What do you do when you are planning a trip to a place where you’ve been to with Person A but now you need to Person B to the same place.
That was the question I had to answer when I was planning my parents’ trip to Penang. Previously, I went to the Pearl of the Orient once with L. I didn’t really want to visit sites which I’ve visited because it would be a waste of time for me.
However, I made an exception for the Pinang Peranakan Museum.
Background of Pinang Peranakan Museum
Pinang Peranakan Museum’s facade
The museum was previously the house of a rich Peranakan family.
Even though the mansion is big, it doesn’t seem be to big enough for a family with 3 generations, including the multiple concubines and their kids. Perhaps the lower ranking people lived in the compound and not the main house. Pinang Peranakan Museum’s interior
The museum is divided into two levels. The lower level is the place where guests visit. It includes a gigantic dining table, a room for card games and loads of antique.
Many of the wooden panels or carvings were decorated with a layer of gold (probably only paint) which made the whole floor look a little like the showfloor for houses targeted at the nouveau riche.
Deco of Pinang Peranakan Museum
The upper floor is similarly packed with antiques but is more “personal”.
The wedding room is a little ominous with the red lighting which made the room feel like a brothel instead of the suit of a newly wed couple. Pinang Peranakan Museum
After seeing Singapore’s Peranakan Museum, the Pinang Peranakan Museum feels like everything was thrown together in haste for the exhibition. This isn’t a bad thing because it feels more approachable. It’s easier to imagine how the family might have lived..
I’m a star
Peranakan-related movies
Based on the fading movie posters at the entrance, the house was the filming location for multiple period dramas.
A popular Singapore period drama, Little Nyonya, might be filmed here. I’ve never watched the drama but after reading the character bios, I think I might like the show because it doesn’t have a “Happily Ever After” ending.
The parents and I at Pinang Peranakan Museum
The compound of the museum had a few bamboo-like plants. They were decorated with the entrance stickers which were stuck on by tourists. I like that it gave the green tone of the wall and plants a pop of color.
Comparing Pinang Peranakan Museum and Singapore Peranakan Museum
If I must choose between Pinang Peranakan Museum and Singapore Peranakan Museum, I would choose the museum in Penang as my favorite.
The site feels more friendly and human because all the wares are right in front of you.
If you like reading explanations in museums then Penang’s peranakan museum might not suit your taste.
Singapore’s Peranakan Museum is housed in a beautiful building but the content of the exhibition is a little sterile. It played up the peranakan nostalgia to the highest volume.
Visiting information:
Location: 29 Lebuh Gereja George Town, Penang, Malaysia Entrance fee: RM10 Time required to look around: ~1 hour
Hello folks! I’m finally published in a print magazine.
Ta da! It’s Dececember 2012 issue of Jetstar Asia’s magazine (page 111). It’s a short piece on the Blue Mansion in Penang. The house was lovely but we couldn’t take photos inside. :( YQ on Jetstar Asia Magazine
OK, maybe my article is not as glamorous as a full spread photo + text article but it’s a step, isn’t it? (Although a rather small one.)
If you are interested in the competition, here are the details. Jetstar Asia competition
Wait a minute, it seems like I’ve not written much about Penang. I’ll do just that in the following weeks. Stay tuned.
To Padang Besar & Hatyai
When I was planning my trip to Padang Besar, Perlis, I wanted to walk from Malaysia to Thailand so I could tell people, “Yup, I’ve walked to Thailand from Malaysia before.”
So I flipped through the traveller’s bible, aka Lonely Planet, and was shocked.
In the tiny two-inch column for Padang Besar, the guidebook said: “Very few people, if any, walk the more than 2km of no-man’s land between the Thai and Malaysian sides of the border.”
NO INSTRUCTION, IT’S THE DAY OF DESTRUCTION.
After freaking out, I decided to become one of the “very few people” to walk to Thailand and back. And write a post about it. (Although another reason I’m walking is that I am too stingy to pay for the RM40 cab fare.)
A guide to walking from Malaysia to Thailand
Step 1 Get to Padang Besar’s immigration checkpoint Malaysian side of immigration checkpoint border
The entrance of immigration checkpoint is right in front of the big roundabout. Walk up to the toll booth-like area, keeping to your left since cars and motorbikes are on the right.
Step 2 Get your documents verified (and stamped)
Pass through the immigration checkpoint using the electronic gates if you have a Malaysian passport.
If you have a foreign passport, you’ll need to get it stamped at one of the officer’s booth.
Step 3 Walk a lot
It’s quite a long walk to the end of the border from the document checking area. Even though you will see a path (which is persumably for pedestrians) near the walls, do not take that route as it brings you to a dead end. Weird murals
Admire the murals while you walk. I am not sure who the murals were put up for, perhaps it is for drivers who are stuck in a traffic jam.
Wave as drivers drive pass and motorcyclists give you a second look. Sticking out a thumb to hitchhike here does not work. I tried.
You will eventually reach the end of Malaysia’s border where a few officials hang around.
Step 4 Explain why you are walking to anyone who asks
The immigration officers will be curious why you are walking when there are motorcycle shuttles. The excuse “Because we want to” does not seem to satisfy their curiosity.
The officer practically interrogated us after looking at our passports. When we said we just wanted to walk to Thailand, he told that there were motorcycles shuttling people across. I asked where the motorbikes are, he pointed to the other end. I told him that I will not walk all the way back just for a motorcycle.
After being released, we walked to the Thai part of the border.
Step 5 Reach Thai border
There are no lines on the road to tell where passengers can walk, so be careful of traffic.
Follow the cars and where a bunch of people are filling up forms. Fill up the form and pay RM1 to the immigration officer.
Step 6 Enter Thailand
With the new stamp in your passport, head out of the immigration checkpoint. Do not be alarmed that it looks exactly like Malaysia but with Thai signs.
A guide to walking back to Malaysia from Thailand
Step 1 Get to Padang Beser checkpoint
The line back to Malaysia is not the same as the one you came in from. It’s at the other gate.
Step 2 Get passport stamped
Get your Checking Out stamp and hand over another RM1 to the person behind the booth.
Step 3 Walk back to Malaysia
The Malaysian folks will be less curious about you by now. Walk on. Same as usual, walk on the left side of the road to avoid traffic.
There is a sad duty free store along the no-man’s land. The Zone duty free shopping
Step 4 Get your documents verified to enter Malaysia For pedestrian
Show off your passport to the official at the toll booth. You must get an entry stamp or face being stripped naked during interrogation when you want to leave Malaysia. This is serious business.
Step 5 Get your luggage scanned
There’s probably no one in luggage check so just ignore this step.
Step 6 Back in Malaysia
At the end of the Malaysian customs, another officer will be interested in why you are walking. Answer his questions even though you know all the answers are in the passport which he is holding. Smile pleasantly.
Have you walked through the Malaysian-Thai border before?
Hello, it’s #FoodFri again. I came back from a trip to North Malaysia last weekend. It ended a bit badly, I’ll share more in another post but at least the food was great.
After checking in our hotel in Alor Setar (before 10 a.m.!), we went out looking for food. The lady manning the small stall at the hotel/recreation center/swimming pool didn’t give very good directions so we had to hunt around.
Luckily, just one ditch away, a kopitiam was open. Yippee! (Wikipedia has a nice entry on what a kopitiam is.) Kafe Y Y Hao, Alor Setar
Even though there were a lot of people, we found an empty table and settled down. There were two stalls selling soupy dishes. At the back, a man was standing behind a huge firey wok and making stirfry. Interesting!
Interestingly, everyone was having rice and plates of side dishes for breakfast. RICE FOR BREAKFAST!
I guess I will have to explain. Even though we are overseas Chinese folks, we usually eat lighter stuff such as fried rice, noodles, bread, nasi lemak and that sort for breakfast. It’s only during lunch or dinner that we actually order plates of side dishes to go with our rice.
Things were very different in Alor Setar.
Another different thing was my ability to communicate with the locals. I grew up speaking my unique blend of KK accent Mandarin which I am sure is understandable by other Malaysian Chinese speakers.
But things were different in Alor Setar. The teenage boy could not tell me clearly what they served. Instead he said they didn’t do noodles. (We found out on Sunday that there was fried noodles.)
When the lady took our orders, I asked that they serve a larger portion of vegetables. She said they could not make the portions larger as the orders depend on the number of people there were.
Fine, I asked her to make a 3-person portion for only vegetable. I wasn’t sure how or why she misheard it as “There will be three people.” and made corrections to her pad.
I gave up asking for a bigger portion of vegetables and asked her to serve the two-person portion.
Everyone at the kopitiam ordered steamed fish, so I asked for one too. Without my prompt, she said they had silver pomfret. Since they only had one type of fish, I expected her to scribble down the fish in her order.
But she didn’t write on the pad so I asked if there were other types since it looked like she was expecting me to say something. She replied that there was only silver pomfret.
Well…I guess we will take silver pomfret. Thankyouverymuch.
I had communication problems with the tea girl as well. I asked what sort of Chinese tea they had.
She mumbled a reply. I asked if they had Xiangpian. She shook her head and mumbled the two brands they had. I gave up and repeated the last name that she said.
When the tea came, it tasted just like Xiangpian. Chinese tea
P.S. The Chinese tea we usually have in Sabah are low-grade tea leaves mix and comes in plastic glasses. This tea pot and dainty cups means Alor Setarians take things seriously.
It was the strangest meal I’ve ever had.
Chicken and fish in Alor Setar
Despite the weirdness going on, the food was delicious. Herbal chicken
Herbal chicken was the only chicken dish they had so we got half a chicken on the first day.
Instead of an overcooked tough bird, the meat of the chicken was tender and the skin translucent.
The chicken juices tasted like good chicken soup and went very well with the rice.
Steam fish covered in fried garlic
Steam fish is a specialty of the shop as literally everyone had one on their table.
The silver pomfret came buried under an avalanche of fried garlic. It was an OK dish since I’m more of a chicken person.
Misc side dishes
We don’t really get to eat piping hot veg dishes in Singapore so we vacuumed these dishes rather quickly. dou miao
Tofu and vegFried eggs with onion
Best kopi in Malaysia
The coffee that we had on our first day was indisputably THE BEST KOPI IN MALAYSIA. It had a caramel taste, according to D. I could only tell that it was delicious. Best kopi in Malaysia
Have you been to Alor Setar? What do you recommend eating there?
My weekend trip to Kuching from Sep. 15 to 16 wasn’t my most productive trip.
By productive, I mean having a planned itinerary packed with activities from the minute I set foot in the airport to the second I head into the boarding room.
You would think that as the author of 24 hours in Kuching, I would have everything planned out.
Nope, I didn’t.
Instead, I accidentally left my guidebook at home and didn’t really bothered doing much research.
So, here’s what really happened that weekend.
1:18 pm Walk out from Kuching airport
Kuching International Airport
I was adamant to find the public bus into the city, despite Lonely Planet saying it will be a difficult task. I walked from Kuching airport to the east (left) in search of the long-distance bus terminal.
D who took a cab some days before said it’s within walking distance from the airport with an umbrella or else it’s a RM17 ride. On the way to Kuching Sentral
So I walked on the side of the road, stepping on broken stones and grass. I don’t think the road builders were expecting anyone to walk on that trail so it was pedestrian unfriendly.
While I walked, trucks and cars zipped pass. Some in the truck would cheer (or cat call, depend on how you see it) me on. I considered hitchhiking.
1:37 pm Reached Kuching Sentral
Finally! Kuching Sentral
It wasn’t long until I saw the two-storeyed Kuching Sentral. There were loads of shops inside the airconditioned building but I needed to find my bus.
A man working for the long distance bus companies asked where I was going. He pointed to the opposite side of the road and said I can find my bus there.
I asked if there’s a bus stop. He told me to wait at the side of the road which bends in.
1:44 pm Bus that never came
Waiting for the bus that never comes
I waited for about 20 minutes under the sun, with my umbrella. No bus came.
1:58 pm Had milky cold coffee
Ice coffee
I gave up and went to a coffeeshop nearby for a drink. The coffee was more milky than the usual ones I have in Singapore.
2:29pm Waited more for bus
Real bus stop but no bus
I walked around Kuching Sentral and saw a real bus stop. The bus didn’t come.
2:41 pm Got on cab
In a cabI gave up and took a cab. RM30. I should have saved myself the time and took a cab straight to the hotel.
The cab ride felt really far. I even passed many places I was sure was opposite the bank of where I was supposed to go. I did reach my hotel in the end.
3:10pm Reach hotel
Tune Hotel Kuching
I made a video of Tune Hotel Kuching before heading to the shower. I’ve included the video in my review of Kuching Waterfront Tune Hotel.
3:42pm Checking out Kuching city
Sarawak Regatta
I walked along the Kuching River. There was the Sarawak Regatta happening so it was really packed.
I checked out the Chinese temple which I didn’t manage to see during my last trip. Tuo Pek Gong temple, Kuching
As it was the last day of Ghost Month, people at the temple were busy preparing for the night’s event. Preparation
I walked among the shop houses, found two other nice temples. Fancy temple
I walked to Padang Merdeka but couldn’t find anything fun to do. St Thomas Cathedral
4:35pm Rain
It’s raining (men).
It suddenly started pouring. I had my S$2 umbrella with me so I braved the heavy rain and went to the open air food center nearby. kolo mee stall
Most of the stalls were closed. I ordered a kolo mee which was tasted slightly better than the regular “gan lao mian” I have back home. I am not sure why people are obsessed over it.
Kolo mee
When I finished my meal, it was still raining heavily. I stood at the sidewalk of the shops, listening to a mix versions of Adele’s “Someone like you” and Psy’s “Gangnam Style“.
4:47pm India Street
I head to India Street while it was slightly drizzling. Only the smell of incense shows that it’s India Street as the wares sold are seen on any other street.
Kid and mom on India Street
5:02pm Hide from rain by river
I walked to the river again. My umbrella was collapsing from the wind.
One of the rowers shouted from his boat about my umbrella. I waved. They hoot.
One of the stall owners told me to hide from the rain under the roof of the stalls. I was given a chair later. I chat with the people there. A kid was speaking pidgin Chinese but not directly at me. Angry Bird balloons
One of the man asked if I needed a ride tomorrow. RM300 for a day’s tour. I said, No thanks.
When it looked like the rain was slowing, I said my thanks and left the stall. “We do not want to be colonized.”
State Assembly Building
5:34pm Had bad cake watching Silent Hill
As I walked along the street, I saw a sign for Maria’s Cake House and headed in. Not so good cake
My coffee cake wasn’t terribly good. My coffee was so so. But I enjoyed watching Silent Hill.
During my teatime, J, who moved back home to Kuching, asked me if I was free during the night in a text message. I happily said: “Yes.”
I was in the shop for a long while before I went back to the hotel for a nap.
7:43pm Wake up from nap, play Pocket Planes
Woke up. Received a message from J that she was waiting for her friend to carpool.
Car came to pick me up. We went to a restaurant nearby for food and gossip. lamb chop #1
Night ended at 1 a.m.
Day 2 in Kuching
The last 6 hours of Kuching was filled with food which is a very good way to end a trip.
Woke up at 9:30 a.m.
Laid in the comfortable bed for a long long.
10:10am Check out and off to museum
Bye Tune Hotel
Very surprised that D & M were already at the museum before 10 a.m. I packed quickly and check out.
The Sarawak National Museum was only so-so. There were a lot of stuffed dead animals, if you’re into that kind of thing.
The special exhibition on funeral rites was a lot more interesting.
11:33pm Breakfast of Sarawak Laksa
After the museum, we head to a random kopitiam for breakfast. My Sarawak laksa was great. Sarawak Laksa
We walked around the area and to India Street. It was market day so the narrow corridors were cramped with stalls and customers.
12:17 noon Drink at Little Lebanon
Found the Lonely Planet-famous Little Lebanon where we stopped for non-alcoholic drinks. My mint tea was quite good. Mint Tea
We walked along the river, among the crowd. Nothing much to do and it was hot. Regatta day 2 Kuching Waterfront Kuching waterfront
We went to hide in a shopping mall for the airconditioning. Most of the shops were closed.
1:33pm Lunch
Found a lunch place. Service was very very slow. I had cheap lamb chop. Lamb chop, again
2:00 p.m. Cab back to airport
Hailed a cab to the airport. RM27.
Have you been to Kuching? Was your trip productive?
Cendol is probably my second favorite Malaysian dessert. (The first being “bubur pulut hitam” which is black glutinous rice soup with coconut milk.)
The best cendol I’ve ever had was in Georgetown, Penang.
I usually like my cendol icy with lumps of teeth numbing ice so I was very disappointed when I got a warm-ish bowl of cendol from the “Penang Most Famous Teochew Chendul” (Yes, that’s its name!).
But after a sip of the coconut milk, I was hooked.
Even L, who was repulsed by the florescent green cendol in Singapore, enjoyed the Penang dish very much. She admitted that the mild green cendol looks more edible than the artificial coloring added in Singapore’s dessert.
L and I visited this stall for all three days we were there (or was it two out of the three days?)
The green worm-like cendol was soft and had real pandan flavor. The sweet red bean gave the pale milk a hint of rouge.
Even though the melting lump of shaved ice didn’t help much with making the bowl cooler, it helped cooled me down in the hot weather.
I found out about the stall from a work acquaintance. I bumped into her on my way home on the train. She said she visits Penang a lot for work and recommended the “cendol stall opposite the police station”.
She told me that there are stalls selling cendol on the same street. The acquaintance said I need to pick the stall with blue bowls. It’s also closer to the junction and doesn’t have chairs.
When people ask me what food I miss most from home. I can rarely give an answer.
Saying “Seafood” is too easy. Who doesn’t love cheap seafood?
So instead of a real answer, I will show you one of my favorite dishes from home.
This noodle dish is called “ban mian” which roughly translates as “plank noodles”. I think the “ban” or “plank” signifies how the dough is chunky…I think.
A regular bowl of banmian (which is available in Singapore as well) has a pork-based stock, doughy noodles, pork, salted anchovies and some vegetable.
But not all banmian are good. It depends on the stock and the noodles. Some soup are so bland that my tears are probably tastier. Some noodles are undercooked or overcooked.
At my favorite banmian shop, everything is mixed in perfect harmony. The soup is tongue-scaldingly hot and the noodles chewy. The meat that accompanies it is always tender.
I stayed at Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching during my weekend in Kuching on Sep. 15.
When I booked my plane tickets for Kuching, the plan was to go to Sematan where my two friends were vacationing at a resort. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get there and the pools close in the evening so D suggested I stay in the city.
I checked out room prices. 360xpress Hotel where I’ve spent a night before was absurdly expensive. Luckily, Tune Hotel was having a sale and I got my room for RM66 (including airconditioning and towel rental).
Tune Hotel Kuchingl
Even though Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching say they have a shuttle, you have to have 2 passengers as a minimum and call in advance or something. I ended up taking a RM30 cab there.
I’ve stayed at Tune Hotel in Kota Bahru and Ipoh so I was familiar with the facilities.
The location of Tune Hotel Kuching was fabulous (even better than 360xpress Hotel). It’s just opposite Hilton Hotel (dimsum buffet lunch!) and a stone’s throw away from the Waterfront.
If you’re interested in how the single room looks like, check out a video tour of the room:
In a nutshell
Stayed at Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching
Pros: Cheap, near waterfront
Cons: No real shuttle to hotel
My blog is turning into a Visit Japan blog with all these posts about Japan! We interrupt your regular program with a visit to Kellie’s Castle in Ipoh.
I first read about Kellie’s Castle in a guidebook. It sounded like a fairy tale gone wrong. Let me tell the story with a bit of help from Journey Malaysia.
“Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a Scot by the name of William Kellie Smith made a lot of money in Malaya.
“In 1909/1910, he built a Moorish-styled manor for his family (wife Agnes Smith and daughter Helen Agnes). When his long-awaited son was born, he decided to extend his house into an even grander building.
“Unfortunately, the great building was never finished as many of the workers caught the Spanish flu and died. Smith was said to have died in Portugal of pneumonia.
The wife, daughter and son who left Malaya never returned.
“Nobody lived happily every after.
“THE END”
Yes, that is the sad tragic tale of Kellie’s Castle. Kellie’s Castle Ipoh
From town to Kellie’s Castle
As L and I were not familiar with the public transport, we took a private cab recommended by the Tune Hotel Ipoh receptionist. I believe it was a RM40 trip to the site and back to Ipoh town.
The castle wasn’t as creepy as the travel brochure portrayed. Kellie’s Castle wasn’t the grey stone castle of Scotland which I had imagined. Instead, the walls were mostly brick red.
Most of the castle was crumbling. There were dangerous areas on the upper floor with nothing to protect the visitor from falling of the building. Living on the edge at Kellie’s Castle
One of the rooms was reportedly haunted by a young girl. The problem is, I don’t think Helen died when she was young. I think it’s one of the stories people make up to pretend it is more mysterious than it is. Haunted room at Kellie’s Castle
Yellow House
Yellow House of Kellie’s Castle
Behind the red building was a crumbling yellow house. This used to be the original manor but was somehow damaged really badly.
I mostly felt sad wandering in the unfinished compound. Some of the walls were newly painted but most were uncovered and other had moss crawling all over.
What made me happy were the two sets of people having photoshoots.
A couple was taking pre-wedding photo shoots while we were there. I adore wedding shoots at historical places as they are more interesting than generic flowerbeds. Wedding shoot at Kellie’s Castle
Then a bunch of people were also taking cosplay photos. The people dressed up in futuristic warrior outfits while the camera folks held reflective boards. Cosplay shoot at Kellie’s Castle
When I showed my colleagues photos of the castle, they were unimpressed. I think they wanted to see buildings as grand as Edinburgh Castle.
Have you visited Kellie’s Castle? Did you see ghosts there?
I rarely take taxis when travelling. One main reason is that I am stingy thrifty. The other reason is that it’s more interesting to take the public transport and see how the locals travel.
D and I were travelling from Jogja to Solo on the local train. Some of the ladies brought their own stools so they don’t need to sit on the floor.
The whole journey felt like a big party, except I was standing.
Public bus in Kamakura
Japanese buses are efficient. They even have a timetable of when the buses come.
Biking in San Francisco
I love cycling and I love cities that embrace cycling. I rented an electrical bike and cycled to Sausalito from San Francisco. It didn’t matter that my bicycle chain fell off and I had to put it back.
Boat in Kuching
A 50 cents ride across the river in the City of Cats.
Becak in Solo
One becak drive who took us from Jogja town back to our hotel didn’t manage to get any commission from batik shops and complained about us being “gemuk” (fat). I thought it was quite funny.
YQtravelling 