July 23, 2007

A Penangite Sightseeing In Penang

Y'know, living in Penang for a good 27 years of my life, I've always taken what tourist spots we have for granted. It was always "hey, I live here, I have all the time in the world to visit these places. Might as well visit the places which I've never been to, eh?". If it's not for the odd Japanese visitors we have (we normally show them around Penang), gosh, I don't think I'd even check out these lovely spots which are right in my hometown.

So that's where I went during the weekend. My colleagues had a Japanese visitor with them for the weekend, so we thought we'd show him the sights. First stop was Kek Lok Si.

Kek Lok Si

The only times I've been here were with visitors. I don't think I'd even go there on my own! Not that it's not a beautiful spot to go to; it's just that in the blazing heat, I'd pretty much rather be somewhere else. We went in the afternoon, where the sun was glaring, and I was sweating buckets.

Turtles
Lookie lookie! Turtle soup! Yumm ...

It's amazing how Kek Lok Si has changed over the years (haven't been there in AGES). The buildings were newly refurbished, and new features, temples, and statues were added. Still some things never change. They were still people *ahem* "asking for a fee" all the way up to the temple (ie beggars). They're quite an eyesore, if you ask me. A friend of mine told me that apparently these "beggars" do so well, that they drive good cars and all that!!

My friend's husband, who's born and bred in Penang, has never been to the Kek Lok Si! Imagine that. I guess that made me feel a tad better for not going more often :p

Khoo Kongsi

Next stop was Khoo Kongsi. This is the clanhouse of the Khoos. Gosh, I haven't been there in ages, not since my research on the building for my History project in Form 3! I remembered it was free entry then; they charge an admission fee of RM5 now. In a way, it's a good thing, as they use the funds to continue restoring the building.

Khoo Kongsi 2

Next, we headed to Batu Feringghi. We wanted to visit the Butterfly Farm, but what a pity it was closed. In the end, we headed to the beach, and left just before the sun set. The beach seemed a lot busier than before; a lot of water activities were going on (para-sailing, jet-skiing, the works).

Batu Feringghi Beach

All in all, it was a great Saturday. It was good getting out of the house, soaking in the roaring heat (and sweat), and having a really good time with my friends. I shall make it a point to visit Penang's touristy spots more often in future (not just when I have to bring visitors around). Have to be a true blue Penangite mah.

So, when was the last time you checked out your local tourist spots? ;)

10 comments:

TrueBluePenangite said...

Hahaha...true blue Penangite!!!

Eh, do you remember that you, Emily, Ai Luen and I traipsing around those same spots doing a geography or history project? I think it was you who had a beautiful drawing of Khoo Kongsi, wasn't it?

Arth Akal said...

I wanna go to penang again one day...

beautiful place

aewis said...

hey girl,

I guess you must have found my blog from multiply or something ;)

thanks for wishing me luck. how long will you be in Penang?

Timodee said...

hey babes,
so when I come up to Penang, you don't mind being my tour guide? counting down the days...

Anonymous said...

Turtle soup? Isn't that a bit mean? :P

Tine said...

Truebluepenangite: Yep, that's the one. Seems like such a long time ago, eh?

What, that doodle I did? Nah, it's not even good :P

Arth Akal: Yeah, you should. The touristy spots are underrated, and the food's overrated :p

Aewis: Yep, found yours from Multiply ;) Already in Penang, not going anywhere. Will, not yet anyway ;)

Tim: No problem dear. But, er, you sure you wanna go to Kek Lok Si ah? :p

Kooi: Really, where do you think all these old (or dead) turtles end up, if not as food? ;)

Anonymous said...

Its always an eye opener seeing regular things we take for granted through the eyes of a visitor. I think tis time I finally get that picture of the twin towers LOL

Tine said...

Paris: I've never been up the Twin Towers either. Oooh, let's go together someday. Hehehe :p

Anonymous said...

cool....can you take me around when i go back then? I feel like a blardy tourist everytime i go back now. been 7 years!

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