My Leisure Trip To Penang

A pose with Penang CM Lim Guan Eng's painting

The blogger’s note: 

My wife Soh Ai and I went on a leisure trip to Penang from Wednesday, May 21 to Saturday, May 24, 2014.  This is my third outing since I went on a ‘temporary retirement’ (for a break from the stressful working life) on April 1, 2014.  The other two trips are Kuching, Sarawak from April 18 – 21, 2014 and Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, Thailand from May 1 – 5, 2014.  The travelogues of both trips in Chinese language can be found in my blog http://lautaionn.blogspot.com/2014/04/20144_24.html and http://lautaionn.blogspot.com/2014/05/20145.html respectively.

Map of George Town

There wasn’t any fixed itinerary for this trip.  Just relax and ‘look-see look-see’.  I planned to see the street art or wall paintings of George Town and an interactive museum similar to the 3D art museum in Chiang Mai I recently visited.  Furthermore, to savor the famous delicious food of Penang and pay a visit to my wife’s home town in Rantau Panjang, Selama, Perak were amongst the objectives of this trip.

Rapid Bus Route Map

We purposely chose to travel on weekdays so as to avoid the traffic jam in George Town due to tourists during school holidays, public holidays and/or weekends.  We also chose to travel by public transport instead of driving ourselves for a change.

The shuttle bus we took was Aeroline with a fare of RM 60 per person per trip.  It departs from Corus Hotel, Jalan Ampang, K.L. (two other terminals are 1 Utama Shopping Centre and Sunway Pyramid) at 9.30 am (another trip is at 3.30 pm) and arrives at Queensbay Mall, Bayan Lepas and Bus Terminal Sungai Nibong, Penang.  The ride takes about 5 hours.

Aeroline Boarding Pass (RM 60 per trip) To Penang



Day 1 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)

My wife and I left home at 6.30 am with our eldest son Wai Kit who drove and parked his car at Bandar Tasik Selatan station as he usually does to go to work.  We then took the Light Rapid Transit rail (LRT) Ampang Line to go to Masjid Jamek (with 8 stops along the way) that took us half an hour.  From Masjid Jamek we crossed over to the LRT Kelana Jaya Line to proceed to Ampang Park (with 2 stops) in 10 minutes.  We reached Corus Hotel about 7.15 am. 

As it was still very early before departure, we went to Avenue K shopping mall and took some drinks at a café at the basement.  As our bus to Penang provides light food and beverages, we saved our breakfast cost. 

A view from Corus Hotel entrance

With Soh Ai in Jalan Ampang, K.L.

Soh Ai and Wai Kit crossing the road towards Corus Hotel

Aeroline shuttle bus left punctually at 9.30 am.  It was indeed a comfortable ride as the bus provides a touch- screen entertainment system of movies, music, pictures and games in front of every passenger, besides the seat was spacious and inclinable just like the aircraft seat.  A bottle of mineral water, sandwich and apple and coffee or milo were served for each passenger.

I was not sure why the traffic on North-South highway was so heavily jammed that morning and our bus was almost at a standstill for at least half an hour somewhere near Ipoh.  There wasn’t any stop during the journey and the bus used the new Penang Second Bridge from Batu Kawan to Batu Maung (total 23.5 km, longer than old Penang Bridge which is 13.5 km) to travel to the island. 

Inside Aeroline coach

Touch-screen entertainment system

Breakfast provided by Aeroline

We reached Queensbay Mall at about 2.30 pm.  As we were very hungry then, we went to the food centre of the Mall to take our lunch before Soh Ai called her eldest sister Sock Kim who stayed nearby at Tmn Sri Nibong to come and fetch us.

Sock Kim fetched us at about 3.15 pm and took us to eat Hokkien Hae Mee before returning to her house. Hokkien Hae Mee is a soup-based noodle dish that combines prawns, slices of chicken, squid and fish cake, and water spinach. Very delicious!

Coffee shop at Tmn Sri Nibong

Tasty Hokkien Hae Mee and Black Glutinous Rice tong sui

In the evening, Sock Kim’s husband Chooi Kwong Hing took us to a popular destination for street food in George Town, i.e. Kimberley Street (or Lebuh Kimberley) for dinner. 

Kimberley Street is also known as ‘Swatow-kay’ (汕头街) as many Teochew immigrants from Swatow of Hokkien Province in China migrated here in the past two centuries. It is usually packed with local crowds after 7.30 pm.  It is understood that most of the hawkers there have been operating for more than 10 years and it has been a signature area.

Kimberley Street at night

Street food heaven of George Town

Soh Ai ordering Lobak

The restaurant that serves super-delicious Duck Kuey Chiap

I took the famous ‘duck kuey chiap’ (鸭粥粿汁) at RM 7 per bowl.  It is a unique dish of coarse, thick handmade noodles in a flavorsome dark brew, into which chopped pig's skin, intestines, coagulated pig's blood, liver, duck-meat, hard-boiled egg and many other delicacies are added.  It' is Penang soul food - super-delicious!

A glimpse of the restaurant interior decor

Penang Lobak

After dinner, Chooi drove us around the vicinity and stopped at Armenian Street (or Lebuh Armenian) to look at the most famous “Little Children on a Bicycle” wall painting or mural by Lithuania-born artist Ernest Zacharevic.  This particular painting has somehow become an icon of Penang as there are many T-shirts bearing this painting on sale in the streets, shops and tourist resorts.  I am particular curious and amazed the real bicycle on which the little children seem to be riding has never been sabotaged or stolen.

Then we went to Ah Quee Street (or Lebuh Ah Quee) which is the adjacent street parallel to Armenian Street to look at another wall painting “Boy on a Bike”.  Even at night, there was a guy from outstation brought here by his Penangnite friend on a motorcycle to stop here for a photograph.  I took a few photos immediately after him.

As it was getting late, I decided to skip looking at the rest of the wall paintings so as to cover them the following day and we went back to Tmn Sri Nibong at about 9.00 pm.

The famous 'Little Children on a Bicycle" wall mural.  Note that the bicycle is real.

"Boy on a Bike".  Again, the motorbike is real.

Miniature of snatching thief in action

(A bit on the background of the George Town Street Art:  Ernest Zacharevic is a young Lithuania-born artist who is "making a scene" on the streets of George Town, Penang. This comes in the form of beautifully executed wall paintings, or murals, at selected streets in the inner city. The project, known as Mirrors George Town, is part of George Town Festival 2012.

Ernest Zacharevic's wall paintings in George Town include figure drawings and portraitures that celebrate the exuberance of life in the inner city. They range from the pensive "Boy on a Bike", the lively "Little Children on a Bicycle" to the whimsical "Little Boy with Pet Dinosaur". So far six murals have been completed. The project is funded by George Town Festival while the paint was sponsored by a paint company, Murobond.

The process began with Zacharevic combing the city, looking for suitable walls. After he has selected the walls to be painted, the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) contacts and obtains a signed agreement from the property owner. Then he starts working on his mural. In the process, he is generating much interest from passer-by traffic, becoming a welcoming sight in the city. As the project becomes increasingly popular, more people started offering their walls.

Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic is leaving his mark with beautiful wall painting of children all across historical Georgetown. The artworks are funny, fascinating, and very much open to everyone’s interpretations.

The wall paintings done by Zacharevic are: 1. “Little Girl in Blue” Mural, Muntri Street; 2.“Children in a Boat” Mural, Chew Jetty; 3. “Little Children on a Bicycle” Mural, Armenian Street; 4.  “Boy on a Bike” Mural, Ah Quee Street; 5. “Little Boy with Pet Dinosaur” Mural, Ah Quee Street; 6.“Reaching Up” Mural, Cannon Street.

See: http://www.penang-traveltips.com/ernest-zacharevic-george-town-murals.htm and

http://www.tourismpenang.net.my/pdf/street-art-brochure.pdf )

Day 2 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)

Today is our free-and-easy day.  We earlier planned to borrow Sock Kim’s Perodua Kancil car to drive around in Penang ourselves (I even brought my Papago GPS system with me), but we changed our mind and allowed Sock Kim to fetch by car to Weld Quay (or Pengkalan Weld).  Then we would walk and travel by bus if necessary.

Sock Kim brought us to a coffee shop near the entrance to Tmn Sri Nibong housing estate for breakfast before fetching us to George Town.  I took a bowl of Koay Teow Th’ng or rice noodles in chicken/pork consomme (RM 4.20 with an egg, RM 3.50 without egg).   Delicious as expected.

Tmn Sri Nibong coffee shop

Delicious Koay Teow Th'ng (RM 4.20 per bowl)

Sock Kim dropped us the Weld Quay at 9.10 am.  Soh Ai and I then visited the “Made in Penang Interactive Museum (MIPIM)”(美因槟廊) housed in the historic Behn Meyer Building at 3, Weld Quay, George Town.

This is the first 3D art or trick art museum in Penang launched on November 1, 2013.  It is the latest attraction in Penang with the aims to promote the history of Penang and certain famous personalities to the world via 3D murals and miniature diorama.

The museum showcases three-dimensional interactive art on the two levels of the building. The ground floor houses the Diorama Gallery and Interactive Kiosks while the upper floor the Penang 3D Gallery and a video presentation.  In essence, there are 5 different sections of the museum i.e.  Great Wall of Penang;  Miniature Local Trades;  Miniature Weld Quay;  Trick Art Gallery and Interactive Theatre.

The entrance fee is RM 15 for Malaysian adults, RM 10 for children, students and senior citizens of 60 years old and above.  It is RM 30 for foreign tourists.

When we entered at about 9.30 am, there were very few visitors.  But more and more visitors (mostly youngsters) came in another 15 minutes or so, but no foreign tourists were sighted.  Soh Ai and I took turn to snap photos of each other with some interesting murals.   Although this museum is not up to the standard of the 3D Art Museum in Chiang Mai, does have some unique features such as the interactive kiosks and a ‘mirror’ mural.

(Read for more comprehensive coverage: http://alwaystravelicious.com/2014/01/05/made-in-penang-interactive-3d-museum-malaysia/ and http://mylifevialens.blogspot.com/2014/01/made-in-penang-interactive-museum.html.)

"Made In Penang Interactive Museum" (MIPIM)

Historical buildings along Weld Quay or Pengkalan Weld

Taken with the sculpture of Captain Francis Light, founder of British colony of Penang and its capital George Town in 1786.

Wall depicting buildings of early Penang

Wall depicting jetty of early Penang

Miniature of barber of early Penang

Penang waterfront miniature of the Weld Quay in the 19th Century.

The sculpture of the artist who did the waterfront miniature 

A hand-shake with the wall mural of Dr. Sun Yat-sen

Face-changing intereactive kiosk. I took this picture of myself in front of the screen.

Another face-changing screen

 

Very creative 'mirror' mural (there is actually no mirror, but a big void on the wall) !

 

We left the museum at about 10.15 am and started walking along Weld Quay to visit the Clan Jetties which are situated close to the Penang ferry terminal.

Clan Jetties form part of the Penang Heritage Trail, each jetty is named after a Chinese clan. It is understood that there used to be seven jetties until one was demolished by fire and now six remain. Billed as one of the last bastions of old Chinese settlements on the island, this waterfront society is home to houses on stilts of various Chinese clans.

Weld Quay historical buildings

Penang Jetty

We visited only the Chew Jetty (the most tourist-friendly with the most stilt-houses and longest walkway), Tan Jetty and Lim Jetty.   Other jetties are Yeoh, Koay and Lee which were built later than the 3 jetties mentioned earlier.

I noticed the presence of a relatively large group of foreign tourists led by a local Chinese guide and a couple wearing wedding gowns taking outdoor wedding photos under the hot sun at Chew Jetty.

(For more info on Clan Jetties, refer to: http://www.penang.ws/penang-attractions/clan-jetties.htm.)

Chew Jetty with many tourists

Entrance to Chew Jetty

Lim Jetty

Soveunir shop in Chew Jetty

Wedding photo-taking under the hot sun

Chew Jetty homestay

The painting of "Children on a Boat" has faded. What a pity! 

The previous painting of "Children on a Boat" at Chew Jetty.

Banner hanged on the wall of a house at Chew Jetty

Tan Jetty

Soh Ai met his cousin sister who operates a restaurant near the Clan Jetty at Weld Quay.

After that, we walked from Weld Quay to Melayu Street, Carnavon Street, Acheh Street, Canon Street, Armenian Street and etc., stopping where appropriate to take photos of wall paintings and welded iron wall caricatures, or window-shopping at certain souvenir shops and visiting temples.  It was a solid one-hour non-stop walking resulting in a lot of sweating and great thirst.

A shop selling local products or cookies

Welded iron wall caricature.  Graffiti make street art. This is "Cow & Fish" at Lorong Ikan.

"Wrong Tree" at Pasar Street.

Zacharevic's "Reaching Up" mural at Cannon Street

Tourists at the site of "Reaching Up" mural 

Armenian Street where the "Little Children on a Bicycle" mural is located

Interesting wall painting of a panda

Walking towards KOMTAR

At 12.00 noon, we walked to Penang Road via Kimberley Street to go for the renowned Chendol (槟榔律驰名潮州煎蕊).  Soh Ai also ate Assam Laksa.  The originally popular Chendol cart at the alley next to a coffees shop was now seen to be managed by foreign women workers (looked like Burmese) and so I went for the opposite cart run by Chinese.  But the taste of Chendol was only so-so (missed the big red-beans in the early days).  What a disappointment!  As I was still very thirsty, I took another bowl of ais kacang instead of chendol to quench my thirst.

Penang Road Chendol stall

Penang Road Chendol

Penang Road Ice Kacang

Penang Road viewed from link bridge to KOMTAR

Inside KOMTAR shopping mall

At about 12.50 pm, we took a Rapid bus from KOMTAR bus terminal to Ayer Itam to visit Kek Lok Si Temple (Penang Hokkien for "Temple of Supreme Bliss" or 极乐寺), a place I last visited decade ago.  The fare was only RM 2 per person.  The traffic was quite heavy then and many school students boarded the bus.  It took us about 45 minutes to reach Ayer Itam at about 1.45 pm. 

Ayer Itam

My impression on Kek Lok Si Temple was quite vague and the revisit was marred by the presence of many beggars along the way to the temple.  This surely doesn’t look good in the eyes of the foreign tourists visiting this temple.  Nevertheless, I was happy to find from a souvenir stall there and bought a cute toy monkey hugging another (for RM 8 only) which I have been searching in vain since I saw a similar one tied to the headrest of the MPV coach driver seat during our recent family tour to Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, Thailand. 

Stairway to Kek Lok Si temple with a multitude of shops selling souvenirs and other commodities 

Liberation pond with many turtles

T-shirt bearing a street art of George Town 

Toy monkeys bought from a souvenir stall in Kek Lok Si temple

The toy monkeys inside the tour MPV during our recent trip to Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, Thailand

Souvenir shops along the stairway to Kek Lok Si temple

We left Ayer Itam at about 2.45 pm after savoring the Ayer Itam Pasar’s Assam Laksa which is said to be the best in the whole world.  It was indeed still super-delicious!

We took the same Rapid bus from Ayer Itam to KOMTAR bus terminal and from there another bus to Sg Nibong bus terminal.  Each trip cost us only RM 2 per head.   Sock Kim came to fetch us at Sg Nibong bus terminal.

Ayer Itam Pasar roadside stalls

Famous Ayer Itam Pasar's Assam Laksa

Sungai Nibong bus terminal

Chooi treated us to a dinner at Kimberley Street’s Goh Huat Seng Steamboat ((吴发成菜馆) serving one of the oldest tradition charcoal steamboat in Penang since 1970s.  The great thing about charcoal burning is the intense temperature and consistency that keep the broth in high degree.  Something special to note is that the steamboat pot came with an extra long chimney which is said to help to channel the ash away from the food.  A small fan was also used to blow from the bottom of the pot to help burn the charcoal and boil the soup.  This super-duper yummy steamboat dinner cost us only RM 80+. 

After the dinner, I alone went for the ‘Almond Soup Tong Sui’ with Gingko (生磨杏仁白果茶) at the opposite stall.  It cost RM 3.60 per bowl and was tasty.   

Steamboat restaurant at Kimberley Street

Charcoal steamboat dishes

Interesting picture of a small fan blowing the steamboat pot

Tong Sui menu

Almond soup with gingko

Day 3 (Friday, May 23, 2014)

We had our breakfast at the same coffee shop we went yesterday and this time I ate “Char Koy Teow”.  Sock Kim then drove us to Rantau Panjang, Selama, Perak, to visit their mother, brother Sze Hean, sister-in-law Yen Li and their children.     

Tmn Sri Nibong coffee shop

Char Koay Teow

Inside Sock Kim's car on the Penang Bridge

We reached Rantau Panjang at around 12.00 noon.  Sze Hean’s 2-year old son Jia Wei has grown up quite a bit and became quite active since I saw him the last time during the Chinese New Year.   I wanted to take some photos of him but he kept shunning my camera.  At one time, he dragged along with him a ‘rottan’ chair while cycling so as to obstruct my photo-shooting at him.  What a creative action by a cute little boy! We only managed to see Sze Hean’s eldest daughter 10-year-old Angeline Xin Yi who came back from school at mid-day for a short while, but she had to rush back to school at 2.00 pm to participate in a compulsory overnight-long school living camp for all standard 4, 5 & 6 students at their school at Selama, Perak.

Little Jia Wei dragging a chair to avoid my photo-shooting

Camera-shy Jia Wei

Finally making a mischievous expression

Pic from left: Sock Kim, Jia Wei and Xin Yi

Pic from left: Sock Kim, the blogger's mother-in-law and Xin Yi

Jia Wei showing his smile in front of the camera

At about 5.30 pm, we left Rantau Panjang for Bukit Mertajam.  Sze Hean drove separately to pick up his second daughter 6-year-old Le Yi attending a tuition centre-cum-nursery at Kulim and join us for dinner in Bukit Mertajam.  Mother-in-law also joined us.

The dinner at Restoran Hooi Wang (辉煌海鲜饭店) at Jalan Padang Lallang, Taman Desa Damai, Bukit Mertajam was super-duper delicious and reasonably priced.  We had 5 dishes comprising garlic steam fish fillets, Kyoto-style pork shanks, mantis shrimp with dried chilli, taufu with prawns and veggie for 6 adults (mother-in-law, Sock Kim , Soh Ai, Sze Hean, Yen Li and me) and 2 children (Le Yi and Jia Wei).  The final bill came to be RM 112.20.  Very delicious food with considerably reasonable price!

After dinner, Sock Kim, Soh Ai and I went back to Penang while my in-laws back to Rantau Panjang.  In Penang, I watched the TV live telecast of the Thomas Cup Tournament's Semi-final matches between Malaysia and Indonesia till almost midnight and was delighted that our team beat Indonesia 3-0 to enter the Final with Japan come Sunday. 

Restaurant at Bukit Mertajam serving delicious and reasonably priced food

In the restuarant.  Pic from left: Yen Li, Jia Wei and Sock Kim

Trademark smile of 2-year old Jia Wei

Flavourly dishes

Taufu with prawns on the left and Kyoto-style pork shanks on the right

Mantis shrimp with dried chilli

 Day 4 (Saturday, May 24, 2014)

Chooi and Sock Kim sent my wife and I to the Sg Nibong bus terminal at 8.00 am to catch the 8.30 am Aeroline bus to return to K.L.  The bus left punctually at 8.30 am and stopped at Queensbay Mall to pick up more passengers.   It started the journey at 8.45 am and stopped at Simpang Pulai rest station for 20 minutes.

Sg Nibong bus terminal and the Aeroline bus we took to return to KL

A view of Queensbay Mall where more passengers boarded the bus 

Cruising on Penang Second Bridge

Touch-screen entertainment system with 4 types of programmes

Burger served on board of the coach

We returned to Corus Hotel at about 1.45 pm and Wai Kit came to fetch us home.  Home sweet home at 2.30 pm.  For the record, my total expenditure for this trip was RM 554.00 (inclusive of the return Aeroline busfare of RM 240 for 2 persons). 

Reaching KL city

In the evening, Soh Ai and I attended the Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) Cultural Night in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Kosen-rufu and the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of SGM at its Bunka Kaikan, Batu 9, Cheras in which my third son Wai Kei took part in the modern dance performance (see his rehearsal video clip: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=691376500927195).  It was a great honor to me as I was invited as a guest-of-honour and Soh Ai and I were seated in the reserved front-most row (myself next to immediate past SGM Director-general Mr. Choo Kong Fei).  It was indeed a marvelous and entertaining cultural night!