Penang trip

This week, I had promised my sis I'd visit her in Penang.


I enjoyed the scenery whilst enjoying the drive to Penang. There aren't many places in the world where you can see waterfalls whilst driving along the highway. It's one of the things I will miss when I fly back to London.


Whilst waiting for my sis to finish work, I followed Chip to the USM campus which was a nice setting for a campus. I never had the privilege of living in a campus but I think campus life would have been enjoyable living the student community life where everyone knows each other.


A trip to Penang would not be complete without nasi kandar so we had late lunch at the famous Kayu restaurant. My fav dish was the ayam madu..delicious!!


We took a ride round Penang Island visiting Balik Pulau and passing Balik Relau..it was a shame the weather was slightly overcast but I still liked the view. There are also a few durian stalls since it is the durian season...I'm not a durian fan due to a certain durian trip I took with my aunt and uncle when I was younger. Luckily the durian smell didn't get in the car so I didn't get carsick ;)


On the way up to the hill I noticed there were a few people jogging up the steep hill and people can also go cycling up the hill. Full respect goes out to all of them since it is a very steep hill (for me anyways!)


We then headed towards the town...the architecture in the town is heavily influenced by the British Colonial style during the British occupation period. Even the streets have British names like Jalan Downing Street, Jalan Scotland , Jalan Macallister and I even noticed there is even a street of my school Jalan Fettes (yeay! famous jugak my school ni...hehe)


The thing which makes me sad is a lot of the buildings aren't being preserved due to lack of money and investment in restoring these buildings. In my own opinion, I think economic progress has taken priority over preserving the historic buildings and artefacts that remains in our country. I am all for economic progress but we should strike a balance between striving for economic progress and preserving our cultural heritage.
I mean how many shopping complexes do we REALLLY need which probably ALL have similar shops.....??!!!


We visited Padang Kota Lama which faced the seaview...I love walking along the seaside because it relaxes me and for that one moment all life's troubles just seem so far away...............


I met up with my sis after dinner and we all had dinner at Gurney Drive which has a row of hawker stalls. I was still full from lunch but I just had to try one of my fav dishes Assam Laksa and sotong kangkung...I just love kangkung with anything!!!


My sis then took me to her current fav place Batu Feringghi to check out the market....I would've liked to see the Batu Feringghi beach but there's not much a view at night...oh well maybe next time.....


The next day, Chip took me to a surreal place to have roti canai at Jln Transfer ..it was certainly an experience. I've never had breakfast where everyone is sat all in one row (canteen style) but instead of facing each other we're facing the street. That was definitely a first for me! :)


Since everyone was working I ventured out for a wee walk round the area....I visited the massive Burmese Temple adorned with the Buddha statues and gold colour everywhere. I wandered along the streets to look at the building architecture of various buildings around the area and stopped over at Gurney Plaza. I wasn't in the mood for shopping but I ended buying stuff anyway....ooops!


That night my sis brought me to have pasembor, cendol and char kway teaow (again one of my favs!) Anyone who is reading this probably thinks I'm food obsessed! Hahaha you're not far wrong! :p


We took a drive round the town at night...I wanted to go to Penang Hill but it was closed during the evening but we decided to drive up there anyway. Even though Penang Hill was closed there were still people wandering out at night round the area...one of them was a line dancing group who was using one of the halls nearby the hill.. I have to admit their dancing weren't half bad...hehe


All in all it was an enjoyable trip thanks to Chip and Liani for taking me round the area.......