Tuesday, July 30, 2013 | 9:18 AM
So we decided to have themes every fortnight that we could all write about, and on the first week we're going to talk about travelling!
I shall start the ball rolling by revisiting Penang in my mind..
A tiny disclaimer before I continue. Everything I say here is only reflective of my own opinions, so don't take my word for granted! Everyone has different tastes after all (: Also, the exchange rate of SGD to RM is about SGD1.00 to RM2.50, for reference.
Late May/early June this year, I headed up to Kuala Lumpur (KL) with my mother for a projected 10- or 11-day trip. We started this "tradition" last year end during my school holidays, staying with my aunt in KL and going shopping or doing whatever we felt like doing. This time, we decided to go further up north with another cousin. We booked the hotel online after checking a number of websites like Agoda and Asiarooms etc. Then it was a quick pack of bags and we were on our way!
Early morning, we drove up and turned into Ipoh for lunch at Ipoh Foh San Restaurant, which is a famous dim sum eatery.
It's not easy to find parking spaces along the old streets, and you have to put coupons. Food-wise, there was little variety, but that may be due to the fact that we were there during lunch time, and not breakfast, when variety peaks.
That green thing is some bun (pandan I think) with floss and condensed milk. I'd never seen it before so I thought to try. It's not bad, but the parts without condensed milk were a bit dry. The braised brinjal was the tastiest item we ordered. For a spread like this, we spent RM53.40. It doesn't really fill four.
After lunch we continued on our journey and headed into Penang! Found our hotel through GPS. We booked Georgetown Hotel for RM110 per room per night for 2 nights, so that works out to be RM110 per pax for 2 nights' accommodation. Georgetown Hotel is a small green building located in Georgetown (duh), which is like a town centre of sorts. The room is tiny, and the toilet has no separate shower cubicle.
The heater was not working properly for my room, but my aunt's one was fine. In fitting with the tiny concept, the lift is absurdly tiny. Think of the smallest lift you've seen, and cut it in half. It was like a rectangular box that barely fit all of us with our luggage. The reception staff were helpful but sadly inefficient. They promised to bring something I requested up to my room, but forgot. Twice. Still, I suppose it's okay for the price. In Europe, I think you can at most get hostels with this amount of money. This is at least a hotel.
After we left our luggage at the hotel, we set off proper and headed for the famous Teochew chendol. It's RM2.10 per bowl. It's really refreshing!
Then we had some kueh pie tee too, right next door. Crispy and delicious (:
Decided to go on a trail to explore the famous wall murals in Penang. This is the most famous one! It's quite an experience taking these photos because they are at the roadside and you have to stand across the road to take.
Dinner was along Lebuh Chulia, where a small gathering of stalls sold char kway teow (oily but good), wanton noodles (oily), curry mee (my cousin said it was tasteless but I liked it), satay (tasteless but the sauce is nice), fruit juices. Speaking of fruit juices, you have to try the ba long long, or sha li as they call it. It's a fruit that you don't see in Singapore. It's an acquired taste though; my Singaporean friends don't like it. Haha. Perhaps I should mention here both my parents were born and bred in Malaysia. Accounts for my tastes heh.
The next morning, we stopped along Jalan Anson and zipped into this hawker centre-like place that was serving dim sum for breakfast. Only for breakfast (and lunch till 1pm)! It's called Restaurant Zim Sum. This place was really good and cheap! There was a wide variety and even tze char available. We paid RM32.40 for around 9 dishes and tea for 4.
After that we went to Kek Lok Si temple, where there's a huge statue of the guan yin. And I really mean huge. Under the tentage there was a wishing tree. You can buy strips of ribbons with different blessings on them (RM1 each), write your name and hang it on the tree.
Then we headed to Penang Hill. It's a must-go place for tourists, so RM30 for entrance for foreign adults is understandable (to a certain extent. Local adults only pay RM8). The tram-like ride up felt like a really mild roller-coaster. Quite fun. Penang Hill is 800+m above sea level, so there was a cool breeze even while the sun was shining strongly. There isn't much to see there though, but the views were good.
Next up we went to Batu Ferringhi Beach! The roads to get there were really winding. My mother said the beach used to be a lot prettier, more happening.
There are lots of sea sports, with designated areas for each. I got to try parasailing! The price is RM80 for a solo flight and RM140 for tandem. I got RM60 for solo after lots of bargaining! The lifting off was really exhilarating, and the first few moments in flight were awesome. After that because it's very stable, I just felt a calm settle over me as I watched the ocean and horizon.
We waited to see the sunset and it was brilliant.
Dinner was at the famous Gurney Drive (not sure if we went to the wrong place). Very crowded as expected. The stalls sell rather similar food. We bought char kway teow (RM4), grilled stingray and sotong (RM25), fried oyster small (RM7), chee cheong fun and yam kueh (RM8.10), rojak (RM4), ice kachang with ice cream (RM3.50). The char kway teow and fried oyster were good. The ice kachang had Sarsi instead of evaporated milk, which is quite different from the Singaporean taste.
On the third day, we checked out of the hotel and went to Telok Bahang Dam. There was an International Dragon Boat Festival happening and we were interested to watch. The dam is really beautiful. We waited until the first race started and then we left.
On the way out, we turned into the floating mosque for the third time, because previously the tide wasn't in so we couldn't see the mosque "floating". This was as best as we got.
Headed to the famous Him Heang bakery to buy some local products. The tau sah piah was RM6 for a box of 16. And they are heavenly when they are just out of the oven!
Out of Penang, we turned into Taiping. We found our way to Taiping Lake. It's a beautiful place with amazing scenery! Low-hanging branches and mountains in the backdrop.
Then we went to Ipoh again for dinner! This time it's the Restaurant Cowan Street Ayam Tauge and Koitiau, which looks really plain. But wow the food is awesome. They serve koitiau (kway teow) instead of rice, with very tender chicken and super fat bean sprouts, which are a local delicacy. Half a chicken, a plate of bean sprouts, chicken feet and 4 bowls of koitiau cost RM44.
As we drove back to KL, we were gifted with a rainbow!
And there was a beautiful sunset but my pictures don't do justice to it. Just imagine a sea of red amidst dark mountain peaks.
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So that concludes my Penang trip! It's a pretty quaint place but you should plan what you want to do, else you might end up just wandering around aimlessly. That might be your intention, of course, but personally for me some parts of Penang are not that interesting. Driving up to Penang took quite a few hours from KL, so it'll be a really long drive if you start from Singapore. Fortunately, there are budget flights there that start from SGD40+. But it sure is convenient driving in Penang. GPS is really crucial though.
I didn't get to go to fantastic overseas destinations this summer holiday (haven't gone for many years), but this brief trip was a nice taste of holidaying. Malaysia actually has a lot of treasures!
Happy holidays,
Labels: author: ji inn, themed entries, travels
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