It was about five in the morning. My coughing woke us both up. We could not sleep anymore and lazed in bed for a while. The room window looked out to the east and we hoped to catch the sunrise that we missed the morning before. Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy. The rising sun was hidden from view. We got up to get ready for breakfast. After getting all dressed up, we looked out the window to find the sea was bathed in a shimmering reflection of the sun that had risen about thirty degrees from the horizon, still partially obscured by the clouds.

The Evergreen Laurel Hotel is located just beside the Gurney Hotel. We dropped in to check on the breakfast menu and decided that RM29 per person for a buffet breakfast was a tad too expensive. Our next choice was Khaleel Nasi Kandar which was further up the road. There is only one nasi kandar shop in the entire stretch of Gurney Drive. Half-boiled eggs and toasts are not a Mamak�s speciality. It was a mistake ordering those. We would have had a heartier breakfast had we ordered roti canai or thosai instead.

We did not linger at the seafront although the weather was just right. We wanted to go back and pack up and then rest a while before checking-out. Wuan is always on the lookout for photo opportunities of pretty flowers. At the driveway to the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, some vines hanging down from the wall were blooming. Although it was not the prettiest of flowers, the morning sun gave it an unusual glow that made it an interesting subject.

Checking-out was simple. Wuan just returned the keycards and retrieved the credit card slip from the receptionist. The slip was printed out when she was requested to pay for room for the first night. We had booked a taxi to come fetch us. While waiting, Wuan went out and took more images. We did not enjoy this mini-vacation much due to my relentless coughing, food that was below par and irretrievably spoilt by the messed-up room reservation.