We more or less decided on a whim to visit Penang, Malaysia for a 4D3N get-away. Penang is a small state, located in the North-Western coast of Pennisular Malaysia. It is famed for being a highly urbanized city, whilst retaining its cauldron of diverse cultures and traditions.
I wasn't particularly thrilled to go on this trip as I was still in the first trimester and feeling under the weather on most days. The flight from Singapore to Penang took approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. From the airport, we we took a 30-minutes taxi ride to the heart of the city - Georgetown.
There are 3 districts in Penang that are popular with tourists.
1. Georgetown - a pedestrian friendly area where most attractions and eateries are within walking distance.
2. Batu Feringghi - the winding stretch of sandy beaches facing the Malacca strait.
3. Gurney Drive - a seaside promenade with shopping malls aplenty.
We chose Georgetown for the convenience. (I told Tim that he could walk around himself if I felt too ill to explore the city.) Initially, we chose to stay at a boutique hotel to experience the cozy-boho vibe. However, some issues came up with the booking and we ended up staying at the luxurious St Giles Wembley Hotel. Surprising, the cost of staying at St Giles was cheaper. Seriously.
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| Deluxe suite at St Giles |
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| Deluxe suite at St Giles |
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| Deluxe suite at St Giles |
The hotel was located just opposite Komtar (the bus interchange), 1st Avenue mall and Prangin mall. Staying opposite Komtar allowed us to hop on local buses to travel around the city. The famous Chowrasta market was a 5-10 minutes walk. I strongly recommend visiting the market for a taste of the local culture and cuisine. Like many South-east Asian cities, the sweltering heat at Penang was persistent. We explored the city at a leisurely pace, planning our itineraries mostly in the mornings and early evenings. We used the CAT shuttle bus - a free bus service to travel around famous heritage landmarks in Penang.
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| Mini watermelons and homegrown mangoes @ Chowrasta market |
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| Seafood aplenty |
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| Great variety of fruits at the market |
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| Local breakfast stalls |
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| H.K style Chee Cheong Fun & velvety smooth milk tea |
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| Penang curry mee |
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| Chowrasta market butcher |
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| Rarely seen wood fired stove |
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| Fresh produce from Malaysia. The burgundy flowers in the center are Roselle - the au naturel ribena |
We spent one of the afternoons exploring Gurney Drive. Tim got to try his favorite dish - BBQ dried squid. I barely stomached any of the local delicacies due to morning sickness. We escaped the heat whilst strolling at Gurney Paragon and Gurney Plaza.
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| View from Gurney Paragon |
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| H.K roast |
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| H.K carrot cake |
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Gurney Drive market
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On the last night of our trip, we went to Lebuh Noordin (located just behind St Giles) for the famous Hokkein (prawn) mee and cendol. Tim enjoyed was delighted with his dinner.
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| Cendol - Coconut dessert with green pandan jelly and sweet azuki beans |
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| Hokkein prawn mee - noodles in rich seafood broth |
On the return flight, the plane had some technical fault and had to be turned back to the docking bay. The on-site engineers worked on the technical problems for close to an hour before we were given the green light to take off again. Needless to say, that gave us jitters. I'm sure glad we returned home safely.
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