Quest for Good Art and Good Food in Georgetown, Penang

** Enjoy the ride - Krewalla ** 

I have always loved the idea of exploring a familiar place as a tourist because I feel like sometimes when you are so comfortable being the locals, you wont be able to appreciate the beauty of a certain place. Since I've been a part of the KL Ambassador under DBKL, I noticed so many things that I never have before despite being born/raised and went almost everywhere on KL with Umi ( or so I thought ). 

So, I made and impromptu plane to explore a nearby place...

Penang! 

Penang has been on my list to-go aside from Malacca ( which I have yet to explore properly, shame! ). My mom is originally from Penang so it is not that foreign to me, but most of the time when we went back it will be about the Nasi Kandar/Laksa/Char Kuey Teow and late night teh tarik with the uncles and auties. 

Initially our plan was to find food,the oh-so-common Penang street arts and drop by the Global Village held by AIESEC USM on Sunday. Well, well well as we got there, we found out that August is the month of Georgetown Festival where they held a whole lot of arts exhibitions all month long, everywhere in Georgetown. I mean free art exhibition ( most of them, not all ) in Penang! We need to change plans! Hence, this is how the tittle come out. 

Oh and btw, for this post I will solely focus on the artsy tartsy/cultural/historical that we found all across Georgetown throughout the 3D2N trip.Everything else, budget/accommodation/transportation will be covered in another post ( god knows when ). 

 " Quest for Good Art and Good Food in Georgetown, Penang " 

Here's a rough list of where we went and what we did, it may not be that accurate though cause most of the time we just walked in randomly and like ' eh ada exhibition/art lah!  break break! ' . Yeap, that random.

More pictures here : 
Penang Trip : Part One
Penang Trip : Part Two

Nasi Kandar Line Clear

After the long 6 hours on the icy cold train, we reached Penang with grumbling tummy and in a mood ready to munch a life size horse. After settling ourselves in the room, we went out with one and one purpose only - FOOD! With reference from the map given by our host and google map, we walked around 10 minutes from our hostel to this local famous late night Nasi Kandar. From the short reading I did on internet, it says that the shop only opens at 10pm but when we got there at 10.40 it was packed and the line was super long. Like seriously? Cant you stay home and sleep? Well, we did get into the line anyway. After like 10 long minutes in the line, we finally got our Nasi Kandar! Weehoo. I forgot to take pictures of the shop, the food and the environment, well who have time to take picture when you are practically salivating on the hot plate of rice with lots of curry and hot chicken and fresh crunchy vege on your hand. Just a head's up, do not expect a spotless shop cause it is nowhere near there but hey, the food is great and the people are awesome so put that aside. As long as I dont see any big fat mouse running around I'm fine :) 

Breakfast @ Transfer Road 

This particular breakfast spot is in almost all top 10 places to eat in Penang. Situated right on Transfer Road, they serve the famous Roti Bakar with wobbly sunny side up and Roti Canai with a huge serving of either chicken or meat with lots of curry.I would suggest you to try their Teh Ais as well cause I'm not sure what kind of tea they use but it's different from any other mamak Ice Tea I've had anywhere else. If you haven't been there, do expect to feel the gushing wind from busses, cars, motorcyle zooming inches from your seat. I'm not kidding when I say it's on the street, cause it really is! The tables practically takes a lane from the actual street but surprisingly, they have been there for centuries with no authorities on their throat. Hmm? 

 Chew Jetty 

It's obviously not one of the #GTF15 but it does have some fancy cultural thing going on, which I loveeeee. When we were there, the place was packed with local/international tourists which makes walking around a bit hard. As we got there, we sneaked in into the temple and saw a group of US girls ( I think ) were being briefed by one of the guides. As how jetty should be, Chew Jetty are built on the water with a makeshift foundation  . To be honest, the whole area seems to be almost like Pulau Ketam only smaller. Most of the house are still occupied by uncles and aunties, some of them involved in the touristy business while others prefer their privacy. So, please ask for permission before you go around and take every possible picture you can get.

Otto Kedai @ Armenian Street 

This is actually one of our first ‘random’ stops which leads to amazing findings. OttoKedai is basically an art shops mostly selling hand painted postcards, handmade trinkets and some other unique souvenirs. My favorite on this are the hand drawn postcards which shows a black and white sketching of Penang. Overall, it’s a cute store for you to get unique souvenirs and no-where to be found postcards.

 

 ‘ Transit ‘ 
 ‘ The Seas will Sing and the Winds will Carry Us ‘
‘ Tee Ko’ @ 179 The House, Victoria Lane '
Singapore House 

Just opposite OttoKedai, there’s this place or better known as Singapore House. To be honest, we have no idea that this is actually a gallery but we were drawn to the place by the huge shocking pink tank with little drawings of cats hanging around it.

On the lower floor was the ‘ The Seas will Sing and the Winds will carry Us ‘ showcase. In what seems to be the middle area of the building, several screens are arranged in two rows, each TV plays a different short movie with the main characters making appearance talking about their experience related to the theme. Its quite interesting as it combines both visual and audio in a showcase, something I never experienced before.

Meanwhile, on the second floor was the other two showcase, 'Transit' and 'Tee Ko'.I really love the minimalist interior of the upper floor and somehow me and le brother sat there for a good 20 minutes, imagining our future house. Heh :P 

‘ Pixyl Fountain – Steven Gutierrez ‘ @ 162, Victoria Lane 

Right opposite Singapore House, a shop house serve as a mini gallery which showcase the Pixyl Fountain , a sculpture that incorporate technicality and traditional sounds of Malaysia. Coincidentally, while we were there the Head Project of Georgetown Art Festival was also there leading a tour of GAF to a group of people. There were medias and bloggers covering the tour as well. After 10 minutes of awkward smile with the group, we silently got out from the gallery. 

‘ Occupy Beach Street ‘ @ Beach Street 

Went there for the GV by AIESEC UM. But there were some street performances as well, it was quite ‘occupied’ when we got there. Interesting stuff. What Ilike the most is the surrounding buildings that look super cool and for a second you feel like you’re not in Malaysia heh. I guess it’s the British influence kot.

‘ Heritage Trees of Penang ‘ @  MBPP Town Hall

After occupying Beach Street, we then cycled  towards Padang Kota which is just 5 minutes away. Our objective, is to find Dewan Sri Pinang for the Same Same exhibition but we found this first. Luckily, there was an exhibition going on so we decide to just have a look. Amazing photography exhibition of enchanted looking trees from around the world. From the short description , some of the trees are believed to be mystical and have some magical myth going on. Some are very very old.

Transformers @ Padang Kota

Well, since we were in the area we’re like okay why not? So we cycled towards the awesome looking Transformers right in the middle of the field. Nothing much to be honest, just two Transformers used as a prop for the mandatory selfies to be post on every Penang-ites social medias. Meh. And just right beside there, was 5-6 containers that’s supposed to be some sort of street art. It’s quite interesting to see how they incorporate Transformers with some local interest/attraction. We went there again during the night, and that is when the magic happen. Around 9pm, there’s a light/sound show going on which means the Transformers started to point colored lasers all around ( too bad they didn’t move ) while the movie soundtrack plays in the background. Sometime towards the end, they used two super big laser light to show the Transformers logo which was shown on the nearby building. It was super awesome and got me excited for like 10 minutes. Seriously, kudos to the sound/light engineers and whoever that make the show happened.

Penang 3D Trick Art Museum @ Lebuh Penang

Right after Transformers, we quickly headed to the Trick Art Museum since le brother insisted on visiting the place.Initially I was quite hesitant to enter cause I'm practically running out of cash ( blame that to the random purchase of street food along the way ) but since he wanted to pay so Im cool with that. Upon entering, it's quite creepy to be honest. As you enter, you will have to squeeze in a narrow cave-sort-of with frames of historical information. As a normal museum would be, you will be presented with the history of Penang and such. At the end of the exhibition, there's a room that shows short documentary of the old business around Penang and Melacca. We sat there through the whole 30 minutes particularly to watch the movie ( duh ) and cause our feet are hurting us hehe. Beside the movie room, there's a small door that leads you to Narnia the 3D exhibition. You can choose either the 3D Mural, the upside down thingy and a neon mural where they will take your picture in the dark with flash and all. We spent about 2 hours in the museum itself and when we got out it was raining! Ignoring the rain, we chose to cycle cause - we're cool like that!  And the guards was like ' Hujan ni, boleh bawak basikal ke? Bahaya dik ' 

‘ Same Same ‘ @ Dewan Sri Pinang

As we cycled in the drizzling rain, I remembered there's another exhibition that I really want to go. And when we checked the damp map, the hall was just next door lucky us.So , to the 'Same Same' we go! Its basically a photojournalism exhibition where the photographer documented the life of generations of inter-marriage among Malaysians. Each photo came with a short description of how life is when you're from a mix family or marrying someone from other cultural. What amazed me is that despite having a diverse cultural , background and religion they still call themselves as Malaysians.  I would say this is by far one of my favorite photography exhibition. Kudos to the photographer for being able to capture the wonderful stories from the amazing people. Wherever you are, hugs! 

‘ Purrfect Cat Café ‘ @ Muntri Street

Okay, so this is actually one of our guilty-pleasure sort of hehe. We did not planned for this, neither have enough budget on this.But for the sake of furry little fatso munchkin that does nothing but sleep both of us withdraw the extra 'emergency' money just to have 3 hours trying to wake the cats so that they play with us. Effort people, effort! The minimum spending per person is around RM18 , you can choose either the combo or just choose ala carte which varies from choices of cakes and expensive fancy drinks. We end up spent RM 40+ for two pax, all just for the sake of those cats duh.To be honest, the food are just too expensive but maybe it is to support the maintenance of the cats. The interior is pretty comfy and relaxing. After you make your payment downstairs, you will have to wash your hands with the provided soaps and take of your shoes and socks. Then, to the second level we go! On the second level, everything is cat themed from the cushions, the seats, the cups and even the teapot. Seriously, how much cat crazy can you even go? So here's the thing, if you know me a year ago I'm a kind of person that would scream in fear at a sight of cats nearby like seriously, I cannot even touch a cat what more to hold them and love them. But around 9 months ago, somehow my family adopted a cat whom we called Foxy and I begin to ease my cat-phobia. And when Foxy gave birth to 4 cute little fatso, not more cat-phobia but instead I became a cat crazy lady. Anywayy, back to the cat cafe there are 9 cats if I'm not mistaken all together. You will see their bio data and information at the cashier downstairs. There's two separate rooms at the upper level, one is where you would have your cakes and drinks and a glass door separates you from the other room where the cats are. So in other way, you could watch the cats jump around while you're sipping on your expensive fancy hot cocoa served in a cat themed mug. Sadly, when we were there we spent more time trying to wake the cats instead of enjoying looking at jumping cats duh. Maybe cause when we were there it was late evening and its nap time for the cats but please, I spent 40 bucks to watch you sleep? You can do better cats! A little tips here, if you want to spend your money here and you want to spend it good try coming in the morning where the cats are all active and friendly and maybe you can watch them as their cute tiny buts jumping around. 

Nasi Dalcha @ Queen Street 

I read on this place from a random blog of a fellow backpackers, but I couldn't remember which one pardon me. Since the review was so good and it is just few blocks away from our place we decide to have our late night dinner here. Again, the shop is only open from 8pm onwards. Penang people really love having supper ey? Most of the best food is only available 7pm onwards. Another reason why I foresee myself to gain lots of weight if I were to stay there for a month.Anyway back to our food. The stall is again, on the road with few tables and chairs scattered on the sidewalk. As you were walking there, you could smell the fragrant rice which in my opinion smells like Nasi Minyak, the one they usually serve in a typical Malay wedding. You are given the choice of either chicken or lamb but when we got there lamb was out of stock so we settle on chicken. A huge plate of the dalcha rice and chicken curry were swiped clean from the plate in 15 minutes! A record for me. Another recommended for good supper spot here! 

‘ Unique Penang Art Gallery ‘ @ Love Lane

After cat cafe, we went back to our room which was just few shops away. Yada yada showered and a quick nap we went out again around 10-ish to return our rented bicycles.We actually found this little gallery by accident while stalking the hotties mat saleh's   strolling around Love Lane enjoying the reggae songs playing from one of the many backpackers cafe there. This particular shop which I thought was a souvenir shop attracts you with a live piano performance , and a station where you can buy a postcard and they will post it to you on a chosen date. The postcard idea is so cute, cause you can buy a very inspirational card and have it posted to you on your birthday or something. So imagine receiving a surprise postcards delivered at your home, if only the cards doesn't cost so expensive I would have bought one for myself. Oh and FYI, most of the cards are hand painted and you can also choose from a collection of raw sketches by one of their artiste. Aside from the postcards, there's a little room that showcase sketches, paintings and some sculptures by local artiste. As you walked inside the gallery, you cant help not to feel artistic yourself well at least I do. 

‘ 14 Living Story ‘ @ Love Lane

Right opposite to the Art Gallery there's another shop cum gallery which we again stumbled upon. As other souvenirs shops around this particular sells postcards, key chains and other touristy stuffs. I was walking around and about to walk out from the shop when the shopkeeper told me that I can visit the back of the shops where they have a small gallery/museum that showcases historical stuffs from the original owner of the building. 

So that's the end of our short impromptu unorganized backpacking trip. There's more to our trip but these are just the highlights of it. I had fun tho, a good bonding weekend with le brother before both of us get busy with our own life.

More pictures here : 

Penang Trip : Part One

Penang Trip : Part Two

Next trip? Pantai Timur! 

Game of life

** Yellow - Coldplay **

Few years back, I was a girl in blue and white uniform with a whole bucket of attitude. A cocktail of raging teenage hormones and a so-called rebellious heart, I was a spectacular specimen to the school. Not really the straight A's student, neither the one hidden beneath thick revision book I was an ordinary plain Jane without any clear opinion about what she want to be in 5 years. Back then, I think I must have changed my dream at least twice within a book or once I finished another book of Princess Diaries or Cecelia Ahern.

For the past week I have been going back to my school SMK King George V, Seremban not as a student, but as a teacher-in-training. As a part of my four year course, the TESLians are required to have a one week SOP in between our second/third year of study. SOP is a short program where we would go to a real school and have a real experience of being in a real school as a real teacher. Lol, pardon for the REALness of my previous sentence.Anyway, that's the main reason of this post as I am thrilled of the one-week of life changing experience. Fuhh ayat.

Going back to the old school was not something I would ever dream of, what more to become an English teacher. I believed fate has brought me to where I am now, and I could not be more grateful of the experience I had for the past three years of TESL. As one of my ex teacher said to me " tak sangka awak dalam banyak banyak jadi cikgu " ( who would have expect you, out of many finally becoming a teacher ). Lol teacher, whatever that might mean? Am I that bad back then?

But really, being physically in class in a different role allows me to see things differently. One thing for sure, if you try to secretly eat in the class, trust me teachers will know. They just chose to ignore it. Lol, I dont remember if there's a time when I didnt eat or sleep in class. Oh and another not-so-related thing is that, I found out that teachers are the BIGGEST gossiper ever ( not being biased but this is from my observation ) . So its true what my sexist male lecturer have been talking about all these time haha. Anyway, on the last day I met the Headmaster just as a formality and such but we end up talking almost two hours just about teaching life etc. Now, let me tell you something back then I was not a fan of the pengetua neither I'm one of the troublemaker who get canned weekly by him. So I vaguely know him as a person, I just know that he's one of the teacher who talks alot during perhimpunan ( assembly ). He checked my reports one by one and commented on everything. Boy, I think I was either mumbling or chattering nonsense at the time. He questioned my every comments and ask my opinions on what I think was wrong.

One thing I remember tho, he said this :

" Celebrate every little success " 

Such short sentence yet meant so much. We were discussing about some of the low students who are shy on having to speak English in school which resulted in a poor English proficiency. Understanding the norms of Malay students ( in certain places and to certain people. Dont mean to be judgmental here ) , if you speak 'orang putih' ( English ) outside of the English period you will be labelled as 'bajet' 'perasan' and showing off. I had an experience of myself when I first moved to Seremban but it only lasted like for a few months.Once I started to pick up the 'nogori' and bahasa pasar there's no turning back for me lol. 

Okay so back to the context. So regarding these poor kids, speaking/communication in English seems like a very big deal for them hence they developed a fear towards the language itself. This will eventually leads to hatred which makes us, the teachers very hard to create the 'spark of interest' towards the language. So as a teacher, regardless any subject it is very important to acknowledge every success/achievements no matter how small they are . Psychologically, it does have a positive effect to the students whereas they have this certain pride of being able to achieve something finally. 

Well the same concept applied in life too. There will be time when we feel like a total loser and there's no hope whatsoever for us in life. And when we finally pull ourselves back up, along the way there will be little accidents and we go back to square one - i'm a total loser.that's it. Yup, been there done that. Coincidentally, when I was in one of the 'I'm a loser state' I met this person who managed to rub off some his positive aura on me- yup, he's that awesome. He is Deydos one of the speaker during APLS in Korea back in March. He said the same thing, that is 'to reward yourself with every little achievement you had'.Well, to make it simple here, imagine you had a crazy week trying to finish a project report and all you can think of is to catch up on sleep. But on Friday you finally finish the damn thing, go and treat yourself with a cone of ice cream ( or to make it more fancy, Magnum! ) .You can never go wrong with one of those icy cold custom made chocolate coated vanilla ice cream  on sticks! :D 

*while I'm writing this, I'm listening to an old song on MixFm ..cherish the night...cherish the night...* doesnt make sense but yeah, I just have to add this for the mood :) 

So yeah when in doubt, have an ice cream!