Bukit Gasing - Hiking and Trekking

Bukit Gasing is the place to go to for short hikes or for trekking. We had no idea how easy or difficult it might be as, when it comes to fitness activities, everyone has a different perception based on his/her own level of fitness.We had been consistently walking up Penang Hill so Bukit Gasing is relatively easy. It would be a good place to start out hiking and also, there are many paths so if you need to hike more or for longer, just make loops or use different paths. We really enjoyed the walk in this forest/park. At certain areas, all you hear is sounds of insects and animals. At one point, we heard the trains go by, maybe the LRT. And there was construction too.

From the entrance, there is a stone path, about a third of the width of the path is covered with reflexology style stones. We walked straight ahead until the stone path ended. We then walked along the forest trail until we came to a junction with a bridge on the left and a trail on the right. We chosed to go left, across the bridge and up the steps. 

After about 15-20 minutes of walking (or less), we arrived at the watch tower. The view is of the peak on the opposite, with two towers on it. 

We continued upwards for a bit and then the path was quite flat for awhile and then we descended and came upon a signboard. On our right was the "pagar" path. We took the path on the left again. 

After some walking, ascending and descending, we came upon the bridge and took some photos. Then we walked back to the watch tower and down to where we started. 

Don't worry if you're unfamiliar with this area. There were other hikers even on a Wednesday morning. They were friendly and helpful, telling us where each path leads too. So, if you're unsure, just ask around.

Hilton Petaling Jaya - King Executive Room Plus

Are you looking for a hotel in PJ or thinking about staying at the Hilton? Here is what it was like for me. I stayed for 3 nights at Hilton Petaling Jaya in the King Executive Room Plus. 

Overall rating : 9/10
Would I stay there again? : Yes!
Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Room Cleanliness : 10/10

The whole experience begins with my arrival on the first day. After parking in the basement, I went to the reception counter at the lobby to check-in. There were three members of the hotel staff standing at the front desk. One of them checked the system and I was told that I could check in at the executive lounge based on my Hilton Honors tier. He showed us the way to the elevators.

I stepped out of the elevator on the 21st floor, which is the topmost floor. There was a sign pointing me to the Executive Lounge and so I followed it, down a short walkway. Entering the lounge, the first thing I saw was a christmas tree and a desk. I had to wait a few minutes because the hotel staff in the lounge were all busy. The hotel staff who performed the check-in procedure was very friendly and the way she handled everything was really professional A big thumbs-up to her. 

Once I got the room card, I went and checked out the room. It is spacious and inviting. The room is pretty much the same as what you would see in the photos of the rooms on the website of the hotel. 

There was a king size bed with 6 pillows! I'd requested for two extra pillows. There is a nice wardrobe with two sections. 

In the bathroom, there was a bathtub and a separate shower area. Body cleanser gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion is provided and they are all from 'Peter Thomas Roth'.

After resting, I went back to the executive lounge to relax and have some snacks. They serve breakfast in the morning from 6:30 to 10:00. After that, there are snacks and some beverages. From 6-8pm, there is food and alcoholic beverages (liqour, red and white wine, and beer). I had the choice of having breakfast at the executive lounge or at the lovely Paya Serai restaurant at the ground floor. 

 Christmas deco at the Paya Serai Restaurant, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Selangor

The first morning, I decided to have breakfast at the Paya Serai Restaurant. For breakfast, there is cold meat, fresh fruits, a variety of Malaysian dishes, noodles, cereal, yogurt, salad, porridge, eggs, pancakes, waffles and some Japanese style food such as miso soup and udon.

Fruit juices and water, part of buffet breakfast at the Paya Serai Restaurant, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Me, having breakfast at the Paya Serai Restaurant, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Selangor

I really enjoyed having warm porridge first thing in the morning. I had plain porridge with an assortment of pickles. There is century egg, fermented soybean, salted radish, pickled spinach and black bean mackerel. 

The mini chocolate tarts served one afternoon at the lounge were superb, every bite was delicious. They are in the photo below, a must try if you see them at the lounge. 

Tiger beer. They only served Tiger beer at the executive lounge when I was there. 

The first evening, the service at the Executive Lounge was excellent. The staff there took our drinks orders and also cleared the empty plates and bowls quickly. The following two evenings however, the service I received was below expectations. No one came to take ask if we would like to drink anything and after we got the attention of one of the staff, he took our orders and we waited for about 5-10 minutes. I had to go and remind him of our orders. Apart from that though, the finger food served is really good and is a must-try! I loved the mini-bagels, sandwiches, turkey wrap(roll), cakes and tarts. 

If you have questions, you can PM my facebook page ericayinadventures. Follow my instagram for photos of my travels and adventures. 

Good Food Friday : Sushi Mentai Elit Avenue, Penang

Japanese Food, Sushi, Sashimi, Salmon - Yes! I'd say yes to these any time. As part of my Good Food Friday series, I'm recommending Sushi Mentai! I was there about 7:15 P.M on a Friday. It wasn't too crowded at first and it filled up pretty quickly around 7:30 P.M. so I'd suggest going earlier than 7:15 P.M. if you want to avoid the dinner crowd. The waiter took drink orders awhile after we were seated. We ordered hot tea. It's not green tea. It is brown tea. The tea was a little too bland for our liking. I prefer my tea thicker.

Now, let's get to the main topic here, the food. We tried a few types of sushi, a salmon roll and soba soup with seaweed. The salmon rolls are made up of raw salmon, cucumber slices and crabstick wrapped with Vietnamese rice paper. This is a must try. I found this to be really delicious. 

Salmon Rolls - Sushi Mentai Special

There is a variety of sushi here. There is the typical conveyor belt with sushi going around and you can also order sushi from the menu. We had 6 red plates and 2 yellow plates of sushi. Here are some pictures to tempt you. I didn't get all of them. I liked the scallop sushi and inari ebiko sushi. 

Hotate Mentai

Fresh scallop sushi with mentai sauce. Recommended.

Inari Ebiko

 This is the typical sushi but it is delicious. Recommended.

Inari

Let's not forget the soba. It wasn't the best I've ever had. I would stick to the sushi and the rolls when I come here again. Also, I might try the 'don' as I've yet to try that.

soba with seaweed

The Good :I'd recommend the sushi and the rolls. I loved the salmon roll. Yes, love. You have to try it. The ingredients on the sushi are fresh. 

The Not-so-good : I wish they'd offer green tea like sushi king or at least thicker brown tea. Also, one of the sushi we ordered never came. 

The verdict : TRY! And I would definitely go there again soon. 

Address : 3 Elit Avenue, 1, Jalan Mayang Pasir, Bandar Bayan Baru, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia

N Seoul Tower - Seoul, South Korea

Landmark by day and awesome tower of light by night. The N Seoul Tower is a must visit. We visited this place the first night we arrived in Seoul and re-visited it on our last night in Seoul. It is one of the most memorable locations we visited.

The first night, we decided to walk to N Seoul Tower from where we were staying. It didn't seem that way. It was uphill all the way though. We walked for awhile and then we saw a sign. We were going in the right direction and according to the sign, we were 1.3km away. Alright, 1.3km is not far. We can do it. 15-20 minutes later, we arrived at a second sign. It pointed to the stairs a couple of meters to the right of it. And according to this sign, we were 1.3km away. What?! How could we still be 1.3km away. Did we miss another way up? Oh well, since we were there, we decided to just climb up the stairs, I mean, how bad could it be? 

We climbed for about 10 minutes. I was all sweaty at that point. We spotted an observation deck and ventured onto it for a break. We rested and took some photos and then, we were ready to continue our climb. We stepped out of the observation deck, back onto the stairs and we saw a lady in stilletos! She was walking up effortlessly and there I was, all sweaty and out of breath in my sneakers. We had to overtake that lady and we managed to do that, but only because she stopped to wait for some other people who were walking at a much slower pace. 

Anyway, we got to the top and arrived at the cable car station. We walked a little bit further up and there was an area with tons of lovelocks. We took pictures excitedly. There are quite a few romantic spots there. We walked around and even watched a short 3-D clip inside base of the tower. 

We came back again on our last night in Seoul. We tried taking the cable car this time. The queue for the cable car was so long. We waited for about an hour before our turn. The ride took about 5 minutes. Pretty quick. We went for buffet at a restaurant in the tower. The environment was lovely. We had grilled meat, odeng, cake, tofu, and lots of ice cream. After dinner we walked around and took photos of the view and of us. We also visited the Hello Kitty souvenir shop. 

And that's my experience of the N Seoul Tower. We didn't go up. Walking around the tower is memorable enough for me. I will remember the cold night air, and how beautiful the tower and night scenery of Seoul looked. 

3 Hottest Shopping Spots in Seoul

Shopping is one of the main reasons tourist flock to Seoul. South Koreans are well-known for their amazing sense of fashion and South Korea for its forward beauty industry. If you're into brands and stuff, you'd be visiting malls and specific brand shops. In Seoul, fashion is not only about brands and for anyone looking to buy trendy street wear pieces and affordable cosmetics, there are 3 shopping streets which would be heaven.

1) Myeongdong

This place has countless beauty brands shops. There at least 2 shops for brands such as Innisfree, Tony Moly, Holika holika, Etude House, Nature Republic, Its Skin and more in the shopping area. There are Olive Young Outlets and Aritaum Outlets here and there too. On these streets, there are fashion stores selling clothes, bags and shoes, all trendy and "in" for the current season. Street food here is good and although slightly higher priced than street food in Hong Dae and Ehwa, it is worth the extra you pay because it tastes that slightly much better too. If you're coming by Subway, exit the station via Exits 4 or 6 and you'd be at one of shopping streets. Price of "odeng" here is 1300 won.

2) Hong Dae

The land(street) of Baskers. Street performances are a norm here and you can see talented performers entertaining onlookers. They manage to attract and sustain crowds and you just might have to stop and be a part of the crowd as you walk by. It will be well worth your time. This place also has many beauty and fashion stores like Myeong Dong. Here, you'll find crowds of young adults and students whereas in Myeong Dong, the crowds are mostly made up of tourists and working adults. This is not surprising as this area is close to the university. To get here by Subway, alight at Hongik University Station. There are stalls selling street food and food shops here too. Price of "odeng" here is 1000 won.

3) Ehwa

Shopping here is more straightforward. There is one main shopping street which branches off into a number of tiny lanes filled with shops. The crowd here is smaller compared to Hong Dae and MyeongDong and there are many students too. I did spot some other tourists as well. After visiting all 3 shopping streets, I found that the bags and clothes sold on these streets are similar. There are 1000 won socks sold everywhere. Also, you can find many of the korean cosmetics brand shops at all 3 areas. Myeong Dong and Hong Dae seem to have almost the brands and Ehwa has quite a number. Price of "odeng" at Ehwa is 500-700 won if you cross the street at the subway station exit away from the shopping street. 

If shopping at the above 3 "in" places is not enough to satiate your shopping appetite, worry not. Continue shopping at the Namdaemun Market (day) and the Dongdaemun Market (evening and night). There is more food and fashion to be found here. 

Experiencing Seoul on a Short Trip - 5 Must Visit Places

Seoul is a beautiful place where heritage buildings lie admist skycrapers. Here, there are roads lined with vendors selling things on carts right in front of countless cosmetics and fashion stores. I was in Seoul for 7 days and stayed in the Myeongdong area. I visited palaces, shrines, temples, shopping streets, universities, markets and malls. If you're on a short visit, I would suggest visiting the following places.

 1) Palace/Temple/Shrine (Suggestion : GyeongBukGong)

Pond in GyeongBukGong

I visited 4 palaces, 1 shrine and 2 temples. The architecture is similar so if you're short on time, pick at least of these to visit, to look at the architecture and get a feel of the place. I would suggest visiting GyeongBukGong palace and follow a guided tour. This tour covers explanation about the throne room, the King and Queen's lifestyle, stories about some other buildings and also talks about the architecture. After following this guided tour, you would be able to learn a little about the history and you will also learn why palaces, temples and shrines we see in Seoul have similar architecture.


2) Local Spa and Sauna

Entrance to the elevator to Golden Hot Springs

This is a must visit. Pick one at a convenient location for you and drop by for a visit. Spare at least 2-3 hours for this experience and you would probably appreciate it more when the weather is cold or after a day of walking. I picked Golden Hot Spring in Seocho-gu as it was conveniently located close to where I was sightseeing. It was a rainy day. This place is in a multi-story building of shoplots and there is an elevator which we can take to get to the entrance of this spa(see photo on the right). At the elevator, there is a sign showing which floor to go to. They're occupying lots on 3 floors. The floor of the main entrance is where the unisex sauna and relaxation area is. One floor up is for ladies and one floor below is for men. If you're a lady, you get a locker upstairs in the ladies only area and men get lockers in the men only area. There are multiple hot pools, showers and hot rooms (saunas). There's even a restaurant where you can get food and a lounge area with a TV.

3) Noryangjin Fish Market

Noryangjin Fish Market (from the second floor)

This fish market is a wet market selling fresh seafood. Almost all the fish and other edible sea animals sold here are still alive. Even if you don't eat seafood, you've got to visit this market to experience the environment and have a look see. I came here with 2 other people and we bought a large crab for around 33000 won and a platter of sashimi for 30000 won. Even though the sashimi platter was prepared beforehand (we did not see them cutting up the fish), it was very fresh. The texture of the fish is firm and there is not the slightest hint of that slightly slimy layer which builds up after some time. Seafood which is bought can be brought to the restaurants on the 2nd floor. These can be cooked by the cooks in the restaurants for a price, depending on the way the food is cooked and the number of people.

4) Nami Island

A lovely path on Nami Island

Nami Island is where parts of the K-Drama Winter Sonata was filmed. This is one of the first K-Dramas which catapulted K-Dramas' popularity, a big boost to making K-Dramas as well-known as they are today. I know some of us are not avid watchers of K-Dramas and you might think, why would you even want to visit Nami Island then if you don't care for Winter Sonata. Visiting Nami Island is not all about going to the filming locations of Winter Sonata. Nami Island is a beautiful Island and you can get really nice portrait and landscape photographs here. They even have chalets on the Island so people can come for holidays to relax and enjoy this nice place.

5) Banpo Bridge (Night Lights)

Banpo Bridge at night

Banpo Bridge at night is beautiful and entertaining. Some people might say go up N Seoul Tower. I'd say come to the South side of Banpo Bridge. There's a musical water show around 9 PM. From here you can see N Seoul Tower and two beautifully lit bridges one either side of Banpo Bridge. I got here at 9:15 PM and still managed to watch the musical show play a few songs. Banpo Bridge is pedestrian friendly and you can walk across it if you fancy.

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2 Best Ways to get to the top of Penang Hill

Penang Hill on Penang Island in Malaysia is a must visit. The spectacular view offered at the top of the hill will be worth the trip. There's David Brown restaurant(western style food) and Astaka, a food court with fruits, drinks, desserts and several types of Malaysian food. On weekends, the peak is filled with tourists and locals enjoying the nice weather and fresh air. 

The first step to get to the top of Penang Hill is of course to get to the foot of the hill! This official website has detailed instructions on how to get to the Train Station at the foot of the hill.
http://www.penanghill.gov.my/index.php/how-to-get-there

The 2 best ways to get to the top of Penang Hill would be 

1) By Train

2) Hiking/Walking

The Train

The Penang Hill train brings you from the bottom to the top in under 10 minutes. The train is air conditioned. Seats are pretty limited, sitting around 8 people in the middle carriages, 4 people at the top carriage and 6 at the bottom carriage. On weekends when there is a crowd, it's hard to get to seat. Standing isn't so bad though, considering how quick the journey is. 

There are two trains carrying passengers up and down the hill. They usually travel at the same time and at the middle, the tracks separate and one train goes left, the other goes right. So, don't be shocked if you see the other train coming towards the train you are in. On the sides of the tracks are trees and you can also see some view of Penang from the train as it is moving.
Visit the official penang hill website for the latest ticket prices. The ticket prices below are screenshot from the website. 

The train operating hours is from 6:30am to 11:00pm daily. The wait for the train is not long, in my experience, the longest wait time was 15 minutes. Please take note of the promotion time. The ticket is sold at promotion price before 9am and after 7pm daily. I'm not sure if it applies to foreigners though. The promotion is not valid during school holidays (by Ministry of Education, Malaysia). 

Hiking
For hikers, trekkers and those who like walking, this may be the most satisfying and interesting way up. Depending on the trail, the adventurous fellow who walks up may go through local farms, through the tropical rainforest and along the train tracks. The experience would be really different from going up by train. The locals farms at Air Itam have flowers and fruit trees, aside from the typical vegetables you might see. These farms are different from what you'd see in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. There are many farms in Cameron Highlands which are open to tourists. These are big and very organized. The farms on Penang Hill in the Air Itam area are smaller and feels very out of town. It's not like you went back in time. It's like you're in a different place. The hike would take an averagely fit person 3 hours. It is really recommended if you can find the time. 

Refer to this post if you want to hike from Air Itam area. 

Penang is a city with multiple personalities. Air Itam, Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang have farms. There is Penang Hill with forests. There are countless places of worships for numerous religions, all with beautiful designs, traditional and modern. There are malls like Queensbay, Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon. There's the heritage area in Georgetown and if you explore, there are areas with villages. We've skyscrapers and kampung houses, all in Penang. 

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Designated Hiking Trail]

My 2nd time hiking up, I started from Persiaran Taman Cantik as well. If you're wondering how to get to the Middle Station from Persiaran Taman Cantik, there are details on my post Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam].

Just before the middle train station, I went up the designated hiking trail. 

The trail starts here and goes all the way up to the train station at the top of the hill. Follow the neon orange arrows all the way up. There aren't that many forks anyway and along the way, you'll go past a few train stops. I guess if you're really too tired, you can get the train to stop at the train stop though I'm not sure how. This route is more straightforward. I'll post more pictures of the trail later on.

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Farm Trails]

So far I've hiked up Penang Hill twice. Both times starting from Persiaran Taman Cantik and hiking to the Middle Train Station, details in my post Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam]

From the Middle Train Station of the Penang Hill Train, I've tried two ways to hike up all the way to the top. The first time I hiked up, I used the farm trails. If you're standing at the station, looking up Penang Hill, the farm trail is to the left of the station. You'll see steps on the left of the train tracks. The trail starts around there. 

Don't give up, you'll reach the top

Endomondo map :)

I started endomondo at the bridge on Persiaran Taman Cantik and turned it off when I reached the one of the roads at the top of the hill. So there's a bit more to walk until you reach the station. It's flat so it will feel super easy after the steep hike. You can see a few switch-backs along the path. You'll even go through farms. I saw beautiful blooming flowers and some other plants growing really well.

Plants at one of the farms

Flower blooming at one of the farms 

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam]

One way to hike to the Penang Hill Middle Train Station is to take one of the trails which starts at Persiaran Taman Cantik. Train rides are available for going up to the top or down from the Penang Hill Middle Train Station. For hiking up, there are at least two possible trails.

Starting Point : Persiaran Taman Cantik
Climb To : Penang Hill Middle Railway Station
Estimated Time Required : 1.5 hours
Difficulty : 7 out of 10
Trail Type : Steep slopes most of the way

At Air Itam, drive towards the Penang Hill Railway Station. Keep a lookout for Persiaran Taman Cantik on your right as you are nearing the Penang Hill Railway Station. Turn into this road. You can park along this road. It is within walking distance from the Penang Hill Railway Station so it's convenient for those who choose to take the train down.

Persiaran Taman Cantik (from Google Streetview)

Walk in and cross the bridge in the photo below. Once you've crossed the bridge, lookout for a path with a temple on your left.

After this bridge, watch out for the path to the trail on your left (next picture)

This trail is narrow and is shared by a handful of hikers, some cyclists and motorcyclists carrying vegetables or farming items up and down Penang Hill. Always listen out for bicycles and motorbikes when hiking up. If you hear them coming, some are quite fast, don't panic and just find a spot beside the trail where you can stand and let them go by.

Go up this little lane. It will be on your left if you're coming from the bridge on Persiaran Taman Cantik

This trail has a lot of forks. If in doubt, ask the motorcyclists or people in the farms along the way and they'll point you on your way. Just keep going straight most of the way. The paths are narrow as you can see in the picture below.

Narrow path all the way up (some parts are cement, some part dirt)

Keep going straight along the trail until you come to this fork here, with a silver-ish signboard. Follow the arrow and go left here.

Turn left here, there's a small signboard with a red arrow

Walk along the slopes and in a few minutes, you will see another "landmark". A red umbrella. From a closer distance, this looks like an "open air" kitchen. Anyway, you will walk past this.

You'll see the red umbrella after a short climb

You will know you're on the right track when you come to this altar. This means you're on the right track. Keep walking ahead.

Go past this little praying place next

There will be some steep ups and downs along the path. Keep going and you'll come to this temple. This place has a good view of Penang. You might want to rest and enjoy the peacefulness here. When you're ready, just keep going ahead.

View from the temple 

Keep going on you'll come to the Middle Train Station

After the temple, keep going straight along the paths until you come to the Middle Train Station. If you've hiked enough, you can take the train up to the top of the hill for sightseeing or down to the foot of the hill. if you're feeling adventurous, I'd say, hike on to the top! There are two ways up from the Middle Train Station that I've tried, one is through the farm trails and one through the "designated hiking trail".

Links :

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Farm Trails]

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Designated Hiking Trail]

Good Food Friday : Ssambap Korean Restaurant, Krystal Point, Penang

My favourite lunch place! I always leave this place feeling satisfied and happy! They've a good lunch menu for RM19.90++ (RM23.20 including tax and all). This set includes choice of 1 meat dish (barbecue), side dishes (refillable), rice, soup and choice of 1 drink (coke or green tea).

I've had the lunch set a few times and have tried the fried pork, grilled pork belly and bulgogi. If you're here with friends, you can order different types and share so all of you get to try all 3 types.

The types of sides dishes vary. Each time, they will serve 9 types. The 5 times I was here, they served kimchi (cabbage), brocolli, fishcake, anchovies, beansprouts and the potato salad. They other side dishes vary. There's seaweed, sausages, celery, pickled radish, and kimchi(cucumber) which I remember eating.

 I usually order the stir-fry pork now that I've tried all 3 types of meat they offer for the set meal. It is always well cooked and tasty. The sauce is really absorbed by the meat. The hot plate keeps it warm throughout the meal. I like wrapping this in the lettuce leaves with some kimchi and a slice of garlic. The garlic they give is really good, spicy like chilli.

The grilled pork belly is good too. That would taste best with the sauces and garlic provided, wrapped in lettuce leaves with some kimchi. I prefer the stir fried pork as there is more "kick" to the taste. I tried some bulgogi too but the smell was too strong for me to handle. I prefer beef with as little smell as possible.

The soup should be bean paste soup. It's really taste! There's vegetable slices in it. There used to be some clams the first two times I was there but I've not seen clams in the soup lately. Rice is normal, nothing to shout about. And the hot green tea which I prefer, over coca cola, when eating korean food.

Lunch at Ssambap always makes me happy and satisfied. The set might be a tad too much for smaller eaters. Smaller eaters can always opt for something else on the menu and try some of the meat those with bigger appetites order. 

To those who want to try Ssambap, it is at the Krystal Suites Block, at the Dominos side. They also have a branch at all seasons place. 

Samsung S7 Edge Back Camera and Photography

With the Samsung Note 7 out, there are 3 Samsung phones with the same camera specifications! The Samsung S7, Samsung S7 Edge and the Samsung Note 7. The back camera of these phones are 12 Megapixel Cameras with f/1.7 aperture and 1.4µm dual-pixels. There are many reviews out there about these cameras. Also, countless tutorials already on how to make full use of the camera's capabilities. Here's a link to one, on trustedreviews.com. I found the review and tutorial on this one to be pretty good and accurate. The lens is really good for macro close-up shots. It's true that it's not so good for portraits, I've tried and have yet to get the effect I want.

I have to admit, I watched many reviews on youtube and read many reviews on blogs and websites before deciding to buy the S7 Edge. I needed to have a good camera on my phone. I like how the camera focuses fast and also the macro shots I've been taking. I mean, bees and butterflies the size of my fingernail have been photographed beautifully using the S7 Edge. I was able to capture the "furry-ness" of the butterfly, the beautiful blue tone on its body and the little black dots on its tiny wings. The white strips on its antenna are clear too. The flower bud the butterfly is on is just about half a centimeter long. That's how macro we can go with the S7 edge.

Butterfly the size of my fingernail (added my fav phrase to this picture using photo director app)

Having the Pro Mode really helps. The focusing is accurate when set manually using the Pro Mode. Most of the time, I have the Shutterspeed, ISO and White Balance on Auto. I play with the Focusing a lot and quite a bit on exposure as well. To capture the butterfly, I had the focus set to the closest possible. The background is clearly blurred out while the butterfly is clear. The S7 edge has really good depth of field effect, especially for macro shots.

I went to the Botanical Gardens, Penang to look for bees or butterflies to photography. I tried out fast shutterspeed settings with higher ISO to try and capture bees mid-flight, not much luck there yet. I've uploaded a number of photos on my nature (mostly flowers) gallery on Instagram (@cherishedshots). You're welcome to browse through them to see what the S7 Edge can do. It probably can do even better if I were a better photographer.

My first try(on any camera) with a slower shutterspeed setting to capture the light streaks as the cars zoomed down the road. Lots of room for improvement on my part but definitely a fun thing to try out. It is definitely possible for slow shutterspeed photography with the S7 Edge Camera.

Cars zooming past

There are other good phone cameras out there. I just find the S7 Edge Camera to suit my style of photography so I'm really happy with it. There are good reviews on the Huawei P9 camera and also the LG Phone Cameras. Interested in buying the Samsung S7 Edge or other phones? PM EricaYinAdventures on Facebook (for Penang-ites only).

Pulau Tikus, Penang, Malaysia

I've been living in this area for more than 10 years. What to eat? How to get around? What to see? 

5 must try foods in Pulau Tikus

1) Bee Hooi O'Chien (Fried Osyter)

2) Bee Hooi Chicken Porridge

3) Mee Goreng (at the stall at the corner shop opposite the polic station)

4) Roti Canai (Mohd Raffee at night) 

5) Laksa (corner coffee shop opposite Penang Chinese Girls High School)

How to get around?

Take the Pulau Tikus Loop bus. This is a free shuttle which starts at Jalan Kelawei between Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon. It's really convenient for Pulau Tikus folks and tourists staying in the G-Hotel..If you time it right, you can take this bus around Pulau Tikus to get to all the shops in the 5 must try foods list in Pulau Tikus.The Pulau Tikus Loop bus passes by Adventist and Gleneagles Hospitals so it's convenient if you're here for healthcare purposes as well.

See the rapid bus parked here? This is the Pulau Tikus Loop bus. 

I took a panaroma short of the the area where the bus is parked so you'd have a better idea. I would say it's nearer to G-Hotel Kelawei and Gurney Paragon than to Gurney Plaza.

Zoom in to the bus. Free Pulau Tikus Loop is displayed on the side of the bus. 

 The 'Pulau Tikus Loop' words actually loops on the display on the side of the bus. You'd still be able to see clearly that it is the Pulau Tikus Loop bus though. And FREE is displayed at the front, back and side of the bus. Other Rapid Penang busses going through Pulau Tikus have numbers displayed.

'FREE' shown on the back of the bus. Yes, there are free-bus rides in Penang!

What to see?

Other than Pokestops, the temples on Burmah Lane actually has beautiful designs, worthy of a visit and also if you're into photography or architecture, these temples are a must see. In the mornings, the peaks of these temples' roofs look beautiful against the blue sky and white clouds when the weather is good.

The Pulau Tikus area may not be as tourist-y as the town area but it's not less interesting. If you're visitng Penang and are staying at G-Hotel or any other hotel along Gurney Drive, you might want to consider trying the Pulau Tikus loop. Start from Gurney Paragon(next to G-hotel), you can take the bus and alight opposite Island Plaza. Cross over to Island Plaza, continue walking down the road and you'd arrive at Straits Quay. Come back to the bus stop to take the Pulau Tikus Loop bus, and alight once the bus passes the Penang Chinese Girls High School traffic lights. Cross the road to the Laksa coffee shop. After eating, take the bus again and loop back to Gurney Paragon. 

Drop a comment below or email me if you need more information about what to see in Pulau Tikus. I'll be glad to help if I can. I'll be posting pictures soon. Hopefully I'll manage to find time to take pictures of the bus stops and the coffee shops with the 5 must try foods to help you recognize them better.