Hi everyone :)
Here's Penang Day 2 ! Heheh ! This was the day we hired a van and a driver to bring us around the island. It costed us RM35 per person just for one day. It would be much cheaper to take a bus, but it's all up to how you plan on moving around the island. Having a driver is good in a sense that you'd be taken directly to your destination, and if you really have nothing planned, you can always ask for suggestions, (which we did, HAHAH!)
Our first destination of the day was the National Park of Penang Island ! I read about this place before this, and I really wanted to go to the lighthouse. Unfortunately we couldn't go. I think it was because of time constraint. Oh well. Maybe next time. You can opt to trek yourself, or hire a boat. We ended up trekking to Monkey Beach, and taking a boat back.
I do recommend you come here ! It was sunny in the morning, but by the time you enter the forest the canopy blocks most of the harsh sunlight, so you get a pretty decent sun exposure which doesn't bake your skin. However, forgetting sun block would still make you darker HAHAH Plus, the sea breeze. That was amazingly cooling !
Like every other forest, garden or park, this place was just stunning. Breathtaking scenery at every corner, it makes me wonder why they trek so fast. I kept stopping to take pictures until I had to worry about my camera battery lifespan. Not kidding. It's a ridiculously beautiful place. It's not often you get to trek and at the same, be near the beach. Heh. This is one feature unique to Penang I guess.
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| We were lucky to come across the water monitor lizard ! |
There was a mixture of paved cement trails, wooden planks, small bridges, ropes to hold and bare earth while trekking. I guess it's more like a walk and trek at the same time. I still feel unsatisfied that I couldn't enjoy the whole trek. I think I got annoyed halfway through. Maybe I'm too used to people knowing how to offer help or give warnings at dangerous or slippery areas. And also knowing how to check if the person behind you is doing fine.
And I think I need a reminder to not wear my Nike sportshoes for trekking. This would be the second time I kept slipping almost everywhere. Sigh. Branded shoes not meant for treks. I think even my slipper would have been better. (but I'll take that back). And oh, this is one place where I wished my legs weren't so short. I had to climb over a lot of things and slow down cause my legs aren't long enough. Sigh.
On the other hand, the boat ride made everything better ! Maybe not if you have motion sickness. The boat was so worth the money heheh ! And see the coconut above ? We got cheated by the seller. Someone asked them how much it was, and their reply was "Satu lima". And we automatically assumed one coconut was RM1.50, which was too cheap to say NO.
Jeng jeng jeng !!!
Turns out it was "Satu, Lima". Meaning ONE coconut for RM5. Wow. And it was because of that coconut that we kept the boat man waiting. He was probably pissed at us oops.
Note ; You might get wet on the boat if you sit too close to the side. The water tends to splash a lot from the sides. If you have the money then it's not a bad deal. The wind is just refreshing but it was a very rocky ride. I believe it was RM80 for the boat.
After washing up and drying ourselves, we went to LINE Nasi Kandar at Georgetown for lunch. I was starving after the morning trek. It was a famous shop. So famous the nasi kandar stall next to it barely had any customers. It's slightly pricey here but I'm not one to say, I don't normally eat nasi kandar. But this was so scumptious !
I think the most of the day was just spent being immersed with grenery. We dropped by the Botanical Garden in the evening. I got lazy of trying to keep up with the rest of them so I just split from the group. Well at least Jason and I were the only ones who drifted from the group hahaha. There's also a buggy ride for RM2. It just takes you on a short round, if you want to explore further, you'd have to walk.
But beware of monkeys !
This is like a flower haven, a garden haven. We walked past this garden when we first came in. If it wasn't for the buggy ride stopping us directly at the gate, I think I wouldn't have realized it's existence ! It's called the formal garden, but really, I'd call it a fairytale garden. It looked like it just came right out of a Disney movie !
There was a water fountain in the center, and a small building at the very end. I think this would be a marvelous place for an outdoor wedding or occasion. Even Jason agrees that it's a very gorgeous place.
There was supposed to be a Youth Park nearby, but we had no idea where it was so we didn't go for it. It felt incomplete. You can also trek up Penang Hill from Botanical Gardens, but it was too late and some of us (like the lazy me), who would rather call the van and go elsewhere instead of hiking again.
We went around Georgetown to look at the street art ! There was a lot of hype for this last year right I believe. It's great, but maybe not up to my expectations. All the previous hype made me expect so much more than this. There weren't that many murals on the walls. Though the cats were just cute hehehe.
With love ♥ credits to Hsuen :D
And oh. Jason's uncle came and brought some of us who could still eat around for some food ! We had more fried oyster and (finally) nice char kuey teow !! I'm sorry for the lack of food pictures. The day's activities took it's tool on my tummy I ate before I even managed to take pictures AHAHAHHA well the food's gotta go where it's gotta go.
Two more posts on Penang coming soon
:)
