My Penang Solo Stumble ~ A satisfactory Ending

 It has been a pleasant solo trip so far, 3 days and 2 nights well spent (not to mention RM 900 ++). To recap, the Pearl of Orient is true to its name when it comes to historical glamour and food grandiour =D

And all the facts about how Penangites drive? Well, you get honked from all directions here that somehow you just have to honk back at all the pak cik makcik abang kakak adik datuk nenek 1Malaysia here, the roads are mostly a one - way single lane road, giving signal is 1 second short from turning to that direction, speed limit seems to be at 40 km / hr in some parts of the island and the list goes on.

 And when you think you are lost, a round - a - bout with some weird sculpture in the middle appears.

My Penang Solo Stumble 14 ~ English high tea @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Georgetown, Penang as the finishing touch

Fondly known as The E&O, the charming colonial hotel with its well - preserved elegance since 1885 greets its guess with its grand languorous setting of yesteryear.

My Penang Solo Stumble 13 ~ Heritage and Nostalgia

Driving or walking or taking a beca along the busy, congested one way roads of Penang, one would somehow noticed the well preserved old buildings of yesterdays intertwined among the emerging new ones. In between, if you open your eyes wide enough, you will understand what is it that makes Penang the Pearl of The Orient. And do take time to read this page here which will help provide you further understanding of the places in my post.

My Penang Solo Stumble 12 ~ Little India of Georgetown, Penang

 Heady with smell of incense and spices, Little India throbbed with popular Hindi songs blasting from every shop on the street. Located somewhere along Lebuh Cecil, Georgetown, Penang, Little India offers variety of exotic goods such as saree, spices, insence etc.

My Penang Solo Stumble 11 ~ Penang Botanical Garden

Another attraction in Penang that many would not miss would be the Botanical Garden which was found in 1884 by Charles Curtis from the Gardens and Forests Departments Straits Settlements. Reputed as the "green lungs" of Penang, the garden houses many local plants, shrubbery, herbs to name a few. It used to be popular for the cascading waterfall but after the building of the water reserve, the waterfall was closed down to the public (what a pity…).

My Penang Solo Stumble 10 ~ Along the Esplanade of Padang Kota Lama, Georgetown

The Esplanade during the day would be crowded with families and elderly who came here fro a breath of sea air at the nearby park. On festival days which are abundant here in Malaysia (we seems to think of one new celebration after another each year) the Esplanade would burst with vibrant colours (and litters later) and happy crowd and music and what not. Nights would be filled with hungry locals and tourists looking for famous Penang tasty bites.

Two magnificent buildings stood proud in all their glory on the ground of Esplanade.

 

My Penang Solo Stumble 09 ~ Fort Cornwallis, Georgetown

On my last day in Penang, I finally hit the street real hard to look for all the monumental and heritage sites. I mean, what else in Penang aside from food and beaches if you don’t see all the famous UNESCO – declared heritage? 

My Penang Solo Stumble 08 ~ 1926 Heritage Hotel Penang

Along the Burmah road of Georgetown, while getting lost on my day 2 in Penang did I find this charming heritage hotel. True to its name, 1926 Heritage Hotel was built in 1926, and once served as a home to the British colonial immigration officers and local administrators of Penang.

My Penang Solo Stumble 07 ~ English tea and a quiet moment at Suffolk House, Jalan Air Itam, Penang

I must admit, I really stumbled upon this place while getting myself lost around Penang island with a map in hand. I was like, whoa what is this, looks interesting… Let’s go!!

 And so I stumbled upon this charming place of 200 years history.

 Suffolk House, with its dreamy like setting from outside.

My Penang Solo Stumble 06 ~ The Snake Temple, Bayan Lepas, Penang

 I am not a big fan of snake but my guidebook say that a visit here is a must so here goes. With flip flops in my stomach, I drove down to Bayan Lepas at the southern part of Penang island. But actually I was also looking for the Penang Aquarium along the way. You can find all about the history of the snake temple  @ Temple of The Azure Cloud here, I wont elaborate too long. Suffice to say, this temple was reputed for the legend of why snakes gathered here in the first place and continued to stay.

My Penang Solo Stumble 05 ~ Tropical Spice Garden, Teluk Bahang, Penang

Tummy full with previous breakfast and my brunch, I ventured out into the garden. It was a pleasant walk for a self – guided tour that cost me RM 35. I was not in the mood for the full – guided tour (RM 45).

My Penang Solo Stumble 04 ~ Tree Monkey Restaurant @ Tropical Spice Garden, Teluk Bahang, Penang

One of my favourite picture spot during my visit was the Tropical Spice Garden, situated along Teluk Bahang after a seaside drive by Tg Bungah. Boasted to be an eco – friendly park, this park houses various herbal plants in lush tropical setting. Prior to entering, you’ll be spritzed with a citronella spray which acted as mosquito repellent. How is that for eco – friendly?

I started my visit with a food peek at Tree Monkey, an al fresco diner serving Northern Thai cuisine. The place has a serve – no – pork status since they serve alcohol, opens daily at 9 am – 12 am. Apparently they served vegetarian too.

 They were having mocktail promotion at sunset hours at that time so I had my lovely Sunset Paradise with some appetizers. The waiter was like, “It’s not sunset yet.”, and I was like “I don’t care”. LOL

My Penang Solo Stumble 03 ~ Bayview Hotel Revolving Restaurant, Georgetown, Penang

During my stay I decided to have dinner at my hotel since I was just too tired and the jam outside looked pretty bad from my room. So that was how I ended up at the restaurant. There were other option like the Wake Japanese restaurant and KopiTiam but the revolving restaurant was having this buffet promotion at RM 48 so I thought, why not? The one that I had was 6-Course Western Set Dinner (Tuesday - Thursday, 6.30pm - 10.30pm). The restaurant offer other promo items too at good price.

My Penang Solo Stumble 01 ~ The Road Across Perak

It was on one clear, blue sky day that made me restless and longed for adventure. The last time I took a trip to Penang was like years ago and suddenly I was itching to go there. Hence the journey began. This took place somewhere around Hari Raya where the roads going outside KL is smother than coming into KL.

 It was a very smooth journey under the clear blue sky with lots of nice music. I really stocked up on my favourite MP3 ^_^