived at sentral kl by 7 am allowing us to have breakfast at your fav fast food outlet  - the golden arches. bumped into azah who was on her way to office – sent her with my best wishes for those who are still at the office – heh heh

after hanging around infront of the gate for 20 mins, we were finally allowed to descend to the platform to board Train No. 10 (also known as Sinaran Utara)

the coach was clean and pleasant, albeit a bit rundown. am not surprised that KTM may not be able to afford refurbishing considering the number of cars being bought by malaysians year in and year out and that ‘now everyone can fly’ – rail travel is definitely not at the top of the list of travel modes.

kakak was initially excited with the sights and views but after the 1 hour mark passed – she kept asking how much longer til we reached our destination. good thing the kids were able to walk around within and between the coaches, else we may ended up with kids bouncing off the walls. 2 hours before reaching butterworth, they finally tired out enough to doze off for their naps.

our arrival at platform 1, butterworth station was greeted by a rainy afternoon and no taxi in sight. fortunately the towkay of the local cab outfit was on the lookout for passengers and ensured us that a cab will be arriving shortly. after a bout of photo taking (some in retro/b&w mode just for that nostalgic feel) our ride arrived and took us to our lodgings for the next two nights – sunway hotel seberang jaya.

the friendly cab driver, after finding out we were out-of-towners on holiday, suggested we head over to penang isle but we informed him that we’ve been there every year and would like to explore the mainland. after cracking his brains for local attractions, he proposed that we head for the rice bowl of malaysia and check out the archeological sites there.

by the time we reached the hotel, we were quite sold on the idea of immersing ourselves in a bit of local history and then off to the seaside for some seafood.

one late lunch and a bath later, the kids were all snug in the room trying to tune into 616 :p.. amir was out by 8pm with kakak, the two boys took awhile to settle down – a few trips to the lobby and business floors finally did it – and they were asleep by 10:30pm.