N Now I am at about the halfway mark of the Spring vacation. This has been a most fruitfulness and eventful break thus far. I will post separately the events thus far - Penang trip, LKY paying respect and P3 grading.
PENANG TRIP: 17th Mar - 19th Mar
It was a short 3D2N trip to Penang. My travel companion is Tab, during her March holidays which mine overlaps. With her husband's approval and assurance of her safety (cos now I know KM, and her plan was to push me in front of harm's way and run off) I set about planning some aspects of the trip. It was also my first time so I had to rely on my Mom's and sister's input about what they did in their group tour, online search for information and blogs, some trip advisor and Google map to scope out the location of the hotel and sights.
The hotel I chose was one of the list of Heritage hotels, 4 stars. Within walkable distance to the Unesco zone. Tab was ok with the price, S$185 per night (peak rate cos later I checked in April is only S $102) Reading the reviews, I requested a higher floor with a nice view. Our room had a balcony that looked inwards to the small garden/courtyard, a jacuzzi, a good shower with sprinklers, very nice Peranakan and vintage Chinese furniture; the cupboards, table, bed frame, TV shelf, dividers, windows with stained glass & also modern aspects like 4 art pieces hanging on the walls, a funky sofa and a funky side chair. I liked the wooden stool placed just outside the shower. Also booked a day tour 7hours to visit some of the sights that were beyond walking distances from an online website. RM $180 per pax. Flight was S$185, a combination of Tiger Air going and JetStar coming back. To get the best possible timing. Arrive by 9am plus and return by 9pm. Still can have time to eat and go home by public transport. The only downside was I had to wake very early to get to the airport. About 5am timing. Never mind, I can do it if I must.
Day 1:
Tab offered to let me stay over so I could save on cabfare plus more insane hours of waking. So after my last day of work on Monday, I went home, changed and showered and brought my bags over to her place for the night. We met up and had a filling dinner of oyster omelette, and sambal stingray and later sotong. Then I followed them home and we did some research of cafes and restaurants near our hotel and within walking distance and map out a rough itenary. Then I slept with alarm clock set at 5am. Woke up before my alarm at 5am. Got up and bathed. Then Tab came out of her room. Apparently she woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep. We were ready by 5.30am and made our way downstairs to call for a cab. At the airport, we checked in and went into departure then looked for breakfast. Mine was typical sg breakfast which I rarely had a chance to eat; kaya toast, 2 soft-boiled eggs, kopi-o set. Lab's was surprisingly wanton noodles with tea. More like my usual style where I prefer savory over sweet stuff for breakfast.
We arrived after a quick flight, on paper is 1.5hours but was slightly shorter. Quite nice cos it can be a bit uncomfortable being in the aircraft due to pressure, the air etc. Woo... the Penang international airport was quite nice, looks new but still not to the scale of Sg and Bangkok. We got out and went to a counter where everyone was queuing. You pay a fixed price for taxis depending on the area. Ours was RM$44.20. Then joined a very fast moving taxi queue and hopped on. Reached the hotel way before noon. Check in was 3pm so dropped our luggage and walked across the road to this Nasi Kandar place that serves Indian Muslim style zharcaipeng and Roti canai. Tab had nasi kandar which had generous amount of food and they take a bit of every curry gravy and sprinkled over the rice, so it's a delicious plate of different curry flavors. I had roti canai which was chewy and doughy fluffy and has a nice flavor even plain. The curry was very flavorful and had bits of meat and beans/lentils. The Bru coffee ice was superb. (Bru is an Indian coffee, taste very smooth, yet strong especially made by Indian Muslim drinkstall is very good, rare in Sg)
With a refuelled stomach, we set out to find the Camera museum that Tab requested to go. Along the way, discovered a metal-grill "graffiti art" and we chose to use the graffiti art based map to navigate. It also helped to do the collect-them-all to try to find them and take photos. We walked past a clan house, it has some altar but I didn't go in. Just posed outside. Reason being if you don't know the procedures, later do wrong also not nice and since it's a clan house, not a full temple. Rather not. We walked past shop-houses; residential, shops, workshops and even B&B and more until we were greeted with a huge ass camera. First floor there were panels with information, places to take photos, a photographer shoot service, shop selling memorabilia and a cafe. The admission was RM$20 and we walked upstairs. There was no guide cos only at certain timing. We entertained ourselves as evident by our photos. By then Tab had suggested she'll take all the pics and I'll get get from her later. I agreed cos my note2 battery life is really very bad nowadays and the camera resolution also not there. There were interesting stuff and i learned about things I didn't know before - most expensive camera, first form of hand drawn'photos', spy cameras etc. We ended in the cafe to use the toilet and to use the discount coupon given with admission. It was there, where the start of my 黄金 luck. Bleah, llucky I wasn't eating. Reminded Tab to hydrate herself and drink Isotonic drinks regularly, cos of her earlier fainting the week before. So she had that while I drank hot tea and later an isotonic drink.
Our next stop was the Blue Mansion. We left the Camera museum and retraced our steps. Actually went into a cat cafe next door but nothing catches the eye. Tab chose not to go upstairs to the cat cafe. We made our way and saw another metal grill artwork which a pose stuck me and I asked Tab to help me take a pic. I think what Tab said about how the Japanese habit has rubbed off on me is true. I am doing more funny pics with different poses instead of just a v-sign. Hmm... Anyway the guided tour would only start at 1.45pm and we were early n it wasn't open so we had to shelter and stone somewhere. Let Tab choose between a modern cafe or a local coffee shop. She chose the latter and we settled in one which really reminds me and is typical of Malaysian Chinese coffee shop. I ordered a lime juice ice due to the hot sweltering heat and sun. It was so nice and only RM$2.50. We saw the locals go about and buy and dabao food. The char siew and chicken rice stall caught both our attention. It had constant customers and keep hearing the chopping of meat oon the chopping board. So I asked Tab if she wanted some, just order a plate of mixed meat to share. She was agreeable. We ate the plate of meat (has a hardy feel to the meat, not the refined type in sg but more the traditional style in malaysia) Delicious, I would love to eat more. Had another apple juice RM$2 and soon it was time to make our way back to the Blue Mansion.
We paid and entered. The courtyard was impressive and I liked the greenery hence asked to have a few pics though I was under the umbrella all this while. The house looks very Peranakan, from the furniture. Reminded of Malacca. The female guide gave explanations in English to the group, unsurprisingly all foreigners. She drew attention to the wall finishes, ventilation shaft designs and the furniture. To me it was partly disappointing that the Peranakan and quite a bit of the stuff you find such as the bed, the rickshaws, the furniture were actually donated to the Blue House and had no significance to the place except so and so filmed something and donated this and that. So the Peranakan feel was not related to the original place. Still the story of the symmetrical design, back of the house taller than the front were interesting. The 剪粘 skill to restore the tiles on the roof restoration technique. It was hot and the air felt hot, some parts about the family wasn't interesting t9 me but then again, the man had 8 wives. How did he manage...? It was still disappointing to know that the reason why it's blue is arbitrary, cos they wanted it to stand out. Originally it was white. So for me, it had a very artificial feel. Still it was an experience.
We made our way back to the hotel, bought some water and checked-in to the room. Woah. I felt it was worth the money. Relaxed a while and I bathed before we headed out to look for dinner. Noticed some small red ants about near our facial towels but noted due to the garden, kinda inevitable. So I forewarned Tab about it cos she had her traumatic ant nest experience. I joked and told her not to use the napkin towels and check before using the bath towels in case "kena ants on your CB..." which luckily the ants were contented to be at just the facial towels. But this became a bad joke every time we go bathe. For dinner, based on earlier research, we would check out this place called Kebaya which had good reviews. I had enough of jeans and chose to wear my beach guystyle berms. We walked and down the street we were walking, there was nothing open. It seemed like a fashion, textile street based on the shop names. We decided if later we are walking back, would avoid this street cos most are closed and it would be dark then. We crossed to another parallel street which was alive with street hawkers and was tempting. But we persisted. Tab walked in front, navigate. I followed behind, so can keep an eye on her and also block and keep an eye for any motorcycles or vehicles. Grateful Penang is relatively safe in the end but kept this up the whole time. We reached Kenya after a slight mistake and found another grill-art. We walked in and the madame with silver hair and dressed in the proper kebaya, asked us if we had a reservation, nope. Then asked us to look at the set menu (with prices stated RM$110++) to see if we were okay with things. Tab turned around and asked me how. I saw the price but decided since we came all the way, try it out. Not like it's S$150, if it was that, I would have told Tab to find me after she's done at the street hawkers we walked past earlier. We were led to our seats and the place looked very classy. I thought about my berms but reminded that it's about what's in my wallet than my berms. It also helped that it was near empty then. Only another table with 3 Caucasians in berms too. So I did feel ok. But looking at the menu was another thing though. You choose a starter, a meat, a veg and a dessert. I had problems choosing partly cos reading slowly through the description of the dishes cos I felt the fatigue and mentally couldn't process. Partly cos the description and name of the dish tells me that it is a familiar food eg Tang Yuan, which I didn't want to even consider cos I did pay a premium so I would want something more unusual and unique. My selection was Miang Kham of Salmon roe, Hong Bak Lamb, Chau chye and Pana cotta based on reading the description. Tab chose Pai Tee, Organic Roast pork, Nonya Tempura veg and Gula Melaka Mousse. I was telling Tab for the price we had to pay, those dishes mostly familiar food had better be F**king delicious. So when our starters came, very nicely presented in threes. I was to be the guinea pig and try first. I took one of Tab's pie tee and took a bite and chewed. It tasted good, besides the additional ingredients compared to a normal pie tee, there was extra crunch from the crispy skin, the ingredients. So it was an atas, upgraded version. Mine reminded me of nonya cooking cos of the roasted coconut and it had a lot of flavors and textures from the roasted mini shrimps, roasted peanuts, salmon roe, sweet plum sauce with the mild bitterness of the betal leaves. First time eating betal leaves. With those starters, we were assured that our food should taste good. Live music was played by a duo, one on the piano and the other girl on thr violin. Added to the ambience but the musoc was very pleasant and didnt hinder conversation. The restaurant started filling up with foreigners, mainly Caucasians, some dressed to the T. Then we got some rice scooped for us along with the vegetable. Tab's tempura veg was very crispy yet light. Had my first tempura baby corn and even tempura green peas. Imagine that. My 炒菜 was similar veg but stir-fried in a very savory sauce. It was a heavier flavor. Then Tab's roasted pork aka 烧肉 was a very crispy skin and you can taste the quality of the meat but not a big wow. My supposed 红烧 lamb came in thick dark brown sauce that upon first taste immediately reminded me of Chinese 粽子 immediately. I wondered if it was five spice, chestnut or nutmeg? But the meat was tender, no lamb smell at all and very sweet. Mindf**k. All challenged my idea of lamb shank. A lot of meat and ate more rice to help diffuse the sweetness. Lastly was our dessert. My pana cotta was so refined and so soft in the mouth and the two light flavors fused harmoniously.Every bbite is different as Tab would aptly put it. They had bit of candied roasted pischatoes and a center in the dessert that every bite is different as you eat with different things. Tab's gala melaka mousse was an intense fragrant but not overtly sweet one. After I tried one bit, I couldn't taste back my own cos mine was light but hers was intense. Had to drink more sips of water to clear my tongue before I continued eating my pana cotta. The best version of pana cotta in my life. Tab loved her dessert too. By the time we were done and paid RM$128.30, we talked about how to get back to our hotel and decided on asking Kebaya staff as they were part of a hotel - Seven Terraces to get us a cab. So the silver haired madame obliged and we waited near the entrance, piano and we sat at the chairs and listened to the music until the cab arrived. It costs RM$12 to go to our hotel which we gladly paid. On the way back, we saw that the street hawker street (Lebruh Chulia) was lit up and ran mostly until our hotel. A useful information to note.
Back in the hotel room, took a nice bath and decided to try out the jacuzzi. It took a while to fill the tub but I had a good 10-15mins soak before I got too bored. The bonus was one of the two pillows was super soft. The double pillows was of a good comfortable height to sleep. Tab fell asleep first and I left the toilet lights and one light on. Later on when I woke due to the cold air con, turned up higher and switched off the lights.
Day 2
Slept until I woke up at 6am, so went to the toilet and brushed teeth etc. Checking out the map and wifi to use google map so we can avoid detours to head to the Unesco part, Khoo Konsi. Also hit that duck egg fried char kway tiao we had googled initially.The sun hadnt rose yet. Washed up and took my water and glass to sit at the balcony. Slowly the sun rose and could smell the fumes of cooking. Killed 3 mosquitoes while sitting outside. Tab woke up but later snoozed until 9am. Only when she woke then I switched on TV. We.had until 2pm to explore that, settle breakfast and lunch before our day tour, which would take us until evening. The good thing being up this early was we had more time to explore. First we fed our stomach at the Nasi Kandar coffee shop right opposite our hotel. This time both of us had egg roti canal and I had Bru coffee ice again. With that in the system, this time I put on my newly bought safari hat and lots of sun block on my nose. We walked along the path I plotted on the map towards Lebruh Kimberly, another long parallel street towards firstly the duck egg char kway tiao and Khoo Konsi, a clan house, a must-see sight. The street was more interesting with various retail mix. We had an initial mis-orientation but retraced our steps. Did see the real side of Penang. Very old school barbers, newspaper stand, homes, shop lots etc. As like what Tab said, 4 stages of development in one pic. First we reached a traffic junction with the police complex. We crossed over and saw on the opposite side, a sort of open air wet market and jay-walked over. Didn't occur to me then but jay-walking in front of a police complex wasn't the smartest thing to do. Anyway we saw an interesting shop. An old man was making popiah skin the traditional way; hot iron plates, holding a big ball of dough, he smashed and coat the surface with his dough in one movement and lifts the dough off in one move and a very thin layer is left on the plate which is cooked by the fire and his maid helper scrapes off the completed popiah skin with a spatula. All these happen within 20-30s. A crowd of tourists had formed about to watch, take photos and buy from them. I saw they sold the popiah skin, a soft traditional peanut candy in a box, you can pay to get it wrapped in the popiah skin, and another malted peanut candy that is hard. I bought a box of the soft one, remembering how my dad like this soft peanut candy. Lined up and waited for my turn. Also bought one wrapped in popish skin RM$1.20, plain is RM$1. And one of the hard peanut malt candy RM$1. Broke the popiah one into half and shared with Tab who was taking photos. She said it was nice cos the popiah skin had a slight saltiness against the sweet soft crumbly peanut candy. She bought a box too. With that, put into my bag pack, we walked down the small lane to look at the rest of the wet market. Can see fresh fish and veg. Then we retraced our steps and walked a bit more to the Kimberly and walked a straight path. So really different things, and noticeable were the street hawkers and more traditional coffee shops. Saw some interesting things and asked Tab to take a photo while I posed. Including a monkey king, coffee, tea or me. Found more grill-art. Like the street we walked had a hawker-street history. Then we reached the intersection and suddenly it became like joss sticks, 金纸 and even a shop with coffins. Another grill-art mentioned it had a paper, joss stick history. We found the traditional style coffee shop and shared one plate of the duck egg char kway tiao. I had another juice cos of the weather. The kway tiao was light in color and very fragrant. Got the 'wok hei' as my mom said before, which is they fry in wok at high heat enough that the kwaytiao has the fragrance from the heat. The duck egg was light and the bean sprouts crispy. If all kwaytiao were this light and non-oily, I would eat it everyday. Then I had to go to the loo cos of efficient plumbing. Luckily no 金 but the loo was dark. As long as it's clean.
Then we headed off and reached Canon street where according to the grill-art, a Canonhad been fired hence the name. We went into a cat theme shop and came out empty-handed. I bought a small key chain for myself. Just beside it was an Owl theme shop and inside had so much more interesting things. Bought stuff for my mom and sisters. Cost about RM$72 but I had bought 10 small items. Put into bag and by then Tab found Khoo Konsi. We walked over and had to pay admission RM$10. Saw a penny mint and Tab had to get one. Then we went in and there were several buildings that made up the entire compound. The main being the clan shrine and the opera stage. The rest are like residential and administrative office. We headed to the loo where I saw a huge pile of 金 in a cubicle that I was completely disgusted cos earlier the day b4, in the Camera museum they had two toilet stall right next to each other. Thinking it was unisex, I went into one which turned out to be guys and saw a small piece of 金 that wouldn't flush and was appalled thinking that guys toilet cannot make it but now in the female toilet with a huge pile, I changed my opinion and think instead females cannot make it. Walao, luckily I had already eaten earlier. Left and went inside the shrine which was nicely air conditioned and had many panels and displays to read up on, explaining the main clans, the various clan shrines and temples, as well as elements of Khoo Konsi itself. We then headed up to the main hall, and the two side halls. To me, it strongly reminds me of what I had experienced in mar ad a child. Elements of the altar with Dua Peh Gong, the whole 八仙 etc. So the two side halls honored the ancestors but with name boards of the name, occupation and university education. The clan appeared to be well off, evident from the degrees from overseas and the type of occupation like lawyers, doctors. When we had finished, we walked back out and I bought a old-school syrup icicle and happily sucked on it to combat the heat. It was getting hot and we walked around a bit more. I saw a bubble tea and went straight for it while Tab was just beside taking pics of the painted graffiti. I had a passion fruit tea that was refreshing. I told Tab I was fueled by the cold drinks under this heat and sun. We walked along and found the bicycle graffiti. Then I spotted a chendol stall along the corridor. We got out of the heat and I ordered a chendol to share RM$3.30. To me, it felt light yet satisfying. Generous amount of 料 and the coconut milk and shaved ice were in good proportion. Enough gula melaka too. Damn happy to eat something cold. Too bad I couldn't try the ice kachang cos I had quite a bit of cold stuff and it seemed a lot. Found another grill-art made on the grills used to lock up that corridor. We headed back along the same way but on the opposite side of the street, my suggestion just so might see different things. We walked into another type of chinese coffee shop that is typical in Malaysia, higher ceilings type, 2 units. Like Malaysia version of a smaller hawker. I had Hobkirk style porridge with your own selection of dishes which all reminded me of home-cooking, especially my grandma's cooking. So reminiscent. So sorely missed until I ate the first mouthful. Yummy! So grateful we ate at there at the unassuming looking place. Walked on back and bought some local produce from one of the 饼店 we happened to see. Penang's local produce are nutmeg and 豆沙饼. I bought a small box, 2 box dried nutmeg, 1 box wet nutmeg and 1 pack 耳朵饼 for sister. Tab bought some and I stuffed into my bag which became full and resembled a turtle shell. The we returned to the hotel.
The concierge called and told us our guide had arrived. So we met the guy (I forgot his name 1 min after he said it) and according to itenary booked, go Khoo Konsi... erm which I said we just went. Ops! The Goddess of Mercy temple, huh is the small one close to Kebaya, how about the big one, huh different name. Thought there's only one. Erm no Burmese and Thai temples. Eh, this tour like all nearby leh. Never mind he said, can change. So I told him about the plans to see the 3 temples and also the snake temple. So he was flexible, came up with a quick change and we zoom off. He did want us to try a sort of like Imagine museum but it had crowds that over split outside. So he drove us to near the Thai and Burmese temples, a pewter shop. I used the toilet after we watched a short demonstration on how the pewter is cast. Took a mere minute for it to cool and come out. But it was too overpriced. Just a key chain with an alphabet or a letter cost RM$68. My 'Y' key chain, exactly the same, bought from Redang those years ago was about RM$20. We left without buying. Nothing much. Arrived at the temples and we left the car to explore.
The Thai temple reminded me of Dol Step in Chiang Mai cos of similar features and style, such as the Naga and elements. Inside was a very big reclining Buddha. I just prayed and put in a donation, didn't intend to light any candles nor joss sticks. Did try out the fortune telling machine. You insert a 50cent coin and the light turns and once it stops, you take the number lot from a box on the right. Hmm I got to work... Walked one round looking at the various Buddhas. There was one for every zodiac, one for every wish like this one is for health, this one is for studies. I told Tab that the one that appealed to me was the one with mention of wealth, property and even afterlife but where got you just worship this one to get a free-entry to everything. So despite its definite appeal, I only put another donation in Goddess of Mercy cos she is my patron buddha. I found all these a bit too "commercial" for my liking. Outside the main temple, there was a 4-faced buddha but I didnt go. Instead asked Tab to help me take a Naga shot, then we walked over to the Burmese one.
The Burmese main temple has a standing Buddha. The unique aspect was the intricate wood carvings that adorned the pillars, lined and spanned the inner roof. Very burmese indeed. We used to have a Burmese family friend and when invited over to their place, could see their burmese wood furniture's with similar style carvings. Nostalgic when I gazed upon the wood carvings. There were many parts to the Burmese temple compound but what struck me again was the "commercial" part where there were Buddha statues and others with name plates of donors placed either under or behind these. Like 'buy a spot' thingy. I do know that temples rely on donations but it is new to see so many parts, including an entire pagoda that housed donations... Still it was an eye-opener. A huge pond with gigantic, super big-ass fish living inside. I was reminded of fish sashimi, fish fillets. Not exactly the right thoughts to have while in a holy place hence I am not burning joss sticks. Sure kena burn for having such thoughts. Tab didnt go along the big ass water enclosute but I did and tio my socked feet burned as l ended on the other exit and had to scurry over hot burning concrete from the afternoon sun to where my shoes were at the initial exit. Then outside a pond with the revolving pots which I missed twice, aiming for the Prosperity pot. Guess it's a sign. Then the pagoda that had a lift inside. Wow, first time. Even the lift was donated. Went up to the top and it wasn't fully and completely furnished. But had a nice view of the surrounding. Tab and I had our socked feet burn from having to take off our shoes. So walking on the outside of the pagoda kinda burned. We were shuffling and kept saying "sio sio" until ewe saw a narrow shadow from a the ledge that was wide enough for our feet if we did a duck shuffle. Hence we side-waddled and even took a picture. Laughing, we made our way down the levels and realised the entire ccollection if things were like sponsored to fill up the pagoda. Not very religious feel. There was a side temple complex that had a burmese monk inside but I didn't want to go in. So with a toilet break in a no-金 toilet, we were on our way.
A side track to Coffee Tree, a famous Penang brand (plus definitely pay these guides) but it's ok. It sold Coffee, Chocolate, Tea and Honey. I recognised the packaging when we wentinside. So here's where my sister bought me that Tiramisu coffee but it's expensive, RM$42 for a bag. I tried their numerous coffee but nothing appealed. Then walked to the chocolate section and their various Chocolate drinks. Some sounded promising like honey chocolate, caramel chocolate but the taste wasn't there. In the end, I bought the Mint chocolate which tasted the best of those I tried. Then we walked on to the Tea part, trying various tea to clear the palate and found the Pu-er tasted the best. Tab bought one. But the Honey was super expensive, RM$128 easily and above. With that we each got one item and hopped on the car. Next was a stained glass work company. Apparently they win design awards for doing interior decoration with their panels of modern stained glass and funky designer stuff made from glass bottles etc. Had a short explanation about their company but when we saw the prices, supremely overpriced. For example using a single glass bottle,melt it into a funky shape with some design painted on or plain is RM$50, a tray made from 3 melted bottles is RM$200. A small necklace with a small piece of stained glass which the person can write and paint to personalise is RM$22. There were nice stuff you don't see in sg, such as the designer stained glass clocks, gigantic stained glass panels for your shower or even showpiece and the life-like glass jellyfish. Extremely pricey and I don't have a house to decorate. So we looked some and left.
With that, we went on to 极乐寺 the temple with the tallest Goddess of Mercy statue. So we were dropped off with instructions for a missed call when we were done. We headed to the main where the Trinity were. As per what my mom and sister told me. I asked which one of the donation box is for this temple, prayed and drop the donation. Then we wondered how to get to the statue and after walking up a flight of 50+ stairs to a dead end, we walked down and headed to another inner side. Walking along this compound with more steps and wondered why we didn't walk the inclined slope on the other side. Then I noticed a sign that read the temple close strictly at 6pm. It was 5.10pm. So we rushed, following the signs, to take the inclined lift which apparently closes at 5.30pm. We reached the elevator and paid for a one-way ticket up. At 5.18pm, we were the only jokers still going up. Waited a while and the elevator came down filled with people. We were the only ones in the final ride up, like some private elevator. Had our 'enlightenment' photo shot and we arrived very shortly. The statue is under restorative work hence the shrine built below the statue was closed but can still take pictures from around. I went off to the loo, glad no more 金 thus far. Took photos then we had to make our own way down via the road that some cars drove up. Still saw people driving up cos by then the elevator closed. It was steeply inclined and we made it back to the main temple which was closed. Though there were other parts of the temple we didn't manage to go, at least saw the main and the statue without having to climb up the hill.
Got the driver and we were off to dinner. Snake temple wasn't possible cos temples close by 6pm. He asked what we had in mind, I wanted to eat Penang Laksa so he drove us to the one he just ate. It's style is a bit different. It had a slice of whole fish fillet (small makeral) RM$4. Okay plus he said the night market was near to it. Ok. I enjoyed the assam laksa a lot. The fish fillet is soft and their own-made fishcake is soft not flavorful. Love the crunch of the vege and I finished the soup. If not for the night market, I wouldn't mind one more bowl. Carrot juice was good. Walked over with the guide to the open air local night market. Similar to the one Quetzal, Tab and I went to in Malacca. As the sun sets, we walked around. This one seemed bigger. It was on a large open field. When we first walked, many were setting up. As we walked from the bigger circle of food to the inner circle of goods and back, more stalls appear and more stuff. We walked around 4-5 times during which I devored a fried drum stick that was well marinated and battered. Reminded of something we had in the malacca night market. The 超大鸡扒 loses to its flavor. Tab bought a enoki tempura with mayo. Had a refreshing drink of passion fruit. Then I bought a cheese potato ball with everything. Tab had 鸡扒. Ate until super full then Tab queued for sugarcane juice which despite being small, was very satisfying because they used shaved ice and the flavor was very intense. Tab still had room for Tau hway. I was at my limit. We got the driver after some initial miscom of the meeting place but got back quickly. Being too full, I asked Tab if we could forgo our initial plan of going to Mugshot cafe along Chulia street after the tour. We were too full for anymore food. She agreed so we were dropped off at the hotel. Have him a RM$10 tip cos he had allowed us the flexibility of changing the initial itenary and also when we asked questions, he answered. Plus I asked about the airport transfer with a short half hour stopover at the Snake Temple which he said was very close to the airport. He quoted RM$50, I asked him to confirm. He said he would message back after checking with his boss and if he couldn't take the job, he'll arrange another driver.
Bought some more drinks from the Nasi Kandar place, like my 7-11 stall for drinks. Bathed and climbed into bed after transferring photos from Tab. This time switched off all lights and fell in a deep sleep.
Day 3
I woke early still but chose to snooze a bit until there's light then got up. Tab woke shortly after and we just changed and headed out for breakfast. Tab wanted to try this Muslim street hawker she saw from the taxi land again when we made a wrong detour on Day 2. I didn't mind so we had roti canai with a chicken drumstick, a pricey RM$15.40 which we realised at least he charged the same for another Malay guy who ordered the same. Had a Koti Bakhar RM$6 which is buttered grilled toast with 80% cooked eggs on top. If they had hollandaise sauce, it'll be a winner. Then I had teh trail cos no Bru. Saw the pandan leaf wrapped nasi lemak and bought one and once again amazed Tab with my appetite.
Then we walked around and stumbled across another Camera museum. It wasn't open until 11am. We had 1.5 hours to kill which Tab said would be better we walked around then stone somewhere instead of going back to hotel to nuah then come out. Too short. Ok so walked about and came upon Komtar the mall but everything was closed. We did walk inside to peep. Then walked the streets and found ourselves in the Hawker street. So we went into another local coffee shop which was closing by the time we reached it yesterday. This one aactually had a name board inside, "Eighty six degrees cafe". I ordered an ambla juice to satisfy my curiosity and it tasted exactly like star fruit, which Tab also agreed. Another mindf**k. Has another carrot juice while whiling away the time. Then it was time. 10.45am, we retraced our steps back to the Camera museum II. It was open, another RM$20 but with a young guide who gave us a very detailed explanation of their exhibits in Mandarin. Not much hands-on but more depth of knowledge and explanation. Learned more about camera history and revisited the most expensive cameras and spy cameras. The good was I could ask questions which were immediately answered and the explanation was a chronological order of the development of cameras. They had a photo studio recreation and that brought back memories, plus photoshop with pencils. Also a detailed explanation of the dark room procedures, and the concept of 'positive' and 'negative', aspects of film and projectors. The final being a room with the canon camera compl er rely disassembled, framed up, the camera family tree. It was much more informative than the first Camera museum. Received an sms about ok with the airport transfer plus stopover at Snake Temple as agreed but different driver. Sms back, ok. By 11.40, we rushed back to the hotel. We reached close to 12pm. I confirmed with the concierge about the request for late check out at 1pm but the lady said hopefully we can check out by 12.30pm. I said ok but we needed a set of toiletries cos it ran out. So we went back to the room, started packing. As I reached for the bag of 饼 which I had left on the writing table, I saw ants and told Tab, I settle and brought it outside to the balcony table. Open up the 2 bags. Mine was affected, Tab's wasn't. I opened up most of the packaging. Most just threw away the box but the tau sa piah, one of the 4 packs had ants inside. They didn't seal the sides completely for that one pack. So I took the other 3 and left that one behind. "My rent to the ants", I joked. Then packed up everything while the toiletries finally arrived and Tab showered. After that I had a quick shower and we were done. Checked out and dropped our luggage. Told the conciergewe had aranged an airport transfer so if he comes, we'll be next door at the Nasi Kandar eating lunch. The agreed timing was about 1.30pm. So I had nasi kinda, choosing fish that was absolutely delicious. Just a hardboiled egg and a cucumber salad. But the curry was so flavorful, I totally enjoyed eating the whole plate of rice. My last Bru coffee ice. Tab had Magee goreng which she said was too salty.
We crossed over with about 10 minutes to spare. The driver was seated at the lobby. We hopped on and headed to the Snake Temple. Along the way, I asked this guide about property prices as I had asked the first guide. The figures differed though. But learned about the higher interest rates, minimum RM$2 million for Singaporeans. Ranges from above RM$450k, easily into the RM$600K range is more normal... hmm something with my current salary, think can manage... KIV. Also asked more questions about like do Singaporeans come over to eat fruits, they do, for durians and mangosteen. Hmm... we arrived at the Snake Temple rather quickly with lots of my questions answered. My mom and sister told me how they went to the Snake temple but chose to stand outside while the rest entered cos my mom had a phobia of snakes. I went in with Tab behind. At the main hall, I just prayed and put in a donation, and a lady rang the bell for that. Same for Tab's donation. We were careful but no snakes yet. Walked to the side and saw a couple of cagesfor ppythons. The helper there is very smooth and fast talker. I wasn't sure about getting a python wrapped around me and before I knew, with only a moment to shiver, a python was draped around my neck and took a pic. Then added a de-venomed green snake over my head and flashed went the camera. Paid RM$20 for 2 pics. Okay, think of it as extra donation. But that was quick and then they were off. But I realised how soft the python's scales were to the touch. Contrary to popular belief of being slimy. It's soft, smooth and slightly warm. Wow, very pleasant to touch. Just that initial jolt of primal fear. Hmm... snakes are misunderstood creatures. Had to wait 5mins for the photos to develop so walked the inner garden. I asked the guy where were the snakes and he told us up in the trees and in the room we were in, some were curled up over the top displays where they had some artificial branches mounted. Those green ones weren't de-venomed. So with Tab sheltered under my umbrella, we walked through the garden, taking care not to go under any branches. There's a Guan Yin altar, did a quick prayer then move on. There were a cluster of trees that had a gate wall surrounding them and had some light water sprinklers so it's relatively cooler than the rest of the garden. We saw 2 green snakes coiled up on the branches. Think this is a precaution to ensure the snakes go to the cooler area instead of elsewhere. Then we reached a sheltered part where I had to walk in front, checking the ceiling for hanging snakes. None, then Tab walked... The guide appeared and told us there is a small snake breeding area. Paid RM$5 to go in. There were a number of different species of snakes in glass enclosure. Interestingly most were half submerged in their water bowl, guess due to the heat. In the centre was a big fenced zinc roofed enclosure. Inside were 3 huge pythons including the resident long time python that is 17 foot. According to the guide, the big python was caught elsewhere and the people wanted to kill it to eat but someone bought it over and brought it to this temple to rear. It became very big, very thick, its width was thicker than my carrot thighs. It became the main attraction of the temple, 镇山法宝 and that day it moved about the enclosure nstead of just lying curled up still so we could see how long it was. Then we looked at the King cobra and rattle snakes, having seen numerous documentaries of venomous snakes, the guide was hitting the glass to entice them to flare up. I wouldn't do that. Partly cos they really aren't aggressive until threatened. Just the reputation and their venom are feared. They didn't respond. At the last few enclosures, where King snakes are kept, I saw one white one up and moving about instead of laying still. So instead of knocking the glass, I used my left hand to move about, like a snake *watched too much Snake fist kungfu* and after some moves, the albino snake followed and reared up. It didn't attack but moved. So cute! I wanted to bring it home as a pet. Later I researched about King snakes, they aren't poisonous and can be kept as a pet but not in Sg. As Tab had reminded, like how 小白 would disappear from its tank and went to the neighbour's, bringing sounds of scream from the aunties. Sigh... With a happy yet sad heart, left the Snake Temple. They also kept other animals like a car, goose, duck, iguana, not as food for the snakes but for visitors to pay to feed them. So it's good. With that we left for the airport. Asked the guide How the Snake temple came about. According to him, in the hilly area where the temple was built, snakes lived and came over from the back mountains but didn't bite. Then a sort of co-existence came about. But there are fewer snakes than before due to development. A pity but it's good the snakes have the temple area. But most of the snakes are reared. We arrived and paid the guide the negotiated price, plus a small tip of RM$5 for his time. Had an unexpected good time.
We were early and ate at KFC before we checked-in and went inside. At the airport, I managed to buy a I ♡ Penang shirt. Exactly what I wanted but didn't have time to grab one. Plus bought a Magnum ice cream for RM$4+ which I told Tab was a huge bargain. So seeing me eating happily, she was tempted and went to buy one too. So we were eating Magnums happily while waiting for our budget flight. It was a comfortable wait. Just look at pics taken and transfer via the wifi. Then boarding and soon we were back in Sg, to my dismay but good for my wallet, any travel into Malaysia is not entitled to duty-free. Duh but no worries, I'll try for Bangkok trip. DF came to fetch Tab and we ate a filling dinner at Saboten, which I realised Ma Maison does an even better cutlet after that one dinner with Cyn. Then I took the sky train to T3 to get to the mrt. Saw the Lotr display and just took a selfie with the hobbiton sign then went home. Reached home, unpacked and bathed and knocked out.
Really a very good trip. Saw many sights. Went many places. Ate a lot of different food. Loved the Bru coffee and cheap fruit juices. Later I found out our trip had more stuff than my mom and sisters' cos theirs was a road trip. Glad for how it turned out. I won't mind going again to cover lots more that we didn't see. Took until Sunday, then my soul flew back to Sg though bodily I was back on Thursday evening.
I ♡ Penang!
