Penang again!!! 03 ~ Suffolk House ~ dream of romance

The romantic air surrounding this place and the lush garden on the outside make Suffolk House one of the favourite spot  for bridal photo shoot, evidenced by the presence of 2 couples doing theirs nearby when we arrived.

Peace... @ Purple Cane Teahouse, Ipoh

 Here you get the Zen feeling while sipping high quality tea... Screw the traffic jam and difficult parking. It's worth the trouble to get here, that scratch - and - win parking ticket too.

Hey ho Penang 10 ~ Going up the Penang Hill @ Bukit Bendera

Escaping the heat in Georgetown, we went to Bukit Bendera at the Air Itam area, also known as Penang Hill. To get to the top, you need to take a train from the station here at the base. This station has been there since 1923, some refurbishment done here and there. It used to be more antique looking when I last visited in my younger days.

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 Perak Solo Stumble 05 - Passing by Teluk Intan

Finally, the end of Perak. Going down towards Selangor, I passed by the town of Teluk Intan just for the sake of this famous leaning tower of Teluk Anson.

Built in 1885, it was intended to be a water storage building. Looming at 25 metres high, it tilted slightly due to the uneven ground settlement. Somehow I feel that the flags kind of mar the structure a bit, making it look kind of messy. No offence but it looks way off to me. And it was post raya so the area was kind of messy with litters, what a shame.

Teluk Intan marks the end of my solo Perak trip. I wished I had gone up further to Taiping and Kuala Kangsar but it was a last minute decision for a 2 days holiday. If anything, I would love to execute another solo trip in Perak. Roads are easy, food are cheap, lots of interesting stops. Till next time then =)

My Perak Solo Stumble 04 - Kellie's castle

 Kellie’s castle in Batu Gajah, Perak, a lone beauty standing proud on the land that used to be of a wealthy lord who dreamt of a beautiful home for his family. After many years since its foundation was first laid down, the castle has not yet to lose its charm and grandeur.

My Perak Solo Stumble 03 - a day on Ipoh field

Traffic was still OK considering that it's still the early days of raya. After a while of aimless driving, I came across the Padang Ipoh or Ipoh Field is located on Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam. Behind it is the aristocratic club for royals, the Ipoh Club.

My Perak Solo Stumble 02 - a day on Ipoh roads

My solo day trip started well in Ipoh, having had a good night sleep. After a quick breakfast and shower, I checked out to check out Ipoh.

 My last view of Ipoh from Tower Residence Hotel.

My Perak Solo Stumble 01 - A night in Ipoh

Exploring Ipoh took me only one day to navigate through this old historical mining city.  A capital of Perak, it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia with it’s own collection of historical attractions. Since the map promised easy navigation, it took me only 5 minutes to decide to visit this city on a whim on one fine day. It was a city that I frequented often last time when I was studying in Perak.

By the time I reached Ipoh, it was already night time and had to check in to my hotel, Tower Residence. Not a very popular choice, but in the heart of the city nevertheless, which was my main reason of selection. It’s a 3 star hotel, just for basic so nothing to shout about. But my stay was pleasant and comfortable, the room is clean and neat, the staffs friendly.

 My Superior room.

Malacca historical trip 04: driving around

Finally we got tired and lazy and hot... So back into the car.

Stadhuys.

Malacca historical trip 03: walking around

After the breezy ride, we finally used our feet ^_^

Just a nice tree in the park

Malacca historical trip 02: Beca ^_^

After the Taming Sari tower, it was too hot to walk around so what else, beca lah!

So many colourful beca. For RM 20 they bring you to certain historical sites and allow you 5 minutes stop to take picture, total ride30 minutes. An additional RM 20 for further sites and extra 1/2 hour. Not a bad deal. Plus the folks are nice and the beca are equipped with stereo system ^_^

My beca ride was a breezy one technically and literally. The guy who pedaled it was only 16!! And boy, he looked way lighter than me...

We passed by the Malacca tree (behind that cannon), from which Malacca got its name. It's a long story cut short.

The stamp museum

Just a random pic of the road

The iconic kereta lembu @ a cart pulled by bulls

Muzium Samudera @ Maritime Museum (Replica Flor de La Mar)

TLDM museum