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Ronald Robertson

Aaronn Avit Ajeng, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher
  • Emailaaronnavit@um.edu.my
  • Phone+60 (14) 970 5384
  • ExpertiseBiology and Biochemistry
  • AffiliationUniversiti Malaya (UM)

A Short Trip To Penang, Malaysia.

I just ended my Year 2 recently and it has been a great journey with lots of ups and downs. In a blink of an eye, I am entering Year 3 soon! Final Year Project (FYP) and Internship coming ahead, which I am really anxious and excited at the same time.

14 weeks of lectures with quizzes, and submissions had me stressed out that I decided to plan a short trip to Penang (3D2N) with my Malaysian friend who came back from France for his summer break. We went to Penang on 17th June which was 2 days after my last paper. We booked the afternoon AirAsia flight to Penang from Kuala Lumpur that costed us RM135 each (Return flights), and we landed in Bayan Lepas around 1pm and went straight to the backpacker hostel that we have booked. We spent RM102 (Including gst, no Tourism Tax implemented yet) for the 2 nights stay in Ros Heritage Motel.
We did not explore that much on the first day but we went to the Jetty, the Armenian Streets and we also went to see the famous street mural of Kids on the bicycle and some other street arts too. We had the chance to taste the Durian Cendol in one of the stalls located around the Armenian street. If you are looking for cheaper printed Penang T-shirts, Jetty is the best place to visit as the vendors are selling them at much cheaper price from RM6.90 to RM20. You can also find other items sold around the Jetty. The transportation in Penang is accessible by everyone makes traveling easier, you do not have to worry about going everywhere. I visited Sri Mahamariamman Temple too, I was allowed to record videos and take pictures of the interior design but prohibited to do so at certain parts of the temple. It was close to breaking fast time and we went to the nearest Bazaar Ramadhan before heading back to our room to rest.

Penang is famous with its Street Arts. Kids on the bicycle is one of them.

A Rm6 Durian Cendol definitely worth it. The taste of Durian complements everything.
We started off our second day in Penang by visiting Kek Lok Si Temple that was around 1 hour from our motel by bus. There was a pond full of tortoises and people were allowed to feed them with the provided water spinach. The temple was located uphill and we had to go up to reach there. We went into the temple, tourists must enter barefooted and they were to record videos and take pictures as long as they respect the people who are performing their prayers. The temple was huge and the interior was designed in a way that the miniatures of Buddha are placed at every inch of the walls.

Stairs to Kek Lok Si Temple.

The outside view of Kek Lok Si Temple. I took a lot of videos than pictures for my Vlog, you can check them out in the link that I will provide at the end!

We visited Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera) which was located not far from the temple. There will be buses that pick passengers from the temple to Penang Hill but you might need to go to the correct bus stop and hop into the right bus. Penang Hill is one of the most recommended places if you are visiting Penang. It was foggy and cold when we went to the top of Penang Hill. There was a cable ride that brought us to the top of the hill. It only costed us RM5 each for it. That was the special price for students, you will need to provide your student card. It was happening up the hill, cold and refreshing.

It was around noon where both if us hopped into a bus that took us to Batu Ferengghi, the journey was about 30 minutes from Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar). We had lunch by the beach and we stayed there to watch the sunset. The beach was beautiful and there were a lot fun activities that visitors can try. Among the famous are Banana boats and Parasailing. Unfortunately, we were not able to do those as we came unprepared. We did not bring our beach clothes! However, it was fun to be at the beach again after for so long. Batu Ferengghi was the final location that we visited on our second day in Penang. We bought some Kedondong pickles to be brought back to Kuala Lumpur. We did not visit anywhere that much on our last day. After checking out from the motel at 12pm, we went to the nearest mall and my friend made his new glasses replacing his broken ones. We hopped on the bus that took us to the airport, our flight back to Kuala Lumpur was at 7.30pm.

Batu Ferengghi Beach.

We were sitting under the shades of these leaves.

Our last breakfast before heading to the Airport.
I was glad that I agreed to join my friend for this short trip as I was able to unwind myself from all the stresses that I had been absorbing from the past weeks. If you wish to watch my Penang Vlog for more on what's I have been doing, visit this link right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0H1CTWTqSY . It would mean a lot if you do. Thank you for reading.


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