Penang, a thriving destination for the heritage seekers, a short escape for fellow Malaysians, and affordable quality medical retreat for Indonesians. Penang shares lots of different meaning towards different people. This beautiful island, still unpopular by most Indonesians, is actually an amazing travel destinations. The foods, the nature, the city, and the heritage area, are the main reasons this affordable destination should be on your list if you haven't done so.

Penang biggest city, Georgetown, covers 122.79 square kilometres of the island. Back then, George Town, for us, Indonesians, would be synonymous as a medical haven, or maybe an underrated beach retreat. But until recently, the hype of UNESCO World Heritage Site, combined with amazing street arts, dominate the whole tourism of George Town. In 2012, Ernest Zacharevic for the first time created some of the best, most celebrated street arts over the walls of the old buildings in George Town.

From that year on, more artworks are made. Now, the city is best known for its murals all over the heritage sites. It was a fun walk, could be an adventure for those who try to find every single one of them. Sadly, since the murals are outdoors, they will deteriorate over time. There are some of the artworks that has been vandalised - some say - so it would be a good idea to visit this city for the murals soon before they fade away. I was so lucky to be able to spot some of the best works, especially the one titled "Children on Bicycle". Not only it was fun to gaze at, but somehow, the artwork gives strong feel of joy - as if it were alive!

Without being granted the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site, without all the beautifully-preserved rows of shophouses, there would be no street arts and installation works that made what Penang is today. Strolling through the exact heritage site - I was in awe - not foremostly because of the amazing characteristic and architecture style of the house, but because of how the government and the whole Penangnites work together to preserve the heritage houses. It is a very profound aspect of their way of thinking that they know, they need to preserve their history. In the present time, while cruising around the city, we could see more preservation and restoration works are being carried out.

The heritage sites do not end there, there are settlements in the vicinity of the waterfront area called clan jetties. As the name speaks, there are several jetties, each of which is named after the clan/family who settled in the part of the separated jetties. The jetties were developed around late 19th century and said to be pretty similar to what it was nowadays. Recently, the jetties looked commercialised, especially the Chew Jetty, which is open to public with numbers of souvenir shops and a couple of eateries. Along the jetty, we could really witness the daily activity surrounding the area.

Who doesn't acknowledge Penang as one of the best culinary destinations? It was relentlessly mentioned in publications that Penang offers the best street foods in Southeast Asia. For me, the foods were good enough to be mentioned as one of the best - and the price - I truly believe the island offers one of the most affordable quality foods in Southeast Asia. Heads up to the more touristy hawker centre - Gurney Hawker Centre as a good start and grasp of what the food in Penang would be like - and after that, seeks what the locals really loves, you could easily dig  endless tips of good place to eat from local cab drivers.

Gurney Hawker Centre (courtesy of sillyandordinarygirl)

Hawker centres would be all about local and traditional foods - but do you know that fusion and modern takes of culinary are emerging in Penang? I found that there are great numbers of contemporary cafes serving modern food with amazing culinary experiences worth trying. Moreover, those cafes take place in the beautifully restored and renovated heritage shophouses. So instead of just indulging good foods, you could marvel at different preservation/renovation designs in each cafe you stumble upon. 

Nope, Penang is not just about George Town and good foods. Penang is a whole island to be amazed. Even in our five-day travel of Penang, we could not cover the whole island destinations. Heads out from George Town to the northern area of the island and you will be greeted by the amazing landscapes of tropical rainforests and rocky beaches. Lush rainforests with wonderful diversity of animals and plants is one thing I really enjoy while visiting Penang. I daresay, I enjoy the natural persona of Penang more than its city. It was a very calming, rejuvenating experience while I was in the middle of the tropical rainforest. While in the wild, you could easily spot macaques hanging and playing around hundreds or even thousands of year old trees. To be able to see the animal roams freely means that their habitat were not interrupted by human activities much.

What's more to ask if an island has a great historical city with the edge of modernised developments, lush tropical rainforests, and sandy beaches. Just a couple of minutes walk from the entrance of the beautiful Tropical Spice Garden (will be on my next posts) we could find somewhat a more quiet beach - unlike Batu Ferringhi. Even though the water is not crystal clear (still very clean though!), the beach is so enjoyable in a clear and sunny day! If the weather is good enough, speedboat trips are recommended for a short trip to the other part of the island's beaches.

Penang has a lot more to offer, I admit this does not covers all of it, but only the highlights of my travel. It always intrigues me that when I revisited a place of destination, there will be new things, new places to be discovered. The walk, the moments of indulging in the new experiences is what I truly deemed as a flavorful escape! The short escape of my daily life, that brings me to a new height of understanding the earth, the planet we are living in. Penang could be just a tiny speck of our whole planet earth, and surely there is a lot more to learn. It is always a humbling privilege for me to explore and discover!

Stay tune for my next updates of my trip to Penang!

Jakarta, almost everyone has a love/hate relationship with this metropolis. It is the capital city of Indonesia, without doubt a charming nation. Jakarta hosts everything, literally, everything. You can find and do anything there. A city full of opportunity they say. Some mentioned that she is brutal - loves to trap the unawares into her sweet oblivion - the traffics, the heat, the people, and the vastness of herself. You could get lost and hypnotised, but then, somehow, you would want more. That's Jakarta - such an undeniably beautiful twisted city.

Surely, it is a concrete jungle, resides with humble-sized houses as the surrounding. The city experts (read: urban planners/architects) have had called her a giant village - there are no boundaries between the districts, houses usually found in villages could be found among the skyscraping buildings in the city centre. Those views will always catch our attentions while surviving the deadlocks of vehicle congestion.

But, hey, there will be a time in a year that we could enjoy the city with so much less traffic. Mentioned in my post before, it is when the people of Indonesia celebrate Idul Fitri. Thankfully I had the opportunity to enjoy the phenomenon. Cruising to our place of stay was very smooth that we spent only half the time it usually needs. Then I thought, why not visit the touristic spots - have been warned that there will be swarms of people - I insisted to go.

Smooth ride, almost no traffic to Batavia, had a great feeling - I have never been so wrong! PS: No endorsement of any brands intended.

In the itinerary I have set, our first stop would be Batavia. We would do some nice and relaxing walk through the historical streets of Batavia, the old town with rich history in every corner of the complex. I had planned which buildings we would visit and took photos of, where we would have some delicate afternoon tea and snacks.Those were my plans - which I really looked up to. Almost arriving at Batavia, I smelled something wrong. Traffics started to be built up especially when our destination was nearby. Moreover, all we could see were crowds of people, a never ending stream and flow of people getting in and out. Later, we were trapped - no way of going back - we decided to walk past through enjoy the crowds.

Arriving there, people everywhere!

Enjoying colonial architecture with people as foreground.

A lady Ondel-Ondel amidst the crowd.

Look at all those crowds! A plaza became a sitting area (lesehan). Traditional much.

I wonder - were they having the same enjoyment as I am? Museum Fatahillah (the focal point of Batavia) as the background, anyway.

Finally walk past through the crowd, found some sphere-shaped stones around the parking area.

No more crowd. Waiting for our next ride. A unique bistro building - wondering what's inside.

The experience above is truly unique - it adds up to the love/hate relationship of me and Jakarta. Too much crowd. We decided to rush and left Batavia for our next stop, hoping that we could find less hustle. We headed to Sunda Kelapa Harbour. Sunda Kelapa Harbour is an old harbour of the city before she developed into a metropolis today. The harbour houses lines of pinisi ship - traditional two-masted wooden sailing ship, exclusively found and used in Indonesia. The harbour is still active with much less activity compared to Tanjung Priok Port. Arriving there was breathtaking, furthermore, it was peaceful. With the sunset and clear sky, the view was mesmerising.

It was a long walk and a restless hunt of photographic angles. I was content. Numbers of captures were secured and I left happy. The harbour really gives an insight of how the shipping has developed through times. The wooden ships tell the tales of their struggles throughout the times. In the middle of our afternoon-evening walk, we saw a kid happily released flocks of birds that said would go back later.

Fast forward to the next day. I constrained myself to not visit Monas, Cathedral, Istiqlal Mosque, Imanuel Church, National Museum, etc. We would except that it should be much more enjoyable if we go to less touristic spots like shopping malls. Jakarta is well-known for the sheer numbers of shopping malls spread throughout the city. I recalled a news in 2010 that mentioned the number of shopping malls in Jakarta had reached 170. That's crazy. What's crazier? Even the shopping malls are crowded!

Because of certain concerns, we decided to visit some particular shopping malls. There were people everywhere. I would have never been so wrong to state that it would be like a ghost town in this particular time - or maybe because it was weekend?

Then, we decided to visit IKEA. In the morning, my brother's friend had warned that it will be very crowded. Somehow, I forgot the experience we had the day before and insisted on going. Another wrong decision was made - we ended up in a jam-packed, overcrowded megastore that could fit 3 football field. I miscalculated - thinking that a huge store like that would never be full of people.

After getting out of that store without buying anything (we lost our interest right away when we get inside the hall), we decided to go to Pantai Indah Kapuk - a complex of housing estate and some business area - for a dinner. Don't need to guess anyway, it was also busy, alive, and full of people queuing for seats of cafés of choice.

Ending the day, I realised Jakarta really never sleeps! Even though most businesses in the city centre or CBD cease to active, another businesses - eateries, shopping malls, tourist destinations - thrive and bloom! That's Jakarta for you - surprising the visitors - such a celebrated capital of Indonesia.

On the next day, we ended up lazing around the hotel property. We knew that wherever we go, it will be busy, moreover, it was Sunday - the Jakartans could be starting to head back to the city, preparing for the next day works which adds up the crowd. It was a good decision. I could explore the skyline of Jakarta more personally.

I love cityscapes as much as how I love landscapes. I take pleasure whenever I am surrounded in a built environment with a striking characteristic of its own. Jakarta surely is one of them. I am amazed by how the accidental chaos of urban planning and execution creates unique vistas.

It is growing - and it will always be ever-changing. I wonder how it would be like in the future. I couldn't imagine. To say, Jakarta and every other city is similar to a big living organism. I am in awe. 

Really, our third day in Jakarta was slow-paced. I enjoyed this day the most. At dusk, I had the opportunity to marvel at South Jakarta skylines. Curtain wall buildings soars with all the glistening lights and lamps. My eyes were spoiled - I could gaze the amazing view even for hours.

A taxi driver said that Kuningan, South Jakarta is one of the most congested area that could last until late at night. Thankfully, that area was the most tranquil when the nation-wide celebration hits the calendar. Later that night, I explored the neighbourhood around the hotel and found out how pedestrian-friendly the area is. The flyover structure even has been decorated with gorgeous lighting that makes it stands out whenever we pass through that road. Such a nice walking experience to end my last night here.

Through the last day of my short holiday in Jakarta, I took a more personal way of looking at the structures around the property. There are limitless number of pattern found if you look closely. Those patterns, created by the built structures, are what makes the skyline looks good.

Finally, we headed to the airport for the flight back to our hometown. We were blessed with a heavy rain before taking off, yet another beautiful sunset emerged before landing set a magnificent ending to our holiday. I am thankful.

I understand that there is much to enjoy in Jakarta more than this. But this shortscape (read:short-escape) truly allows me to experience Jakarta differently. That was such a sweet experience. I will visit Jakarta again for sure!