My achey breaky... Belly. :(

I think all that nasi and cendol has taken a toll on me. I didn't get much sleep last night, NOT because I was out partying the night away at some Beach Discoteque, but rather entertaining the party going on in my BELLY. Argh. I had a sleep over in the bathroom as my stomach was aching throughout the night, making it almost impossible to sleep.

With absolutely zero energy, and motivation the size of my apetite at the moment (which was tiny for ONCE) I decided to have a day in, and just re-energize for the hectic couple of days ahead.

I spent the day reading my book, Paolo Coelho's Veronika Decides To Die and attempted to nap, which was constantly foiled by the over zealous house keeping who, with all credit to them, reallyyyy wanted to clean my room, checking up on my room every 15 minutes (that'll teach me to forget to put up the DO NOT DISTURB sign) and the excited family staying next door in constant high spirits.

It is now 9.40 p.m, 5 cups of tea and 1 Maggee Cup Noodle later, my stomach has finally calmed down and I'm feeling well rested, ready for whatever comes up next! Tomorrow will be my long awaited interview with Datuk Rahman, and I need to prepare the interview well, so that I squeeze out as much as I can from our meeting and also so that I don't end up looking silly in front of him.

Just got off the phone with Mum, which always calms the nerves and soothes the soul. Can't wait for my family to come visit in a couple of weeks. By then, I should be able to show off my tour guide skills, bringing them to places they never knew existed here. Muahaha. Anyway, going to do a little more research and them I'm off to bed. Sorry for the bland and picture-less blog, but I promise, there'll be way more to come! Goodnight and till the next post.

Harith The Aching Bellied Beach Bum
Kindly Sponsored by Rahsia Estates Sdn. Bhd.

Getting To Know You, Kuah Town.

9.58 a.m -- I woke up this morning in a daze not remembering for a moment that I was not in my bed at home but on a mystical island. I had obviously over slept as I peered at the hotel alarm clock/radio and saw it was not 8.30 a.m but already 9.58 a.m! Yes. I overslept.. sighh. And I was now rushing down to the pool side cafe to make full use of my complimentary breakfast!! Being warned to come down early for breakfast to avoid having the soggy bits and unwanted dishes on the morning spread, I briskly walked my way down to the pool side in hopes that either everyone else had also slept through their alarm or the guests of the Bella Vista just didn't like beef bacon. As i made my grand entrance into the cafe, my nightmare came through as the buffet spread was almost completely finished! (Leaving me with soggy fried noodles, the all unoriginal Nasi Lemak and a whole lot of sambal.

I decided to burn off my uneventful, carbo loaded breakfast by taking a walk around the hotel surroundings and maybe get a mini photog session in the bag as well. Because the Bella Vista is located in the city itself, there isn't really a beach at the hotel, but they do have a beautiful infinity pool and an oceanside pathway to walk along while enjoying the beautiful back drop.

Once dressed and ready to leave the hotel, I took the hotel shuttle to The Jetty Point in the main part of Kuah Town. Jetty Point acts as both a single storey shopping depot and also a bunker where tourist activities can be acquired within, with a long row of booths with services such as car rental to island cruises. A few metres away from the Jetty Point is the Dataran Lang

(Eagle Square) where the giant Eagle Monument stands. This site is a must see for tourists as the dataran not only has a giant bird popped right in the middle of it, but also a few shops within the perimetre where homemade goods such as fabrics and beads can be bought.

A 10 minute walk east of Jetty Point is an area called Pekan Kuah which is an area of shoplots, and markets with a(nother) shopping mall at the edge of it, the Plaza Langkawi. I decided to have late lunch at a small Nasi Kandar (Mixed Rice) shop in the corner of the area where there was a large gathering inside it. Unlike mixed rice shops in Kuala Lumpur, with a self service system, this shop had a more Penang-esque approach where you'd have to tell him what you like, and he'll put in on your plate. A very charming concept where you will entrust your server with your meal! The chef gave me a generous helping of rice, with a side order of curried squid and stewed beef stomach. I didn't even have to taste it and I already knew I was going to like it. And like it I did! One of the best Penang style mixed rice i've had in a long time!

After the delicious meal that made up for a disappointing breakfast (i know, i know, i have to let it go!) I walked around Pekan Kuah looking at the various clothing and food stalls. Before heading back to the hotel, I spotted a quaint, little table-shop, selling a concoction called 'cendol-shake'. Now we all know that consuming east-west hybrid concoctions such as the satay burger and the nasi goreng bombay-jepun (yes, bombay-jepun is what i said) never really ends well, but the thought of a bowl of cendol (traditional malaysian desert consisting of shaven ice, palm sugar, coconut milk and jelly bits) merging with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream just couldn't be passed up! Mmmmm.. cendol-shake, where have you been all my life.

11.07 pm -- Just taken my shower and edited all the photos of today. Think I'm going to watch a movie and then hit the sack! More adventures around Kuah tomorrow. Later.

Harith the forever eating Beach Bum

Kindly sponsored by Rahsia Estates Sdn. Bhd.