Month: April 2025

Visiting Georgetown : Penang

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

I first came to Penang with my sister, her husband at the time who worked in KL and Clare my beautiful niece. She was about 1 at the time. She’s now 46!

So it was ages ago.

1979. Penang with Catherine and Clare

Needless to say Georgetown has changed. It’s big and spread out to an area called Gurney where there are big apartment blocks. Huge glossy shopping plazas and no one swimming in the oceans. There are signs for stinging jellyfish.

We walked straight to the Upside Down Museum just as the storm hit.

Perfect timing for this quirky museum. You step into rooms that are perfectly staged with everything upside down. Each room has an attendant who positions you and then takes photos on your own camera.

It’s an upside world.

We spent an hour there. It cost about 100ringgit. about $30

Money well spent. When we came out with big smiles on our faces the storm had passed and we started wandering the surrounding street toward the jetty area.

Some cool street art in the Beach Rd area.

We stopped for a delicious gelato and found the Armenian area. Known for its great little shops and interested side streets. I bought a little umbrella and another fan.

We slowly wound our way towards Chew Jetty.

Past the Fire station.

We walked out along one jetty area. Such an interesting place to live. It was quiet and clean with water lapping against the pylons.

Caught a local napping.

Then onto Chew Jetty. People live and run little businesses from their front terrace. You just want to support them all. The jetty is open all day to visitors who wander up and Fien past true little terrace houses. So kind of them to share their lives with us tourists.

Crossing back into the myriad of streets we walked and walked. Pete got hungry and stopped for a few samosas at a stall in little India.

Onto the Red Garden food court. I must say our 5 year old is a trooper. We walked 11,000 steps this afternoon and he didn’t complain. He just chatters away asking questions about what he’s seeing.

Huge array of food stalls. Our little seafood monster had grilled prawn, octopus and crab. I forgot to mention he demolished a stingray last night!

Octopus and prawn
Stingray

Lazy Days by the Pool in Penang

/ brisbanefrannie / Leave a comment

Oh the deck chair is inviting: dips in the pool, reading my book, napping. All sounds delicious. Except we have an active 5 year old so in between trying for do those things you do at a resort, I am sliding down slippery slides, swimming with Ollie, playing pool ( billards) , playing eye spy and answering multiple questions.

I wouldn’t change it. Except maybe to have Leo and Alby here to play with Ollie.

We had pizza and salad by the pool.

Exploring along the coasts we found the next door resort had a chess board.

The afternoon was repeating the morning until back to the room for a rest while it was raining.

The rain stopped and it felt fresh outside so we left the hotel in search of the food markets.

Walking the streets here takes me back to all visits to Asian resort areas. Footpaths up and down. Cycles slipping along, street stall vendors smiling and encouraging us to buy. But we were on a food mission and we found it. A big area with food stalls all around the outside. Plastic chairs and metal tables , tvs on with sport playing. Groups and families all sitting eating their selected dishes.

From fresh grilled fish, all other types of seafood, to noodle dishes, nasi goreng, char kway teow. Lots of choice. And inexpensive. Dishes were around 10 Malaysian ringgit up to 40ringgit for a filled fish with lime hunger sauce. Just delicious. Australian dollars that’s around 4$ up to $15 for a whole fish.

Ollie had bbq prawns, I had the fish and stir fried veg and Pete had won-ton noodles.

We walked back via the market stalls and I got a bag for beach things. Ollie who is sports mad got an Argentina soccer outfit. He wants to be like Messi!

A lovely easy night.

Penang. Old World Malaysia.

/ brisbanefrannie / Leave a comment
Outside our hotel

Arriving in Penang is a huge contrast to Singapore Our Air Asia out of Terminal 4 at Changi was great.

The terminal is amazing. Modern, state of the art and all ran on time.

I had the best coffee experience at a beautiful coffee house.

Bacha coffee

Choosing from the extensive coffee list was difficult. So many varieties. The white gloved man described the blends and i selected. It doesn’t come with milk but a small pot of cream. See the picture. As well as the coffee in a beautiful cup nestled in a tray there was a crystallised sugar stick to stir the coffee. – and …..you get a mini pastry of the day.

It was all delicious-especially after the coffee machine at Legoland. all for $8 Singapore.

There was a giant slide to get to a lower level in the airport where a huge red playground waited for the young at heart to have a play.

There was a ‘fake’ street of painted houses and speciality shops.

The best was the woman’s toilets. Heated, self cleaning seats. Art works huge mirrors , bright and clean and inviting. Amazing!

The woman’s toilets. Outstanding.

Arriving in Penang was a let down. An old airport and the longest customs queue. We took an hour to clear customs. Into a taxi to the hotel took another hour.

We were ready for a swim. things were looking up.

Our hotel. The kid friendly Shangri La

Lots of families. Mostly covered from head to toe in black. The beautiful friendly Muslim women look so hot until they get into the water in the fully covered black swim wear. Again I felt underdressed.

There are 5 pools and several slides which Ollie has been up and down hundreds of times.

The lawn area where Peter and I relaxed as Ollie went in the slides.

Our rooms are connecting which is perfect. Refreshed from the swim we went in search of food. Ollie wanted grilled prawns so we headed to the night food markets and found great food. So cheap. Prawns, a beautiful fish with ginger sauce for me. A noodle dish for Pete. A beer each. We didn’t spend more than $50 and it was great.

Food markets with our hungry boys.

The next few days we’ll be relaxing and eating. Follow us…….

A Day in Adventure World at Legoland

/ brisbanefrannie / 7 Comments
Ollie in chefs outfit for decorating a donut

We all slept well in our adventure wonderland and hit the breakfast buffet at 8.30 to fuel up for the trip to the theme park today.

Breakfast is pandemonium : lots of mums, dads, doting Nani’s and a posse of kids mostly under 12. The buffet caters for the tastes of Malays, Chinese, Indian and assorted other nationalities. Families tucking into rice dishes, curries, sugary chocolate cereals. Our Ollie went straight to the egg station. He got his 3 scrambled eggs. I had an omelette. Pete had curry and roti. Something he had grown to like when living in in KL. Coffee out of a machine had to do for my 1 cup a day coffee fix.

Lego men at each of the food stations.

Thumping music greeted us at the gates to Adventure World. We were there for the warm up session at the main stage. Then the countdown started. We joined in with the excited crowd : fireworks and the gates opened.

Straight to the drive a boat then the driving school.

They give driving lessons and have a classroom session while they wait for their turn: then the children all get a car and drive around a miniature Lego town. Ollie chose the police car. When finished they earn a drivers license.

Pete has all the rides planned out. We did the Ninjago ride and the adventure one a bit like a Raiders of the Lost Arc.

We walked – in the heat, enjoying every minute. The rides are amazing. Ollie found his ‘brave’ and went on the roller coasters. Even I went on one after a gap of 30 odd years! Amazing what one will do for a grandchild.

Our last ride before returning to the hotel for a break and a well deserved rest, was the jet ski . You ride around a pond with spectators bombing you as you pass. We came off dripping wet which actually felt good in the heat.

Leaving, we passed the miniature worlds. All surrounding countries made out of Lego.

A bite to eat at the food mall next to our hotel then back to the room to change and rest.

Dragging ourselves off the bed we re entered the park at 4 for another two hours.

Fire engines race
Pete and Ollie pumped their engine to the fire.

A few more rides. Repeating those Ollie loved. A visit to the build-a-car section. Inside and air conditioned it was a treat.

The day finished with a huge rainstorm. We got drenched walking the 200 metres back to the hotel.

A change of clothes. Dinner and another dance party!

Bed felt so good.

Tomorrow travel back to Singapore to Changi for our flight to Penang.

Awesome Legoland

/ brisbanefrannie / 3 Comments

If you are looking for a full on child experience that even adults can enjoy then it’s Legoland

I wasn’t sure what to expect but it is extraordinary.

We left our Singapore Hotel at 8 for a quick taxi ride to the bus centre for the Lego express to Legoland.

It was $13 and the coach was so comfortable and wasn’t crowded Singapore is a delight to drive through. It’s green with great roads and not as much traffic as you’d expect from this huge city. The reason being there is a tax on having a car permit. It costs about $130,000 before you even buy a car And cars are super expensive here. Most people simply can’t afford it. So the money made out of taxes is used for public transport. And the trains, buses and taxis are all super efficient and clean.

Arriving at the border to Malaysia you leave the bus to go through immigration then take your bags through customs. It was quick and efficient. I heard it can be busy on the weekends. Back in the bus we are in Johor where Legoland is located in 15 mins. All up about an hour.

Seeing the Legoland Hotel resort is like a dream. It’s big and colourful and you know it will be fun.

Ollie was in a state of excitement!

We went to the hotel and as it was 11am our room wasn’t ready. We had our bag of swim gear ready and stored our other bags.

It was off to the Waterpark. Once again it’s big. Lots of different rides of various levels of difficulty. But basically all for kids. Not so much big teenagers. So parents and kids having fun.

Hotel from the water park

We were among the few foreigners there and I. My swimmers and rash vest felt underdressed. Most were Muslim so were head to toe in black.

The river raft was a big hit. You float on a river and can build onto your raft with the floating Lego. Then the slides. Ollie eased into it on the small slides before Pete talked him and me into climbing up the staircase to the big red slide.

You sit in a round ring and hold on as you wind your way down the hill.

Pete was approached by the lifeguard who wanted to examine his prosthetic Lego. They were concerned it was sharp and could damage the tubular life rafts. He good humoured them and persuaded them it was all fine!

After awhile thunder started and it was funny watching the attendants talking into the walkie talkies deciding what yo do. It took some time but they eventually closed the rides.

The lunchtime queues started. Ollie had a Legoland meal ; nuggets, potatoes in the shape of smiling faces, a drink and a paddle pop.

We headed back to the hotel for donut decorating! This hotel is all abut the kids. From the minute you arrive there are Lego play areas. The lifts are decorated and music pumps out dance music.

Our room on the 6th adventure floor is great.

Family room perfection. The big double bed has the big windows. It’s separated from the kids bunk area by sliding doors. The carpet has treasure maps , the bathroom two height sinks perfect for little people. Lego spiders, animals and a big box of Lego are scattered around. Ollie loved the treasure maps. He had to fill out the clues to get the combination for the kids treasure chest. Inside a container of lego.

Donut was decorated. Then it was a dance party in the big foyer which has a Lego castle and Lego pit where lots of dads were rediscovering their inner love of Lego!

Ollie danced up a storm but not as much as the adult staff who love this joining in atmosphere. Pete says when he went to uni in KL the local boys there loved all this dance fun and loved nothing better than parties not with alcohol but games and dancing.

Pete said the hotel was a bit like being on a big ship devoted to kids. Lots of activities. The parks outside and the hotel activities insides. Some people come for the day from Singapore but it’s fun to stay.

Dinner was an adventure as well. We went for the buffet. Beautifully presented, Ollie got his money’s worth. He had fresh prawns, muscles and scallops along with satay sticks. He was free! Pete and I were restrained. But enjoyed the variety. I don’t normally enjoy buffets in these hotels. Takes me back to taking the boys to Las Vegas and staying at the Circus Circus hotel which was good but didn’t quite extend to this Lego overload. It had the ‘world’s biggest buffet ‘ and it gave me food poisoning. I’ve avoided them ever since. But I’m fine this morning. So all is ok.

Dance party
Dancing in the lift.

A Long but Happy Day in Singapore

/ brisbanefrannie / 5 Comments

I’m sitting writing this post at Singapore Zoo. It 9.35 and Pete and Ollie are having one more walk around the night time trails and I’m admitting defeat and having a beer under a fan.

The Night Creatures show

After a long day yesterday and the night hawker markets we were up and out at 8.30 after Pete and Ollie had had a swim in the big pool. This 5 year has stamina ! Takes after me I like to think.

We had breakfast at Maxwell food markets. Ollie wanted eggs and they come half runny boiled eggs that you open into a saucer and dip toast into.

I prayed the eggs were fresh as he polished them off and drank his fresh orange juice.

Following a walk around Chinatown we got the train to the Gardens by the Bay. These gardens are spectacular. It was hot walking along the river to get to the gardens but once there it was an oasis. Cool inside with multi levels you start at the top and walk down gradually.

Planning our visit to the gardens

There’s a magnificent water fall, crystal gardens, a forest room. All beautifully presented and not crowded. I bought our tickets through Klook, an online discounted ticket agency.

It worked beautifully. I bought a combined ticket for the Gardens, the flower hall and the night safari at the zoo. We’re going there tonight.

Ollie loved the gardens and Pete and I are so impressed with how everything works.

We moved onto the Flowers of the World and they had a Japanese gardens exhibition. Perfect as I’m going to Japan later in the year.

In front of the cherry blossoms

The cherry blossoms exhibition was like being in Japan.

Back out side the heat was picking up. We stopped for a beer and gelato before heading into the Science Museum. the building itself is worth visiting. Shaped like a lotus flower you enter via a bridge over the most beautiful lotus flowers.

The lotus by night. From the taxi after the zoo.

There were a few paying exhibitions including the Iris Van Herpen fashion exhibition I saw last year in Brisbane.

We opted for the kids activities which kept Ollie occupied for quite awhile.

Starting to get tired.

Hunger was getting to us now so Ollie and I headed back on the blue downtown train line to the food markets where we polished off dumplings for lunch. Pete was keen to have his bone broth soup so went a bit further to another hawker market specialising in that dish. $10 he said and he couldn’t eat it all.

We met up back at the hotel for a swim in the very large hotel pool. What a treat. Into the room for a rest before our nighttime booking at the Zoo.

It rained heavily – typical tropical downpour. A bit a rumbly thunder. it was great to look at lying on bed by the huge window.

It was still rainy when we left so caught a taxi. It took nearly an hour to get there by 7pm and cost $45 Singapore. It’s well organised and I stood in the line for the night train while Pete bought some satay chicken for Ollie. He’s also hungry a lot of the time. The line took about 20 mins. Perfect timing.

We got the front three seats and had a perfect view. It was amazing. We saw animals standing quite close to where the train crept along the narrow road in the ‘jungle’

It was hard to get a good photo but we saw lions, cheetah , rhino, elephants, bison, bears, deer, the list goes on.

From the train we went to the Creatures of the Night show and saw, and owl fly in, hairy pigs, hyenas, cheetah. All visited the stage on cue to eat something planted for them then quietly leave.

The show finished around 9 and Pete and Ollie de used to walk the night loop setting once again the animals we’d seen from the train.

I sat having a beer waiting. One tired little boy and his tired dad arrived back so we made our way out to the taxi and after 5 minutes in the car Ollie fell asleep.

Singapore is quite beautiful by night.

View from the taxi.

I wasn’t far behind!

Singapore for 3 Generations

/ brisbanefrannie / 1 Comment

When Pete our son suggested we might like to go to Singapore, Legoland and Penang for a short holiday with him and his 5 year old son Ollie. Then bring Ollie home while he went into a wedding in the Philippines, I really want sure what to think.

Would it be too much? would I get Covid? would we all agree on a plan each day?

I decided it was a great chance to spend some time with 43 yr old Pete recently facing a broken relationship and his gorgeous 5 year old.

Over Christmas we booked. It was real. We talked hotels, adventures and food. Pete has always loved Asia and its food. He’s lived in Malaysia attending uni and Cambodia as a teacher. He’s adventurous and a foodie – in Asia.

We went to the airport at 8 for an 11am flight. why are airports – Brisbane in particular so expensive. The food is overpriced, general goods ridiculously overpriced. I only noticed this time as we weren’t in a lounge!

The 8 hour day flight was great. We had a row of 3 and Ollie is a great little traveller. We watched a movie or two and poor Ollie only had cheese and crackers. We forgot to order a child’s meal. But he was so happy just to be travelling he didn’t care!

We landed at 5.15 Singapore time. Two hours later than in Brisbane.

We got our bags and left for the train to get us to the city, passing a robot cleaning. Ollie loved it.

The train was quick and easy and we got to our hotel the Mercure Icon in Chinatown easily. Great little rooms side by side with a great view and a 4 min walk to the night hawker markets.

View from hotel room in the 17th floor.
Olive in prawn heaven

We had a beer as it was very humid after some rain earlier in the day. Then satays. Chicken & prawns. Then dumplings. Then ice cream. We walked home tired but happy.