Back from Penang...

I’m back from Penang…sigh…our transportation system REALLY needs an overhaul. First, my flight to Penang was delayed by almost an hour, so I ended up sitting OUTSIDE the boarding lounge for a good half hour or so.

Upon arriving in Penang, trying to get a taxi was another challenge in itself, especially since the taxis there don’t use meters and charge whatever based on the “zone”. Now what was the government saying about all public transportation being sanctioned and monitored closely?

Coming back, there was an incredible delay waiting for an airport limo…after all the coverage on how there were long queues at KLIA and the LCCT for taxis, the limo service came up with an ingenious solution – DON’T issue, tickets, so they can’t queue outside!! (gee, these people must’ve graduated with a Masters in STUPIDITY). There were people queued up at the ticketing counter INSIDE, and subjected to a steady stream of “Takde teksi, kasi HOLD tiket isu” (no taxis, hold off on issuing tickets) and “Hold lagi, premier ada, bajet takde” (continue holding, premier taxis available, budget taxis don’t have) feeding through the walkie-talkie system.

Suffice to say, my wait for a taxi was even LONGER than my flight time from Penang to KLIA…what a load of bull! And if that wasn’t bad enough, the taxi that I finally DID get to send me back was an old 8-yr old “formerly premier” taxi in a SAD state – the interior smelt of stale sweat and God knows what else, the air conditioning was nauseatingly mouldy, and the driver was very pro-PAS administration and kept up an ongoing tirade about the local political parties whilst driving at a snail’s pace of 78KMH on the highway…*nauseated*

Definitely not something I wanna remember, but there WAS a silver lining to the cloud – my hotel stay. I checked into the Equatorial Hotel in Penang at 7.15pm (late, I know, but we had stuff to set up at the mall beforehand). The receptionist was warm and friendly, and gave me a free upgrade to an executive suite at their newly renovated wing…*absolute heaven*

Now THIS is what you call real customer satisfaction. The staff were cheerful and smiley, which made it a real pleasure dealing with them…and the room? Just check out the room photos!!

- King-sized bed, “living area”…all the comforts of home (but with a DOWN quilt and pillows!!)

- I could get SO used to having a TV in the room…haha…

- The bathroom was the best part – it had BOTH a shower stall and a tub (behind the door)…talk about being spoilt for choice!

I am SO going back there the next time I’m in Penang…I also got a chance to meet up with Tine and her parents for dinner, so all in all it was a pretty good trip, albeit a short one, to Penang.

P.S.: The event went GREAT as well…so maybe it was a dark lining to a silver cloud, eh?