This is kind of late update, yeah. On the second week of
raya, me and my family went to Penang for my cousin’s wedding. So it was like a package - raya, wedding and vacation! This was my
second time being in Penang. The last time I went there was 15 years ago! Can
you imagine just how excited I was?
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| The Penang Bridge. |
We stayed at USM Guest House, located within
the University Campus because the wedding reception was held there at Dewan Anjung Seri. Well, not bad at all! It was really comfortable. The one that we got (which was deluxe
room) is fully furnished with air-conditioner, water heater, television with
ASTRO and refrigerator. My uncle got the Family Executive Suite which can
accommodate up to six people. It was super huge!
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| Transform into a complete nerd :P |
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| "Dia lah yang nak kahwin tu!" |
Once unpacking, we went out straight to visit Rumah Kelahiran P. Ramlee
(P. Ramlee’s birth house). It was divided into two sections: The House and The Gallery.
The house is a traditional Malay house with elevated building. It was really small;
consist of porch, living room, access to the kitchen, one bedroom and a kitchen.
The indoor section display highlights various aspects of P. Ramlee's life – from
his childhood life up to the time he left for Singapore. While the gallery displays
memorabilia of all kinds – old photographs, posters of his movies, his favorite
instrument and clothes. Cameras are not allowed inside the house and the
gallery but you can go here if you wish to see the indoor display of the house. I'm too chicken to break the rules, hehe.
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| At the verandah of P. Ramlee's house. |
I finally got a chance to
visit Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill) on the last day of the trip. It was the first colonial hill station
developed in Peninsular Malaysia. We can either take a cable car or hiking up
to the top of the hill. The cable car railway was first built in 1923 and have
gone through several upgrading phase. The one that functioning now does not
require passengers to change trains halfway up, unlike the railway before 2010. Cable car fees was $8 per person (warga emas got discount maa.....). Don't forget to bring your identification card! I forgot to bring mine (left it in my dinner clutch) but lucky me, they let me in, heh. The
ride up takes less than 15 minutes. Here's the tip - try to get on the last coach if you're on your way up and the first coach when you're going down so you can get the best view. So what is up there? Despite the amazing
view of entire Penang, there were some temples to visit, the carnivorous plant -
Monkey Cup - garden and an Owl Museum. I almost thought that we can see the
real owl but lucky I asked the girl at the front door and she explained that it
was just a collection of owl-theme art and craft. Safe 10 bucks there, hooray!
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| The current railway track. |
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| Breathtaking view of Penang on top of Penang Hills. |
We were joined by another
four cars to convoy back to Kuala Lumpur. We decided to go back to the mainland
via ferry because almost half of us have never experience been on Penang ferry.
No fare is charged for the return trip from the island. There was a long queue
up to get our car onto the ferry but there was a ferry every 10 to 15 minutes
so the wait is bearable. The journey took about 20 minutes. Once the car engine were turn off, we walk
around on the ferry to enjoy the winds and the view. Pretty awesome!
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| They name the ferries after the island in Malaysia. Ours was Pulau Rawa. |
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| Faisal - the cutest lad on ferry. |
On the way back to Kuala
Lumpur, we drop by Taiping. And of course, a visit to Taiping is never complete
without a taste of the Ansari Famous Cendol at Jalan Barack. I saw the mamak got
the biggest grin when he saw us marching towards his shoplot, haha. There were
at least three cars stopped by and they were pretty frustrated to see the shop
was full. Is the cendol so good? Well, what can I say? It was the best one I
ever taste so far. It was really delicious, not too sweet and the texture is
very nice! Then we went to take group photo at the lake garden before saying goodbye to everyone.
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| Group picture! |
Had so much fun with this trip. And a whole lot of activities! From akad nikah to sight-seeing, from makan durian at Balik Pulau to birthday celebration at Padang Kota. And the best part is, this trip was joined by relatives from both of my dad and my mum's side. I feel blessed!
And it was also the week that I was most active on Instagram!
And I guess that's all I have to share with you guys. Till the next update, be kind!
