Penang Ipoh Photo Diary

We recently had a short three-days-two-nights trip to Penang & Ipoh. I'd been to Penang Island countless times but there were all short and brief as I was either on the way to Perlis or on the way back from Kedah. And I was with my dad who is familiar with the places. 

This time I was heading north with my kimchi girls who had no idea about these places except from pictures on the map, Grace who barely knew anything about Penang besides shopping, my sister and my mum. I knew nothing either. ><

Ipoh

We spent only half a day here. I was a directionless driver but luckily we found the tourist information centre of Ipoh and got a informative map. If you're doubting, yes, we have a Ipoh Tourism Centre near Ipoh Padang. Got the map and hit the town!

It was the helpful staff in the centre who recommended Sin Yoon Loong which is the 'most famous original white coffee' in town. 

It turned out that their food and coffee was really good. And we went to Ling Sen Tong and Kek Lok Tong, where due to some reason we cannot bring rabbits and where we translated to our Korean friends as 'very happy cave'. XD

 

Penang

I fell in love with good old Penang. It's my first time visiting Georgetown Heritage Sites and was amazed by historical ambience of the area. Most houses are old, torn, and some abandoned. Most of the people I met were tourists searching for the mural paintings. A few old shops were still running business, some had residents while others were turned into guesthouses or cafes.

We stayed in the heritage sites, neighbouring the Kapitan Mosque, Love Lane and Little India. We even walked to Komtar and Prangin Mall. Walking from the old houses, to Little India, to local eateries and finally to the shopping malls, I felt I was time travelling from the 1950s to now.

This is one uniqueness of Penang, urban development and historical sites co-exist peacefully.

 

Another special feature of Penang is her richness in culture. We drove around Georgetown and there're so many mosques, Buddhist temples, even Buddhists' school, churches and Taoism temples. 

We went to Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple and Wat Chayamangkalaram Thai Buddhist Temple.

And of course, Kek Lok Si temple which was mesmerizing during Chinese New Year. The lights, lanterns, cheerful atmosphere, happy faces and decorated halls made the night sparkling and beautiful.

The sky was immensely blue  on the day we visited Batu Ferringhi. It was afternoon but the weather wasn't too hot and was extremely appropriate for water sports. You know how the girls are afraid of getting dark but want to have fun. They chose parasailing in which a person is towed by a speed boat while being attached to a canopy wing, something like a parachute, so you are literally flying in the sky.

The girls liked it, I tried and I liked it too. It's the feeling of freedom and cool breeze sweeping across my body that makes the whole experience unforgettable. By the way, remember to negotiate the price first!!

 

Oh and we went to Toy Museum.

As a driver it's sometimes panicking for not having a single clue of the direction and sometimes GPS just wouldn't work. We normally stopped by any local eateries where there're lots of people and just ate. 

But the last day of our trip was so blessed!!! My cousins who are staying in Penang brought us to a fantastic dimsum restaurant on Gurney. Effortlessly delicious. 

Oh and we went to Penang Botanical Gardens to see monkeys and of course, admire the botany and nature happily like we really know. 

Our stay was short but great.

Penang has a special charm of her own, where high-rise buildings and historical sites co-exist, new and old culture meet, development and nature blend together.

Living by the beach overlooking the sea has been my secret wish for years. Maybe one day? ㅋㅋ