Have Perut Will Travel...: PEN Day 10 │ AEROLINE: Penang to KL

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Monday, 1 January 2024

PEN Day 10 │ AEROLINE: Penang to KL - Smooth as Silk!

Penang Day 10 — We’re Going Home

Ten glorious days passed us by in a flash. Clichéd as it may sound, time really did fly when we were having fun.

We woke up at 6:45am, confident we’d make it to Queensbay Mall before 9:30am, which we thought was our Aeroline departure time.

Half an hour later, I casually glanced at our tickets — and discovered, in horror, that the bus was departing at 8:30am, not 9:30am.

With Brendan just about to shower, it became a mad scramble to get ready and hail a Grab. Thankfully, we had pre packed most of our belongings the night before, leaving only pyjamas and toiletries to deal with.

The Race to Queensbay Mall

We got ready and hailed a 6 seater Grab for RM43.00 (≈ USD/EUR), which picked us up at 7:48am.

The driver told us we were lucky — major roads would soon be closed for a “fun run.” He was experienced and knowledgeable, expertly manoeuvring through Georgetown’s streets.

We arrived at Queensbay Mall at 8:03am — barely a 15 minute drive.

As a token of appreciation for his skill and constant reassurance, we tipped Abang Mansor RM5.00 (≈ USD/EUR1).

The Journey to Kuala Lumpur

The bus departed at 8:35am, crossed the Second Penang Bridge at 8:50am, and passed the Bandar Cassia toll plaza at 9:05am.

The drive was smooth as silk. A little over two hours later, we stopped at the Simpang Pulai R&R Petronas for a potty break.

We resumed at 11:15am, but encountered a slowdown near Ladang Bikam R&R. It cleared after a while — false alarm.

Traffic remained smooth for the next two hours, then slowed again near Rawang due to an accident.

We eventually reached the Jalan Duta toll plaza at 1:20pm, completing the journey in about five hours — a stark contrast to the nearly 10 hour ordeal on our way to Penang.

The Grab Incident

We arrived at Corus Hotel at 1:45pm and hailed a 6 seater Grab driven by Sim Ming Siong, in a new Perodua Alza (VCP9395).

We watched him approach on the app — then stop at Ascott Star instead. He called to ask where we were; I explained we were waiting at Corus Hotel, exactly where the app’s pin indicated.

He insisted we were at the wrong place, became verbally abusive, then cancelled the ride.

We immediately hailed another 6 seater Grab for RM27.00 (≈ USD/EUR) and reached home at 2:00pm.

What’s Next

We’ll probably go on another trip in March to celebrate my 55th birthday. In the meantime, we’ll continue posting our usual weekend escapades.

I also need to work on my New Year’s resolution.

Take care, and Happy New Year, everyone!