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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Travel Diary - Malaysia

Hola Skittle Biscuits!

Today's post is about my trip to Penang, Malaysia! I think Malaysia has one of the most beautiful landscapes. This country has a combination of city-scapes and nature views.You will just be driving and all of sudden see countless mountains in the distance. I remember driving to Genting Highland and just curving in and out of the mountains. We also saw monkeys sitting on the side of streets on our way up the mountains.

To go up the mountain, we had to ride a very long and tall gondola ride. It was the longest gondola ride I ever experienced, just when you think it is over, there are about 10 more posts that you have to pass. However, it was an incredible sight to see and the best part is you get to escape from the hot and humid weather.

Food: Street food is a huge thing here. I would definitely say it is part of their culture to eat from one of these stands. Actually, the night we arrived there, we ate at a outdoor food court surrounded by a bunch of food cart/stalls. It was actually owned by a distant relative and she made some really good fried rice and veggies. My favorite thing I ate there was dry wonton noodle. I didn't even know this existed!

We also went to this peculiar restaurant, I think it was called 'My voice cafe & bistro.' It was a small restaurant but served the hugest ramen bowls! We ordered two bowls and it took up the whole table! I still can't believe how big the bowls were. Anyways the ramen was really good! They are known for their spice levels, beginning from one all the way to 20. I think we got a spice level of 4 or 5? It was perfect for me since I like just a little bit of spice and they will let you try a little bowl of spicier levels if you just ask. The decor was white and crisp and cottage-like and reminded me of a place that should be in Paris. They also had a grand piano that took up 1/3 of the restaurant. It was quite lovely to hear live music during our meal but I am not sure the whole concept went well together. Also the piano was a bit too loud. I would say the price is about the same as US, so I think it is geared towards tourist who are looking for an air conditioned restaurant.

Drinks: Most of the time you will order your drinks from the same place as your food but if you need a beer (which I don't drink) there is a beer-lady you can order from. I noticed that almost every food court had one of these ladies. She would be wearing a tiger beer outfit, matching shirt/skirt and hat! My favorite is having fresh orange juice everyday. I asked for no-ice just to be safe.

Dessert: My favorite dessert by far was this coconut ice cream from Mamma Mia. It was a little stall in the middle of the street and they had one table behind their stall with a little gift shop behind them. It was really interesting because it was inside a coconut shell, so it had some young coconut meat on the bottom, and was topped off with sweet/sticky rice and corn!
Mamma-Mia Coconut Ice cream

With all that being said, I just wanted to give a few tips before your trip to Malaysia. So here we go!

1. Don't expect to be in air conditioned facilities. You will see more single A/C units rather than centralized units like you would see here in the USA.

2. Don't forget to bring around tissues, you will need it. A lot of places don't offer or provide tissues so this will come in handy in multiple places, trust me.

3. Be mindful of your bag/purse. Self explanatory.

I hope these tips helps! I'll have another post about all the street art we visited next time! Until then..

Safe Travels and I'll see you next time!


For more adventures with me, watch this video: