The disappointments first. Potong Steam wei.
Twitted @askairasia no reply despite saying support is available from Mon-Sundays and way within operating hours.
Customer services and general inquiries did not answer despite my numerous calls before 9.30a.m
I had just one effing question : About my luggage. (Which i finally sorted out by myself)
Here’s a tiny introduction : That’s me in gray and Leei in White with her sunglasses in front. At the back is E (the female) and M (the male).
On the way to KLIA 2 but first let me take a selfie, wait, a few selfies. *Credits to Leei.
Delays delays.
At 1.19 pm we were boarding the plane, it was supposed to be : 12.50pm as per boarding pass.
Took off at 1.57 pm. Flight time supposed to be : 1.35pm
Touched down at 2.33pm got off the plane at 2.40pm.
Got to Hotel at 3.51 only to find out that that place has shut down for the last one month, left high and dry what in the world has Air Asia Go been doing? 
FYI : This place is called Decoupage Homestay with mixed reviews.
AirAsia, you’ll be hearing from me soon.
Day 1 :
George Town and its street art.
Exploring George Town and its street art , well some of it at least , like the more obvious ones instead of well hidden ones.
Hotel we stayed in finally.
Lunch at Downtown opposite the Chinese Temple at Lebuh Armenian. The Thai Fried rice is legit man, spicy and great.
*Credits : E
His last expression before crashing into the wall. RIP
*Credits : Leei
Chew Jetty – Sunset
Dinner : Did we have any, hmm cant recall already.
Day 2 :
The Jetties
- Sunrise at Chew Jetty, E & M had unhappy stomach, went back to Hotel to try and pass shit, E was unsuccessful at her attempt 😛 Leei and I stayed on for quite some time.
Sunrise 1
Sunrise 2
Sunrise 3
Cement and stones inside a paint pail as foundation
Sunrise 4
Sunrise 5
Sunrise 6
Sunrise 7
Crow contemplating life? 
Man going out to sea
Man going out to sea 2
Man going out to sea 3
Photobomb
The viewThis man was in his boat ready to push off.
- Had breakfast – Bian Jian Ge (Apam balik) which came in with different ingredients depending on what you want. (banana, peanut butter, eggs etc etc). Leei had Oyster Porridge, M had Bak Kut Teh, E did not eat or had bian jian ge I suppose. I had curry mee mixed with meehon with si ham~ *Sorry yea, we fed our tummies instead of our cams or phones, so no pictures.
Her hair tho
She was quite scared about falling haha*Credits : Me
Side Kick *Credits : Leei
- Some jetty, a place with lots of pugs, wish I could have one haha. #Pug Is Love, Pug is Life. View was quite nice. Noticed a “shit directly into sea” toilet. When will people learn?
Pug 1
Pug 2
- Went over to the Lee Jetty, had a welcome sign, View was so so, nothing much to see.
Entrance
Food nearby KOMTAR
Went back to hotel, had a rest. I turned on discovery mood and went around scouting, looking for KOMTAR, ended up at Masjid Kapitan Keling (one of the oldest mosques in Penang, that was build by SHTI). I opened the map and realized that I was going further and further away from KOMTAR. Continued to journey on, matching street names with the map. Finally ended up at KOMTAR, asked a traveling agency if it was KOMTAR (no point bringing the whole gang there is its not), the lady said yes its KOMTAR but quarried about what I wanted, I said I wanted the bus station and she pointed me to the right direction which was about 50 m away from KOMTAR. I then headed back, using a shorter route since I was now more familiar with the area. I dropped by the George Town Heritage building to have a look and ask if there would be any admission fees. None. I then went to the Sun Yat Sen Penang Base, admission was RM 5 but I was only out to scout and so told them I would return later on. Honestly I got a little lost for a few seconds as the Hotel location was wrongly marked in the map by me but I figured it out nevertheless. After returning to the Hotel, we left shortly and had light lunch nearby and OTW to KOMTAR. E had vegetarian Kuey Teow normal which to her was not spicy. Leei and I shared one big plate which was less spicy as Leei didn’t fancy spicy food very much turned out to be extremely not spicy >< M had Lobak (a mix of meat, pork especially) which I shared too.
Ghost Museum
Moving on, we visited the Ghost Museum which apparently served to educate the public about them and dismiss myths or folktale etc etc. The girls went in while we the guys stayed outside, M didn’t agree about paying money to get frightened or some shit and see blood and stuff. To me I just wasn’t into it so no harm staying out with M, plus I was already low on money. E said most ghosts were female and haunt males generally, I thought to myself, why are these ghosts so sexist? The conclusion I reached was that there must be lots of really bad / evil men in this world. (not to say that there are no bad females). Unfortunately the rest is not explicitly clear as she was at the back and could not hear some of it. If you’re interested however feel free to visit the place.
Batu Ferringi Beach (1)
Nearby KOMTAR we spotted the bus we needed to board, however despite our collective efforts we did not make it, it left a few seconds after I was right behind it. We had to wait for the next bus then. Leei wasn’t happy needless to say but I think its fine, it’s a sign of effective bus service that doesn’t camp unlike those in KL. Moving on, our bus ride took about 1 hour to Batu Ferringi Beach with the 101 bus. We arrived at about 3.35pm and were immediately greeted by “vultures” promoting their water sports activity. Like let us settle down first man. However, thanks to them we knew where the beach was. The beach was fairly well maintained unlike what the reviews seem to suggest. It wasn’t as bad as they made it sound. We truly regretted not bringing our swimwear and extra clothes as we judged the place based purely on reviews.
After dinner at a nearby Malay stall we returned to the beach and stayed to watch the sunset, take pictures and stuff.
*Credits : Me, taken with Leei’s cam and extracted from E’s phone.
E & M decided to have some fun getting into my timelapse I was shooting on numerous occasions throughout the 30 plus minute video.
*Credits : M (i think)
We left at about 7.10 or 7.15 to wait for the bus. On the bus we learned that the place wasn’t as safe as we were told by the man who drove us to the hotel initially. We were also told to ask more than one person for directions just in case and always ask for the price before buying or ordering anything. People have experienced being charged RM 20 for a plate of Keay Teow. Crime is also a problem, thereby the heavy police presence in George Town, lest not forget the Penang Voluntary Patrol Unit (PPS) fiasco, to find out more read here : http://says.com/my/news/full-story-behind-the-arrest-of-156-pps-members-while-you-were-celebrating-merdeka
or
or just Google it. Where you stand is none of my business.
Day 3 :
Penang Hill
This was perhaps the most exciting day of our whole trip. We started the day off to Penang Hill by waking up at 6am (check) (or was it 5.45am) in the morning hoping to catch the sun rise from the hill. At 7.11 am we were still aboard the bus and could only accept the fact that we have perhaps missed it. I was still hoping we made it in time silently, within me. The ride took about 30 minutes, of which as we journeyed we passed by a Pasar Pagi (morning market) and a FRU quarters. These FRU guys are the kick ass guys that handle riots but is rather well known in handling people’s uprisings like Bersih. The only time I recall them being deployed rightfully was during the Red Shirt demonstration. Till this day I still fail to understand how a group of people can say they are defending the rights of a particular race and spreading racial slurs like “Cina Babi” (Chinese Pigs) and then saying that its not a sensitive or offensive thing to do as most Chinese eat it. I have lost all hope in this government that fears for their own pockets but not God. We arrived and bought our tickets at about 7.31a.m. The train arrived at 7.42am but only left at 8am for reasons unknown and older people seemed to be let in first via a different path. The ride took us 10-15 minutes to the top (721m above sea level). Unleashing the inner shutter bug we took pictures first, right after we got off the train until a staff had to usher us away from the boarding platform. M somehow kicked the metal like step and his toe started bleeding. Later on we were greeted with a panoramic view of Penang which was covered by a cloud of mist, fog, water vapor or just clouds. That being said we could only look at the information board showing the landmarks below. E then chanced upon some flowers and started snapping away, I joined her.
Since Christmas is around the corner they had already decorated the path to a restaurant with reindeers and the conifer tree.
Gazing below, I spotted the clouds moving along with the wind and swiped out my mini tripod to record a short hyperlapse video. In less than 5 minutes it started to drizzle. From tiny drops to pouring cats and dogs, we had to wait till it became less heavy.
Soldiering on, our next stop was the food court as it started to pour again. The love lane filled with love locks are right above the food court while the bottom housed an owl museum. The food court is made up by 2 floors, the one below mainly for drinks while the upper floor for food. Do note that the prices there are slightly higher than those you’d find elsewhere. We satisfied our tummies and moved on to the love lane, an attraction for love birds and the public alike.
Caption : “You aint happy if you aint gay”. *Credits : E or Leei.
(Just a caption guys i aint poking no ones backside and i aint looking for any willy wonkas to be inserted into me, neither is he).
I was attracted solely because I thought to myself “These cheap locks don’t prove anything, it is but a symbol and how easy my lock cutter would cut them off, surely to piss off people who thought their love was being violated”. I imagined myself cutting them all haha. The background was clear for a couple of minutes before becoming foggy again. Seriously those locks weren’t solid, some kid pulled one right open. Also what’s going to happen when you guys break up? Go all the way to unlock it? If you are still determined to put a lock there bring your own solid lock and a marker or correction fluid to engrave your names. Continuing our journey, we were at the steps to the Fort but the girls decided to act like zombies with the fog as their cover, it turned out to be funny and embarrassing as people were watching them as they came out, to make things more funny they performed watch me whip watch me ne ne. Before long the rain again greeted us which is why you see Leei and I walking with a towel above our heads. I have no idea why it was recorded in the first place but hey nothing wrong with having some fun 🙂 It’s actually my fault since I didn’t take her umbrella out with me. As the rain receded, the next stop was the Fort, housing a cannon pointing to the city, a Hindu Temple with fine works of art sculptures and a Golden Mosque which was under renovation or repairs.
Batu Ferringi Beach (2)
We returned to KOMTAR at 12.40pm and boarded the bus to the Batu Ferringi Beach once again to play. “上山下海” Once again we were preyed upon by “vultures”, awaiting our death, to feast upon us. We found a place to sit, at a spot where these guys operated from and needless to say they chanced upon us, we walked in to be served as a meal, right unto the plate. We negotiated over and over, each time getting the price lower and walked away, they didn’t seem happy about it but its consumer’s right to agree or walk away. I walked towards where E & M were, sitting under the shade while looking towards the endless horizon of the sea, something simple but adequate. I mean when was the last time you did it by yourself, let alone with anyone else? Leei decided to get a massage as we still had not reached an agreement as to the right price of parasailing with the operator / promoter, also by my guess she probably didn’t want to get wet by the waves just yet. Seeing that M was partially buried, I got to arms with E and put more sand onto him, and then onto E as she lied on him in the same spot. M said the sand was cooling. The beach wasn’t at its cleanest on that day with some kind of white foam being on the surface but we went in anyways 😛 The waves were higher and stronger by a bit compared to the first visit. Its monsoon season anyways and dared not venture too far out into the sea. In between there was this water splashing and sand throwing at each other, I know it sounds so immature and childish but whatever man, we had fun, especially me since I hit my target most of the time, which was a mess for her to wash off all that sand in the showers later on. As they left heading to the showers, we moved our stuff nearer to Leei who was noticeably flushed as she only had a towel to cover up while getting a massage. Shortly after that the first person we bargained with came over and it started all over again.
Guy : Jet skiing and banana boat is cheaper.
Me : Not interested in those man.
Guy : Then what you want?
Me : The fly fly in the sky one la.
Guy : Can ! Can go now.
Me : Your price not right yet.
Guy : Haiyor, ya Allah (oh god), I also headache lo.
Me : …….
Guy : Okay okay, go lower la for you guys.
The bargaining went on for a few minutes and Leei then joined us. We finally struck an agreement after that and man was he eager as heck to get us up in the air. We told him to just wait it out till E & M returned from the showers. It just didn’t seem worth it if we went up in the air and had no one to record anything for us. Shortly later, we geared up and got briefed after E & M returned. This is the real deal man, its going to happen soon, heart rate increased, adrenaline kicked into the system and thought of how it may start and end. Bad start would include being dragged along the beach and the sea till we took off. Bad landing would be almost the same as bad start till we stopped. I started recording on my phone and put it down, while Leei took off her lens protector and I passed it to M, within seconds the boat was pulling us and we had to run, my hands had to hold the parachute connector high and the wind finally picked us up. The running was a little challenging as it felt harder than usual to run, may be something to do with the parachute behind gathering wind. We were both tensed as we went up, still worried that we may come crashing down or something and believe me I was gripping the harness for dear life ><. I then took my phone up and damn it was in search mood, activated by accidently taping on the search button which must have happened when we were running below, launched the cam but was greeted with a green screen a few times, was about to give up recording and try to enjoy the view instead till I restarted the phone. I was back in the game haha, Leei was also recording by now. The view was definitely not extraordinary, being up in the air was the thing that gave us the kick compared to being in a vessel (air plane) which flew higher and gave better view but less thrilling.
*Take Off. Recorded by E with M’s Note 3
*Up in the air. Recorded by me.
*Landing : Recorded by E with M’s Note 3
Gurney Street
We headed right to Gurney Street after parasailing, reviewing the recorded videos that E had done for us and laughing about it. The bus ride took around 45 mins arriving at about 4.45pm. The place was a little confusing and I honestly expected it to be bigger with more food varieties. The place can be broken up into 3 sections. 1. Malay/Mamak section (where you can get your halal food). 2. Mostly food. 3.Mostly drinks. We had our meals, M and I had Wan Tan mee, E had vegetarian mee while Leei had Rojak and had to try out the famous “Har mee” (prawn noodles) too, which was ultimately not as nice as we expected (we shared the Har Mee). All of us except E also ate some oysters which was delicious, yum yum.
After our meals we headed to the sea side, no, not a beach just the sea side and waited for the sun to set whilst gazing into the endless horizon yet again followed by some chit chat and pictures.
*Credits : Leei, E and I.
We went back to our hotel at 7.15pm by arriving in Little India and walking towards Masjid Kapitan Keling, which took about 10 mins by foot.
Day 4 (last day) :
Chew Jetty (again)
*Credits : Me, using Leei’s cam
We woke up and rushed to catch the sunrise yet again, this time nearer to us, at the Jetties. We were greeted warmly by the sun. I managed to get a record it and convert it into a timelapse too. We just sat around for about 30 mins till it was time to start snapping away, you got to know when to enjoy the scenery because when you commit into taking pictures you generally lose out in having fun with the others, pretty much the same principle as don’t look at your phone so much during a face to face meeting. For me it was fine as I had already set up my phone to do the recording.
*Chew Jetty… Recorded by me.
China House
Okay I know this sound rather scandalous but I assure you this place runs a legitimate business and not some “chicken coup” (prostitution center). We were there early that we actually had to wait for them to open their café and do some cleaning up and other preparations. This place is right opposite the Cheah Kongsi. As we opened up the menu there was a clause informing us to purchase something for ourselves instead of sharing, I guess some people have went there and ordered only a few things, say for example 3 drinks out of 10 people. I got to say that the main attraction here wasn’t the drinks or food, its more of the work of art and a bit of architecture porn that serves as a bigger attraction, the whole place is pretty much filled with art, with an upper floor to explore, an inbuilt garden within the café and the back most portion. I went hunting for the art of Bruce Lee vs the Cat and it was well hidden.
Sun Yat Sen Penang Base
As an individual with the surname “Soon” this was a must visit for me, it was about a historical journey and getting to know your ancestor better. San Yat Sen or otherwise known as the father of modern China was a doctor and a revolutionist, revolting against the practices of the Manchuria administration. FYI all those Kung Fu movies with their queue were a testament to the degrading methods of keeping people under control. Foot binding is much worse. Aesthetically yes they seem nice, an Asian would look like they knew Kung Fu thanks to the movies we were bombarded with over the years and having tiny feet may seem cute as girls were not expected to do the heavy lifting outside. Practically these queues and foot binding served a more sinister purpose, in the event of an outbreak or civil disobedience people were easier to catch by pulling their hair or due to the small sizes of their feet. Going deeper, foot binding is a painful process, it involves a frequent practice to prevent or bind the growth of your feet, needless to say your feet will definitely grow and the pain takes place here when it’s growing and when you try to cure it. The process which I’m recalling from memory involves wrapping your feet with cloth infused with glass fragments or powder and the end results is not a pretty sight. He was also the same guy who lamented about how the Chinese had gun powder but used it for fireworks instead of using it for military defenses. He fathered the revolution in China and ultimately settled down in or fled to Taiwan. Thereby known as the founder of Taiwan. Till this day, Taiwan does not see eye to eye with China, yeah you could say its all the past scars and new wounds forming. The rest can be seen in various Documentaries like Youtube etc etc… This place shows more of what he did in Penang (Malaysia) and some timelines. “Kwong Wah Yit Poh” newspaper’s roots can be traced back to the revolution, this newspaper is still available in Malaysia till this day but like most media is strictly vetted and controlled. Do get a more in-depth explanation by asking those in charge. There is also a Penang Philomatic Union with statues within its porch which is linked to his course.
George Town World Herritage Incorporated
Is an agency established by the Penang state government to spearhead efforts in ensuring the conservation of George Towns’ legacy. It’s a small place but you’d be greeted by some historical stuff in conserving George Town (which I could not understand due to technicality reasons, its pretty much moving from old technology to newer build materials while trying to conserve a building). There are also some pieces of funny art by a local Artist called “ME” (not me but that guy calls himself “ME”). Right next to it is a Syed Alatas’s Mansion which was previously used as a junkyard and later recovered and conserved. All I can say is that these guys aren’t joking about conservation as they hire people whom are what I call experts in their field.
Penang Airport
We packed up our stuff and checked out of the Hotel, made our way to KOMTAR and waited at lane 1 (where busses which start with 1 comes and goes), thankfully we were told by an aunty that we were on the wrong lane, although the bus we wanted to take starts with the number “1”, to go to the airport we must wait at lane 5. Within minutes of being at Lane 5, the bus came and we were well within our schedule. Failure to get a bus would leave us with no other option than taking a taxi and paying more needless to say.
The bus ride took about an hour which felt quite fast. I dosed off a few times in the bus with Leei doing the same, not sure about E & M though. Upon arrival we went to the washroom to freshen up and later ended up in a Secret Recipe outlet, the price really ticked me off Rm 19 – 20 plus for some local food which can be bought for much cheaper outside and definitely not some exquisite, nice , famous food. I stormed off to the nearby McDonalds and got myself a Spicy Chicken Mc Deluxe and still had money to spare for my bus ride back to KL Sentral – LRT – Bus stop – Home. If I had eaten at Secret Recipe id be broke and stuck. Always look ahead and be sure that you’re able to get home or nearest ATM before satisfying your tummy with an expensive af meal. At the security check point there was this impatient Pakistani or some guy with a Muslim country as his origin. Damn, this guy even tried to cut our line, my line! It took me less than 5 seconds to pull out our boarding passes whilst still moving forward but this guy walao pissed me off, triggering a few unfriendly stares. Sibeh pek cek liao. Now before you jump in and call me a fascist or racist person, I have Muslim friends too and they are not as shitty as that guy was. A person should remain as a person instead of judging him by religion. I absolutely hate it when people say that I don’t act like a Christian, well sweet heart, I’m a person and fell free to judge me as a person, religion wise its between me and God. On a better note Air Asia Penang was much better and efficient in doing their job. The boarding gates opened earlier and we boarded early, bottom line we took off with 2-3 mins to spare from the actual take off time but after the mark where the boarding gates are closed, this was the kind of real deal I want and wish to see more often instead of delayed flights. The air stewardess on the intercom was cool and wanted us to pay attention to those standing near us while they did their “sexy dance” which was a safety briefing. The male steward was obviously caught off guard and gave a “I cannot believe she just said that face”. There is this practices that I don’t agree with : 1. Hotseats policy – where one pays more to be seated nearer to exit points or emergency exits, you gonna die when its time, no negotiations. 2. No outside snacks – I get it, you guys let people fly with cheaper rates (with the compromise in terms of efficiency and being punctual) but not letting us chew our own snacks is an abomination, blasphemy haha, not everyone wants to buy more expensive stuff aboard your plane Mr. Tony Fernandes.
Conclusion
Penang’s a pretty awesome place. It’s a trip that I will definitely remember for long and perhaps laugh when I look at pictures and the videos in the years to come followed by a tinge of sadness and longing for them as we all part and go our own ways, such is life. God has been graceful enough to grant us safety in our journeys and quests while keeping the rain at bay for most of the time we were out having fun despite it being monsoon season, Glory be to God. I look forward to visiting other places which I have yet visited if and when I go again. Oh ya, the WiFi, fuyoh its available almost everywhere and they actually work.
Disclaimer :
While I have tried to input most of the adventure above, there are some things which were omitted in respect of people’s privacy and embarrassing moments etc etc…. I do not wish to be made liable for your actions in following this guide or whatever, as of the time of my trip, these information are correct but may not withstand the passing of time and development. While the media posted here are not copyrighted, they will rightfully be credited to its original owners (or) and people who took it. If you do intend to post it somewhere please do include the credits, don’t la steal pictures and post on your IG (or anywhere else) as though its yours, go take them yourself please. Pictures without credits are mine by default. My pictures taken with my Nokia Lumia 920 was running software that is not fully stable and released to the public yet. If you must know it was running Windows 10 preview build 10586 instead of the official Denim (Windows 8.1) software. Leei used her Sony Alpha 5000 (pictures were shot in a 4:3 ratio instead of a bigger ratio) , while E used her Samsung S4 and Canon PowerShot A2300 and M with his Samsung Note 3. This post is subject to subsequent updates or edits if required. This post shall not be used against me by any governmental or non governmental organization in any way, if you’re here you’re not welcome, please go on licking your bosses’ shoes.
Social Accounts
If interested here are the lists of social accounts you can visit of the respective people in this post.
E for Elisa
@elisadreamland – IG.
https://www.instagram.com/elisadreamland/
WordPress @ elisatws (just Google ElisaTWS)
https://teewernshen.wordpress.com/
Leei for Wan Leei
@burgercolacokeeee_cwl – IG
https://www.instagram.com/burgercolacokeeee_cwl/
M for Mervyn Ng Wai Hong
@mervynngwaihong –IG (not active) he is more of a DOTA player.
https://www.instagram.com/mervynngwaihong/
Me?
@Vsmh96 which is universal for IG – Twitter – and WordPress.
vsmh96 