Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion @ Penang

Date: 29/12/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Remarks: Day 3, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

I went to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion the day before indeed, but it was closed. It only opens at 11am, 1:30pm and 3pm in guided tour. So I had to come back again today. But it's worth it. I personally think it was a must-go in Penang.

The guided tour costed RM12 and lasted for around an hour. One must stay in the tour and are not allow to wonder around. The guide was very humorous and took us through the life of Cheong Fatt Tze.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is also named the Blue Mansion, which is not hard to understand why from its outlook. It locates at the end of Lebuh Leith, near E&O Hotel. It was a very well preserved UNESCO World Heritage site, a mansion of Cheong Fatt Tze, a successful and influential business man in Penang with 9 wives. The mansion is a combination of different cultures. The floor plan is essentially Chinese, together with Gothic louvered windows, Chinese cut-&-paste porcelain work, Stoke-on-Trent floor titles, Scottish cash iron works and Art Nouveau stained glass, the mansion is a masterpiece. The mansion was blue because Cheong Fatt Tze believed that blue can bring harmonies to his family (well, with 9 wives I guess he really need the harmonies).

The mansion has 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases, and 220 windows and the artisan is spectacular.

PS. 16 air-conditioned rooms of the Mansion was available for homestay and the entire mansions may be rented for wedding. Way too bad I only knew that in the tour. I would love to have a chance to stay in the Mansion.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

Address: 14 Leith Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia

Webiste: www.cheongfatttzemansion.com

Tel: 6 04 2620006

Fax: 6 04 2625289

Okinawa Airport to Hong Kong @ Okinawa

Date: 24/7/2012
City: Okinawa, Japan
Remarks: Day 5, Flight from Okinawa to Hong Kong

We were taking Hong Kong Airline direct flight back to Hong Kong today at 1540. Upon returning the rented car to OTS (the car rental company: https://www.otsrentacar.net) near the Airport, we took their free shuttle bus to the Airport (it took around 15 minutes. It stopped first at the Domestic Airport, and then the International Airport).

PS. Checked online that there was a signal no 10 typhoon Vicente in Hong Kong yesterday, and heard this morning the typhoon had weakened to signal no 3. Had kept my fingers crossed that it wouldn't affect our flight today.

Checked in the luggage at around 2pm, and well, the flight was delayed! 1540 departure became 1930. Could only get into the immigration at 1800. Now we have more than enough time to walk around the Okinawa Airport. The Okinawa International Airport and Domestic Airport were in 2 separate buildings sitting side by side, with distance of around 3 minutes walk. The Okinawa International Airport was super small, with nothing to walk around, but the Okinawa Domestic Airport was much larger, it's 4-storey, with many souvenirs shops and restaurants.

Had a meal in the Domestic Airport at around 1430. Then walked around the Airport. Brought 2 A5 size notebooks in the Airport. They were single-line notebooks covered with black leather. Costed only 105 Yen each!! Such a bargain!!

Had another meal at around 5pm. Went back to the International Airport to check my flight. Holy crap!! 1800 immigration changed to 2000. Well, went back to the Domestic Airport. Had another meal again. (PS. There wasn't much seats in the Airport unless getting in the restaurants) Sat in the restaurant til 2000 and then got back to the International Airport. Unexpectedly, or indeed as expected,  there's another delay. Immigration time delayed to 2110. The Hong Kong Airline staff said the Hong Kong Airport was a chaos because of the typhoon Vicente yesterday. Our plane had only just took off from the Hong Kong Airport and would arrive Okinawa at around 10pm. 

My flight finally managed to depart Okinawa at 2245!! Delayed for 7 hours!! Why didn't you just tell me that the flight would delay for 6-7 hours so that I could indeed get back down town to walk around or maybe had a good meal instead of being trapped in the Okinawa Airport and walking back and forth from the Domestic Airport to the International Airport every 2 hours and then being informed there was another 2-hour delay?

I wished it was the end of the story, but it wasn't... We arrived Hong Kong Airport at midnight 0010, and there was a long queue of planes on the runway, waiting for the parking!! There were at least 10 to 20 planes queueing for parking!! This was seriously my very first time and we had queued for another 2 hours!! Just for the parking. Only managed to get off the plane at 0200...

Got through the immigration very quickly. And when I was thinking that I could finally back home for a sleep, there was another 1.5 hours waiting.........There were crowds of people waiting for the luggage at the luggage belts, but even more luggage on the luggage belts!! It was a total chaos!! I had waited the luggage for another 1.5 hours. I was so exhausted that I thought I had fallen asleep while standing besides the luggage belt waiting for the luggage!!

Had really experienced the post typhoon impact. 2-hour flight became 7-hour delay, 2-hour flight, 2-hour parking, plus 1.5-hour collecting luggage, that was a total of 12.5 hours!! There was even VERY HEAVILY RAIN when we finally managed to get off of the airport at 4am in the morning!!

Thank you Vicente. I totally understood your power.

#Okinawa, #Okinawatravel, #travelblog, #travel, #OkinawaAirport

My sneakers @ Penang

Date： 27/11/2012
City : Penang , Malaysia
Remarks: Day 1, @hostel

It was my first day in Penang . I walked  from the bus terminal to my hostel in George Town with my sneakers to check-in. Upon arrival , I took off my sneakers and left them outside the hostel , since no shoes were allowed in hostel . For the sake of convenience , I walked out the hostel with my slippers  (leaving my sneakers outside the hostel). Such a wrong decision !! When I was back to the hostel later the day , I could find only one of my sneakers . The other was gone !!

Only by then  I realised the hostel indeed had 2 dogs !! And there were indeed signs in the hostel warning us not to leave our shoes outside the hostel. It was way too late when I saw the signs!! That was my first day in Penang. Interesting experience, right?

I was in my slippers for the remaining days and had no hope in finding my missing shoe . Afterall, god knows where the dogs kept my shoe. However, it reappeared one day before I left Penang !! Just the right timing!! I guess the staff of the hostel found it for me. I had no idea where they found it, but here it was !! The sneaker was still in good shape (at least much better than I had expected) , just that the heel had worn out , obviously being chewed by the dogs . Well , at least they were still wearable and now my sneakers would not mixed up with the others for sure .

#GeorgeTown, #penang, #penangtravel, #travel, #travelblog

People @ Penang

 Date: 27/11/2012-1/12/2012

City: Penang, Malaysia

I had a really good time in Penang (though the weather in the afternoon was so hot!). One of the reason was certainly its people. People are the soul of a city and it distinguished and characterized a city. All, (yes, all) the people I have met in Penang were so very friendly and helpful. Their hospitality was so warm and welcoming and they simply made my experience over there an awesome one.

Story 1: I had my supper late at night one day, at around 10pm. Having Curry Mee alone in the food counter on Lebuh Chulia nearby my hostel, a local just chatted with me regarding Penang. She was just off from work and having her supper before getting back home. She had indeed finished her supper for sometime but waited and left only until I had finished my mee!! Though it wasn't a long time but it was late at night and she had to work the next day. And there were more. I then brought my juice in the counter next door after finishing my mee, planning to take away back to my hostel. At the time the juice was ready, it started raining VERY HEAVILY and of cause I had no umbrella!! I was therefore trapped in the juice counter with my bag of juice. The counter owner was so nice that she sent her staff to walk me back to my hostel with an umbrella!! There was way beyond my expectation!! They were so nice and friendly that I had never imagined or experienced.

Story 2: I chatted with the hostel staff and asked about the bus for my early flight back to Hong Kong, and he offered to drive me to the airport!! Though he didn't do that eventually since he indeed need to work in the morning that day, I was already very amazed!! I had never thought that they would even say so. Simply hearing that makes me feel very impressed.

There were indeed more story alike. They were so friendly in sharing and I would always bear their smiles in my mind. They seriously made my trip an awesome awesome one.

#GeorgeTown, #penang, #penangtravel, #travel, , #travelblog

Laksa @ Penang

Date: 28/11/2012
City : Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 2, wandering around George Town

Penang has its reputation of having the best hawker food in the world and being a food lovers' paradise and it is!! Assam laksa is another must-eat in Penang . It would be an incomplete visit without trying a bowl of it . It is thick vermicelli in a bowl of thick fish broth, with some chopped onion, mint leaves, ginger flower bud, lettuce, cucumber and prawn paste (that's what I noticed at least) . The laska is not spicy at all and has a distinctive prawn flavour. I guess you would either like it or hate it . For me, I am just loving it !! Love its rich flavour with the freshness of the vegetables.

I had one when I walked pass a very crowded shop in Lebuh Keng Kwee and only learned after that it was a very famous shop .  It's only a few minutes walk from Komtar , and it's closer to get into Lebuh Keng Kwee from Jalan Penang . A bowl costed RM3.5 and it's so tasty. I guess it's always good to try the food with crowds queuing for it :)




#GeorgeTown, #laksa, #penanglaksa, #penang, #penangtravel, #penangfood, #travel, #travelblog

漫遊檳城 George Town @ Penang

Date: 27/11/2012-1/12/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: wandering around George Town

我很喜歡老城，喜歡在舊城裡走，享受休閒的氣氛。因此，喬治城非常的適合我（除了超熱的天氣）。整個喬治城是一個聯合國教科文組織的世界遺產，分為核心文物區和緩衝區遺產區。但你是說不出核心和緩存區之間的差異的，因為當你城裡走的時候，在喬治城裡面所有的建築都是如此古老。

在喬治城四處走的感覺很好。喬治城是一個小城市，旅遊景點都非常集中，都在可步行的距離內。你可以看到了中國的寺廟，印度清真寺和教堂和諧的並排在一起，你很少能在別的地方看到。

我最喜歡的喬治城是它的生命力。喬治城仍然是檳城的市中心，檳城人民仍然在喬治城裡面工作和生活。在早上和晚上繁忙的時間，你可以看到街道上的人和的道路上的汽車，你可以感覺老城還是活著的，你可以感覺到它的生命力，它的魅力。如果整個城都沒有人在裡面生活，都沒有人氣，只有廢墟，整個城市會失去它的魅力。

在喬治城的古建築四處走，彷彿回到了過去。但是檳州不全都是舊的東西，檳州政府在喬治城的舊建築上畫上藝術壁畫，在舊的東西上增添新的元素，給城市增添活力。

PS. 那裡的天氣超熱的，下午的時間不太適合在太陽下走。早晨和傍晚是很舒​​服，有微風，不一定需要開空調。然而，在白天，它像30多度，在太陽下我幾乎融了。因此，經過第一天以後，我下午的時間都回會到hostel休息，早上和黃昏出去走。

I always like old towns and love wandering around an ancient town, just to lay-back and enjoy leisure. So George Town is like perfect for me (except for the heat). The whole town is an UNESCO world heritage site, with core heritage area and buffer heritage area. But you can't really tell the difference between the core and the buffer area when you walk around the town, since all the buildings in George are so ancient.

It just feel so good in wandering around George Town. It is a small town, so the tourist spots are very concentrated, all in walkable distance. It is amazing to see the Chinese Temples, Indian Mosques and Churches sitting side by side in such a harmony. The architectural and cultural townscape is so uncommon that you can rarely find it elsewhere.

What I like most about George Town is its vitality though. George Town is still the city centre of Penang and people are still working and living in the town. You can see the number of people on the streets and the cars on the road when it's during the peak hours in the morning and in the evening. Not saying that I like traffic jam, which I don't at all, but I love the feeling that the old town is so alive and vivid. The whole town would lose its charm if there are just ruins.

With the old buildings around, wandering around George Town is like going back to the past . There aren't just old stuff in the Town though, There was a great mix of old and new. The Penang government had added pieces of artistic wall paintings on the old buildings, which is of cause another attractions.

It just feels so good in wandering around George Town. I am just loving it.

PS. The weather there was HOT though, not quite suitable in wandering around the town in the day time under the sun. Morning and evening are indeed very comfortable, with the wind breeze, you do not necessarily need to turn on the air conditioner. However during the daytime, it is like 3x degree and I can hardly walk around under the sun for long. My itinerary was therefore to wander around the town in the morning and in the evening, and go back to the hostel to rest and escape from the heat in the afternoon.

#GeorgeTown, #penang, #penangtravel, #travel, #sunset

Hokkien Mee @ Penang

Date: 30/11/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 4, George Town to Pulau Tikus Market

I am an absolute foodie. Food is one of the best part of travelling. Penang was ranked one of the Asian cities with greatest street food, for sure I have to try its local food. Penang State Tourism Office has a food map of Penang available in the Airport, listing out all the must-try food and the addresses of the associated restaurants. It is awesome and gave us good reference of what to eat when visiting Penang. 

I personally, however, prefer asking the locals for the great local food. The food for locals and for tourists can be completely different and trying the local food can give you a much better insight of the local life. I always like to talk to the locals about good food and they are usually more than welcome to share me the good places they have been going.

Hokkien Mee, also known as Prawn Mee, is a all-time dish in Penang, from breakfast to supper. It is a bowl of yellow noddles and rice vermicelli drenched in thick broth made by prawns and pork. I heard from a local old man that there was a really good one in Pulau Tikus market and for sure have headed there to try it out. 

The place was on Jalan Burma (Burma Road), right opposite the Police Station in Pulau Tikus and there was a bus stop right in front of Police Station. You can take Bus No 101 from George Town over there. The bus ride took approximately 15-20 min. There are 2 restaurants side by side so don't get into the wrong one. It is right opposite to the Police Station and and is named "Swee Kong 瑞江茶室". 

I was there around 8:45am and the place was full of local people. Awesome :) The place is a tea house selling drinks like tea and coffee. The Hokkien Mee counter is in the tea house. It is separately owned and you are welcome to eat in the tea house as long as your ordered your drinks there. So you can have the Mee from the Hokkien Mee counter, or even bring your own food there. (There are usually lots of different food counters in a tea house but in this one, there are only 2 food counters: the Hokkien Mee counter and another counter selling Wan Tan Mee.)

The Hokkien Mee and iced coffee I had costed RM3.5 and RM1.5. You order when you get in and pay when the food is served. The Hokkien Mee is so good. Though as a foreigner, I may not be able to tell why or how good they are, they are very rich in flavour. 

PS. I went there early in the morning since the place only opens in the morning! Per the old man, it only opens for breakfast and may be closed sometime around 9:30am. There is a small wet market nearby and you may go walk around after having your Mee.

#penang, #penangfood, #penanghawkerfood, #food, #travel, #hokkienmee, #penangtravel, #goergetown

Sunset @ Penang

Date: 29/11/2012

City: Penang, Malaysia

Route: Day 3

Took this on the ferry from the mainland back to Penang Island. It's amazing, with sunset on the left and raining over George Town on the right!! Love it so much!!

#penang, #travelblog, #sunset, #travel, #travel

George Town to Penang Airport @ Penang

Date: 1/12/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 5, CX flight from Penang to Hong Kong

Since I was taking the flight at 0750 back to Hong Kong (which was early in the morning), I had been very worry about how to get to the Airport from Day 1. After asking around, I could take Bus No 401 or 401E in Komtar Terminal or Weld Quay Terminal to the Airport. The bus get off from Weld Quay and the second stop is Komtar. There is no other station in between.

The locals advised that the bus ride would take at least an hour, so I'd better take the bus at 0530, which was the first bus of the day. There is a bus every 20 min. So my plan is to get up at 0450 and get to the station at around 0520 for the 0530 bus (it should take around 10-15 min walk from my hostel to Weld Quay Terminal).

That, however, was only a plan, since when I was awake it was already 0535!!! Oh my gosh!! I immediately got change and rushed out to the Terminal. Don't even have time to wash my face/ brush my teeth... It was around 0550 when I got to the Terminal. I was so worry when I was waiting for the bus and had been kept asking the bus drivers at the Terminal whether I could make it to the Airport before 7am (There were lots of drivers in the Terminal since many routes start at Weld Quay). The drivers were so nice and helpful. They told me the ride was around 40 min and it was!! I was so grateful. I got on the bus at 0610 and arrived the Airport at 0650!! Since it was early in the morning, the sky was still dark and there was no traffic at all and just a few passengers throughout the ride.

I still had time to wash up after checking-in and enjoy the sunrise @ Penang Airport. Que bien!!

PS. 40 min bus ride to Airport should only valid for early morning in weekends. I heard from the locals that the traffic jam starts at 0630 and the ride would usually take much longer.

#travel, #travelblog, #penang, #George Town, #penangbus, #penang airport, #sunrise

Penang Airport to George Town @ Penang

Date: 27/2/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 1, CX flight from Hong Kong to Penang

I had very impulsively booked a ticket to Penang. Having booked the flight and hostel, I was ready to go!!

The flight departed from Hong Kong at 0825, and took around 3.5 hours to Penang. The plane landed at 1200. One could took Bus No 401, or 401E of Rapid Bus on the 3rd lane right outside Airport to George Town, which was the World Heritage Area and basically the down town area of Penang. Airport was in the southern part of Penang Island while George Town was in the top northern part of the Island. So, it took around an hour to get to George Town. The bus fare from the Airport to George Town was RM 2.7. And the bus has no changes. So if possible, prepare some small notes/ coins.

PS1. I should had waited the bus for quite some time. So beware you might need to wait for a while in the airport. 15-30 min I guess. And one more time to note, the 401/ 401E bus of both direction stopped in the same bus stop, so don't just look at the bus number, but also its route. Look for those goes to "Jetty", or simply, ask the bus drivers.

PS2. The public buses in Penang is operated by Rapid Bus. Most of the buses would stop at Komtar Terminal and Weld Quay Terminal (both were in George Town). So you should be able to interchange almost all of the bus routes in these 2 stations.

PS3. Penang government operates FREE shuttle bus services within George Town. It is called CAT City Shuttle. It has bus stops in almost all main tourist spots within George Town. So if you stay within George Town, you may get on the CAT City Shuttle at Komtar Terminal and Weld Quay Terminal to the bus stop near your hostel/ hotel. The Penang map with bus stop information is available in the Airport.

#travel, #travelblog, #penang, #George Town, #penangbus, #penang airport

My high school dream

When I was in high school, my dream was (1) to be a billionaire and (2) to travel around the world. Now, there is still a long long way to go from being a billionaire, but having one passport stamp at a time, I am starting to achieve the second part of my dream, leaving my footprints around the world - to meet the locals, to taste the local food, to understand different culture, history and landscape, to understand the world.

Being back from a short trip, I started realising that I had indeed accumulated a couple of travel journals in the past few years. I guess it is really time to convert it online, step by step. Starting from today!!