September 16, 2013

Mid-year holiday in Penang – Part 2


After a leisurely late breakfast, we hit the beach, and both girls were happily playing and chasing bubbles.  Yiu Yiu asked for a horse ride and we obliged, but the little one was too afraid to ride along.  We spent a bit more time on the beach before the girls went back to the water play area.







We then checked out and went on a mission to hunt down the rest of Zacharevic’s street art.  Since it was getting late, and we didn’t want to waste time looking for them, we did the touristy thing and hired two trishaws to take us around J  There were quite a number of new paintings around, not sure if the new ones were painted by Zacharevic too.  There were lots and lots of welded iron wall caricatures all over town as well.

Stumbled upon this quaint vintage toys museum 

Doing the touristy thing 

Boy on a chair 

 

Old motorcycle 

Kids on bicycle 

Dying art 

Boy pulling dinosaur - unfortunately the dinosaur is hardly visible now 

Cat waiting to pounce on rat 

Grandmother with Superman grandson 

Basketball game 

Kids on swings 

Kungfu girl 

Trishaw man 




We left Penang about 5pm.  We had initially wanted to let the girls experience taking the Penang ferry but it was raining the day we reached Penang so we thought we’d do it on the way back.  Unfortunately, both konked out as soon as we got into the car so there goes the ferry plan, again.  We stopped by for dinner at Gee Seng Seafood Restaurant @ Bukit Tambun before heading home.

Restaurant by the river 

Girls KO'ed

September 13, 2013

Mid-year holiday in Penang – Part 1

This is an extremely belated post on our trip to Penang during the June school holidays.  We booked the Bayview Beach Resort in Feringghi and after a painful check-in (lots of guests and inefficient front desk staff), we were pleasantly surprised to see a new water play area from our room.  Though it was drizzling slightly, the girls couldn’t wait to get down to the water play area.





We spent the whole time at the pool, before going out in search of dinner.  I had the Star Street Food Guide, albeit an outdated one (published in 2007) with me and thought we would try out places where we have not been during our last trip in 2009.  Since it was already quite late by the time we left hotel, and the long journey to town, we settled for the Pulau Tikus Market Hawker Street since it was nearest.  There wasn’t much selection, so we just settled for some char kuay teow and duck kuay teow th’ng.  Not quite satisfied with our meal, we tapau the famous Ah Soon rojak from Gurney Drive on the way back.

After breakfast the next day, we headed to the Penang Hill funicular railway station but it was totally crowded and the queue for the railway stretched so long so we abandoned the idea and headed to the Kek Lok Si temple instead.








View of Penang from the highest point of Kek Lok Si temple 

We had a late lunch at Restotan Kek Seng but the famous mee jawa stall has since stopped operating so we settled for the duck kuay teow th’ng, asam laksa and lohbak.  We headed to the Chew Jetty after that to catch a glimpse of one of Ernest Zacharevic’s street arts but disappointingly, it has faded almost completely. 



 The faded painting of two children on a sampan

Fish traps (bubu) hanging from one of the houses 



Girls enjoying their traditional lychee 'aiskrim batang' 

On the way back to the hotel, we made a pit stop for Penang Road cendol at Lebuh Keng Kwee.  While at it, we also had the asam laksa at the adjoining coffee shop.

The queue at the famous cendol stall 

Due to the late lunch and early evening snack, we skipped dinner and had supper instead, at a food court near the hotel.  Yet another missed opportunity to sample Penang’s best.

Sunset from our room