Second day in Penang (槟城), woke up around 7.30am and headed to the coffee lounge beside the hotel lobby to have our free breakfast buffet. After the breakfast, my partner went to attend her training which was also held at one of the meeting rooms in the hotel. I had another quick look at the free map which I took from the hotel lobby before stepping out to explore.
Walking along Jalan Burma towards KOMTAR (Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak). Spotted some colonial styled shop houses along the way.
Coin-operated parking meter that are still used in Georgetown, Penang. Interesting!
TuneHotels.com in Penang. Have heard great reviews about this hotel!
Another colonial-styled houses. Love the gold trimmings on the gate as it brings out the delicate design.
KOMTAR (Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak) – the tallest building in Penang.
On the top of the cross-junction bridge, noticed that there is an old building beside it.
Street view from the bridge. It was about 9.30am, traffic was smooth.
Slowly made my way to the bus station at KOMTAR and waited for a short while before boarding the bus. As there are various prices for different destination (depending on distance) so normally I will ask for the price for destination when I board the bus. You pay during then and will be handed a ticket as above. The buses are operated under Rapid Penang and you can check out their website for journey planner.
Shops near the bus stop (in Ayer Itam) where I alighted for my destination to Kek Lok Si (极乐寺).
It’s a busy morning! Rows of shops and stalls selling almost everything. At the far end of the road, there is a local wet market as well.
The Kuan Yin Octagonal Pavilion was only recently completed on 6th December 2009. 🙂
Reached Kek Lok Si’s Kuan Yin Octagonal Pavilion.
The area where you can purchase offerings for prayers. I made a purchase for 3 joss sticks for my prayers.
A resting pavilion at Kek Lok Si.
Ticket counter for incline lift to Five Directions Buddha Great Hall.
Made the ticket purchase for return trip at RM4. Then proceeded to queue up for the lift to arrive.
Inside the incline lift to visit the Five Directions Buddha Great Hall.
Five Directions Buddha Great Hall.
A long rows of Buddhas.
Bird’s eye view of Georgetown, Penang from Kek Lok Si.
Building beside the Five Directions Buddha Great Hall.
Very colorful and interesting architecture.
Walk up the stairs to 2nd level and you will see 3 Buddha in the room.
Went up to the Kuan Yin Octagonal Pavilion for closer look and to pray as well.
My first Penang Laksa RM3 that I had in Penang at a coffee shop outside of Kek Lok Si.
The stall that sells the Penang Laksa. There are several other food in the coffee shop as well.
Realized that I have not taken any photo of the Rapid Penang bus that I have been taking so I quickly took a snap while waiting for my bus to arrive.
While waiting for bus to arrive, I saw a stall (well, it’s a stall on a motorcycle) that is selling Penang Muah Chee ( glutinous rice balls coated in toasted peanuts). Decided to give it a go!
My RM2 worth of Penang Muah Chee . It was soft and chewy!
The interior of the Rapid Penang bus.
Took the Rapid Penang bus back to KOMTAR area and visited Prangin Mall. Went up to the 4th floor to check out the tech products!
Another area of Prangin Mall. There are a total of 167 Tenant in Prangin Mall. Cathay Cineplex is on the 5th floor!
At KOMTAR Walk, chanced upon Cafe Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol and decided to give it a try due to the hot weather.
Original Chendol RM5.50. My bad, focusing is totally out!
The interior of Cafe Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol. Nicely decorated with many old antiques!
Ghee Hiang (义香) at 216 Jalan Macalister – one of the famous traditional biscuits brands in Penang. The huge crowd in front was bought by tour operators as there was several big coach buses parked at the main road.
Another famous and popular biscuits brand in Penang – Him Heang (馨香). There is only one shop in Penang and it’s located at 162A Burma Road. Pre-ordering is recommended due to the limited daily production. I made an order for 2 boxes of Tau Sar Pneah (豆沙饼) and 2 boxes of Beh Teh Sor (马蹄酥) to be collected the next day.
After ordering the traditional biscuits from Him Heang, I continued my walk up Jalan Burma to visit Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram. I had some difficulties locating this area as I thought I have overshot it but actually I need walk further down (after asking a local lady). The above is Dhammikarama Burmese Temple which is located opposite Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram.
Entrance of Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram. The temple was built in 1845.
Walking into Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram.
Spectacular Reclining Buddha at Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram – one of the largest Reclining Buddha in the world, measuring 33 meters in length and is completely gold plated.
After the visit at Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram, I walked back to hotel to meetup with my partner. Then we took the 6.30pm free hotel shuttle bus (prior reservations required) to Gurney Drive and alighted at Plaza Gurney. Walking down to the Gurney Food Center.
Huge crowd was already forming at Gurney Food Center. Quickly found an empty seat and then went to order food.
Cantonment Road Famous Char Koay Teow at Gurney Drive. Can’t remember the price but believe it was RM3! It was really yummy!
Penang Laksa with additional fish ball for RM4. My partner had this as I have already consumed one bowl during my lunch.
Oh, the “Cantonment Road Famous Char Koay Teow” stall where I ordered my Char Koay Teow from.
After dinner, we headed off to Plaza Gurney to walk around and do some shopping.
Plaza Gurney is the second largest shopping mall in Penang. The interior is classy!
While strolling around Plaza Gurney, A&W restaurant caught my attention as I have not patronize it since many moons ago. This is because A&W have pulled out from Singapore for quite sometime already (since 2004) and the only way for Singaporeans to eat it is to travel overseas (nearest either Johor, Malaysia or Batam, Indonesia). The A&W at Plaza Gurney have a retro-styled design.
My order for Beef Coney Dog Set RM13.35 – upgraded with Curly Fries and Root Beer Float. Was asked to take a seat first and the Coney Dog will be delivered when it’s ready.
Eating the A&W Beef Coney Dog. It may seemed like I have eaten a lot for dinner but trust me that this is just the replenishment for the energy I used up while walking around for the whole day. 😛
After the meal, we took a cab back to Hotel Royal Penang at RM12. The taxis in Penang do not use the meters and you need to ask/negotiate for the rate to your destination before boarding!