TODAY July 16, 2009 - Traveller

travellerplaques by hand was an eye-open-ing experience.

We also visited a tau sa piah fac-tory (Ghee Hiang at 216, MacAlister Road) to see how the popular pastry w ith mung bean filling was made. After sampling them at the end of the tour, we each decided to buy a few boxes of tau sa piah (RM9.50 per box) and beh teh saw (flaky pastry w ith melted molasses and sesame seeds, RM8.50 per box).

There are more sites on the her-itage trail that we did not have time to cover. To be practical, get a herit-age map from the airport, shortlist the places you want to visit , and allocate one to two full days for the t rai l so that you can explore the sites at a comfortable pace.

No t r i p t o Penang w i l l be complete w i t hout indulging in scrumptious hawker fare such as Penang laksa, Penang char kway teow, Penang Hokkien mee and oh chien (frie d oyster). Two popu-lar feast ing spots are the Gurney Hawker Centre along Gurney Drive and the New Lane haw ker stal ls (of f MacAlister Road).

At the end of my t r ip, I was sure I would bust the 10kg carry-on allowance wi th the shopping that I’d done. Hence, I packed my pur-chases int o a carton and checked them in a t the airport.

If you’ve bought the JetSaver Light fares and later decide that you need to check-in your baggage, call Jetstar telephone reservatio ns toll free at 800 6161 977 a day be-fore the fl ight to do a fare upgrade to JetSaver (20kg check-in and 10kg carry-on allowance). This w ill cost $30. Upgrading your fare at the airpor t will cost you $60.

If you’re travelling w ith friends or famil y, it may be a good idea for some of you to fl y on the Jet Saver Light fares and the rest on JetSaver fares. This way, you’ll save on the airfares and get to share the check-in baggage allo wance.

After all, there’s so much that Penang has to offer that I’m pretty sure you’l l take home more than just sweet memories.

This trip was made possible by Jetstar Asia and the Penang Tourism Board.

FLY LIGHT CHALLENGE

T ! " # journalist takes up challenge of travelling with only a carry-on bag

CHOI PEI [email protected]

I’VE always enjoyed travelling light. Whether it ’s a long trip to Europe, a week in an Asian city or a weekend getaway to an exot ic island, I’ve always packed fewer i tems than my t ravel mates because I don’t want to be bogged down by bulky luggage.

Travelling light reduces hassle and str ess, and gives you peace of mind because you only have one bag to mind. Besides, t ravel l ing with just carry-on baggage elimi-nates the chance of it getting lost in tr ansit.

The best thing about carry-ing all your possessions with you, though, is that you can exi t the airport as soon as you have your

passport stamped, instead of hav-ing to wait for your check-in lug-gage to be loaded ont o the belt s.

So, when I was given the chance to take up Jetstar Asia’s Penang Jet-Saver Light Challenge, I was pretty sure I could nail it , no sweat.

JetSaver Light is a category of fare launched by the budget car-rier in April. It gives customers the chance to save $15 on their one-way t ickets when they tr avel with only carry-on baggage.

Most airl ines al low only 7kg of carry-on baggage per passenger. Jetstar has bum ped the allowance up to 10kg and that’s plenty for a short tr ip t o a destination nearb y.

Jetstar Asia’s Singapore-Pen-ang al l - inclusive, JetSaver Light fares are priced from $48 one way. That’s less than half of the Singa-pore-Penang fares offered by most full-service car riers.

For the trip, I packed a change of clothes for each day, a pen, a notebook, a camera and a charger,

and some basic toile trie s. The last were in 100ml plastic bottles, ar-ranged snuggly in a Ziploc bag to meet the requirement for carry-on liq uids.

And off I went on Jetstar Asia’s inaugural Singapore-Penang flight on July 1.

The fl ight was pleasant and short at just over an hour. With no check-in baggage to collect, I was able to beat the crowd and make a quick exit.

Being out and about in Penang was fun. The weather was good and the people were helpful and friendl y. My itiner ary allowed for a free-and-easy day to explor e the Herit age Trail in Geor getown.

Named af ter Br i t ain’s King George III, Georgetown is the capi-tal of the state of Penang. Founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light , a tr ader for the British East India Company, t his ci t y w i t h m ore than tw o centuries of history was named a Unesco World Cultural

Her i tage si te last year.

The Heritage Trai l is divided into tangible heri tage (si tes and structures) and intangible heritage (culture, social pract ices, cuisine, costumes and crafts).

My tr avel mat es and I visit ed the Penang State Museum (Far-quhar St reet ). Bui l t in 1816, this museum is rich in history. For RM1 (40 cents), I tr avelled back in time to t race Penang’s t ransformat ion from a swampy frontier to a bus-t l ing t rading post . For an insight into Penang’s past, a visit to this museum is a must.

A n o t h e r r e c o m m e n d -ed her i t age si t e i s t he Pen-ang Peranakan M ansi on (29, Lebuh Gerej a. Adm ission fee,RM10, inclusi ve of a guided tour), wher e the popula r MediaCorp TV Channel 8 series, The Little Nyonya, was partl y f ilme d.

Bui l t at the end of the 19th centur y, this tw o-storey mansion incorporates Chinese carved-wood panels with English floor tiles and Scottish ir on-w orks. It shows the typical home of a rich Strait s-born

Chinese and offers a glim pse int o the many customs of the Babas and Nyonyas. From the exquisite bedroom of a newly-wed couple, to the dining room wher e lavish din-ners were once held, the opulent lif esty le of these locall y accultu r-ated Chinese was evident. Also on display were several sets of Nyonya costumes, del icate crockery and ornaments, as w el l as ant ique paintings and photographs.

Other sites worth visit ing are the Goddess of Mercy Temple (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling) — one of the oldest Chinese temples in Penang; Khoo Kongsi (18, Cannon Square. Admission fee, RM5) — an ornate clan temple; and Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (14, Lebur Leith. Admission fee, RM12) — a grand and intricate estate built by one of the wealthi-est tycoons at the turn of the 20th century.

To experience Penang’s intan-gible her i tage, w e visi ted a t ra-di t ional signboard engraver (41, Lebuh Queen). Watching the mas-ter skilfully engrave Chinese name

Test of the 10kgSTAR JUMP FROM PENANG TO HKThey ate their way through Penang, blogged about their culinary adventures and won a holiday to Hong Kong, inclu-sive of accommodation, on Jetstar Asia.

On July 1, Melissa Tang Min Hui and Derrick Leow Junxiang (picture), both 25, joined nine other teams of two in Jetstar Asia’s Jetsaver Light Challenge. The con-test ground was Penang; the stipulation, that they fly with no more than carry-on baggage weighing less than 10kg.

All teams were given a RM60 allowance to spend in Penang. (The sum was the money they had saved on their fares by jetting light.) The team that produced the best blog of their experiences would win a trip to Hong Kong on the budget carrier.

Said a Jetstar Asia spokesman about Melissa and Derrick’s winning online jour-nal: “What’s distinctive is that with their RM60 allowance, they managed to cover food, sight seeing and even shopping in their itinerary. Their photos showed the many sights of Penang and it certainly helps with a good star jump by Melissa!”

T� � � � speaks to the team about their trip.

How did you spend your RM60 allowance? The first thing we thought of was food, because that’s what Penang is famous

for! Plus, we are food lovers. We ate and ate in our three days there. Besides that, we took advantage of the public buses to visit some must-see attractions.

Any tips for Singaporeans going there?Just travel light and go there with an empty stomach! Also, be prepared to walk a lot but it’s also the best way to digest all the food that you’ve eaten. Bring a good pair of shoes and slippers.

When it was time to leave, did you have to check in any luggage?No. Our carry-ons only weighed about 7kg and we had enough space to carry tau sar piah back for our family and friends.

Read about Melissa and Derrick’s adven-tures at www.lilsomething.blogspot.com/

Delicious snacks to go (from top): Tau sa piah from the factory, Penang chendol at the New World Park Food Centre and Penang durian, famous for its flavour.

A traditional signboard engraver in Penang (top) and the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.

PHOTOS CHOI PEI SAN

The Penang Peranakan Mansion, where the drama serial The Little Nyonya was partly filmed, incorporates Chinese with English and Scottish features.

THURSDAY JULY 16, 2009 39 TODAY