IPSF APPS 2014 Malaysia - Post Symposium Tour (PST)

Penang Revised Itinerary

Hi everyone! So have you read about our trip to Penang? Interesting and fascinating right?? J So what are you waiting for.. Join us to experience it yourself!

However guys, after that amazing trip, we have decided to cancel off few places and replace it with more attractive places. Why do we change?!!! Relax.. We did this because those places that we planned to include in the package did not meet our expectations and we want to provide you guys with the best package. So here is the latest and the hottest revised tentative:

Do you notice some changes of the places that we will be visiting this upcoming August?

Day 1:

We withdraw Snake Temple from the itinerary because we don’t find the place is interesting anymore as compared back then and the snake population is declining. Bad omen?? NO!! The decrement is due to rapid development that disturbs snake natural habitat. The temple also give the snakes away (donateJ) thrice every lunar calendar. We believe that Kek Lok Si Temple can compensate the Snake Temple where the view on the top of the Penang land is breathtaking and at the same time appreciating the intricate architecture of the building.

At night, we changed the trip to Padang Kota Night Market instead of going to Gurney Drive and Queensbay. More food variation that you can choose in Padang Kota and people say, it is a must to visit Padang Kota at night. Furthermore, it is more exciting in Padang Kota and it is closer to our hotel.

Day 2:

Yes. We know… The tentative has completely changed ^^,

We will be visiting Topical Spice Garden and Tropical Fruit Farm for noon and evening visit. We cancel off National Park because in August, it is not the prime time to visit the park. In August, the turtles will not lay eggs at the beach and the Meromictic Lake will not be separated as it will be in January until April.

As for the Butterfly Farm, we acknowledge the vast species of butterflies that can be seen, but we find Topical Spice Garden and Tropical Fruit Farm have more to offer. It is a holistic eco-tourism project, winning prestigious awards including Gold Award, Laman-Floral Garden Award, The Malaysia International Landscape & Garden Festival 2004 and Merit Award, Tourism Malaysia ‘Best Man-Made’ tourism attraction 2005/2006. So it seems that this place is essential to be in our trip, right?

Tropical Fruit Farm? Yup. Captivating isn’t it? The farm located at the hill terrain of Teluk Bahang is an ideal site for cultivating many types of tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees. You can also taste varieties of fruits where you can only find in Malaysia. Wait.. There is more! You can learn unique way of fertilizing fruit plan with natural farm-made fertilizer and also learn how to sweeten fruits. New experience awaits you here in the farm.

Day 4:

We add Penang War Museum as our last place to visit before we depart back to Kuala Lumpur. Do we need to visit the museum?? Bored lah!! Trust us, this place is not like any typical museum. We can actually see what are left from the war in 1941. It was used to be the main base to protect Penang from foreign invasion but Japanese soldiers were able to invade and also built the prison base. You can navigate through tunnels, see the historical artifacts such as cannons and ammunition bunkers located 9-metres underground.

So.. what are you waiting for??? Participate in PST Penang!!!

Mesmerizing:Pearl of Orient!

Day 3

It was our last day to see the uniqueness of Penang and we did feel sad to go back home. Nevertheless, it did not meant that we will let the day went by without appreciating Penang to the fullest! Our target for our third day was to explore UNESCO heritage and cultural sites acknowledged worldwide. We just walked all day long with full of curiosity and enthusiasm. It took us one whole day to finish touring! Here were the places that we visited:

· Penang Peranakan Mansion
· Armenian Street
· Kg Kling Mosque
· Cathedral of The Assumption
· Clan Jetty
· Komtar
· Little India
· Campbell Street
· Esplanade and Penang Fort Cornwallis
· Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower
· City Hall
· Town Hall
· Mahamarimman Temple
· Teochew Temple
· Loveland
· Penang Road
· Chulia Road
· Chowrasta Street

At the Cheong Fatt Mansion, we did not enter the building because we for sure will visit the place with you. So let it be mysterious and full of surprises! J FYI, the mansion popularly known as ‘Blue Mansion’ is a renowned location to film movies and television series. The architecture is mesmerising and it is a must-see place in Penang!

Same goes to the Penang Peranakan Mansion. We did not enter it as well but trust us, this old mansion is so famous that it always included in travel documentaries, where it depicting the life of Straits Chinese or Peranakan.

We then head to the Penang State Museum. We believed that we need to have a tour here so that we can know Penang as a whole before went off to see it live. Thank god the place is still intact because it was almost destroyed in World War II bombing and now, it is full of Penang historic artifacts.

Another location that is necessary to have a sneak peek is the Kg. Kling Mosque. We had our prayer here at noon and we bumped into many foreigners that were very interested to know the beautiful Islam facts. The Moghul design features stunning minarets and domes really wows us that we didn’t feel like staying there for only short time. Yup, we stayed longer that what we should be ^^.

We went to do some purse-thinning activities at Chowrasta, Penang Road buying the well-known fruit pickles, Jeruk Pak Ali. We also bought some signature food of Penang and got ourselves bloated.

Last but not least, the most interesting activity that we did was the painted wall hunting in all across historical Georgetown that were drawn by Ernest Zacharevic. The artworks are fascinating and meaningful.

Frankly... no caption needed. yup. it literally shows that we were having so much fun!

Penang Invasion!

Day 2

7.00 AM

We had a blast time the day before and had no intention to stop. We started our day ecstatically at 6.00 am and leave as early as 7.00 am for the next place on the list. We were heading to Pasar Air Itam. It is a morning market where you can find fresh food, and even flowers at the low price. The Pasar Air Itam always congested with people who wish to shop and the tourist who want to visit Kek Lok Si Temple. We had our breakfast at one of the kedai mamak there. The menu; well, being typical Malaysian, we had some roti canai, toasted breads and teh tarik.

Then, we started to hike the road towards the Kek Lok Si Temple. It was quite steep and honestly, we were exhausted. However, the scenery up there is so beautiful and it feels worth to be sweat for. The green area surrounding the temple is still intact, while the architecture of the temple itself promotes peace and tranquility. The people are very warm, contradicting with the chill atmosphere of the uphill in the morning. Whoever loves scenery or taking photos like us, you will never get bored here. That’s a promise.

10.00 AM

We went down the Kek Lok Si Temple just to go up another hill; the Penang Hill (It is by car this time, luckily) It is known as Bukit Bendera; literally mean Flag Hill, among the local. Being one of the oldest colonial British hill stations in Malaysia, Penang Hill offers a blend of beautiful nature and historical places. Though we were there went it was almost noon, the average 21°C temperature allow us to explore the hill with ease. The owl museum is unique, while the ice kacang there is a must try dish.

1.30 PM

Next, heading to National Park!!! The national park is located at the Teluk Bahang. People usually come to National Park for its meromictic lake and the turtle sanctuary. Meromictic Lake is a lake that only mixed once a year. The phenomenon is so rare as there is only a few of such lake exist in this world. The main activities are canopy walking and jungle trekking, guided by the expert tour guide available. They were very warm and expert in the flora and fauna in the park. Along the way, there were monkeys, birds and lizards while the flora range from timber, to herbal plants and ferns. The rich flora and fauna are interesting and seeing them upfront is one of the kind experiences. We had splendid time around the turtle sanctuary, the lake and even the Monkey Beach.

4.00 PM

After we left National Park, we went to the Butterfly Farm. There were varies species of butterfly there. However, we were unable to come inside the farms due to time limitation. Instead, we went to the management office and had some negotiations regarding the package they offered.

4.30 PM

This is the time for the creativity to dominate you. The time for tradition to win over the simple modernization. Huh? What? Hehe… Actually, in the afternoon, we leisurely spent some time at the Penang Batik Factory. We went inside the factory, and see the workers chanting the batik. They explained to us step by step on the production of batik. The factory also offer a small class for the tourists to try out chanting a batik handkerchief at such a low price. Can’t wait to try it together with you! ^^, Later on, we went to Teluk Bahang Dam nearby. The man-made lake looks so blue, fading away all the tiredness that we felt back then.

7.00 PM

After getting some rest at the dam, perform our prayers and grabbed some dinner, we felt energetic enough to go again. Hence, we headed to the Batu Feringghi night market. The night market is situated along the road. The goods are varieties and the prices are negotiable. If you are good at negotiation, you can get to lower the price; even up to one-third from the original price. It was long walk, but we barely noticed it. Probably due to our passion in shopping ;) next, we headed to the hotel, and got the best sleep in centuries.

Let the pictures speak:)