Trip to Penang, Malaysia

Street Art-Children on Swings

During my daughter March school holiday, we embarked on on a short vacation to nearby Penang. I had been there before more than a decade ago but much has changed since my last visit. The now world famous Malaysia state's popularity has been ever rising since its capital George Town gained Unesco World Heritage site status on July 2008.

Pinang Peranakan Museum

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

We booked into family theme Hard Rock Hotel for our 5 day trip. Top on our list are the Street Arts (especially the ones by Ernest Zacharevic), Malaysia largest Buddhist temple-Kek Lok Si and Gurney Drive Hawker Center where all the famous Penang delicacies can be found.

Chew Jetty

Kek Lok Si Temple

We would also visit other places of interest like the Penang Hill, Pinang Peranakan Museum, Dhammikarama Burmese Temple and more. Alison quenched her shopping thirst at Gurney Plaza, Gurney Paragon Mall, 1st Ave Mall and Pranglin Mall :-)

Penang Hill

Famous Biscuits

Below is our trip plan:
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Day 1

-Arrived at Penang
-Checked in Hard Rock Hotel
-Pinang Peranakan Museum
-Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi
-Street Art At Armenian Street
-Chew Jetty

Day 2

-Water activities at hotel
-Kek Lok Si Temple

Dhammikarama Burmese Temple

Wat Chayamangkalaram

Day 3

-Penang Hill
-Dhammikarama Burmese Temple
-Wat Chayamangkalaram
-Gurney Paragon
-Gurney Plaza
-Gurney Drive Hawker Food Centre

Day 4

-Water activities at hotel
-Komtar
-1st Ave Mall
-Pranglin Plaza

Day 5

-Back to Singapore

Gurney Drive Hawker Food Center

Street Art-Children on Bicycle

Have you visited Penang before? Share your stories in the comment column!

For Your Pinning

2014 Wrap Up (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!)

Family Photo at Cheung Chau, Hong Kong

Time flies. It's December again and Christmas is around the corner. I made a resolution last year for my Travel Bugs blog. I told myself that I must write and post more in Year 2014 than Year 2013. In 2013, I posted 12 blogs. For this year, I have posted 15 blogs (this blog included). I know it works out to be only 1.25 blogs per month but nevertheless, I have achieved what I intended to do. It is never easy to find time to write amid my busy work and family life but this excuse is last on my list for not writing. For those following my posts, I apologize for the frustration of awaiting my posts. Hopefully, I am able to post more of my travel stories for the coming year. This will be one of my resolutions for Year 2015.

During last year wrap up, I penned down on the destinations that I planned to visit. I listed Japan, Indonesia (Yogyakarta) and Hong Kong. Out of the three, I managed to travel to Tokyo, Japan and Hong Kong. For Yogyakarta (I meant to visit it for the famous Borobudur), I missed it due to the eruption of Mount Kelud in February and other reasons. I shall find time to visit it in 2015.

Family Photo at Kamakura,  Japan

Tokyo is always a place where we want to visit again. I had in mind to include Kyoto and Osaka but finally settled on Tokyo only. The reason was simple. We want to experience Tokyo at a relax pace. Taking a side trip to nearby Kamakura was the highlight of the trip. We finally got to visit the famous Daibutsu at the Kotokuin Temple.The deletable foods in Japan have left their marks on our tongues. We hoped to be back very soon.


During my Company department outing in October , I got to visit Kukup at Malaysia. It reminded me of Tai O, the Fishing Village in Hong Kong. My colleagues and I had a great time at the resort and the sunset on that day was very captivating.

Sunset at Kukup, Malaysia

Finally at end November, we took our (countless) trip back to Hong Kong to visit my In-laws. The "Occupy Central" movement did not deter our plan. My wife planned a 2 day trip to one of it's island-Cheung Chau. It was an enjoyable stay with the good foods, beaches and most importantly, laid back life style. As usual, I would take a "one day break" and go for a "Photography Day". This was the day I would take my time and capture the photos that I want without the complaints from my wife and daughter ;-) I hope to share those photos in the coming blogs.


I do not have any concrete travel plans for 2015. But in the back of my mind, I hope to travel to somewhere further. Europe (and Italy) is in our thoughts but we have not firm up anything yet. I hope to visit Thailand again. My wife suggested Chiang Mai for it's cooler weather. Of course, I will also target Borobudur as mentioned earlier.

Last but not least, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May all your travel wishes come true in Year 2015!