April 15th, 2024
This weekend I went to Penang! But first, I must mention my time in Singapore. The best moment of my time in Singapore was 100% when me and my roommate Grace got chili crab with fried mantou. This is the one meal that we have been planning to do, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The mantou dipped in the chili crab sauce was amazing, and I love seafood, so the whole experience was amazing. However, it was very messy and I am not that good at eating smaller crabs, so I am very grateful we had gloves!
It doesn’t feel like it, but I went to Gardens by the Bay again this last week. Me and my two friends went to three paid attractions. We saw Floral Fantasy, which had floral sculptures, Cloud Forest, where you could walk along a path surrounding an indoor waterfall and plant mountain (my favorite), and the Flower Dome, which was filled with various floral displays from countries around the world. I had been wanting to visit Gardens by the Bay for a while, but it was super crowded when we went since it was a public holiday. I am very glad I did, I am not super into botany but I do love just looking at all the different types of plants. There was also a lot of artwork incorporated into the displays which was neat.
One thing, I finally got to explore the Jewel Changi Airport more, we saw the famous waterfall which was exciting. The flight to Penang was very short, and we landed late at night. Overall, there isn’t much to “do” in Penang besides explore the streets, eat some good cheap food, and admire some beautiful art. This is exactly what I wanted to do, since I wanted a more relaxing trip versus other trips I have jam packed with tours. On the first day, we started the day with brunch at a cafe, shopping at roadside stalls, walking on some jettys, and searching for some famous street art.
The highlight of the day was visiting the Pinang Peranakan Mansion museum. It was very beautiful inside, and thankfully air conditioned. I thought Singapore and Vietnam were hot, but this was 100% the hottest I have been. I would have paid the entry fee just to stand in front of the fan! The mansion was just incredible, the artwork is so ornate. It was amazing to see the collections of art in displays or just the intricate details in something simple like a chair. Afterwards, we went to the beach to see the sunset which was so beautiful. I haven’t seen a sunset with the sun so visible, but it did not make up for missing the solar eclipse! We ended the night with dinner at a street market which was good, I had salted egg chicken which is my current obsession, and a quick 7/11 run.
The next day, we woke up and tried to see the Blue Mansion where a scene in Crazy Rich Asians was filmed, but the inside was closed. Afterwards, we went to dim sum where we got some amazing buns and dumplings. I had never had dim sum for breakfast before so this was a very fun experience. The last day, we essentially just walked around the streets, got iced coffee and boba, tried Assam Laksa, went shopping in malls, and then went home. The highlight of that day is the quick stop we made to Penang Hill where we saw some beautiful views of Penang. Overall, it was a very lowkey trip but it felt nice to explore some towns after always being in a city. Next weekend will have a completely different vibe (guess where!), I am excited!
