Have Perut Will Travel...: PEN Day 4 │ Boxing Day: To Gurney Plaza and Back

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Tuesday, 26 December 2023

PEN Day 4 │ Boxing Day: To Gurney Plaza and Back

Boxing Day Morning

I woke up at 6:00am, did some editing work, then took a shower. Cat followed soon after, while Brendan opted to sleep in.

We left The Green House at 7:30am and walked to the nearest bus stop at Wisma MCA, hoping to catch a CAT free bus.

One eventually arrived, and after a ten minute ride, we disembarked at Padang Kota Lama. From there, we crossed Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling onto Lebuh Gereja, heading southeast.

After a five minute walk, we arrived at Hwa Pin Coffee Shop for breakfast. Cat was hoping for her favourite Kueh Teow Th’ng, but no luck today.

So we ordered:

Seaweed Soup Noodles — RM8.50
Western Breakfast — RM7.50
Round of Drinks — RM3.90

Our simple breakfast came to RM19.90 (≈ USD/EUR4).

A Two Hour Morning Loop

Breakfast done, we continued along Lebuh Gereja heading east, then turned right onto Beach Street. We walked southwest for half a kilometre before turning right onto Lebuh Armenia.

From there:

Northwest along Lebuh Armenia
Left onto Lebuh Acheh
Continue onto Ghat Lebuh Acheh
Left onto Pengkalan Weld for about 500 metres
Cross over to the Jetty Bus Terminal

We caught another CAT free bus back to The Green House, arriving at 9:30am. A neat two hour morning excursion — or it would have been, if not for the fact that almost all of it was shot on the DJI Action 3, and I accidentally deleted the footage.

Oh well. It is what it is.

Back Out Again

We picked you up again as we woke Brendan and left the Green House at 11:00am. The Moovit app instructed us to walk to the TM Point bus stop along Jalan Burma.

After a short wait, we caught Rapid Penang #101, and fifteen minutes later arrived at Gurney Plaza.

First order of business: Brendan’s socks. His new Converse shoes were causing blisters, so we needed thicker, longer pairs.

JD Sports — no luck
Converse store — also no luck
Pharmacy — Brendan got a band aid
Uniqlo — success! And a small shopping spree for t shirts and such

The Strange Bus Incident

Errands done, we caught Rapid Penang #304 to Pulau Tikus. Then something strange happened.

Three stops before our destination (Belissa Row), the bus driver announced it was his lunchtime, told everyone to get off, abandoned the bus, and walked away.

So we hailed a Grab for RM7.00 (≈ USD/EUR) to resume our journey to Restoran Hup Kee.

Outside, we bought a bagful of Eu Char Koay and assorted cakes for RM12.00 (≈ USD/EUR2).

Inside, we ordered:

Three plates of Chicken Rice — RM28.00
Assortment of beverages — RM6.70

Lunch came to RM34.70 (≈ USD8/EUR7). Truth be told, the chicken rice was just so so — I barely ate half.

Heading Back

At 1:45pm, we caught Rapid Penang #101 toward KOMTAR. Turned out the bus would pass Jalan Transfer, so we disembarked at Wisma MCA, just a short walk from The Green House.

What’s Next

Stay tuned as we walk to Jalan Macalister for dinner — something simple, comforting, and very Penang.