Cuti Cuti Malaysia (2/3): Penang

After the tiring ordeal, Wanyean took us to have Tua Pui Mee (Fat Noodles) and Ais Batu Campur for dinner. OMFG they were good! That's when I realised that I'm actually in Penang, Malaysia's very own food haven. And that's what we did most of time while we were there; eat, eat, eat. Among others, I've had Char Kuey Teow, Loh-Bak, Laksa, Rojak & Loh Mee. No, I didn't get any pictures because I was afraid:

(In a hawker stall)
Ben: This food looks good. (Pulls out a camera)
Hawker: Oi, what you doing?!
Ben: I'm just taking a picture of your delicious food.
Hawker: You steal my recipe!
Ben: But..
Hawker: No, cannot! (Grabs the plate and throws it to the ground)

Fine, I'm just embarrassed to pop out my camera and start flashing away for fear of annoying the other customers around us. Besides the food, the shopping in Penang was also great. I only visited Queensbay Mall and Gurney Plaza but got myself three really nice shirts. Yeah, I know I could get them in KL too but there's something about shopping with your friends that makes selecting clothings so much easier:

(In a shop)
Ben: Oh god, this piece of cloth is ugly.
Wanyean: RM20 says you'll buy it and put it on right here.
Ben: You're on!

(Pays for it and puts it on)

Ben: There we go. Now fork out em' 20 bucks!
Wanyean: You do realise you're wearing a pair of women's bra right?
Ben: Don't you dare make any excuses. Pay up!

Ah well, you get the picture. Penang is also known for some great tourist spots but being the non-adventurous lot we were, we only visited one; the Kek Lok Si temple. It was basically a temple placed right on top of a deforested hill. The irony. Plus the place was scorching HOT! The main attraction there was the huge Kuan Yin statue placed at the peak of the hill. But some of us were more interested in the "Fortune Telling" portion of the temple.

You are supposed to shake a container filled with hundreds of sticks till one of them falls off. And then you take the fallen stick to the monk and he'll give you a paper where written on it is a long chinese poem. From the poem, you could tell anything about your future from education to love. CK and Fei Cai tried it out but the others like me couldn't bare the thought of knowing exactly how our future would turn out:

Monk: Something bad is gonna happen to you tomorrow.
Ben: What will happen?
Monk: You'll slip off a banana peel and fall off a flight of stairs.
Ben: What?!
Monk: You'll puncture your lungs and die.
Ben: Ok that's enough.
Monk: Your body will only be discovered a month later.
Ben: I said enough!
Monk: I see you haven't had sex yet.
Ben: So?
Monk: You're gonna die a lonely virgin.

It would've really spoiled the mood for the rest of my day.. and more importantly, the rest of my holiday. I spent 2 nights in Penang which was more than enough to get my fill of the island. Next stop, Genting Highlands!

Pictures of part 2 here.