We went to Penang and Ipoh for 5 days from 17th Nov 2014 to 21st Nov 2014 and it was one of the best family travel we had ever gone to.
We were so amazed that the flight from Singapore to Penang is only 90 minutes!
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| We chose Jetstar for the flight to Penang |
We left Singapore at 1050am and reached Penang International Airport at 1220pm! All of us felt so excited for this Penang trip.
I used to study History and Penang was one of the Straits Settlement, just like Singapore. I feel that she has so much potential to be well-developed and she has so much beauty (be it nature and the colourful buildings). Hope that there will be improvements of the public transport like increased train network and bus transportation too. The great, tasty food is something we always are looking forward to try. And I'm glad that my children love their food too! Our 2 days stay at Penang made us love this place.
Some beautiful snap shots in Penang...
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| A hardware stall. Love this picture! |
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| Beautiful buildings and clouds |
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| Colourful shophouses |
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| Beautiful sight, isn't it? |
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| There are some kampong bridges! |
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| Fantastic floor art. These are made from small, coloured tiles, painstakingly pasted together for us to step on! |
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| Another mosaic flooring! |
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| Penang has lots of street art to see too! |
Some Attractions in Penang to visit...
1. Penang Hill
We didn't know that there is a special train ride up to Penang Hill! It's quite an experience, thinking back that it was similar to that of Hong Kong's The Peak.
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| Entrance of the train ride to Penang Hill. Josh's all excited because of the train tracks! |
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| People used to sit on this chair and get workers to carry them up the Penang Hill! |
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| Awaiting for the train! |
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| So happy that we managed to have a group picture! |
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| It's quite spacious inside. I wonder why Kate cried! Ha.. |
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| They have constructed the train tracks very well. At a point, it was quite steep. We literally felt the air pressure at our ears on the journey up. It took us about 2 minutes to reach 800m height! |
At the top of the hill, there are food stalls and exhibits to take photographs! Thank God the weather was a fine and cooling day!
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| Couple picture at the top of Penang Hill |
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| I attempting to tie Kate's long hair. It's fun! |
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| Happy father and daughter picture... |
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| The view from the top |
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Horse ride with Josh and Kate
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| We bought the traditional yam ice cream! So happy Josh shared! |
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| Ain't this cute? |
The Penang Hill is a great place to experience the train ride and a few memorable monuments that we can take picture with. It was a great experience when we took the first carriage when going back. We experienced the fast speed visually! Josh was so happy when he get to see the real journey down. It's really steep and really must thank the engineers for constructing such safe and fast train system. Very efficient!
2. Butterfly Farm
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| These are the rates for the Penang Butterfly Farm |
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| It's so amazing that Kate wants to share her lollipop with the butterflies! |
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| Golden pupa hanging on the metal wire |
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| I attempted to try to catch the beautiful butterfly on my hand. Gwen's looking intently. |
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| Great shot right? |
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| Curious Kate wanting to touch the butterfly! |
I feel that this Butterfly museum is a great place to go to. I managed to talk to one of the staff there and he shared that these caterpillars are harmless and we can touch. However, I didn't dare because they really look huge and poisonous.
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| You dare to try? |
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| Leaf Frog. Ain't it pretty? |
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| Huge display of different beetles |
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| Scorpions and other creepy crawlers |
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| A real stick insect |
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| Group picture outside the entrance of the Butterfly Park |
Josh went into the Butterfly Park for awhile, and he was a little frightened of the flying butterflies. We tried to coax him to continue the journey. However, he left and Eve was with him outside the farm. I'm glad that Kate and Gwen enjoyed the butterfly farm journey. And of course, I acted out a brave front to hold on to the live butterflies!
3. Toy Museum
Our taxi driver recommended us to go to a Toy Museum. And we did.
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| Picture of us posing with so many barbies |
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| Life sized superheroes... |
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| Trying to be Spiderman... |
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| This joker is so real.. gave me the spooks.. |
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| Spotted Eve's giant Snoopy when she had at age 10! |
We felt that this Toy Museum was an eye opener for us, as they managed to collect so many toys we used to play when we were younger. There wasn't much people in this huge store room, and felt slightly eerie if you were to be placed there by yourself. We took some pictures and left.
4. Penang Hop-On Hop-off Bus Service
We were fortunate to travel on the week that they just launched the Penang Hop-On Bus. And the best news is that they offer FREE for that first week. Thereafter, they will charge for the bus ride.
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| Picture of us with the Penang Hop-on Hop-off Bus Service |
It will bring locals and tourists to 19 designated spots around Penang with this Penang Hop-on bus! It is much more convenient for people to travel around Penang and save on the transportation costs around Penang. Their frequency of buses is around one in every 15-20 minutes.
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| Colourful Penang Hop on bus |
This is so similar to Singapore's Topless Bus ride! And we are just so thankful to experience it Free of Charge!
Restaurants in Penang
1. Hon Kei Food Corner
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| The taxi driver recommended this place and it's true that the food is terrific! |
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| Fantastic mix of their own Ngoh Hiang! Love the century egg. It tasted light and yummy! |
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| We ordered their famous minced pork noodles! Delicious! |
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| Mixed pork soup with noodles and bitter gourd. |
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These drinks are fantastic! In Penang, you have to drink this refreshing Amplar Juice (Indian gooseberry) and their iced coffee! I'm not a coffee drinker, but when I saw it, I felt like drinking a sip! And wow, it's terrific!
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| "More rice please" |
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| Iced Coffee...Yum! |
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| Happy faces after the sumptuous lunch! |
2. Oriental Gurney Restaurant
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| This restaurant serves authentic Hainanese food! |
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| Love this Hotel! It cost about RM400 a night! |
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| There's a water feature for Gwen to explore! |
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| Love picture |
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| Their beef steak is well-done! |
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| Famous Popiah |
3. Roadside Food Stalls
There are just plenty of roadside food stalls! And most of the stalls are packed with orders.
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| The Penang Fried Kway Teow Stall |
4. Famous Penang Ghee Hiang Tau Sar Piah
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| What a huge Tau Sar Piah |
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| We entered their factory |
I'm just so amazed that they have a long history of 160 years in making traditional delicious tau sar piah. We bought a few boxes back. Both Josh and Kate were so intrigued by the speed of the workers' hands. Moulding the flour and creating the raw tau sar piah! Great effort!
Summary for Penang
We feel that our 2 days stint in Penang was a fruitful one, thanks to the recommendations by the Hotel staff as well as the local taxi drivers.
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| Rainbow captured at Penang sky |
There are definitely much more places to venture in Penang, and we will want to come here again!
