CK & I was in Alor Star last Friday for Nigma's workshop. It was our first time there, so, we took the opportunity to take a tour around the city.

Alor Star Tower

 
Our first stop was the Alor Star tower because it was just opposite the motel that we stayed in. We did not go up the tower though, just walked around the area. There were some Malay stalls selling fruits, food, drinks. And there was a stage too with some music playing.

Siamese Buddhist Temple

We then, went to a Siamese Buddhist temple. It was pretty small. But one thing that you can't miss when you're there. It's the stray dogs. There were so many of them! They were dirty, thin and sickly. One, even followed us around when we were walking through the temple. It did not disturb us though. Just following behind quietly, escorting us. Until when we're done & ready to leave, it stopped for me to take its photo & went back to its resting spot. It was funny. I even thanked it for the escort and said good bye. Crazy, hah.

Sentosa Plaza

After that, we just took a drive round the city and stopped at a shopping plaza (Sentosa Plaza) near the motel. We were surprised to find that we've actually went into a miniature version of Low Yat in KL. hahaha. There were handphone stalls all over the place.. hahaha.. We thought that, "opps! We have decided to stop at the wrong place".. Anyway, CK managed to get some information on some PDA phone which he is surveying, so the parking ticket was not really wasted in the end. hahaha.

Hainan Cafe

 
That actually ends our tour and we went back to the motel and grab a bite at the cafe next door. The cafe has a nice setting. We took most of our meals there. . Maybe because it was just next door. hahaha.. Oh ya, CK tried a Butter Coffee. How it tastes like? Very bad. BTW, this cafe has free Wifi access.

Bee Garden Motel

While we're there, we stayed at a motel called Bee Garden. It was pretty new and the staffs were very friendly. The room and toilet was clean. They even have free Wifi access! However, we had some air-cond problem which disturb our sleep that night. It would auto-off itself. CK has to switch it on again every time and nope, it wasn't the timer. In the end, we need to put the temperature to the lowest to avoid the auto-off situation. Sigh. There goes a peaceful night sleep. Putting this aside, I find it as a good option for a budgeted stay.

Impression of Alor Star

Lastly, besides the workshop, Alor Star did not leave me a good impression. The drivers there were reckless! And there were so many pot holes on the road which we took to the studio from the motel. At night, it was so badly lit. You have to be careful, not to drive over the big uncovered pot holes. There were also many police patrol cars around. It gave me an eerie feeling of "are the streets safe?"