Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Penang Trip - Day 1 on 6 Aug


I and my buddies (Wayne and David) went for a short trip to Penang last week. We stayed in Tune Hotel that is located along Jalan Burma. First day, we had breakfast in the Old Town White Coffee Cafe located next to our hotel.

I ordered my favourite "OldTown Nasi Lemak Special" and a cup of mixture of coffee and tea (Yuan Yang). I love the taste of fried chicken and sambal chillies there. We then headed towards the famous "Kek Lok Si Temple (极乐寺)" situated in Air Itam.

The temple is huge. We took photos outside the first hall for assembly and prayer. There are several halls in the temple too.

After passing by several shops selling souvenirs, we took a lift to the uphill area to see the bronze Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) statue.

A shelter with decorative details was constructed for the Kuan Yin statue. The architecture and artwork of the shelter is amazing. Then, we visited the seven storey pagoda of the temple.

Our legs were tired when climbing up those narrow stairs to the top of the pagoda.

We went to Plaza Gurney after having lunch at the foothill of the temple. Wayne had the Prawn Mee and David ate his favourite Ice Kacang. I tried the Penang Laksa and I liked it very much.

The shopping mall is big and we hang around for quite a while. Too bad, Toy'R'us is the only toy shop there.

We finally had our A&W root beer floats and curly fries before watching the movie "Salt" in Golden Screen Cinema and its digital sound system was fantastic.

We later had dinner at the famous hawker centre along Gurney Drive but some of the Chinese food were "so-so" only (may be I have high expectation of the food in Penang).

Luckily, the Chicken Satay from the Malay stall was good. As the chicken strips consist of meat and skin, they are tender and juicy. As for the taste of peanut dipping sauce, I prefer the Singapore version. We were very full when returning back to the hotel.

14 comments:

saruman said...

cool! and u have to go and see the toy museum!

deSMOnd said...

Yes Saruman, I have visited the toy museum the next day and photos will be uploaded in my next post :)

Dennis aka Katsuden said...

The temple is very grand. Had A&W too! My last Penang trip was before marriage. Long time ago. Lol

cowboy75 said...

Penang always a great place to visit, u can eat,shop, & picnic in one day ! I stayed there for 8 great years.

deSMOnd said...

Yes Dennis, the temple is grand with several large assembly halls inside. A lot of Buddha statues too. Very nice place for photo shots.

deSMOnd said...

Oh Cowboys! you stayed there before..There are lots of resorts and hotels near the beach..should be Tanjung Bunga area if I am not wrong :)

Doon said...

Wow your pictures all look really amazing. It all looks very exotic to my English eyes haha. Fingers crossed some time soon I get to visit the east, I plan on going doing a holiday based around 1/6 models (visiting some key shopping areas)including Malaysia and Hong Kong. However seeing all that different culture will be great too.

Juliana said...

Nice photos, thanks for sharing about your trip! :D No wonder David didn't open his shop on Sunday :P

I miss seeing A&W outlets. They were a big part of my childhood and early school days. Great memory recollections for me :D

deSMOnd said...

Doon, thanks for your compliment..If you plan to come Singapore, we will show you around the toy shops here..Yes, it's good to know and understand the culture during your travel to the east..Hope to see you soon :)

deSMOnd said...

Juliana, thanks for your compliment too. Yes, it seems like we all miss A&W floats and fries very much in Singapore. If we see any A&W outlets during our trips, we definitely go there for a drink :P

J A S O N L U said...

waw, nice trip buddy!

deSMOnd said...

Ya Jason, I have been gaining weight after the trip..I am thinking how to slim down now...

Astro Galaxy said...

Wow, this is a huge temple.
Same here with m...I'm also a A&W floats fan!

deSMOnd said...

Yes Astro, the temple is very huge..I believe a lot of us like A&W floats very much..No doubts about that..Haha!!