Tree Monkey, Spice Garden, Penang

Tree Monkey

Tropical Spice Garden 

Lone Craig Villa, Lot 595 Mukim 2.

Jalan Teluk Bahang 11100 Penang. 

Tel: 604-881 3493/4

You can find this place with the help of Waze.

Drive along the scary, narrow road of Batu Ferringhi. Go past the Hard Rock Hotel and just when you think it's a bad idea to drive on, look out for the Spice Garden on your left.

You'll have to park by the roadside and hike walk up a steep hill. Wear comfortable shoes or less than 2-inch heels.

It was very windy when I visited. Too dark to see the sea. You can come earlier as the place operates from 9 am to 10.30 pm according to the website.

Taste - Good

Price - Fair. You'll be paying for the presentation and ambiance

Ambiance - Thai mix Bali tree house. Soothing lounge jazz (my fav!)

View

Choose roof or roofless (deck)

Sabai Tomyum

Sabai Tomyum tastes exactly like a bowl of tom yam, with crushed ice. I missed the 'chili' in the ingredient description so serve me right!

Pineapple Fried Rice

<3<3<3 for the pineapple fried rice. Interesting 'sambal'.

Good service, nice ambiance. Perfect for that romantic date ;)

Prowling Penang

What can one do for a day in Penang?

A bunch of us decided to have a day-trip to Penang and here's what we did.

We went for breakfast at Astaka Taman Tun Sardon. No pic. We were too hungry. I had ghee chapati with meat curry. Yummy!

Then, we headed to Bukit Bendera or the Penang Hill. It was Friday, not a public holiday but the place was filled with visitors. Unable to find a parking spot and unwilling to wait in the long queue, we decided to head into Georgetown.

First stop, Penang 3D Trick Art Museum.

After leaving the car at Padang Kota, we walked to the museum and it started to rain. 

(-.-")

We had fun at the Trick Art museum. They tried to do some crowd control by allowing patrons to enter only after the previous group was done at the first art display. However, towards the middle of the exhibitions, people simply skip displays or hog those they like. Keep your cool and be courteous. Especially when some parents just let their kids photobomb your shots.

We finished in less than an hour, I believe. As we exited, it was still raining so we walked to the end of the road and hangout at the Toy Cafe.

My hot chocolate

The cake was delicious. Too bad I cannot remember the name. I had choc OD that day. Good thing we spent the day walking.

Refreshed, we started out again. This time with Penang street art hunt in mind. Oh and we were also trying to find the Penang Interactive Museum. I enlisted the help of Google Map and we found the place!

...crowded. So again, we cancelled this one.

Since we were already close to the jetty, we went there in hope to find the street art which I heard is fast fading. There's Ah Boy and his grandma at the entrance but we had trouble finding the original Children In A Boat.

Only as we were leaving, I saw the faded painting.

From the jetty, we crossed the road and found the nearest street art(s). At least 2 are nearby. You can get the map from shops at the jetty or do you own research online before embarking on the hunt.

It was cloudy and we realised that it will rain again soon. All this while we have been heading to Armenian Street. Why? 

2 reasons:

1) There are plenty of street arts nearby

2) Jawi House is there :)

<3<3<3<3<3

Read my entry on Jawi House here.

Sedap wey. Tak tipu.

Since rain didn't want to stop, I ordered hot tea to while the hours away. In the end, we gave up and I booked a cab using MyTeksi app. The cab took us to the car and we started shopping mall-hopping.

No sunset at Straits Quay :(

But we found Spongebob in Gurney Paragon!

Dinner was at Idrus Ikan Bakar and again, no pic as we were famished. Remember to order their sotong goreng tepung when you visit!

Chinese Museum, Kuching

Muzium Cina Sarawak

Same operating hours with the other museums. FREE entry as well. 

Main entrance faces the waterfront so it might seem closed from the main road. It's opposite the road from the tua pek kong.

See the tua pek kong?

Uncle caretaker garang. Strictly no photo inside the exhibition ah. Had to resist even my hands were itching to capture the wonders in the museum. Upon entering, we were directed by the uncle to go into a room to watch the introductory video. Reminded me a bit of Angkor National Museum. The video showed how the Chinese arrived here. Kinda cute la =p Especially that durian incident.

Video show

Spend at least half an hour here to enjoy the wealth of knowledge on display. Seriously. So much info cramped into a small building. Effective use of space, I'd say.

Fort Margherita, Kuching

Fort Margherita

Opening hours
Monday to Friday - 9:00 am to 4:45 pm
Weekend & public holidays - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Close on 1st day of main public holidays, TYT Birthday, Labour Day (1st May) and Malaysia Day (16th Sept)

Early morning on the 24th Dec 2014, we took the sampan across the Sarawak river to go to Margherita Fort. I suggest you treat this as your morning walk. Wear comfortable shoes and outfit.

Once at the jetty, head towards the village and look for the Fort Margherita or Kubu Margherita signboard. There are some stairs to climb and you'll pass the villagers' house. Please respect their privacy. At top of the stairs, turn left and follow the lane around the school wall.

Then, a little climb and turn... left? (if I remember correctly) Basically head to top of the hill. You'll arrive at a flat area and look for a signboard.

The fort is just around this corner

Tadaaah! We have arrived!

Read about it here. Don't be like someone I know who confidently commented, "I wonder how a Spanish fort got to be in Kuching?"

It used to be a police museum but it seems like some renovation is going on. Couldn't access the top floor so I guess the buntings I found are plans for the future?

Despite not having many visitors, I found rubbish in the compound. It's a shame la. Please don't litter. Please?

TopSpot, Kuching

Check out THE place to be for seafood in Kuching. 

Soph, Rick and another friend was waiting at the Bukit Mata Seafood (no. 25) on the rooftop of the UTC building. The building is easy to find and get to. You might want to walk if you're staying nearby. Parking was plenty & easy but getting out was a minor bad dream. All it takes is one idiot driver and you'll be stuck for at least half an hour.

It's a good idea to come early to secure a table. As you can see... it's packed. No wonder a Twitter friend dubbed it 'hotspot'.

Taste- Good

Price - Fair

Ambiance - Super casual

Wear something comfortable and you're good to go. Schedule a session at the salon after as your hair will definitely smell ;)

Sunny Hill Ice Cream, Kuching

Sunny Hill

Jalan Bukit Cahaya,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

The little shop is situated at the junction to SMS Sunny Hill.

Look at the queue. 

For this.

<3<3<3<3<3

I had a bowl of smooth and creamy sundae with nuts. And gula kabung (?) wasn't paying attention to what Soph was saying.

I'd go every week if I live nearby.

Note: The profits from this shop are used for the public service projects of the S.D.A. Mission. 

Sarawak Cultural Village

Sarawak Cultural Village

Damai Beach Resort

Kuching

It was Tuesday, 23 December 2014.

After a bowl of the famous (and delicious) mee kolok, we head towards Damai Beach, Waze or Google Map will be able to show you the way. Alternatively, follow the road signs.

Some information you should know. Take note of the cultural show time. You don't want to miss it.

Village Map

So what can you do here?

You cannn... collect stamps from these houses:

Rumah Bidayuh - it's bigger actually, at the back of this hut

Rumah Cina

Rumah Melayu

Rumah Melanau

Rumah Orang Ulu

Rumah Penan

Guess whose house?

You can also find souvenirs in the houses (ranging from accessories, food & other trinkets) and if you come at the right time, some mini cultural shows. 

This one is in the Malay house

Take your time and enjoy the beautiful scenery from the houses. We're at the feet of the majestic Mt. Santubong after all. 

This is the rumah Bidayuh

View from the Melanau house

And I'll let you discover yourself where this little delightful water feature is ;)

Hint: behind one of the houses

Fancy a night here? Check out the details below...

Remember to check your watch so you won't miss the cultural show. They won't let you go in too early though :( 

I got in about 15 minutes before the show and got chased out. The staff made us wait outside for a while and line up before going in. Upon re-enter, I saw some balloons hanging on the corner wall. Guess someone forgot to hang it earlier & they didnt want audience to see. I still got front seat anyway :p

The show itself was good, better than the one in Sabah. Perhaps as good as the one in Cambodia Cultural Village. Although this one has no acting.

This guy picked someone from the audience to bully for participation

Another audience participation session - joget 

Guess who was the unlucky audience selected for solo participation?

I can't dance, I suck at blow-piping. Needless to say, it was embarrassing! But a nice experience. I just wish I didn't have to do it in front of an auditorium-full of people.

Just outside the theater, there's a restaurant. We had our lunch there. Food was not bad. You might want to try the lunch set.

A different version of mee kolok

After lunch, we walked on the beach opposite the road before returning back to town for dessert! ;)