A Post a Day Keeps the Jumbled Mind at Bay: Penang Island, Perlis, and Cameron Highland, Pahang (November 2008)

We went for a trip with the whole family recently, covered 3 states in 6 days (Penang Island, Perlis, and Cameron Highland, Pahang).

Our first stop was in Penang Island. I think for this year alone, we have been to Penang thrice! Well, blame it on Penang for having so much finger-licking food there, he he. Seriously, the main reason we choose Penang is because of its food (apart from for a break from work of course). Some of the food that we like to gobble up every time we’re in Penang are Khaleel Nasi Kandar (specifically at Gurney Drive), Anjung Gurney for its Ayer Hitam Laksa, and Char Keow Teow + Rojak mamak at Padang Kota Lama. Now there is an additional eating place where after shopping for dv*s at Ferringhi market, we will make a stop at this one place where they have this juicy homemade beef patty burger at a very cheap price. I can’t remember the name of the road though, sorry! (will check the name of the road in the next trip).

Well, enough about the food! Oookayyy…we stayed at the usual place, which is the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort. Thought of not renewing the membership next year as we’ve been visiting Penang too many times and we thought of giving other hotels a try in our next visit, as the Malay saying goes, “tukar angin” :) Below are some of the pictures taken during our stay in Penang:

Makan-makan at Gurney Drive Khaleel Nasi Kandar, yummy!

At the hotel lobby (perasan ringan ler ni :D ).

The beach is so happening!

Shopping at Queensbay Mall.

Next, we drove up north to Perlis to visit Padang Besar.....yup, again, on hubby's request :). I bought few stuff and hubby bought A LOT. Oh ya, in our previous Perlis trip, we stayed at the Putra Palace Hotel. Perlis don’t really have that many hotels and according to a friend of mine, that’s one of the good hotels there. So to avoid disappointment at that time, we stayed at the highest range room they have at Putra Palace. The bathroom was VERY clean but the furniture totally needs refurbishment. So due to that, we thought of giving another hotel a try for this trip, which is the Putra Brasmana Hotel. This hotel looks newer compared to the Putra Palace. Well, indeed the room is a lot better and the same goes for the breakfast buffet. So for those who might need to go to Perlis for a business trip or leisure, you can give Putra Brasmana a try (however, your experience may be different than mine, bear that in mind :) )

Medan Ikan Bakar Kuala Perlis. The place is just opposite Putra Brasmana Hotel.

After a night stay in Perlis, we headed to the next destination, Cameron Highland. It was a long drive! Initially we booked two MARDI bungalows to accommodate 3 families. The bungalows look beautiful from the outside and inside, however the cleanliness is below zero :(. There are a lot of dusts below the bed and the bathroom isn’t that clean. We end up decided to check out and move ourselves to the Century Pines Resort <http://www.centuryresort-cameronhighlands.com/> nearby. Glad that we did as the resort have very beautiful and spacious rooms (not to forget the clean bathrooms as well). During our stay, we visited the usual places like Boh Tea Plantation, Strawberry Park for its scones, market for veges, few towns and shops along the road.

MARDI bungalows, the place that we wanted to stay initially but end up moving to Century Pines Resort due to the cleanliness issue at the bungalows.

Delicious scones at Strawberry Park. They will only make the scones upon ordering, so you'll always get freshly baked scones (that what makes it so special *drool*).