When you travel to the US and Europe yearly for work, you begin to appreciate taking shorter flights, and taking time to explore each destination in detail. That was my situation when I finally took time to have a holiday, and it was to
Penang - a place I wanted to visit for more than 10 years, but never really found the time. And it was because an ex-colleague who just like myself, travels so much for work, it was nice just to be in one place, and take time to enjoy doing nothing.
So we chose Penang - just because it was the nearest unexplored town for the both of us, and just a couple hours out of Singapore. We booked ourselves into
Parkroyal Penang Resort at
Batu Ferringhi Beach. The only lovely thing about the hotel is that we could have a leisurely breakfast with a great view of the beach. Which was indeed a luxurious way to start the day. The disadvantage of staying so far away from Georgetown (where all the great food and historic sites are) is the amount of money you need to spend on taxis. They really charge a lot for taxis!
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| Parkroyal Penang Resort at Batu Ferringhi Beach |
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Batu Ferringhi Beach
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The great thing about Penang, really, is the food. Somehow the food is better, and you literally eat your way during the entire trip. Every trip to Penang would mean a taste of the
Penang Fried Kway Teow - which is fried rice noodles with eggs and prawns. Ask any taxi drive to take you to the famous Fried Kway Teow and they would bring you to
Lorong Selamat. There are 2 to try - one is cooked with charcoal, another not. Try both and conclude which you prefer! The good thing is that in Penang, the dishes come in really small portions, so you don't really have to worry about the calories if there are a few of you sampling the dishes. Then again, when you are in Penang, no one thinks about calories. How could you, when the food is so delicious!
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| Penang Fried Kway Teow at Lorong Selamat |
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| Penang Fried Kway Teow |
The other fun thing we did, something we would also do when we are back home in Singapore, home to buffets and high tea, was to do the rich tai tai thing - have high tea at
Eastern and Oriental Hotel, Penang. Once again it was another luxurious activity that we did. Just sit down, relax at the hotel, and chat the afternoon away.
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| Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang |
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| Afternoon tea at Eastern and Oriental Hotel, Penang |
Just across the Eastern and Oriental Hotel is a massage place called
Liang Xin Spa. They do a good massage at decent prices especially during off peak hours. We liked it so much we kept coming back.
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| Liang Xin Spa Penang |
We ended the day with dinner near our hotel at Longbeach Cafe, Batu Ferringhi Beach, where we tried the Assam Laksa and Prawn Noodle. It's amazing how much you can eat when in Penang even when you are already full!
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| Assam Laksa and Prawn Noodle at Longbeach Cafe |
Another interesting thing to do, apart from feasting on all the local foods, would be to explore the historical parts of Penang. There are some things you just don't get to see in Singapore these days.
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| Road side stalls in Penang |
A definite must when in Penang would be to check out the
Pinang Peranakan Museum. I am just so impressed how they have kept everything intact and ornately beautiful.
Pinang Peranakan Museum
29, Church Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia
Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays from 9:30am to 5pm
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| Traditional kitchen at the Peranakan Museum |
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| Dining area at the Peranakan Museum |
Another must see place would be the
Penang Clan Houses (Chew Jetty) - traditional houses built over the river for the fishermen. You can do this enroute back to the airport. For more information about Chew Jetty,
click here.
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| Penang Clan Houses |
