Penang, during Chinese New Year, could be called the City of Lights but then so could any city with such a large Chinese population.
Following our excursion to the Avatar Secret Garden we set off again. This time for one of our scenic favourites (the second of our objectives from the previous night out), Kek Lok Si Temple. For those who have been reading our blog for some time you may remember our visit here in 2016. Just the same a quick look here will remind you of the enormity of this massive temple. KLST is visible from most parts of Penang so we knew just from looking from our vantage point on the 23rd floor of our apartment building that it would be visual delight. It was all lit up for Chinese New Year thanks to a saving donation of cash from the Malaysian Government. We read that this may in fact be the last year that KLST does this as the cost is prohibitive (whose power bill isn’t?) and unless more financial aid is forthcoming they can’t repeat this. With that in mind we were not going to miss this.
We thought we’d be able to get right into the temple as we had done in the past however as it closes at 6:30pm the best anyone could do was to take pictures from the carpark. Nonetheless it was still a sight to behold but it could have been better had the biggest tower (with the huge statue in it) been lit up this night. I have ‘stolen’ a pic from a previous (2016) post of that statue when alight last visit and tacked it to the end of this gallery below.
Yesterday (Saturday) we took ourselves into town to see what was happening. Each evening for the past week the night has been punctuated with the chaotic sounds of fireworks, drums and celebrations. We wanted ‘in’ on this so we caught the 103 bus to town. Wrong bus! So at Komtar we switched to the free CAT bus with the idea of tea at our one ‘lash out’ in Penang then a walk around the heritage listed streets.
The ‘lash out’ I just referred to is the best Italian Restaurant in Malaysia (if not Asia). Via Pre is owned by two brothers. One is now is Kuala Lumpur at their restaurant there while the other is here running the Penang show. Now a meal of mains and a few drinks can cost us as low as $12AUD for the two of us here in Penang. Via Pre is not that kind of Restaurant. Our fantastic Italian fare here cost us around $105 but it was worth every cent. We sat in awe as the owner (a fairly young bloke) buzzed around the room (rooms – there was a room upstairs we didn’t know of) checking that all was in order. If something was not 100% he would cast a glance at one of the many staff about, direct his glaze at the offending item and the staff jumped on it immediately. He is also not stingy with the freebies either. Several times he sent staff off to get Shane and I some accompaniment to our meal. I noticed a few times in the night he chatted to the barman, pointed at Shane & I and we had a free Limoncello aperitif. I should mention that it was his fault that we both love this drink. He did the same to us back in 2016 firmly entrenching Limoncello (and his restaurant) in our hearts. Finally Shane’s desert (Creme Brulee’) bought a flaming end to a fantastic meal.
Out on the streets again we saw preparations for tonight’s CNY festivities. More lights, streets blocked of to all but foot traffic, drum groups rehearsing till eventually we came to another penang hotspot, “Dismal Corner”. It’s not really ‘dismal’. That’s just a tag that a friend of ours put on it the first time he got here. Antarabangsar Enterprise is a long time institution here. It is just a dogleg in a small laneway. As it gets darker the roller door goes up and the drinks begin to flow. At around 4MYR for a beer and 7MYR for cider it doesn’t take long till the dogleg is so full of people that cars are forced to dodge the drinkers. We wandered in, found a couple of spare seats and straight away recognised a friend, Jason, from previous nights here. We also met up with a local artist, Patrick, another ex-pat living the dream here in Penang. When a Daimler with one of Penang’s ‘high rollers’ pulled in it was proven that in Penang everyone is friends.
So that’s about it for this post. Tonight we head out to see the performances that are happening for CNY. I’ll report on that next post.
Cheers for now.
Garry & Shane
There we go. There’s a more complete story on how ‘Dismal Corner’ got it’s nickname. As I said in the story, it is still a great place to go for a beer and to meet locals.
Craig is not responsible for the tag ‘Dismal Corner’ for ‘Antarabangsa Enterprise’ as I have been going there for many years as Jason will confirm. My brother (from Perth, W A.) on his first visit to Penang called it that as he has been ‘on the wagon’ and alcohol free for many years and thought a place that served so much alcohol and the consumption was participated by so many people is a dismal reflection on the human race, also it is on a corner. The name stuck!
Antarabangsa Enterprise is one the happiest places in Penang if not Asia for anyone who wants reasonable priced alcohol, a taste of Asia’s culture mix and an unique experience. Should be there evening of Sunday 11 March 2018 after a absence of almost one year. Craig is back to stay in The Pearl of the Orient. Look forward to meeting Jason, Gary & Shane, Patrick and many others. Only thirteen more sleeps!!!