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Day 3 of the trip. Woke up around 9:00am to great weather. (You can check out Part 1 and Part 2 for previous entries on this trip) Before setting off, I took one last stroll around the hotel's vicinity and the beach. One thing I learnt from this trip was time was way too tight. Even though I had a nice pool and a beach at my disposal, I never found time to go for a dip. Upon reaching the car after checking out, I was flabbergasted to find some dog poo on my windscreen. Great start to the morning I guess... Decided to go pass the dam and back on Jalan Teluk Bahang for one last blast of the B-roads as I wanted to try out the newly built second bridge that starts from Batu Maung which will then lead us back to the main land. Saw some gravel and did some unnecessary stuff while no one was looking... Doesn't the road look inviting? Note the drop on the right side of the road! More scenic views while descending from the hills.. Alas, bad luck struck again. Seems like the bridge was closed for some last minute maintenance upon arrival. Back to using the old bridge then. From then on, it was the long drive home. It rained at times, making the driving a bit dreary as visibility dropped and so did the speed. At least the occasional supercar and a good lunch brightened things up. Overall, the trip was a success and I would recommend everyone to try going up at least once. However there are a couple of things I would like to highlight to all readers. Firstly, it is a pretty long drive. Eight hours to be exact for a one way trip. Having another driver or stopping over at Kuala Lumpur would be a better idea. Secondly, a 3D2N stay at Penang is too short! I missed out on quite a few other attractions like museums and temples that were said to be worth visiting. Lastly, do a full check up on your car first before you do a trip. Unfortunately, I forgot and halfway through, I was out of gas for the air-con. Needless to say, it got pretty warm at times.

For those of you who have been reading my posts, you would have probably guessed that I am pretty fond of Suzuki's little Ignis Sport. But alas, like what others say, all good things must come to an end. With the Ignis Sport's time almost up (blame it on the silly COE system here), I told myself I had to do an epic drive in it before it goes. Epic? Unfortunately, we live in Singapore so there aren't going to be any Stelvio Pass or scenic ocean roads to drive on. So I guess Penang will have to do. Having decided on it being a 3 days 2 nights trip, I knew time was not going to be on my side. So on one fine Friday morning, I set the meters to zero, filled the tank up and started driving. The GPS said I would reach Penang around 4:00pm but I felt it was a little too optimistic. Soon, I was in Kuala Lumpur and headed towards Ipoh. Still felt pretty fresh even though the Ignis was not the best car to cross countries in. Then the haze suddenly appeared as I was at the Petaling Jaya exit. It got pretty bad and I had to cut our speed. By then it was already 2:00pm and we had to stop for lunch and fuel. Ipoh passed quickly... A couple more hours later, Penang was within reach. Note the Vios up ahead that was also taking this long drive up! Signboard showed two bridges. I planned to go to the newer one (leading to Batu Maung) but missed the exit to the bridge! Sneaked a quick shot on the older bridge. It took me another hour to locate my hotel (Spice Residence) as it was not easy to spot. But once we stepped inside, all was forgiven. This was one charming and cosy place! The room had a nice, distinctive decor too. Nightfall came and we had dinner at Lebuh Kimberly. Char Kway Teow was good but the prawn mee was pretty average. After the simple dinner, some coffee was required to wash down the oily stuff. Chanced upon and decided on Sugar Honey as it looked like a nice place to chill out. Happy to report that coffee is cheaper here as compared to Singapore. Before the day ended, we hopped over to another cafe for some desserts. The cake is pretty good here at China House.

Feeling a little cooped up with work a couple of weekends ago, I felt the need for a drive to reward myself after all the slogging. Knowing that Singapore has no ideal road for driving, I chose to head up North like many other car enthusiasts searching for some decent asphalt. After a call and a quick discussion with a mate, we made our way towards Desaru. Not knowing where to stop for good breakfast after using the Second Link, we stopped at some random coffee shop for some tim sum. Nothing fantastic to be honest. It was not long before we got on highway E22. Long and straight road equals huge urge to step on it. Okay, this was shot by my passenger when it was going downhill and I did not notice the excess pressure on the throttle. There was some no speeding involved. At higher speeds, the Ignis Sport remained surprisingly stable with no hint of floating. However, the close-ratio gearbox meant that the engine could never really settle down. The lowered suspension coupled with the car's short wheelbase also meant that it was not the best cross-country machine to be in. While not apparent on our smooth local roads, Malaysia's bumpy roads sure bounced me around in the Recaros quite a bit. A good example of badly paved roads. Notice the part where the road joins the bridge? I misjudged and went over it at high speed and oh my, I swear i had some air time! Totally did not expect that and I was definitely more cautious after this. Meanwhile, the F30 BMW 320i driven by my buddy looked like it was soaking up all the undulations very well. I did wish I was driving that instead. The iconic suspension bridge of highway E22. Pretty amazing to me. A quick turn into 90 and 92 brought us to The Pulai Desaru Beach Resort where we took a break. Chose not to nap despite the hammock looking very tempting. Not the calmest of seas but safe enough to play in. Soon we were on the move towards Sungai Rengit area to have some seafood lunch. This was where the Ignis Sport shined. Free of traffic, I soon found myself going at a decent pace. On these small roads with some blind corners, I was able to push hard as the steering fed vital information to me. Gearbox ensured the engine was kept on the boil. Stopped by the last part of road 90 for some photos... Pretty scenic actually.. Alright, I admit I was damn hungry and food photography was totally forgotten. Sorry people. Food was tasty enough for the price but nothing much to shout about. With nothing much else to explore around the area, we headed home. And now slightly familiar with roads on the return journey, let's just say I had even more fun going back!