11.30am : Upon touch down at Bayan Lepas airport, the group settled the car rental. We all agreed to rent the PROTON Perdana 2L car. Thank goodness we did. The extra back seat space came in handy. Added to the enjoyment of the trip.

1.00pm : Arrived at our first food stop for lunch, the most famous Char Kuay Teow stall in Penang, Ah Leng Char Koay Teow @ Kafe Khoon Hiang. There were 2 sizes, normal (RM4.50) and large (RM9). We instantly decided to get the large size.
Just as well caused the wait was ~35mins.


For those food euthusiast, here is the exact address and operating hours : Jalan Dato Kramat/Jalan Dunlop facing Honolulu Club / 8 AM - 2.30 PM Off Thursday

Some more pictures on the glorious dish we digged in instantly. As you can see, generous portions of huge PRAWNS.
Spicy level: 3/5 chilli

Fatboy shown here digging into his dish immediately.

Overall, gave it 4 out of 5 stars

                                                                                            Satisfaction guaranteed

After lunch we headed to Kek Lok Si Temple.
2.10pm : Arrived and parked at foot of the temple (as temple is on a hill). Walked about 10-15mins
Entrance Fee : RM2

                                           Fatboy showing his hardwork climbing up the hill....problem is NO AIRCON

Photos of some of the beautifully made temple arches

                                                                       Some of the statues inside the temple area.

The monkey and fat trying their best to strike the GONG for prosperity.

                                                  Elevator lift to bring us up to the gigantic Kwan Yin Goddess statue

This is the famous Kwan Yin goddess standing majestically. They are in the process of building a roof over the statue.  A long and tedious process. Rumors that they started 15 years ago.

                                     Me and the snake statue (in the Chinese Zodiac Garden in the  temple compound)
                                                                                  Just having some innocent FUN!

King Kong trying to scale the Monkey statue. Notice the fruit in the monkey's hand. Some striking similarities i must say.

This was a unique experience. In order to collect more fund for the renovation of the temple, this was an innovative idea. For RM30, we got to get a tile and have our names handwritten in Chinese characters on it. This will be used to complete the roof structure over the giant Kwan Yin statue. Wei Khuan volunteered his service and tried to add some caligraphy while writing all our names.

After the temple visit, it's tea time. We headed to the  Air Itam Laksa at Jalan Pasar (beside Air Itam Market) which serves some of the best laksa in Penang. Famously known as the 2.70 Laksa stall (till today, still charges only RM2.70 or SGD1.2 per bowl)
Generous servings of dried prawn, onion, spring onion and CHILLI)


Spicy level: 3.5/5 chilli 

Check it out. A Singapore registered BMW....a very nice CARPLATE too!!

We reached Penang Hill at ~4.45pm.
Just nice as the next train ride up the hill was 5pm.
Entrance Fee: RM4 per person

It takes about 30 mins to reach the top and 30 mins to get down.

                                                                            Picture of the train up and down the hill.

After Penang Hill, we headed to HUTTON LODGE to check in at 6.30pm.
At RM90 per night per room (twin sharing), it was surprising clean and well-kept.
A relaxing place to stay away from the bustling noise outside.

At around 8pm after we had freshened up, we headed to the famous night makan place, GURNEY DRIVE HAWKER CENTRE. Lots of choices...till we were spoilt from choices.
Things we ordered include sotong kangkung (bagus), rojak (also bagus), fried oyster ommelette (good), satay (great), char kuay teow, barbeque cuttlefish, chendol...etc...
3/4 into dinner, it rained. All the seat we outdoor, no shade. Took cover in stalls. Lucky only lasted ~10mins. After that back to whacking the delicious food.

Decided to explore the night market...walked around for 20-30 mins before we head back to lodge to call it a night.
Fatboy planned to go for famous CURRY MEE but seems the consensus was NO MORE STOMACH SPACE...hehee...
(Note: Fatboy still hope can go eat either Sat/Sun, and we did!)