Kampung Agong is overrated

I didn't want to use the word 'overrated' because it is so over-used that the adjective itself is overrated. But it is the perfect description to Kampung Agong. It strikes for the traditional 'kampung feel' but it fails to match SukaSuka Lake Retreat. If you want the perfect view of paddy fields, the paddy fields behind the Butterworth RMAF could have offered the same thing (in fact this is my favorite spot for a jog).

The fact that it was really crowded when I visited the site, just further downgraded my impression of Kampung Agong. What we always see are the idyllic pictures. What we don't normally see are the chaos outside the park flooded with cars and buses. 

In the end, Kampung Agong is just like many so-called museums in Penang. They all claim to offer an unique experience. But it is just a place for people queue up to take that one picture from that one angle, post it on social media to get some dopamine rush from the likes gathered. To put simply, it is not a place I like to visit. 

Barbarian review - 真係估你唔到!

The amount of twists and turns, unpredictable yet a plot that makes total sense, emotions ranging from dread to wtf to lmfao, Barbarian is wild roller coaster ride. Not the ones in Genting Highlands but those in Fuji-Q highlands. Dan Murrell puts it the best. "Barbarian is really like a dark theme park ride. As you hurtle around blind corners, screaming until the ride comes to a screeching halt and you find yourself laughing simply because you survived the journey."

If you haven't watch Barbarian, go watch it, even though you are not a horror fan. Don't be stupid and find any spoiler, or any info in that regard, not even the trailer. The mystery is the main driving force of the entire movie. Just go in the movie blind and I assure you will be pleasantly surprised. To be honest, I am not a horror fan. I half covered my ears throughout the movie because the tension was just unbearable. But the plot is so intricately structured, it is rare to see a craft at such a caliber. Highly recommended!

Suffolk House gives off a colonial vibe (in a bad way)

Being fascinated by the architecture of the building, and the fact that it is located right in the middle of Penang, just hiding in the garden beside the road I've passed by numerous times, my family and I visited Suffolk House last Sunday. I was prepared to spend a fortune there for an overpriced afternoon tea set and surprisingly I ended up beyond disappointed.

Not sure we were late or not, we arrived there at around 3.30pm. While I guessed it was a perfect time to have a tea time, apparently not. We were not alone. There was some sort of event on-going there. We were the only one who were there specifically for afternoon tea. We were immediately being told that the afternoon tea timeslot would be ended at 5.30pm. Our waitress was the main reason that I ended up disappointed. She gave off a vibe that we were not welcomed at all. The fact that she had to mentioned there would be another event that evening in the room we were sitting in and they would need time to cleanup after us, I was like: "what the hell do you have to mention that?", while we still had about 2 hours left until then. 

As expected, the whole experience was pricey. The tea set was average. The building was ok, I have seen better. Although the room we were in was very cozy, the rudeness of the waitress, the very well-dressed customers of the event happening in the adjacent room, just made us not very comfortable to stay any longer. After we left, we went over to the public park opposite the building. It was here that reminded me of Parasite the movie. While the Suffolk House and everyone there were the rich, there were homeless folks camping in the park just a bridge away. And what was even stranger was that there were many ordinary folks oddly choosing to picnic beside the very little bit of greenery between Suffolk House compound and the busy main Jalan Ayer Itam. The contrast of the rich and the poor was just eye-opening because I would never expected to see this in Penang itself. I have seen this kind of contrast in Mumbai before and this is almost on a par with it. 

My verdict is, if you have extra money and want to get a glimpse of how our ancestors felt during the oppressive English colonial times, Suffolk House can definitely deliver on that end 🤣

Suffolk House viewed from the public park opposite