Penang 2014 Day 3 – Home Sweet Home

Again waking up was difficult, more so from the exhaustion from the walk the day earlier. Breakfast area was surprisingly less crowded than yesterday but the Al Fresco area was still full. Took some breakfast as we were saving the tummy space for other local food.

Took the same way eastwards but stop short, taking the Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling to get to Khoo Kong Si temple. The buildings got older the closer we got and saw the Kapitan Keling mosque before turning into a small side road. Bought the entrance tickets for 10rm each and was given a postcard and a sticker for entry.

Kapitan Keling Mosque.
Kapitan Keling Mosque.

The temple was just around the corner. This was an ancient building so packed with details, both plain and coloured, that came in the form of carvings or wall murals, was amusing to just look at, and take photos. There was also a mini museum that can be entered at the sides of the temple which gave information, history and also a recorded Chinese theatric. Saw a map that showed the various clan temples and there was one with my surname and we decided to just go check it out.

Sticker for admission to Khoo Kong Si.
Sticker for admission to Khoo Kong Si.
Khoo Kong Si temple.
Khoo Kong Si temple.
Laughing Buddha statue at the steps.
Laughing Buddha statue at the steps.
Carvings on pillars.
Carvings on pillars.
Wall murals of heaven generals
Wall murals of heaven generals
Walls of paintings.
Walls of paintings.
Intricate wood carvings.
Intricate wood carvings.

While walking the streets, we saw some of the wall paintings that was mentioned to us by the store owner over at ICT mall, this was one of a cat and mouse. Cute!

Cat and mouse.
Cat and mouse.

It was not long before we saw what we thought was the Yeoh Kong Si. It was closed to public, and frankly not as majestic as the Khoo Kong Si.

As we moved towards our lunch destination, we stopped by Cheong Fatt Tze mansion. Wanted to go in and explore a bit but entry required tour that had a fixed schedule and costed 12rm. Weren’t really interested and left. Had Roti Canai (1rm) and ice milk tea (1.7rm). Roti Canai was just Roti Prata, tasted similar. Left after having rested enough, we walked southwards on Jalan Penang to Kheng Pin cafe looking for chicken rice, ended up having Hokkien Mee (4rm) and Loh Mee(4rm) and 4-in-1 porridge(4.5rm). Hokkien Prawn Mee was delicious though the prawns were only just tiny sweet shrimps. The soup had a great flavour with it. The Loh Mee wasn’t as nice though, though the soup did had a tinge of Chinese medicine flavour but it didn’t had the garlic which we were used to. Fish, egg, chicken slices and fried fritters were the ingredients for the porridge.  The fish tasted sweet but was just very limited slices, I guess it would be best just to order the fish porridge alone.

Cheong Tze Fatt Mansion.
Cheong Tze Fatt Mansion.
Sup Hameed for Roti Canai.
Sup Hameed for Roti Canai.
Roti Canai - Roti Prata, same same.
Roti Canai – Roti Prata, same same.
Trishaw wall painting.
Trishaw wall painting.
Kheng Pin cafe for Hokkien Mee, Loh Mee and Porridge.
Kheng Pin cafe for Hokkien Mee, Loh Mee and Porridge.
Hokkien Prawn Mee.
Hokkien Prawn Mee.
Loh Mee.
Loh Mee.
Porridge.
Porridge.
History in art.
History in art.
EO hotel.
EO hotel.

Walked back to the hotel to pack, bath and rest until the reception called to ask why we haven’t checked out. I thought we asked for late check out but we didn’t confirm our intentions. Fortunately, we were ready to go and we checked out quickly.

Had one more location to visit, for Nyongya Kuek and followed the map to 53 Jalan Muntri but it had changed to another shop selling cat stuff. We just continued towards Cititel hotel where the chances of getting a taxi was higher. We were quite lucky to see an empty taxi parked beside the main road with the driver nearby. Quoted a price of 30rm to Queensbay Mall and we hopped on.

Love Lane.
Love Lane – what a name.
Cute art 3
It’s like comics on the streets wall.
Historical building.
Historical building.

We managed to see more in the day time compared to when we first arrived at night. There was a really long bridge that linked the island to the main island.

Queensbay Mall was the biggest mall in Penang, also another one by Capitalmall. Right at the entrance of the north zone, the bridge can also be seen. Shopped around a little as the strong dollar made shopping here more attractive. Though there were more space here, the variety were somewhat similar, mostly made up of affordable known brand names and local stores. Had some food at Kim Gary restaurant before getting onto a taxi for 25rm to the airport. Tried negotiating for 20rm but was flatly rejected.

View of bridge linking Georgetown to main island.
View of bridge linking Georgetown to main island.
Queensbay Mall.
Queensbay Mall.
Inside the Queensbay mall.
Inside the Queensbay mall.
Pork instant noodle.
Pork instant noodle.
HK cheese baked rice
HK cheese baked rice
Yazu and ice tea with coffee pudding.
Yuzu and ice tea with coffee pudding.

The counter for Tiger Airways was long as a snake. Fortunately it didn’t take too long after they opened more counters. The departure hall was small, there were a few shops including a Duty Free and a local food products store but there aren’t any big food store, so fortunately we ate before coming to the airport. Our gate shifted probably due to the delay in the previous planes. Boarding wasn’t implicated and the plane flew off on time. The view from the sky was memorable, having able to see the long bridge linking Penang and main land Malaysia was amazing and with sunset on the right side of the plane.

PIA
PIA
Sunset on the way home.
Sunset on the way home.

As there wasn’t any duty free concessions for alcohol for travel between Singapore and Malaysia, we proceeded to pay the necessary duty at the customs and immigrations office. It was straightforward with the receipt and the alcohol percentage, the officer punched in the details into the computer and derived the additional costs. Payment could be made in cash, nets or credit card. For a bottle of 1 liter vodka, it came out to cost another $30+.

This trip to Georgetown wasn’t planned till the last minute but it turned out ok, although there were some confusion over the public transport destinations. The main objectives of pigging out and shopping were achieved from this really short weekend escape.

Penang 2014 Day 2 – Walk, shop and makan

Couldn’t wake up early as planned – bed was too comfortable. When we did eventually, went to buffet breakfast over at the Sarkies Annex. The variety was huge but we were saving the space for the makan ahead. Food taste was just alright but they had fresh juice (using a mean little juicer)!

Sarkies restaurant.
Sarkies restaurant.

Armed with a map, we walked eastwards towards the Padang and Esplanade, along the way snapping shots of old cathedrals and administration buildings.

St George Church
St George Church
Cathedral of the Assumption.
Cathedral of the Assumption.
Town Hall
Town Hall

Sitting at the tip of Georgetown was a Fort Cornwallis. 2rm per entry for view of the small fort that didn’t had anything much left but some cannons and a old chapel. Just round the corner was the Queen Victoria clocktower and the a fountain.

Standing next to a cannon in Fort Cornwallis
Standing next to a cannon in Fort Cornwallis
Queen Victoria Clocktower.
Queen Victoria Clocktower.

Walked along Lebuh Pantai, and turning eastwards on Lebuh China towards the sea again, there was the bus interchange and another 5mins we saw the clan jetties.

This interesting kelong styled area had became touristy with many choosing to conduct business at their homes selling memorabilia to the visiting tourists. I supposed it would have looked better back in the days.

Chew clan jetty.
Chew clan jetty.

Went back to the Rapid bus interchange (there was a info office that had small brochure for passengers on taking buses) and boarded the free CAT bus to go towards Komtar, tallest building in Penang as of 2014. Alighted at bus stop 8 to start on our food journey.

Rapid bus info counter.
Rapid bus info counter.
CAT bus - Free hop on bus.
CAT bus – Free hop on bus.
Typical bus stop sign.
Typical bus stop sign.

Went over to Ho Ping cafe and ordered the Char Koay Teow (5rm) and Mee Goreng(5rm). The Koay Teow tasted ok, fried differently without the usual sweet sauce. The Mee Goreng was tasty though, with unfamiliar slices of potato and fried flour gelling well in this slightly saucy mix.

Char Koay Teow
Char Koay Teow
Mee Goreng
Mee Goreng
Ho Ping Cafe for Char Koay Teow and Mee Goreng.
Ho Ping Cafe for Char Koay Teow and Mee Goreng.

As we walked southwards towards Komtar, ended up sitting in a Joo Hooi cafe which had a really crowded Chendul mobile stall outside. Ordered the laksa (4.5rm, that had a “famous” laksa stall sign) and also brought in Chendul (2.3rm, from the stall outside, that rendered a sit in cost of 50cents, most probably because they weren’t paying anything for the permanent sitting area. Additionally, there was a need to buy a drink in order to eat-in too. The assam laksa was indeed delicious and tasted different from the Singapore version. The Chendul was a good cooler for hot weather but I didn’t felt it was far superior.

Penang Laksa
Penang Laksa
Chendol
Chendol
Joo Hooi - to eat Laksa and Chendol.
Joo Hooi – to eat Laksa and Chendol.
Chendol stall.
Chendol stall.

Further southwards across the bridge, we arrived at Komtar ICT, digital mall like Sim Lim. Got our screen protector for the iPhone and the iPad mini for only 58rm, slightly cheaper than Singapore. From ICT, we went to 2 other interlinked retail malls, Pranglin mall and 1st Avenue, the latter being the newer one. Pranglin had a Lucky Plaza feel but both malls had lots of walking space, typical of most Malaysia malls. We ended up at Oldtown coffee to take a break from so much walking.

Tallest building in Penang, Komtar.
Tallest building in Penang, Komtar.
Inside Pranglin Mall.
Inside Pranglin Mall.
Inside 1st Avenue.
Inside 1st Avenue.

Trekked back and along the way, bought some Penang instant noodles for 8rm per pack of 4 only to find it for 7.5rm at another stall. Oh well. Went into a Nasi Kandar stall that we thought was recommended by one of the tourism brochure. Ordered chicken, egg and vege for 8rm. Tasted pretty good as it was served with 4 different curries! We only knew that we have entered the wrong restaurant after we saw the name on the receipt, the correct one was actually one more store later but heck it was nice. Asked the shop owner about getting to Gurney Plaza and was told that taxi there would be around 15rm. Flagged down one, asked the price and was told the same. Got in and we were on our way.

Nasi Kandar.
Nasi Kandar.
Yasmeen Restoran
Yasmeen Restoran

Gurney Plaza was located facing the sea, where we could see the famous lighthouse. This was a Capitalmall mall and the layout was oh so familiar, only that it was in RM and much less people. After getting some stuff, proceeded to walk over to Gurney Paragon mall for a second round of shopping though this new mall didn’t had as many shoppable shops like Gurney Plaza in our opinion.

Gurney Plaza
Gurney Plaza
Inside Gurney Plaza.
Inside Gurney Plaza.
Gurney Paragon.
Gurney Paragon.
Inside Gurney Paragon.
Inside Gurney Paragon.
View of lighthouse from Gurney Plaza.
View of lighthouse from Gurney Plaza.

Then it was time for dinner and so we walked towards the Gurney drive open air food center that was something like Newton Center. Ordered Chee Cheong Fun (3.60rm), Wan Tan Noodles (4rm), Hao Jian (10 rm) and Curry Mee (4rm), supposedly the must eats too. Only the Hao Jian and the Curry Mee made the difference in my opinion. The oysters in the Hao Jian tasted pretty fresh. The Curry Mee had pig blood, cuttlefish and fried bean curd and the pig blood and cuttlefish was really soft and tasted like pudding! The curry was really different in that the taste was derived from the chilli itself and unlike the sweet curry we have in Singapore. The meal was really filling and we decided to walk back.

Chee Cheong Fun
Chee Cheong Fun
Or Lua, fried oysters.
Or Lua, fried oysters.
Curry Mee.
Curry Mee.
Wan Tan Mee.
Wan Tan Mee.
Gurney drive food center.
Gurney drive food center.

The walk along Gurney Drive was ok as there were things to see like various restaurants that lined along the road. However it got boring on the 2nd half of the journey, as there were nothing but boring office buildings and the walking pavements  became sporadically unavailable. In the end, we took really long (1.5hr?) to get back to our hotel. So even though it looked doable on the map itself, it definitely was not worth the effort.

Gurney Paragon at night.
Gurney Paragon at night.

Back in the room, it was just all about getting relaxed from the tiring day out and snoozing in bed.

Penang 2014 Day 1 – Arrival in Penang

Our escape on Vday to Penang started with drive from work to Changi. Figured that since parking fees at Changi Airport were capped at $20 per day and it was only parking over 2nights, might as well drive then to take a cab, which would have costs $50 return.

Parked at Terminal 1 and checked in at the Jetstar counter as web check in wasn’t available, queueless and quick. As the flight was at 750pm, there weren’t much time left after rushing here from work and we had a quick dinner at Killiney before boarding the jetstar flight which was late.

1hr flight later and we were “dropping” (seriously that was what the attendant said  after a bumpy landing, which brought some giggles  amongst the passengers) into Penang, we got past the customs slowly, due to the slow motion of the officer and exited the airport. There was a queue for taxi, pretty similar concept to the ones in KL, paid 45ringgit for the 30mins drive to shoreside E&O hotel deep in Georgetown. The night drive have us a view of Penang that resembled Singapore – tall buildings like HDB flats but much less in quantity littered along the way.

Taxi counter outside Arrivals.
Taxi counter outside Arrivals.

The feeling of grandeur was felt upon arrival – like a walk into heritage colonial building but with the treatment of a VIP, it was something like the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Welcome drinks and wet towel for refreshment were served while we wait for the administration of the check in to be completed. Once done, a butler brought us to our suite, on the topmost 3rd floor, full sea view. Room was correspondingly designed with the historical touch matched with luxurious look that made the stay valued for money.

Reception area of hotel
Reception area of hotel
Bathroom that requires a panorama.
Bathroom that requires a panorama.
Comfortable bed.
Comfortable bed.
Living room.
Living room.

Frequent fireworks illuminated various areas of Georgetown, the booms often sending us to the windows to catch the display. It was the last night of Chinese New Year, often referred to as Chinese Vday, that coincidently was on the same day as 14 Feb 2014. One of such boom sent me down to the poolside where I witnessed brief moments of fireworks that was shot close to where the hotel was situated.

Fireworks.
Fireworks.
Night view of swimming pool.
Night view of swimming pool.

Spent the remainder of the night in the room utilising the long tub and planning out the attractions and makan places before snoozing in the super comfy king size.

Escape Plan to Penang in February 2014

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Penang in February 2014:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Penang, Malaysia.
Flight time is 1hr direct flight on Jetstar from Singapore to Penang.
Friday evening flight on 14th Feb and arrival in Penang at 9pm on the same day.

Day 1 Arrival in Penang
Day 2 Shopping and Makan at Gurney Drive
Day 3 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to getaway on Valentine’s Day where everything was expensive. Thought we might as well fly somewhere to spend the same amount of money. Took Tigerair back instead of Jetstar as it offered a better time slot of 735pm, which was not too early leaving the 3rd day wasted or late so that it was too tiring to get to work the following day.

Budget nature: Cheap eats. 

Definitely a makan heaven since everything was half price considering the very good 2.6 ringgit to 1 SGD. Transport by taxi wasn’t too bad though it ranged from 15ringgit within Georgetown to 45ringgit to airport. There was free hop-on bus, but required to know your location before getting on.

Complexity: Easy to get around, but easier with own transport

Georgetown was a rather small area for visit and easy to move around. Tourist destinations were apparently served by the local buses but we didn’t take these buses as we didn’t know where the bus stops for these buses were. There were bicycles for rental and we did see people riding around to various tourists locations. Taxis could get you around but it depended on the locations for the availability and costs could vary and required negotiation.