Wandering Fel

Penang might just be the perfect weekend destination with its historic centre, sandy beach and yummy street food. Malaysia's second largest city, George Town of Penang, was occupied by the Brits and set as a free port to attract settlers. The city is now a UNESCO World Heritage City filled with cultural and historical attractions like the 1880s Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Fort Cornwallis, Chew Jetty and other buildings. These days, many come from the neighboring countries such as Singapore and Indonesia to enjoy the beauty and fun offered by Penang.

SATURDAY - MIDDAY

Assuming you are taking morning flight from Singapore, you will reach Penang around midday - 2PM ish. Since the heat is most likely to be somewhat unbearable during these period, seek shelter at one of the coffee shop in George Town while enjoying local street food like char kway teow or lor bak for lunch. Kedai Kopi Ho Ping at Jalan Penang (re: Penang Road) serves refreshing local drinks such as homemade iced lemon tea, teh-C peng (re: iced milk tea) or the famous white kopi (re: white coffee). Don't miss the char kway teow (re: fried kway teow) from one of the food cart parked at Kedai Kopi Ho Ping for the price of RM 6. You will not be disappointed. Nomz.

Penang char kway teow from Kedai Kopi Ho Ping at Georgetown

SATURDAY - 2PM

The weather in Penang would still be hot at this timing no matter what season you decide to go to Penang. Head out to Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol at Lebuh Keng Kwee for a bowl of shaved ice filled with chendol (the green stuff), kidney beans, coconut milk and gula melaka. Don't let the long queue scare you because the queue is moving quite fast since it does not take long for the staff to serve chendol to its customers.

SATURDAY - 3PM

On the other side of George Town around Lebuh Kimberley are various museums such as Trick Art Museum and Dark Mansion, a 3D glow in the dark museum. Squeeze in a visit to Dark Mansion for unique picture taking experience under the glowing lights of a tropical forest and fountain/ volcano for the price of RM 35.

Magical forest 3D glow in the dark at Dark Mansion Penang

Next up to the Lebuh Armenian where most of the popular Penang's street arts are located. Take your time to discover the unique painted walls mimicking life in the city. These street arts describe the lifestyle of the early settlement days which gives memorable impression of the streets and landmarks which are George Town today.

SATURDAY - 5PM

Grab one of the many bikes available all around George Town to enjoy cycling experience in Penang. If you are just a casual cyclist, you can use one of the bikes provided by Link Bike which only requires online registration and scanning QR code. For those looking for real challenge, rent a mountain bike and cycle your way to Pearl Hill, a 2km road winding up past largely vacant residential lots to a point where you can see delightful views of Tanjong Bungah.

SATURDAY - 6PM

Ride your way to see iconic sights of George Town such as the UNESCO listed living community heritage, Chew Jetty, and the grandest temple in Malaysia, Khoo Kong Si Temple. If you are lucky, you may be able to catch some traditional Chinese performances such as the lion dance at the temple court.

SATURDAY - 8PM

Follow a long chilaxing time at China House, a 10-minute walk away from Lebuh Armenian. China House has 3 heritage buildings linked by an open air courtyard and converted into 14 spaces comprising shops, cafes, restaurant, galleries, live music and library. Have a go at their most ordered gula melaka and almond milkshakes while having delicious slice of one of their many cakes.

Cakes and drinks from China House at Penang

SUNDAY - 9AM

Stroll back to Lebuh Carnavon at George Town to try out the old school dim sum at Aik Hoe Restaurant. Founded by a humble Cantonese 60 years back, this neighbourhood dim sum place offers various traditional dim sum dishes such as siew mai (re: pork and prawn dumpling) and lo mai kai (re: steamed glutinous rice). On the way to Lebuh Carnavon, don't forget to visit some of the hidden street art at Lebuh Chulia.

Traditional dim sum dishes from Aik Hoe Restaurant Penang

SUNDAY - 10.30AM

Make your way back to Jalan Penang to buy traditional Penang biscuits and pastries for the loved ones back home at Ban Heang (M) Sdn Bhd or Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop. Testers are available at Ban Heang for the famous local Penang biscuits, tambun biscuits. This savoury and salty biscuit will surely create smiles on your loved ones back home. If you are adventurous enough, you may want to try out the durian filled pastry and biscuits.

Pastries from Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop at Penang

SUNDAY - 11.30PM

Time to get a traditional Penang Assam Laksa for the last lunch fix before hailing cab to the airport. Make your way to Lebuh Keng Kwee to visit Penang Famous Assam Laksa for a bowl of sweet, sour and spicy fish base noodle soup. Best paired with a fresh coconut drink right from the fruit (and not some bottled coconut water or anything like back in Singapore).

Penang Assam Laksa from Penang Famous Assam Laksa

WHERE TO STAY:

Accommodation was provided by Merchant Hotel (twins from SGD 41, with no breakfast), a non-fussy and conveniently located in the central of George Town at Jalan Penang. There are 93 rooms which were recently refurbished promising to provide most value added personalized services.

WAY TO GO:

Getting there: Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways will be your best premium flight choices with the price range around SGD 400 and above. Scoot, Jetstar and Tiger Airways are your budget flight choices with the price range starting from SGD 99 (exclusive of all the additions and charges).

Getting around: The best way to navigate yourselves in Penang is by cabbing. Once you are in George Town area, you can either stroll, take a rickshaw or rent a bike to check out the old town area of Penang.

For further information on Penang, go to www.tourismpenang.net.my

Upon my random wandering around Lebuh Armenian in Georgetown, my travel buddy and I chanced upon a small alley which somehow passed by a lot of travellers. Fueled by mainly curiousity and lured by the sound of the liondance's drum from a distance, we followed the small pathway which led to an open space filled with crowd. Walking closer to the source of the drum sound, we saw that there was a performance going on in front of a temple named Khoo Kongsi Temple.

Penang Weekend Trip: Khoo Kongsi Temple, Georgetown

Khoo Kongsi Temple is situated at Lebuh Cannon in Georgetown. The temple itself is quite special because it is actually an old Chinese clan house which is also functioning as temple and meeting hall. A performance like lion dance and drum show are usually held on a weekend at the temple's square. The performance is free to watch and it was quite fun to see the lion dance and the puppets teasing one visitor to another.

Lion dance show in front of Khoo Kongsi Temple in Georgetown

If you love to check out the history of clan house in Penang, you may want to pay the temple a visit for an admission fee of RM 10. However, if your surname is Khoo, you can visit the temple for free (since this is supposedly your ancestral clan house). Interestingly, the temple cannot be seen from the street as it is blocked by other building in the vicinity. We were kinda amazed by the beautiful clouds forming on top of the temple too that day. But since it's already way past 5PM, we did not manage to go inside the temple. Too bad. The temple opens from 9AM to 5PM everyday if you would like to visit.

Blue sky and beautiful clouds above Khoo Kongsi Temple at Georgetown

The weather has become nicer around this timing and perfect for wandering around. However, the sun will set soon and we were getting tired from our Saturday adventure, so we decided to go back to our hotel, Merchant Hotel, by using a rickshaw. We kinda had a small discussion on what kind of driver should we choose to pedal our rickshaw because after all, we are not as slim as K-Pop idols you see. I was quite skeptical about asking old men to pedal but my friend thinking otherwise. However, at the end we decided to go with the younger guy to pedal our rickshaw.

Colorful houses at Lebuh Armenian in Georgetown Penang

The rickshaw driver will quote you a price and ask for your agreement before you can ride the rickshaw. The quoted fee from Lebuh Armenian to Merchant Hotel is around RM 15, which we thought was quite reasonable so we did not bother to bargain. To be honest with you, the rickshaw feels kinda cramped with our two butts sit next to each other. Oh my gawd, are we really that fat?

Oh right, space issue aside, be prepared with your camera because the route taken by the rickshaw is usually filled with many interesting thing to take picture with. One area that you must be prepared to take picture is definitely the mosque at Lebuh Buckingham. I am not even a Moslem and yet, I could feel the amazing vibe from this beautiful mosque.

Mosque at Lebuh Buckingham in Georgetown Penang

When we are getting nearer to our hotel, we could feel that the rickshaw driver really utilized his brute strength to the max because the rickshaw feels heavier and heavier. At some point, he even coughed pretty badly we kinda prayed he could last and not fainted or vomited blood prior reaching to our hotel. And woots, he made it! I shall repent and eat lesser now that I am back in Singapore, I promise.

Wandering Fel

Weekend in Penang: a complete itinerary

Penang Weekend Trip: Khoo Kongsi Temple Georgetown