Penang
Wednesday April 30, 2014
I've finally got a bit of down time to blog. It's been almost nonstop sightseeing and eating for the past few days.
On Friday my cousin took the four of us to Klang for some bak kut teh, then to Batu Caves for some views of the city and the giant statue out front. We were quite amused by the monkeys running around, grabbing any fruits and water bottles they could find as they clambered around the 200 steps to the entrance of the caves themselves. The caves weren't that spectacular, Waitomo Caves have more interesting features and structures, but there are some quaint temples in the deepest section of the cave. I think what disappointed me the most were the cheap touristy souvenir shops at the entrance to the cave, which made the place kind of tacky.
On Saturday, we checked into Park Royal KL and had a wander around town for a bit. I met my aunt on mum's side for an amazing Peking Duck dinner. I ate too much, but it was so goooood.
We were looking around the block for breakfast foods in Sunday when the police started cordoning off the roads in anticipation of the US Presidential Motorcade passin through. Sure enough, "the Beast" - the heavily fortified limousine with Barack Obama - passed through, accompanied with several support vehicles including caterers, bodyguards and an ambulance. Pretty exciting!
We headed to KLCC for a tour of the Petronas Twin Towers just before lunch. The views from the top were spectacular, the observation deck is pretty high up and offers a fantastic view of Kuala Lumpur. Slightly startling is the fact you can look over at the other tower, matching the first's height and aesthetic. It would be cool to see a thunderstorm from that level - especially if lightning hits the second tower - but I think the observation deck is closed during storms for safety reasons. Unfortunate!
We walked around Pavilion and Berjaya Times Square, and took a ride on the roller coaster there before heading back to Pavilion's Tokyo Street to meet Sabrina for dinner. Soft shelled crab tempura for only RM20 (NZ$7)! After dinner, we took the monorail to the Petaling Street night market for a walkabout, but my legs were starting to cramp from all the walking so it was a brief excursion. The shops there are pretty tacky and samey, so there wasn't anything that interested me anyway.
We saw Brobama again on Monday morning just before we left for the airport for our flight to Penang. I must have been so tired because I just conked out for the entire flight, only waking for the drinks and the arrival. After sorting out the hotel and rental car, we picked up Kiel and Connie and headed for some food. Unfortunately it was quite late so all the popular places that close when they run out of food were actually closed, but we found a nice place that had good assam laksa so we settled for that.
Yesterday, we managed to get the famous Air Itam assam laksa before going to the Kek Lok Si temple and Penang Hill. We also caught the uncle famous for his roadside char kuay teow stall on Jalan Siam, and had a look around the snake temple too before going for some satay. We also tried another of those escape rooms before heading down Jalan Burma to the Old Green House for some delicious prawn mee.
The itinerary for Penang seems to revolve around where the best places for food are, and it's no wonder that I am getting fat. I am thoroughly enjoying the food and experiences here, and I am looking forward to the next 11 days.
Om nom nom.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:38am on Wednesday April 30, 2014 :: 0 comments :: 