A month ago our family visits the little town of Malaysia – Penang. This is our very first family trip after two decades and we are so excited about it. As we thought that Penang is small, we decided to stay there for 4 days 3nights. (And I can tell you it is not enough)
There are so much to share, this one post is never enough. However, let’s start with the first one – Heading up the Hill!
Penang Hill
The first stop we head to Penang Hill – Penang Hill or affectingly known by locals as “Bukit Bendara”, is one of the most popular tourist attractions. Setting on a hill with an elevation of about 833 m (2723 ft), you would need to take the funicular railway. From my experience, it is better to plan your visit here by 10 am as anytime later would require you to queue up pretty long before you can hop onto the tram.
Fee: If you are an adult tourist, a 2-way ride would cost you RM30!
Heading up the hill, we walk along the streets and found this talented artist. What he painted is different from the other street artist, it is my favorite water painting. Our parents decided to get a painting from him. Although it took us a while to wait for our turn the final result is indeed worth it.
Air Itam Assam Laska
We took a cab from Penang Hill which took us 5 minutes to get to one of the best Assam Laska in Penang. This is one of the best dishes I have in Penang and I can’t stop eating it. It has been ranked by CNN as the top 7 best dishes in the world, and I have to agree on this.
You would notice this uncle (the owner) scooping up the aromatic soup in and out the bowl in quick succession, and he does this repeatedly so that the thick vermicelli gets covered thoroughly in the gravy and the dish stays hot.
He has a chain of staff helping with assembling the other key ingredients of cucumber, onions, red chilies, pineapple, lettuce, mint, and ginger.
RM4! Each bowl only cost 4 Malaysian Ringgit (SGD$1.60) which is such a steal.
Kek Lok Si Temple
The hill next to Penang Hill is the home of Kek Lok Si Temple, the biggest Buddha temple in the whole of Southeast Asia. The taxi usually drops visitors off on the entrance level higher up. But this time I find it entertaining to talk up the stone steps through the stalls of souvenir shops.
The weather is so humid and hot but to get to see the biggest Buddha for my record is a great experience.
Penang Little India
The colorful building in Little India brighten our day up and help to end the afternoon in a great way. Other than taking photos of the colorful building, our other mission is to try the famous Samosa from Penang!
If you are a big fan of Indian food like Angela, you need to try this. She loves how spices add so much depth and flavor to otherwise ordinary ingredients. Therefore we were most delighted when we stumbled upon this little stall at the junction of Market Street and Queen Street in Little India selling an array of Indian snacks.
Our trip are not ended yet, this one of the small part of the trip. Stay tuned for more of this.
xoxo, Joe
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