After 4 splendid days in Chiang Mai (amid some disappointments), today I left the city to go further up north. I went to the main bus station and only managed to get a ticket for 12 noon as all others were sold out. (Don’t remember exactly how much I paid for the ticket, but it was around ฿100)
After the instructional video on bus safety, they played ‘Predators’ (in Thai)
I got a seat right in front
Chiang Rai city is around 200kms from Chiang MaiThe journey is quite scenic
After nearly 2 1/2hours, I arrived in Chiang Rai
The bus first stopped at what looked like a new bus station. I didn’t get down here because a lot of the Thais stayed in their seats. So I assumed this was not the final stop. Unfortunately some western tourists did get down and started hailing for taxis towards their hotels.
For which there was no need for, because the very same bus started again and drove straight into the city in 5 minutes time. This bus station was according my prior research, very close to the night market.
I hired a tuk-tuk and checked into my hotel.
Raungnakorn Hotel is located on the road of the same name
The room cost ฿350 for the night and I was only going to be staying one night. My flight from Chiang Rai to Bangkok was the next day evening. I know one day isn’t much in Chiang Rai, but this was my first time here and as always with first visits, this would be more a surveillance visit than any other.
It was near this templeThe hotel is close to the fresh market
Spotted it already haven’t you?Chiang Rai’s Golden Clock TowerDesigned by a renowned Thai architect named Ajarn Chalermchai KhositphiphatIt was built in 2008 in honour of the King (as is usually the case in Thailand)
Jedyod road, you find a lot of restaurants here
I decided to check out this templeOh the irony of seeing a black cat at a place where people come to pray for good luckThe temple is named Wat JedyodThe eyes…The hall had paintings depicting Hindu gods and some connection with India mythologyI was very curious to know the connection, but unfortunately there weren’t any descriptions in English or a local guide in sight
I left the temple
I dropped by a few travel agents and tour operators along the way and asked them about day trips to the Golden Triangle. But because it was already late in the evening, nobody could assure me a spot as they needed few more tourists to fill up a group as tomorrow’s first group were already full.
A British guy who was behind, overheard me and told me he was in the same situation as I. So we chatted for a bit and exchanged numbers in case either of us managed to get into a group tour that was going tomorrow morning.
I like their sign posts
A few steps from there and I was at the entrance of Chiang Rai’s Night BazaarBut since it wasn’t night time yet, nothing was open
I would be coming back here for dinnerI decided to go the main bus station to find out when the first bus to Mae Sai would beI was told that there are buses every 30 minutes starting 6amI headed back as I still wasn’t feeling too well, and it gets pretty chilly in Chiang Rai at night
I rested for some time after applying some Vicks. I just didn’t want to fall sick. It’s the worst thing that can happen on one’s vacation. Well, one of the worst things.
I got up at around 8pm and craved to have some hot Thai soup for dinner.
I walked to the night bazaarThe Golden clock tower really shines at nightIt also changes colourYou have the usual wares being sold at the Night bazaar, no different from any other night market in ThailandBut you do see locals and a few students trying to make some dime with their talentsQuite a change of scene from earlierThis place sells you french fries…and fried insects. How nice of them!Despite being very far the sea, you still get good enough seafood in Chiang RaiPoor guitarist on stage was hardly getting any applause from the dinersI scanned the vendors for appetizing soup to warm my body upI ended up picking up this big bowl of tangy seafood soup loaded with veggies (cost ฿100)They had cultural dances later
Post dinner, I scanned the shops a bit. Unlike last year, when I bought 10 t-shirts from Thailand, I figured I wouldn’t need to buy much this time.
Alas, I ended buying two from a small vendor at the night bazaar after bargaining it down to ฿300 for both. Oh well, we’ll see how many t-shirts I end up buying this year.
This was right in front of the vendor I bought the t-shirts from
As I needed more rest for an early start tomorrow, I headed back. Plus, there was little else to do in Chiang Rai. There is barely any nightlife in Chiang Rai. It’s a lot quieter (and smaller) than Chiang Mai.
I took one last look at the Golden clock tower
As I was clicking this photo, I bumped into the same British guy I had met earlier at the travel office. He told me he met up with a group of people who were planning on going on a trek (Chiang Rai is famous for trekking and cycling) and asked me if I wanted to join them. I told him I was unfortunately not in the best of health and that I had to be back in town early enough for my evening flight to Bangkok.
We wished each other well and parted ways.
I reached my room, freshened up, dabbed some more Vicks and snuggled up for a good night’s sleep.
After the unfortunate turn of events for me yesterday, I woke up today feeling a bit warmer inside. Not in a good way, more like having-a-body-temperature kind of way!
I woke up for a late breakfast, which I had at Rux Thai itself, and then went back to the room… to sulk. Hoping things would get better, health-wise and otherwise.
By the time I told myself there was no use sulking all day, I stepped out… at 6pm.
Lo Kroh looked desertedMany of the bars and restaurants were decorated in celebration of Yi Peng festival
I walked towards Thapae Gate to see if there was anything going on.
Didn’t seem like much
Guess that takes care of dinner for tonightCheap sushi
I walked a bit further, and things had started to ‘brighten’ up.
This wasn’t the only decoration Thapae gate got
Pretty
The one downside (sometimes) of carrying around a pro-looking camera is people assume you know how to take really good photographs and will do a better job than they can. I have often been asked to take photos of strangers using their point-and-shoot cameras and today was no exception.
After being asked by some Taiwanese woman to take a few photos of her, I asked her to return the favourThey had a stage set up for some functionI crossed the road and walked to the other side, hoping to explore morePlenty of stalls set up everywhereThis is Ratchadamnoen roadI entered this place out of curiosityOkay fine, it was the food!Hey, it’s Anthony Bourdain!?*You can never go hungry in ThailandUnless you are strictly vegetarianEven though this was a temple…… it essentially got turned into a ‘food court’
Once outside, I asked Tourist Police officer (an American woman) whether there was anything special planned for today. She told me yesterday was the big release of the lanterns in Mae Jo, today there wouldn’t be anything special and tomorrow would be the concluding Grand Parade.
She didn’t come of as confident and ‘in-the-know’. Something I was used to by now.
Still, I walked on
Steeped into another temple on Ratchadamnoen roadThough I forgot to note down the name of the templeMore stalls inside here as wellLots of eating here too
I was sooo tempted to bang it
I got back out to Ratchadamnoen roadThen I saw this…
… and it looked like a parade……which looked quite, grand
Here’s part one of the videos I took of the parade:
I take it the floats were showcasing Thailand’s culture from across all provincesAnd I also take it these participating groups were colleges, schools, and other establishments
This guy wasn’t part of the parade… but was getting a lot of attention anyway
Here’s part two video of the parade:
Walked this alley out of curiosity
More celebrations awaited me inside.
Lanterns from below joining the fireworks in the skyNow it were the monks who wanted to light a big oneA really big oneYou obviously cannot use matchsticks to light a lantern this bigWait for it to heat up insideWait for it…Okay, everybody’s waiting… just let go of it already!And it’s upI leftNear Rux Thai, this was the sightWalked back to Thapae Gate
There was a beauty contest going onPacked audience tooSwitched to the 70-200mm lens for a closer lookI wasn’t the only oneA rather ‘traditional’ looking beauty contest
The judges-slash-sponsorsJust before the winner is announced, the women get the ‘God-I-hope-that-b***h-doesn’t-win!’-lookThe winnerShe gets a placard……which says something in ThaiThe runner-ups get a month’s supply of instant noodles*
Lanterns were still floating up
The stage cleared. I didn’t wait to see what was next.I walked on down to Thapae Road next
As I walked along, I saw a large crowd gather around someone.
Everybody was watching this guyHe was mighty impressive
So I decided to take a video:
I tipped him 10 baht and continued down the road.
There were a few other street performers as wellLots of fireworks today… which is always niceHey, those lion statues resemble the official emblem of India!
Curious as to what the possible ‘Indian connection’ could be, I went inside Wat Buppharam.
Looked like just another Buddhist temple to me
I got back out to Thapae Road and made my way towards Nawarat bridge.
Lots of media
The parade was still on
It was crowded!They had a stage set up… sadly for the band, very few were watchingVolunteers in condom costumes distributed free condoms and promoted AIDS awarenessThe people on Nawarat bridgeMany devotees releasing krathongs into Ping riverAnd if you’re wondering what those people in the waters are doing, they’re ‘stealing’
Stealing what? Money. When the locals pray and release the krathongs, they often place some money as an offering to the river goddess. These shameless people then wait for the krathongs to float their way and then take the money. CNNGo has a good article on these ‘river bandits’.
It’s hard to capture what I saw with my eyes no matter how much I tried
It’s not just the hundreds of paper lanterns in the sky in front of me. There were hundreds more to my left, right, behind me… everywhere! I kept wondering “How does one truly capture the experience in one frame!”
I moved to another bridge
The parade was at the end of its runKrathongs and khomloys (paper lanterns) for saleI walked down these stepsPlenty of fireworks soon went off near Rim Ping Hotel
Kinda looks like the Death Star doesn’t it?
Ping river was packed with devoteesAnd a few big floats
I walked towards the Chiang Mai Municipality buildingCultural shows were going onOne of the performers; dressed very geisha-likeThese paintings were on the walls of the US ConsulateI was starting to get hungry at this pointLots of flowers today as wellNot sure if these were rosesSome temple near the marketIt was nearing midnight, time to head back to the roomCelebrations on Loy Kroh road were timid at bestAs seen at a small Indian eatery near Rux Thai
As I sat on my bed before going to sleep, I reviewed the snaps I had taken today. After yesterday’s disappointment, and how I felt when I woke up today, my mood was definitely more upbeat after I saw my photos.
We decide to set out early as we had only a day in Penang. While the others got ready, I decided to take a few snaps of the place we were staying.
Old Penang Guesthouse is a restored building that retains the charms of the colonial era with rooms at rates from the current backpacker era.
This is the shower room and toilets upstairs
They have a ‘living room’ of sorts where you can watch TV & read the papers while you serve yourself breakfast
This is breakfast: toast, butter (but usually margarine) & fruits
I made list of things I wanted to eat when in MalaysiaYou’re instructed to walk softly at night as the flooring is all woodenThe dining areaThe skies were getting clearer
Once we were all ready, we soon stepped out to head to the harbour, which was walking distance from where we were staying.
There are a lot of budget hotels on Love Lane (that’s the name of the street we were on)
There’s a 7-Eleven very close to our guesthouse
Han Jiang ancestral temple
Nagore Durgha Sheriff mosque
Strolling through Georgetown reminded me of Fort Kochi (I need to put up those photos as well) in Kerala, with its heritage buildings by the sea.
Many places of worship in and around GeorgetownLim Kongsi Clan Temple; when we entered, there was this one dog ‘guarding’ the templeWhich came hopping all the way towards me and my camera. And then Loi patted it. Then it went and peed in the bushes.
Just walking past the many temples – be they Indian or Chinese, mosques etc. you get a sense of the religious harmony that exists in Malaysia. Of course, this was only the start.
We reached the road by the ferry terminal and made our way to the other side.
There’s a bus station near the ferry terminal
There’s a sea-facing restaurant at the end of this walkwayThat’s where the ferries dock
We stepped into a few travel agencies to inquire about ferry prices to Langkawi. Everywhere, it was the standard RM60 (Rs. 900/US$20/€15). It was the same price quoted by the guy at Old Penang Guesthouse, but fearing he may have been quoting a higher rate, we thought we’d ask near the ferry terminal itself.
We bought our tickets for the next day and continued our walk.
Georgetown’s landmark Queen Victoria Memorial ClocktowerA short distance from the clock tower, and you get the beautiful sea
This where we went next; entry is just RM 2 (Rs. 30)Statue honouring Sir Francis Light
Ramesh dishonouring Sir Francis Light statue
You can read about the history behind Fort Cornwallis on its Wikipedia page, but from a tourist’s point of view, its nothing spectacular. Then again, when the entry is just RM2, you shouldn’t be expecting much.
But we still hung around a bit longer
It was quite sunny
After checking out the fort for around 15 minutes, we made our way out.
Fort Cornwalis is right near the Town Hall grounds.
Town Hall & City Hall buildings in the backgroundThe esplanade is a nice place to laze under a tree on a sunny day
I wasn’t imitating Loi, it was sunny (Photograph by Ramesh)We continued our stroll along this path
Then, a young, kooky Japanese couple came excitedly towards us and asked us if we could pose for a photograph with them. Assuming they’re tourists wanting to pose with tourists from another country, we figured “Sure, why not”…
… and so we asked them for one for ourselves too!
They weren’t the only Japanese we came across. The Japanese were aplenty in Penang, we would later find out.
The building in the back is the Penang High Court
That was one big ‘nuclear’ cloud
We decided to walk towards the popular Gurney Drive.
Penang museum
The Eastern & Oriental hotel
We stopped here for a break as Ramesh was quite tired from all the walkingGurney Drive was over thereThe Mansion, a high end restaurantWe got back on to the main road
We even stopped by this food court for lunch but it was empty — and closedSo it was back to the main roadAnd a few minutes later, we were finally on Gurney driveA LOT of luxury apartments on this stretch
It took us more than 30 minutes of walking to get to Gurney Drive. If you think that’s too much (or can’t do it), just hail a cab.
Though there were many restaurants along this stretch, plan was to have lunch from the food court at the end of Gurney drive, which is a very popular local joint.
But first, we had to quench our thirst.
We entered the only major shopping mall on Gurney Drive, Gurney Plaza. They have the usual gamut of mall brands and about the same as far as eateries and coffee shops go. I don’t remember how or why, but we sat down at the Chili’s in Gurney Plaza for beer.
We ordered Guinness… and I stared at the ceiling… for some apparent reason. (Photo by Ramesh)The mall isn’t bad at all. We picked our Malaysia SIM cards from the 3rd floor which housed a lot of tech stores.Gurney Plaza shopping mall
The plan was to sit somewhere and have some beer along with lunch, but after the heavy mugs of Guinness and nachos we ordered, we were honestly quite full.
The food court was closed too. Seems like they only open at night.
This is the major roundabout at the end of Gurney drive
Post ‘lunch,’ we realized we still hadn’t seen any of Penang’s major attractions. So we boarded a local bus and headed to the main bus station.
The plan was to see Kek Lok Si temple and take the tram ride up Penang hill
The ride took nearly 20 minutes
Once at the Komtar bus terminal, we boarded a bus from Lane 1 that goes to Kek Lok Si temple.
This ride took another 30 minutes and was headed towards Penang hillPassed through mostly residential areas and housing colonies for the middle class
When we reached the town of Air Itam it was already well past 5pmBut there it was: Kek Lok Si Temple
Unfortunately, the locals told us that we were too late and it was closing time. Sucks.
So all we could do was zoom in and take photosSeemed like some renovation work was going onI really wanted to check out the biggest Buddhist temple in Penang…… but we still had to go further up to get to the temple.
So yeah, if you want to see Kek Lok Si temple, make sure you are here well before 6pm.
Instead of waiting around, we decided to head to Penang Hill (or Bukit Bendara as it called locally). So we hailed a cab as the locals said it would take us at least 15 minutes to walk it there.
The Chinese taxi driver quoted RM7 which sounded reasonable, so we got in
The journey barely took 5 minutes.
We soon reached the foot of Penang Hill and could see the tram line
But unfortunately (again)….
….Loi didn’t take the news too well
Turns out renovation work here as well. Couldn’t the taxi driver have told us it was closed? Of course he could have. But he didn’t… ‘cos he was a greedy b@#$%&*!
Disappointed at the turn of events, we decided to simply head back to town. Oddly enough, the very same bus we took to come here was waiting for departure near Penang hill.
As you can see, Kek Lok Si temple isn’t that far from here
The cultural mix in Malaysia is truly admirable
Passed through the same landmarksPenang State MosqueHmm, not that different from India isn’t it?
(Photograph by Loiyumba)Banjo is fried egg (Photograph by Loiyumba)
We got down near the ferry terminal but contemplated going back to the rooms just yet. I wanted to have dinner at Gurney drive, so from the ferry terminal bus station, we availed the Hop-on free bus.
The Hop-on buses follow a particular route
The Hop-on bus was taking a long route, so we got down at KOMTAR.
Komtar Tower — the tallest building in Penang (Photograph by Loi)
Once we reached KOMTAR, we checked out the adjoining mall.
The offerings are anything but glamourous. Not a high-end mall at all. Just the usual clothes, electronics, grey market goods, coffee shops etc.
We didn’t spend a whole lot of time in here
We boarded another bus to get to Gurney Drive.
We got down near Gurney Drive… or at least we thought it was near Gurney Drive.
We walked through a residential colony
Before finding ourselves behind Gurney Plaza
In the afternoon, Gurney Drive was quite empty…
… but the scene is quite different at night!
Beef. Looked yum.
As you can see from the above photos, lots of sea food available here
Very limited (to virtually no-existent) pure vegetarian options though.
Before we sat down for dinner, I wanted to check out another joint near the roundabout that I had seen during the day .
Saw the lobster sign and assumed it was another food court by the sea
But turns out it was a big ‘mid-to-high’ range restaurant. Looked nice but we didn’t want to spend too much and sit for long — because it was only going to be me & Loi eating. The vegetarian in our group Ramesh still had nothing to choose from.
Anybody notice the drain vent in the sea — or is that litter?
Once back at the food court, myself and Loi each ordered what we wanted.
I chose ‘raw oysters and egg’ scrambledLoi had his boiled meat on a stick. With some beer of course.
Us two had to eat first, and then head back to Gurney Plaza so that Ramesh could find some vegetarian to eat.
But Loi wasn’t done with his boiled meat. He wanted more! I had Soyabean curd with hot brown sugar sauce for dessert (RM1 = Rs. 15)
After we were finally done, we headed back to Gurney Plaza so that Ramesh could now eat.
We went back to our rooms by taxi.
Old Penang Guesthouse, next to Red Inn, next to a pub
But instead of calling it a night, I told the guys I wanted to roam around a bit more. So as Ramesh and Loi went back to the room, I walked on.
This temple was just across Old Penang Guesthouse
There are several budget hotels and guesthouses on Love Lane
The reason I wanted to walk around a bit more was because I wasn’t truly content with all that I saw today. I don’t think I can say I ‘saw’ Penang. I visited Penang, sure, but I don’t think I saw all there was to see.
We landed in Penang after 3 crazy days in glamourous Singapore. So obviously, everything felt a world apart. Throughout the day, every mall we went to, all we talked about was how much cooler Singapore felt. Well duh. Obviously its a unfair comparison… but given how little we actually got to experience in Penang, we could only feel disappointment.
When we were planning our trip, we knew before hand there wasn’t anything stunning to see in Penang. In many ways, it is true. Especially if you have travelled throughout South India, seen Singapore or Thailand, Penang really doesn’t offer anything great in terms of new experiences. Sure, I would have loved to have gone for the tram ride up on Penang hill… and seen Kek Lok Si temple all lit up at night. But we all wanted to even take a ride on Penang Bridge. I also realized Penang isn’t just the island, but there exists Province Wellesley with towns like Butterworth and other attractions on the mainland as well.
So clearly, there was a lot more to Penang than I thought.
I saw this ‘food garden’ which I thought I’d check out
Line dancing + food court = Not badNot enough space in tummy to try out everything edible Penang had to offer
This is the entrance
Ho Ping the food is safe to eat
Yes, this street is named after Malabaris
(You can read about the history behind Kampung Malabar here . Besides me, I didn’t find any other ‘Malabari’ — it’s all Chinese)
Saw these outside, what I presume was a store dealing in sculpturesWhy didn’t anybody steal them? I dunno, probably too heavy to lift and run withGeorgetown is a UNESCO World heritage siteThe same road was wet yesterday
Penang is very easy on the pocket
Would I have liked to have stayed just another day longer? Yes. I was curious what was across Penang Bridge on the mainland to see. But alas, this was our last and only day in Penang.
Tomorrow, we were going to be heading across waters to another island — Langkawi!
I rested for some time after applying some Vicks. I just didn’t want to fall sick. It’s the worst thing that can happen on one’s vacation. Well, one of the worst things.
