I went to Penang recently. Hehe. Nothing special about the trip. Jadi tour guide for my sister and my cousin actually. Anyway, the whole trip was more like to find all the food that I miss very much.
Should be blogging this at my travel blog but hmmmm.. Prefer wanna do it here ( too many blogs confuses me at times ). So, this post might be a guide to you who wants to visit Penang on a tight budget ( like we did.. hehe )
140711 - 170711
Bought our tics to Penang during the Airasia RM0 fare promotion, so taxes and what not , the ticket is Rm115 ( return ). Worth it kan? But CRK terkorban la of course because it wasn't a school holiday.
Accomodation was basically free, courtesy of my friend who have a whole apartment to herself and the location is superb because it was accessible to public transport. Bukit Jambul area.
We even took the Rapid Penang from the airport, screw the expensive taxis! Hidup Rapid Penang! It only cost us RM2 from the airport to Bukit Jambul ( Bus no 304 ). There's even a Rapid Penang kiosk where you can inquire about maps and other nonsense you might have, just bombard them with questions. The lady with too much make up at the counter will be happy to help.
Check out this signage inside the bus. The last one bah funny! And they even provide free wi-fi on the bus.
I
So, my food trail all started when I went back to my former campus area ( Sungai Dua ), there's this food court called Bali-Bali cafe where they have food-food-food-food!
The dimsums there is QUITE nice, not superbly nice but still its better than I have here in Sabah.
The assam laksa is the BOMB! Costing only at RM3.00 per bowl. Kuah paling pekat saya pernah rasa and I always come back for more.
The Nasi Kerabu is the LEGEND. The aunty from Thailand is still selling it there. Thank God for that. RM3.50 per plate. Kalau boleh saya mo tapau jak tu aunty balik Sabah suruh dia buka kadai sini oh.
And of course if I am around the campus area, a visit is a must. I wanted to try the Nasi Lemak inside the campus which had been my favourite for the years I was in USM but perut terlampau penuh sudah, so we jalan2 only lah.
For any ex-USM, the DTSP where we all terima scroll for convo, now has been given MAJOR facelift. Inside and outside. Futuristic sudah rupa dia. Ngam la with the apex status it was given, match up sudah ni the name and the infrastructure.
Hmmmm, I really do wish I could continue my masters in USM but sigh...the stars are not aligned to my destiny.
Talking about facelift, KOMTAR too had a facelift. It looked better now, not some drug addict and hobo place anymore. Brighter and cleaner. I guess when the government of Penang changed the other day, this Penang icon is coming back to its heyday era. ( well at least ada sikit itu glory lah )
And there's a coffee shop that I always frequented after church every Sunday morning. And my favourite food there is the FRIED RICE. Yummeh!!!! The price is still the same and the uncle who owns the stall there still remember me. Haha.
The
nasi goreng is best to go with the
Teh Ping there. Just be ready to have shouts next to your ear. The waiter and waitress for the drinks have very strong lungs to convey the orders to the
tukang buat minuman.
Not too forget the Chendol at Penang Road, yang tempat makan dia mo berdiri to complete the whole experience while dodging passing by cars. My cousin said "mo makan pun mo bertarung nyawa lagi" - haha!
All hail Rapid Penang!
There are two places where I thought it was impossible to reach by public transport. Its because during my college years in Penang, I never been to these places via bus.
One is Kek Lok Si, armed with the pocket map and the guide at the bus station, we took the bus no. 201 to Ayer Itam.
I have vague memories where the Kek Lok Si is located and the nearest place to stop is the Ayer Itam town. And I can't really remember where and how this town looked like. So, hoping that we won't get lost, we just hop on the bus and enjoy the ride. Haha.
Thank God, sampai juga bah, even though we were like so blur when to tell the bus driver to stop. Maybe we really dressed up like tourist bah then dia tau la mo kasi stop di Kek Lok Si. Whatever it is, we made it!!!
The other place, that I thought impossible was the Toy Museum and Tanjung Bungah hotel as it is located at Tanjung Bungah area, before Batu Feringghi.
The Toy Museum was also the same case like Kek Lok Si, I don't know where it is exactly and how does it look like, or what area it is. The bus driver also won't be helping us so much because once you board the bus, he only care about how much fare you will pay. Komtar to Tanjung Bungah area is RM2 using bus no.102.
Again, we tried our luck, constantly looking at the window for the sign of a Toy Museum. I remember, we saw a big Ultraman statue in front of a building and almost instantly wanna ring the bell for the bus to stop - manatau its a kindergarten pula. Cis!! Nasib belum tekan bell.
Tapi sampai juga bah kami! Hehehe. Even though we rang the bell to stop lambat and we have to walk around 1.5km from our stop to the Toy Museum.
Travelling by bus is indeed cheap but you have to prepared to squeeze and be smart in moving inside the bus itself. Definitely a survival skill. There's location to stand so as not to be sexually harrassed by some perverts or ways to avoid from smelling stinky armpits and what not.
Plus a good walking sandal is a must. And please take not when is the last bus taking off, you don't wanna end up like a homeless person sleeping at the bus station if you don't have money to hire a cab.
With the 4 days and 3 nights trip to Penang, I still couldn't manage to taste all the food that was on my list. Nasi Kandar, Roti Naan, Ayam Tandoori....Ah, next time lagi lah.
Who wanna join me for the next trip? Pigi adventure lagi naik bas. Hehe
p.s: Now, I felt like going backpacking somewhere pula...
