The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
If you have one day, I suggest you stay at Patong beach to suntan, shop, massage, or enjoy some sea sports. But if you really want to explore the Phuket old town, take a look at my Phuket’s one day guide. Here’s how you …
What to do in Phuket if you have only one day? We travelled to Phuket with Mariner of the Seas and took their tender boat to start our one day tour in Phuket. If you want to maximise your day at Phuket, be sure to queue for …
If you are finding food in Penang for breakfast or afternoon tea, Eng Loh Kopi Tiam (translated as Eng Loh Coffee Shop) might be a good option. Along with traditional Chinese coffee and tea, the drink stall is famous for its variety of bread, including Garlic Toast, Chili Tuna Sandwich, Roti Taiwan, French Toast, and American Breakfast set. It’s roughly RM 5/pax for food and drink.
There are other food stalls in this coffee shop that you can try out too.
We tried their Kaya and butter toast, half boiled egg on toast and Roti Taiwan (Roti means bread). The half boiled egg on toast was an interesting combination worth a try. The Roti Taiwan is a toasted thick bread spread with peanut butter and crushed peanuts, as seen in the picture below. Worth a try if you like peanuts.
In our opinion, the drinks and bread were only average. But it’s a good place to rest if you are nearby; Pinang Peranakan Mansion is only diagonally across. We wanted this breakfast because we were craving for some traditional Chinese coffee and tea after a few days on-board Mariner of the Seas. Penang was one of the port of calls where we disembarked for a one-day tour.
At the Junction of Lebuh Gereja and Lebuh Penang (Penang Street)
48, Lebuh Gereja (Church Street), 10200 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
8am – 3pm, Closed on Sunday
We came across this stall selling braised pork as we walked from Peranakan Museum to Penang State Museum, along Jalan Sehala. It turned out to be a good early lunch! Every dish was awesome, including the porridge. :) We ordered the pork intestines and belly.
You can find many famous eats at Lebuh Keng Kwee (Keng Kwee Street) of George Town. At the start of the street, you can find the famous Teochew Chendol “push cart” selling one bowl of chendol for RM2.10. Its competitor set up a shop opposite of them, but you will get to the right one by judging the queues. In any case, the famous one is nearer to Kafe Joo Hooi.
There are many people eating around the “push cart” under the hot sun. And it’s quite a mess to it eat too. So to avoid queuing and eating under the hot sun, head straight to the air-conditioned shopfront just a minute walk down the lane. Get a table and order your chendol from the waiter.
I think the Chendol is famous because it’s sweet and flavourful, but it’s a bit too sweet for me.
Other than Chendol, you can order Penang Laksa and Rojak from the same Chendol store. The rojak was just average but the Penang Laksa was good!
The famous store for selling Penang Laksa was supposedly at Kafe Joo Hooi (10:30am – 5:30pm) down the road, near to the chendol “push cart”.
Instead of having Penang Laksa at Kafe Joo Hooi, we had Char Kway Teow here. The wait was super long. There are two options for the Char Kway Teow: Chicken egg or Duck egg. The one with chicken egg was normal, like those you find in Singapore, and the one with duck egg was more yummy.
But one of the best and most delicious Char Kway Teow mentioned online is at Kafe Heng Huat. 30 minutes wait during off peak, priced at RM8.50 / RM9 / RM11 for small/medium/large serving.
Kafe Heng Huat, 108 Lorong Selamat, Penang
11am – 6pm / Closed on Tuesdays
We spotted a few mobile food trucks around–selling drinks like bubble tea and coffee. They were around the streets popular with tourists who were there for the famous street art.
What other attractions are you visiting in Penang? Share with us your suggestions below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.
Travelled in December 2015 | Trip is fully paid by us and in no way sponsored.
A guide to the best attractions and things to do in Penang, George Town Looking for things to do in Penang? With a well-preserved cultural and historical heritage, George Town, Penang’s capital city, was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Get lost in …
With sky high accommodation prices in Tokyo, Airbnb was a great alternative for us. And… I won a $250 Airbnb voucher while looking for accommodation! Thank God for this blessing. :) We started searching for the accommodation only 5 to 6 weeks prior to our …
My husband and I decided to each get a Yokoso SIM Card to travel around Hokkaido and Tokyo. My husband got the 15-day SIM card for the whole Japan trip, while I got a 8-day card for our 8.5 days stay in Hokkaido. And for the rest of the trip in Tokyo, I tried out the pocket WiFi provided by our Tokyo airbnb host.
One major reason we chose SIM card over WiFi was the price. Since we only have two people with two devices in total, it was more value for money to get two SIM cards (or one SIM card and tether) than one pocket WiFi. Pocket WiFi is preferably for travel group with many devices to be connected. Then again, there might be group buy discount for the SIM cards (read on). Do your sums. ;)
If you are unsure of whether to use a pocket WiFi or SIM card, read a detailed comparison in my previous post.
There are quite a number of Japan SIM card providers. Most of Japan’s “tourist” SIM cards do not have voice call function, but only data. But you can connect Whatsapp/Skype calls with the data. Here’s a quick summary:
This usually comes with fixed days such as 8 or 15 days. If your travel duration coincides with the SIM card length of use then this would be a good option. A few options:
If you want to get a SIM card but wants flexibility in the days of use, you might want to consider these options:
Note that the list of providers above is not comprehensive nor my recommendations, but for your information only.
Just to add, a reader emailed me a good question, “If there is an earthquake, will I have difficulty in using my mobile with only data sim & no voice call function?”
I was reminded of the history of “Line” app. From Wikipedia, “Line began as a response to disaster. Japan’s devastating Tōhoku earthquake in March 2011 damaged telecommunications infrastructure nationwide, obliging employees at NHN Japan, a unit of Korea’s NHN Corp, to rely on Internet-based resources to communicate.”
So sometimes, data might work better than voice during earthquakes.
While we were still contemplating about the pocket WiFi rental, we saw the flyer of Yokoso SIM Card at JTB Singapore. Then, we compared the price to Yokoso’s SG online shop.
8 Day SIM:
JTB is cheaper but not good for people who will be in Japan for more than 8 days. We searched further and found Yokoso SIM Card on Qoo10. It’s even cheaper than JTB! And there is a variety of plans too.
The Qoo10 shop, www.qoo10.sg/shop/yokososim, is selling at the following prices + S$1 normal delivery:
We were excited to find such a good deal for 15 days! The reviews were quite good, so it’s likely to be a legitimate Qoo10 seller. Did further due diligence and the Qoo10 seller, Shinji Matsudaira, turns out to be the authorised retailer for Yokoso SIM cards in Singapore. He is listed on Yokoso SIM website with the following details: [email protected], +65 9850 7722.
But time was running out, we were leaving in 4 days’ time and not sure if the delivery would come on time. Thankfully, Mr Shinji Matsudaira was flexible, and we were able to self-collect it at City Square Mall, a convenient place for us.
Btw, I did read somewhere in the Qoo10 Q&A section, he might offer you discounts for group buy, you can check with him first. You never know!
Initially, we didn’t consider using a SIM card but a pocket WiFi. It was until a few days before we leave for Japan that we decided a SIM card might be more value for money. There was not much time for us to research and weigh the various SIM card options.
Since Yokoso SIM card is promoted by JTB, it can’t be that bad.
Unlike most other SIM cards, we could obtain Yokoso SIM while in Singapore. This will allow us to have internet connection immediately upon landing. Moreover, getting SIM card in Singapore means saving the hassle to arrange for pick up, or worry about lost mail/late delivery at the airport or hotel.
Also there’s no need to return the SIM card after usage.
The best part is, you can save further if you decide to just tether and share the internet connection via hotspot! Though tethering might drain your mobile battery faster, and you might hit the daily data limit sooner.
(p.s. We didn’t try the tethering, but it was stated on the Qoo10 shop that it’s possible to tether.)
We found the Yokoso good deal but based on the online reviews, and later we saw on the packaging, this card doesn’t work with Xiaomi phones! We were both using Xiaomi HM NOTE 1LTE.
FYI, it’s also written on the packaging that dual sim card, unbranded or/and sim locked phones cannot be used for this SIM card.
But we decided to take the risk, since the reviews about SIM not working were mostly on Xiaomi’s first generation phones. In addition, the seller agreed to give us a complimentary 8-day SIM card with purchase of a 15-day card for a mention in this website. So, even if the SIM cards fail on our Xiaomi phones, our loss is not too heavy.
Verdict: Yokoso SIM works for certain Xiaomi Models
For other phone models such as iPhone, you can check out the comprehensive list of supported models at: www.yokososim.com/Sjxh.aspx?id=263
The data available to you depends on the plan you are getting. For example, 3GB is available for an 8-Day SIM while 4GB is available for a 31-Day. For the latter, the speed will slow down to 200kbps once your usage reaches 4GB. The speed will also slow down when you hit the daily limit of 500MB.
We changed our SIM cards and APN setting while on our flight to Japan and we were connected to the internet once we landed! Yays!
Important about APN* setting:
(*Access Point Name (APN) is the name for the settings your phone reads to set up a connection between the carrier’s cellular network and the public Internet.)
The connectivity was good in general. We travelled in Tokyo, Sapporo, Otaru, Tomamu, Noboribetsu and Niseko. The connection was lost only in certain short parts of our train journey, especially when we went through the mountain tunnels. Otherwise we were pleased with the connectivity! :)
I had a really bad experience with the pocket WiFi provided by our Tokyo airbnb host (after using the Yokoso SIM card in Hokkaido). I forgot to take a photo of the pocket WiFi, because I hardly use it. Probably only 20% of my whole time in Japan.
In the end, I decided it’s easier to use my husband’s mobile with Yokoso SIM card for directions and information.
(Updated 11 Sep 2016)
It’s becoming a great desire for people to stay connected with internet as they travel. The posting of photos on Facebook, Instagram, etc. While it may not always be a need, an internet connection is more of a necessity than a want if you are …
Japan Itinerary Be sure to bookmark this page as I update this page of my Japan Itinerary with useful tips and navigation around Hokkaido and Tokyo. Find out interesting attractions to visit, accommodation to stay and food to eat. Useful Travel Information Important Tips for Winter …