I don't know if you know, that I went to Penang for USM's interview regarding my undergraduate study.
I don't know if you know, I was offered Communication.
I don't know if you know, I was pretty reluctant about going and i actually blogged it too.
You can read it back
here.
Anyways, I went for the interview and experienced a 3-day life of a university student. If you guys applied for USM but your course does not require you to go for interview and you are worried you might feel lost when you go there, you can read about my experience here.
I went by flight and reached Penang on 1st May at around 9am. I was considered lucky because I have seniors studying there that were able to guide me around throughout my stay.
partner for the trip- Miss Lynne.
So glad that we took the flight because if by bus/car, it will take up to 4 hours to travel from my place (Klang).
Safely touched down in Bayan Lepas Airport.
My lovely senior and his girlfriend that took care of us throughout the trip!
感恩!
Alright, so first of all, you definitely need a car to travel around comfortably. And I'm glad my senior picked me up from the airport with a car. Haha. He brought us around as though we were tourists. Traffic was pretty crazy itself. And gosh, if you were to drive in Penang, please be safe because Penang drivers are pretty reckless I would say. :/
Lynne and I were supposed to stay at a rented house with my friend's dad. But the location of the house was not strategic enough so we ended up staying in USM's hostel! The one I stayed is called Desasiswa Tekun! It was one out of three hostels that is loacted outside USM. And heck, it was better than my sis's in UM!
The hostel was pretty comfy because they allocate 2 students per room but it was spacious enough for 4! Okay, this might sound pretty racist, but senior said they will definitely allocate you with the same race and in case you don't get the same race, you can ask to change room and your request will be handled almost immediately! O.O
Interior of the room.
For Day 1, we almost went around the whole Penang and also a tour around USM campus. The environment was really good.
Since we are staying in the hostel, we had dinner in a mamak around the campus like a university student too.
Next day, it was Lynne's interview session. So we woke up early and took the campus's shuttle bus to get to the Communication faculty. They basically labelled their shuttle bus by colour - Red, Blue, Purple, Yellow. And different colour shuttle has different route. To go to Communication Faculty, we took the Purple one!
the bridge that connects Desasiswa RST with USM.
view from the bridge. Fyi, you'll enter USM after making a left turn at the traffic light.
this sign was found at every stop in the campus, asking the people not to stand at the road. LOL
Btw, coincidently during our visit it was their Expo Keusahawanan day. It is a subject where every university student have to take and learn how to be usahawan. LOL.
supported my senior, Bella, by buying from her stall.
On second day, we actually have the guts of exploring Penang without my senior's guidance. Took shower and off we went to take the public transport.
Heading out.
In the bus to Komtar.
KOMTAR is basically like their bus terminal. Once you reach there, you'll see 1st Avenue, Prangin Mall, Komtar and i don't remember.
After wandering around for like 2 hours around those shopping malls, we took another bus to Queensbay Mall! It is very important for you to ask people when you are away from home. We almost took the wrong bus and went only-god-knows where. But, we are smart enough to ask the bus driver and locals there. Apparently, the route they hang on the bus is not accurate all the time. So make sure you ask!
Maybe because its a work day, the mall was pretty dead. But, saw this place that I really like ::
The Borders!
Best part of it, it has a Starbucks Coffee Shop inside.
Imagine, reading a book while having a cup of coffee, heaven!
a real lame store name!
After much walking around, we took another bus back to USM. Senior had class in the afternoon and met up with us during evening for dinner. We headed to Georgetown. Penang has the most awesome food ever that cannot be found in Klang!
Kueh Chap, checked.
Char Kuey Tiow, checked.
Laksa, checked.
Har Mee, uncheck. :(
couldn't eat anymore.
My personal favourite - Kueh Chap. It is a dish where it has something like cheong fun plus the herb sauce and some duck meat plus herbal egg. You can also request for some internal organs but I don't eat that, so yeah..
Kueh Chap.
Char Kuey Tiow.
I forgot the name of this.
But it is similar to our Leng Chi Kang.
Random shots ::
The view of Penang Bridge from Queensbay!
So basically, thats all about the Penang trip. University life was pretty simple actually. As for a life as USM student, everything is pretty nice too because the public transport in Penang is clean and comfortable. Btw, right outside of USM, there are a lot of restaurants, stationeries and convenient stores. So, it is really convenient.
As for my interview, they ask pretty standard questions and I assume I did okay since I've been through numerous interviews thanks to Form 6! And well, I am talkative, so I can talk. Haha. My interview mates were pretty awesome people too. One from Perlis and another one from Alor Setar, Kedah. I can already imagine how all-over-Malaysia my friends will be in the future! :D
Ending this post with this ::
Loves.
