Nature surrounds us all. Near and far. No matter where your travel may take you, we are never too distant from the prehistoric gardens that stretch their roots deep within the earth. In traveling further west from George Town, we gradually started to see new scenery doused in deep green rain forest.
Art & Garden in Teluk Bahang invited us into a mystical art gallery with walls of deep, lush forest garden and the sky as our ceiling. This beautifully curated garden showcased the coexistence of nature and manmade artworks. It is designed to enable visitors to enjoy the pretty flowers and creative blossoms of art in one easy stroll. It was especially impressive that each artwork blended into the background of open nature and left an impression of having entered some world not so distant from one of Monet’s oil paintings.
In order to enjoy Art & Garden fully, it is recommended to take a moderate hike on the established trail that navigates visitors through the canopies of flowers and fish ponds accompanied by whimsical art pieces that venture from pure aesthetics to political theory. One of the most impressive pieces to see was a series of individual opaque glass works painted in delicate patterns of flowers. The garden is quite large and it does require some strength to reach the summit for breathtaking views of jungles below. After catching our breath at the viewpoint, we strolled down to the gift shop before making our way to the restaurant in Kampung Nelayan.
We stopped at Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant in Kampung Nelayan and enjoyed lunch with our friend’s families. I was struck with unsettling waves of stomach ache throughout the day, and it was unfortunately not the best meal experience during our stay in Penang. Nonetheless, I had a good time exploring the tiny village that exhibited the lifestyle of the rural side of Penang. Kampung Nelayan had a sense of remoteness from the city that was fresh and interesting.
Returning to George Town, we decided to take things easy and relaxed at the apartment for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, I went to Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls to experience the last street food excursion in this UNESCO historic site. My final hunt for the hawker stall was a famous curry mee noodle soup that made Chulia Street known to the world of foodies.
Curry mee is a signature Malaysian noodle soup consisting of a generous amount of seafood and curry broth. The curry mee stall on Chulia Street was extremely hectic and I was lucky to receive the last remaining bowl before the stall closed for the night. Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls was clearly the top tourist destination in Penang, and it was chaotic with little to no foot space between passing people. Riding the wave of accelerating appetite, I joined another long queue to get my fill on Char Kaoy Teow!
Char Kaoy Teow is a Malaysian stir fried noodle cooked with prawns and shellfish and perfected with a gentle coat of chicken and duck eggs. You can smell the irresistibly delicious sizzles of fried seafood from blocks away. The stall was set up on a long rectangular table with two workers, one person manning the wok and the other person handling the register and replenishing the kitchen supplies. It was quite entertaining to watch two workers vigorously fulfilling the long list of orders in harmonious tempo.
This was the final night in Penang. The following morning we were due to fly back to Singapore for one last day in Southeast Asia.
Thank you for following our stories. Please stay with us for the epilogue to this epic adventure!
Written by: Kosuke Haga
Edited by: Rebecca Hoover