Been busy lately with work, my own travels, organizing family's travels & what-nots. So here's about a trip I had with a friend, back in February. Not too long ago, tho. I can still remember.
We went to
Penang Island, up in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Just a 2D1N stay, as a friend of mine received a free stay at a hotel there.
Since it was a short trip, we decided to take a flight from KUL - PEN on
AirAsia. Parked my car at the airport & board a 9am flight. You may want to check out
this site for more parking info & price rate at KLIA2.
Of my 32 years of living in Malaysia (I've never lived anywhere else anyway), that was my 1st time at Penang International Airport. I've been to Penang quite a number of times before, but never on a plane. It's a 5-6 hour drive form KL.
It was a Saturday, so traffic in Penang was good. Our hotel name was
Noordin Mews. A boutique hotel in Georgetown. Read the reviews
here from Tripadvisor - and believe everybody's review, please. I thought the hotel was awesome.
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| Noordin Mews Boutique Hotel |
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| Art at the side of the hotel |
We arrived early, way before check-in time. So we put the bags at the hotel & walk to the nearest mall -
1st Avenue Mall. Went for an early lunch, shopping & hanging out at Starbucks just to kill time before noon.
Back at the hotel, our room was ready. The hotel was only double-story, and our room was upstairs right at the end, looking down at their restaurant & pool. Instead of the usual numbers for rooms, this hotel labelled them in alphabets. Ours was "M".
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| Our room |
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Nostalgia
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Everything was kept simple & traditional, and they even had wooden doors. The keys & locks are huge & bulky. The room was cooling, they had a fan & an air-cond. There's a day bed across the TV, but unfortunately for me (I don't sleep easily, so I need TV for help) it wasn't facing the bed.
After we had our rest, we went out to find a bus stop/station to get us to Penang Hill. It really has been more than a decade ago since I last step foot on that hill. We decided to take the bus because from our last trip, we learned that Penang has an awesome bus system -
Rapid Penang.
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| Komtar bus station |
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| Bus info |
They have this huge timetable at the
Komtar bus station telling us where our bus is currently & the ETA. We waited for a bout half-an-our before our bus came. The ride from
Komtar to
Penang Hill cost us RM2 per person. You can check their route map, schedule & fares
here. It probably wasn't that far, but there's quite a big traffic, and I had to stand all the way. At this age, standing in an awkward position for at least 40mins in a crowded bus was not doing any good to my feet AND my back.
It wasn't a peak season, so there wasn't a crowd. If you are a Malaysian with MyKad, it'll be RM10 and foreigners pay RM30. Check out their pricing
here. The train has now upgraded, was quite fast to reach the top. Nothing awesome up there except for the view, I guess. The view was simply breathtaking. We snapped a whole lot of pictures.
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| View of Penang island |
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| View of Penang bridge |
Then we just laze around, people-watching & just walk slowly to enjoy a nice evening out in the fresh air. By the time we get down to the main entrace, I had lost all my energy & I literally can hear my bones crack. So we booked a cab - oh side track to promo this app -
GrabTaxi (MyTeksi). It is superb, I tell ya! I've used it twice and I loved it.
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| We had mutton & chicken |
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| Kapitan Keling Mosque |
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Kapitan Keling Mosque
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The driver recommended us a restaurant somewhere in
Little India area. Had our dinner & walked back. We passed by
Kapitan Keling Mosque, it was very bright.
It was definitely a tiring day for me. And when we reach the hotel, I had the best bath ever. I don't know why but I love the bathroom @ Noordin Mews! The shower was good, the shower gell, shampoo, conditioner.. everything was perfect. And of course, they provide a hair dryer so yeah.. just to add to my superb bathing experience. *grin*
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| The bathroom |
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| Rain shower |
Next day, we had our breakfast first thing. I had an English breakfast with coffee. Superb! The restaurant was small, so we didn't stay long.
Then we walked to
Chowrasta Market to buy some stuff for family & friends at home. And yeah, I guess that's about it for my Penang trip. Wasn't much as it was only a 1-night stay. But it'll do. As long as we get to go out from KL for a bit.
