The story so far… Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

We woke up a bit later on our last day in Penang knowing that we had planned a day of shopping and there was no point in leaving the hotel before 10 as nothing would be open before then. After another scrumptious breakfast, we went back to the room with the idea that BB & S would go swimming. But BB was more interested in playing his game on the iPad and so we decided to just laze around till it was time to leave.

We left around 10:15 and headed to Queensbay Mall. We decided on this mall as against the others in the city mainly because it was one of the biggest in Penang. Another reason was this was close to the airport and I wanted to map our way back the next day as I would no longer have my unlimited data plan at midnight that day.

The mall, which is managed by Capitaland, a Singapore company was typical of any Singapore mall. The only difference being that due to the Malaysian Ringgit being comparatively lower than the Singapore Dollar, we got a few bargains especially for clothes. We were there for a couple of hours and had lunch at the food court there at an Indian stall. BB & GG along with S had wanted to try the famous Penang Chendol and we were planning a trip to the store later in the evening when we saw they had an outlet in the mall, so that craving was also satisfied.

After the mall, we decided to visit the Tropical Fruit Farm to pick up the coconut oil that S’ friend had wanted. I spent a bit of time trying to check if we could get it elsewhere but drew a complete blank! This was literally in the middle of nowhere and a 45 minute drive through the hilly areas and interiors of Penang to get there, but since we had a car at our disposal and nothing else really to do, decided to go ahead. I was the navigator as always and during the trip there, we felt we were in another country altogether…

The Tropical Fruit Farm is situated about 800 ft above sea level on the hilly terrain of Teluk Bahang and covers 25 acres. They have around 250 different species of trees, which include rare and exotic trees from Central and South America, Central Africa, India, the Middle East, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands etc. They also have tours and tastings sessions there. We didn’t do all that, just brought the oil and then took away fresh juices to drink later.

Back at the room around 4ish, S and BB decided to have a nap and read while R, GG and I decided to walk to a massage centre we saw across the hotel earlier. We did another foot massage each and though much better than the one we did at Batu Ferringhi. This one was for 45 minutes and cost us RM 53 each. They also had a promotion of a body and foot massage for RM 84 which though I was tempted I didn’t take as we didn’t have the time for it.

Back in the hotel, we decided to explore the Georgetown malls of Komtar and Prangin. These are slightly oldish malls, and this was where we found the same stuff that were being sold in Batu Ferringhi at cheaper prices! We felt cheated, but this was a lesson we learnt and hopefully someone else learns from our mistakes

After having Indian for almost every meal, we decided to do Italian at the Piazzaiola at Lot 33 which is at the basement of the Prangin Mall. This one was opposite to the side which had the Bata store which we had to ask around before we found our way. The food was good, but the most expensive of our trip. It was ok since it was our last night in Penang! Again some great deals in the mall because of the stronger Singapore dollar and we came back lugging shopping bags…

The next day, after a quick breakfast, we left the hotel around 8. Since we had to return the car fully topped up with petrol, we decided to fill it up at a petrol kiosk across the street from our hotel. This was the only time we topped up during our four days there and filled up around RM 40 worth! This made the car super cheap!! Oh, I think I didn’t mention what we paid for the car – we paid around RM 500 for three days.

Just before we left the hotel, since I still had WiFi, I tried to map us to the airport and when I refreshed the map at the petrol station, I was pleasantly surprised to see it worked! So inspite of misgivings on whether we will be able to make it to the airport relying solely on expressway signs, we did have the map with us and reached the airport without incident before 9 am for our 11 am flight.

The Tiger Airways queue was super long and took us almost 30 minutes to check in. We had a bit of a problem at security check. While packing our things the previous evening, I had put everyone’s toiletries into one suitcase and it was pulled up! I was confident that there was nothing that could not be carried on as all our toiletries were less than 100 ml. The officers opened the bag and checked and then let me go! Guess if this had been distributed across four bags which we had done flying in, it would have been beneath the radar!

Anyway, after a bit of looking and seeing the airport, we boarded the plane and got back to Singapore in one piece. I was actually quite impressed with Tiger Airways and will now look at that for regional travel options since they allow you 10 kg of carry on luggage and if all four of us fly together, that makes it a massive 40 kgs….

With the return back to Singapore it was the end of our holidays! Now waiting for our India holidays in December, but before that the PSLE results 😦

Hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did writing it. If you have questions or comments, please do write in!

• Part 1: The Planning and the Preparations
• Part 2: The Hotel                                                                                                         
• Part 3: Kek Lok Si Temple and Penang Hill                                                               
• Part 4: Armenian Street Art, Penang 3D Trick Art Museum and Penang Peranakan Mansion
• Part 5: Batu Ferringhi Night Market