My local colleague has kindly volunteered to bring us round for shopping and sightseeing. And here we go. Since the place I stay is pretty close to the Butterworth ferry terminal, we will be taking the ferry across instead of via the bridge. Here we are making a turn up a bridge and towards the ferry. Notice the towering cranes just next to the port.
We queued up for around 15mins before it is our turn to move up into the ferry. There is very good coordination between the different lanes.
Here is a ferry returning back from George Town. The ferry reminds me of the Star Ferry servicing Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.
I find the sea separating Butterworth and Penang island to be very calm and quiet. The rays from the sun cast an illuminating blanket onto the peaceful sea.
After we have parked our car in the ferry, we moved updeck with to the passengers' floor. We observed the ferry slowly making its way across the narrow strait. Here I am posing with George Town in the horizon.
Penang bridge is here in the distant.
Once we reach Penang island, we are off onto the streets. We turned from there into Chulia Street. This street sounds very familiar and it is here where I stayed for a couple of days when I was in Penang. I noticed there are tram lines on the streets. In the past, trams used to be the mode of transportation. In the background we have a towering skyscraper known as the Komtar.
While waiting for the traffic light to turn, I came upon my favourite Malaysia stationary brand - CAMPAP. I know this company pretty well.
First thing first, we have to get Penang's specialty - Ghee Hiang biscuits. It is along Macalister Street and just at the junction with Chulia Street. The small pack of Tao Sha Pia cost RM$5.50 for a pack of 12. I bought 3 packs while my colleague bought a bag full of it.
Thereafter we proceeded off to Kek Lok Si (极乐寺). KL brought along a GPS so we can use it for navigation instead of tracing via map. We arrived at the monastery close to 6pm. In the distant we already notice the large compound and structure.
The path up to the main gates passes by many shops.
And also a lovely pavilion.
On the way up, there is this large rock with chinese words written on it. I guess it comes from a Buddhist sutra.
Here is the Great Hall with a magnificant Pagoda in the background.
From here, we can catch a great view of Penang hill.
While walking up the steps to the pagoda, we took a glimpse back and is presented with a picturesque and paranomic sight of Penang.
At another angle is a view of the monastery.
Written on one of the large gates are the words "Path to enlightenment".
A temple shrine area.
After the visit to the monastery and a bit of adventure downhill, we are back to urbanization at the upmarket living of Gurney Plaza. Notice the 'CapitalRetail' mark at the top.
The streets of Gurney Plaza has a very posh ambience to it.
Penang's evening sky is really stunning. Every evening, the sky gets lighted up in a plethora of colours before the darkness descends. The clouds come in the play too with varied styles decorating up the beautiful sky. While at Gurney Place on this day, the combination of sea and sky gives it a great montage.
This is a upmarket living place so condos line up the coast line.
Actually this area reminds me of Nice in France. Also a lovely seaside town.
Here I am~
The cloud in its full splendour.
Let's take a look at the seaside condos from a full angle view.
A round-about with a rotating display.
There is a large al fresco dining market just next to Gurney Plaza. We settle our dinner here.
Thereafter we drove through the financial district of George Town and past all the buildings since colonial times. The ferry back to Butterworth is free of charge from Penang. While on the ferry, I took a shot of the night view of Penang from the sea.
