michellefranclee
Travel Photographer & Writer
It’s almost the end of year 2018 and I think it’s relevant for me to talk about one of my new year’s resolution. I’m not based in Switzerland anymore and an employee, hence my travel opportunities has been decreasing so much compare to when I was a university student. That doesn’t mean I’m not gonna travel though. One of my 2018 resolutions is to solo travel to a new country, with my own money. I’m happy to announce that I, a female solo traveler, checked that resolution right on my birthday, in August.
On the day of my birthday, I went to Penang, Malaysia for 4 days to satisfy my solo travel and photo-hunting needs. I never been to Malaysia before, and never travel solo in South East Asia before. Even when I was in Indonesia, I always travel with someone. Malaysia being very close to Indonesia got me thinking why I never travel to Malaysia before? So here’s 6 reasons why I chose Penang?
If you’ve been reading some of my blog posts, you might now that I’ve been traveling solo for the past couple of years. Ever since my first solo trip to Copenhagen, I’ve been kinda addicted to it. I’ve become more confident with my solo travels and I want to experience it in South East Asia. I am fully aware that Europe and South East Asia are dissimilar and I may have to tweak my approach as a female solo traveler.
There are other destinations besides Penang that I considered. After some extensive research on the Internet and social media, I found that Penang’s vibe is more suitable with who I am; Â food haven for foodies, diverse cultural heritage, and nature. If you are traveling alone, you only have to satisfy your list of activities, places you want to visit, and food you want to try. You don’t have other party to consider about where you want to go once you reach the destination. It is best to know yourself, what’s you’re comfortable with and what’s your off limit, if you’re traveling solo. From there, you can decide the destination, itinerary and everything else.
I graduated from university last year, and now an employee in Indonesia. The sad fact is I get paid in Rupiah and currency is a big deal in overseas traveling. It will be more difficult if I want to travel to a country where their currency is super strong against Rupiah. In total, I spent around US$350 for 4 days in Penang, including accommodation (Airbnb in George Town), round-trip flight ticket, food, entrance tickets, cellular data. Wow, now that I look back, I’m really proud of myself haha. Most of the food in Penang is really affordable and you’ll get great amount of portion. While I was in Penang, meal cost plays an important role to cut down my spending.
As I mentioned before, I’m based in Indonesia nowadays. The flight duration from Jakarta to Penang is 2 hours 30 minutes and it is still within my budget. I also consider my nationality (Indonesian), because there are countries where Indonesian have to apply for visa. Malaysia and Indonesia are a part of ASEAN, so visa is not a problem for me.
Again, after extensive research on the Internet, I realised that getting around in Penang is not that much of a hustle. There are public bus, shuttle bus and GRAB (like Uber). Most of the time when I was in Penang, I travel by foot. I always travel by foot (if it rationally doable) because I can memorise the city or my surrounding much faster. I’m also feel comfortable traveling by foot because I’m great with navigations with offline and online maps. Most of my time in Penang, I was hanging around in George Town and it’s pedestrian-friendly there.
There’s a considerable amount of legendary food in Penang. Starting from the Penang Famous Teochew Chendul, China House, Penang Air Itam Laksa, Tai Tong Restaurant (dim sum), cool cafes, and endless delicious street food to the point where I question myself “Why I only have so little space in my stomach?”. What I specifically love about these legendary food places is their on-going humble beginning till present-day. From my observation, dining places that I tried really care about their food quality (maybe that’s why most of them specialised in one dish only) and its cheap price
Always have and always been my ultimate purpose of traveling is to take photos. Traveling solo makes it easier to do my photo-hunting. Taking photo do slow down my travel speed and can be really annoying for some people who travel with me. I don’t want to feel bad because I restrict other people because I take picture, which is the thing that I love to do. When it comes to golden hours (which is the best time for photos), some people are not willing to wake up early or stay late for that. My solution to this is travel solo. I can stay as long as I want in the same location to take different angle of pictures.
The highlight of my photography experience is George Town. Influenced by British, Chinese, Indian and Muslim, architectures in George Town is never boring. Some of them are in poor condition, but somehow it makes George Town special (for me) and you just know those buildings been through so much histories. Penang is perfect to do any kind of photography. Street photography in George Town. Landscape photography in Penang Hill, KOMTAR Rooftop, Batu Ferringhi and Kek Lok Si. Food photography in anywhere tbh. Plant photography in Penang Botanical Garden, Tropical Spice Garden and Penang National Park.
Clan JettyÂ
Kek Lok Si Pagoda
View from Penang Hill
Wat Chayamangkalaram, Thai Buddhist Temple
View from KOMTAR Rooftop
P.s.: I hope this little blog post help a fellow female solo traveler, or anyone that’s planning to visit Penang. Wow I haven’t blog for several months and now I’m an expert at procrastinating. Should I post Penang itinerary, places to go, or travel budget?🤔
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