penang has certainly moved on since i was last there 2 years ago....
nothing costs rm2.30 anymore at the islands glades food stalls. char kuay teow is now 2.80 WITHOUT eggs. a chicken egg costs an extra 50sen & a duck egg, rm1. no wonder people resort to manufacturing fake eggs!
in reflecting inflation on a larger scale, the straits quay development on reclaimed land near tanjung bungah, has terrace houses starting at rm1.2M!!
penangites will go far for good food. a thai food restaurant that has been in operation for 3 years is Bukit Genting Thai (on my GPS) near balik pulau. it's located on top a hill 290m above sea-level & you can get both a good view of the coastline as well as authentic Thai food at reasonable prices.we just had a snack & after that, my sisters-in-law were adamant they must have the famous balik pulau laksa another 10mins drive away. while in penang, be prepared to learn about the many famous food stalls - penang road chendol, craven A nasi kandar, air hitam assam laksa, etc. penang is not called a food haven for no reason!
however, some things don't change. i was at youth park this morning at 9.30am, hoping to have some quiet time for exercise. to my utter surprise, the car park was almost full & people are everywhere - families with young children, retirees, everyone - at a time i had expected people to be still having a late breakfast on a weekend or queueing up at the shopping mall.
but maybe i shouldn't be surprised. the youth park has been well maintained by the local council & it's a refreshing piece of green-lung right smack in the city, & it's always crowded in the evenings. looks like people throng the place on weekend mornings as well. as i walked up the hill, i noticed i'm panting more than i used to. i could previously walked up the 1st rest place without stopping but this time, i had to stop TWICE to catch my breath. truth be known, i haven't been exercising regularly of late.
all the more i should focus on after this weekend savoring the the food haven.
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10 comments:
I would like to visit Penang again. I want to visit the old world charm of Penang and of course savour its food.
Mei Teng,
the old charm & food remains seductive!
;)
nice place!
Wenn,
it is, but just for a visit. patrick teoh posted recently in his blog that he may want to relocate there.
By the way Doc, they don't call it youth park anymore, it is now called Municipal Park...........
ya,Penang is getting better,however we are still burdened by inflation in the most subtle ways,, like a 20 cents increase, a 50 cents increase here and there.....
and the property prices are like sky high,, a normal apartment will go for RM360 per sqf already, lol and i really hope the cliche of what goes up must come down can happen real soon as far as property prices are concerned
Eugene，
thanks for the info, but it'll always be youth park to me!
i doubt if property prices will come down much as there's just no land for expansion, except for reclamation.
i foresee all penangites will eventually be millionaires if they keep whatever property they own!!!
Yup...VERY expensive. What was RM4.00 - the Bangkok Lane Indian fried noodles (and that in itself, is already expensive)...is now RM5.00. Taxi in the city centre was RM10.00, now RM15.00 and they do not use meter. And the jam is getting worse and worse... I miss the Penang of 1973 - the 1st time I was there - never the same again.
STP,
yes, in that respect, Penang has lost her old charm.
Now , that gives me more reason to visit Penang more often . Each time I visit Penang , it's always at the main city of Komtar , Chow-Rasta and its surroundings.....
UG,
if you have a car, there are lots of other places outside of city centre that are worth visiting, eg. beach area, air itam, etc.
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