Afternoon and Evening Walks in Penang

It's time for that yearly business trip to Penang. As usual the travel was long because it was overnight by mini bus and tiring because we had to attend to the official business before sleeping. The moment I was able to regain some strength, I met with a friend who was also having a holiday in Penang. The air was so humid and I felt it the moment I stepped out of the hotel. Our hotel was in another part of Penang this time and it was a great opportunity to discover the other side of town. Most photos on this post are taken by my good friend P. Jose. 

First, we reached a part of Penang with this view. Honestly, I did not know what part this is but the view of the cruise ship somewhat hiding beyond is interesting. 

We walked through a park and reached Fort Cornwallis. It was so hot I was literally drenched with sweat on my back. We were not interested in paying quite a big amount to see what is inside so we just took some photos of the facade. 

We headed to a mall to cool ourselves and when it was nearly sun down, we went back to my hotel to get our other friend to join us for dinner. On the way, we passed by this street art on a wall beside a parking lot. I wrote about Penang's street art and steel art before and you can read it here.

Rax, PJ and I then went to Red Garden Food Paradise to fill ourselves with a delicious dinner. I chose to be adventurous and tried the nutmeg shake. Much to my dismay, it felt like I was drinking an ointment. I didn't like it so I ordered another drink, this time a watermelon shake. 

The night was still young but still humid so we chose to walk around. We found a lovely place near the park showcasing mini air balloons made from paper with drawings on them. It was a cute sight to behold. 

Their air balloon event is also coming up, thus this sight. I didn't expect that a few weeks later, huge and real air balloons were present during the Thailand Balloon Music Festival and I did get to see them for real.

The following day, we just lazily stayed in the hotel and left back for Phuket in the afternoon. That was again a short and sweet trip to Penang. The place never ceased to surprise me. Thank you and 'til my next blog!

Penang Hill

Another business trip brought us back to Penang last week. 10 hours of travel by van was agonizing. Good thing we had extra time to explore another area of the city. This time we went to Penang Hill.

The locals call the place Bukit Bendera and is located about 6 kilometers from the city center of George Town. This was also coined as Flagstaff Hill because this is the place where the Brits raised the flag to signal that mail has arrived. We found our way to the foot of the hill by riding bus 204 from Komtar and paid 2RM (0.56 USD) per way.

There is a Swiss made funicular train that runs every 20-25 minutes. We paid 30 RM (8.39 USD) for the train to take us up and back.

As tipped by our friends who have been there before us, we raced towards the front part of the train. Unfortunately, there were teens standing in front of us so we did not get a nice shot. The ride was amazing, nevertheless. My ears started to pop with the change of pressure. The lush greenery was building my anticipation of what and how it feels to be at the top.

Things to do at the top:

1. See the nice view of Penang and GeorgeTown.

A lot of viewing decks are on top. There are even telescopes to see a closer view. Now I understood why a lot of tourists and locals come to this place. It is 830 meters above sea level and is literally cool. Such a refreshing place away from the heat and bustle of the town. Take a photo or two and feel being on top of the world (or the hill, rather).

2. Visit their lover's padlock area

I find these locks cute. Must have been a lot of lovers who've had dates here. I imagine them putting a love lock and saying they will be together forever (seriously, walang forever). :)

3. Discover the old train.

Take a photo or two of the old wooden train. Reviews says that this is the restored version of the original funicular train built in 1897.

Other interesting things to do:

1. Visit the owl museum

Entrance fee is 12 RM. Reviews said that this is South East Asia's first museum dedicated to owl themed art and craft. Must be interesting for those owl lovers.

2. Chill in the restaurants

A number of tea kiosks and restaurants are located here. Perfect for chillin'. There is also a food and drinks court that will greet you once getting out of the train.

3. Explore the other parts of the Hill.

It is said that the the hill boasts of an Indian Temple and a Mosque built side by side without racial conflict nor tension.

I believe there are still a number of things that can be done or explored on top but as we were tired from the trip, we just stayed for a couple of hours. Definitely another nice experience from this city.

In conclusion, sharing a couple of our videos from the experience. :) Not sure about 180 degree view blah blah that I was saying, though..

Penang 2015 Part 2: Around Town

Other than the street art and steel art we saw in Penang, there were also a few places we visited during our self-imposed walking tour.

No, these are not cherry blossom trees. (I wish they were and I am in Japan!) But, these are just designs in front of a mall in George Town.

We went into the GeorgeTown World Heritage Incorporated Building. To manage the heritage conservation within the city is the purpose of why this company is set up.

This was taken before we entered the building.

Inside the site were a lot of information about the history of Penang, more maps and how the old houses actually looked like.

While walking further along, we found that Penang has their own hop on hop off tour bus. We wanted to ride one but because it was already middle of the afternoon, we thought it would not be worth it.

Another alternative for touring the city is the presence of the rickshaw/ trishaws. There were a lot of colorful ones and the drivers would often invite to tour people around. Wincee was happy this driver allowed her to sit down and have her photo taken.

We also passed by St. Xavier's Institution. It was established in 1852 and is the oldest surviving formal school in Penang and possibly in Malaysia. The school has been founded by the Lasallian Brothers and as such has traditionally been headed by a brother.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this and the building. Having been educated in a Lasallian school during my elementary years is a pride for me.

We also found the Chocolate Museum. It was late in the afternoon and their museum was already closed. According to the review, it was not really a museum anyway. We only got into the part where they sell their chocolates. The lady kept giving us samples to eat but we were full. The chocolates were also a bit over prized.

Our last, but not the least, place visited was The Camera Museum.

Entrance fee for adults is at 20 RM. However, because it was only half an hour before they close, the cute guy at the counter collected only 10 RM from each of us. Sweet!  (Or maybe he thought we were just students) I forgot to take his photo.

I saw this frame of photos hanging on the wall. Gives me an idea of what to do with printed photos back  home.

We started looking at their vast collection of cameras.

Big cameras. 

Spy cameras.

And a whole lot more.

They also made a timeline for the history of cameras. Amazing!

There were also interactive activities such as visiting a dark room.

Or going into the pinhole room.

The entire old camera showcase was at the first floor. After looking over the place, one has to go down and pass by their cafe and souvenir shop. It was definitely an informative and fun place. We were thinking we would go back soon! :)

Penang 2015 Part 1: Steel Art and Street Art

It has always been my dream to travel. This year, I would try and travel more than I did last 2014.

Last week, our company sent me and my colleague, Wincee, to a business trip to Penang, Malaysia. It was my first time but it was her second time to visit the place.

We were to go to Georgetown. This is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Further to my research, which also made me excited to go, is that the inner city of GeorgeTown is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, island, building, complex, or city) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural or physical significance. 

We arrived in George Town, Penang at around 10am. The trip from our city to George Town took about 10 hours by van. After settling in the hotel, doing the business we were sent for and resting, we then braved the streets of Penang. We had to stuff ourselves with food first, so we had lunch at a clean local restaurant. This chicken and rice meal cost us 4.90RM.

While walking along the streets of the city, I have observed that most buildings were old but were still being used for commercial spaces. George Town is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Before we came to Penang, all I wanted to see were the famous street art they had. I was amazed to know that they had these steel art in their streets too. The concept of the steel art is to relate the history or characteristic of the selected street. That is a cool concept for me as the steel art was witty and informative. Walking along the streets, these were a few of what we found.

This steel art says that this street is the place where the famous shoe designer, Jimmy Choo, started his apprenticeship.

I thank God for having a friend with me in my trips. I have difficulty reading maps and if I were alone I'd surely get lost. She did all the map reading and I did the following. Our goal was to find the street arts of Penang.

From the map we got, I learned that it all started with a street art project called Mirrors George Town by George Town festival 2012. Since then, street art has been popping up all over the inner city. Here are a few we have seen during our excursion.

This is called Reaching Up. A boy reaching up from for a hole in the wall is painted but with a real chair for added effects.

 Kids on Bicycle.

What a gigantic cat! This art is named Skippy comes to Penang. This is one of the murals painted to create awareness of the need to protect animals and get people to foster a love for pets.

Brother and sister.

Lion Dance

Brother and sister on a swing.

It was like visiting a trick eye museum however we had to walk on real streets and watch out for cars and bicycles. The street art was challenging to find too. We found most art because of people flocking in the area and taking photos. 

Watch out for Penang 2015: Part 2 :)