PENANG
is one of the Malaysian territory situated at the North West of its peninsula and divided into two by a strait; Seberang Perai and Penang Island where the capital city is George Town located, and place where we going to explore and share with you its rich history and culture.
George Town is one of the oldest city in Malaysia and became an UNESCO World Heritage site on 2008 because of its remarkable history and culture preserved up to the present.
HOW TO GET TO PENANG from SINGAPORE?
A. BY TRAIN: the slowest ride you can get!
Go to Woodlands Train Checkpoint then take KTM Shuttle Tebrau Train, it will take you about 5 minutes going to JB Sentral. From JB Sentral to Gemas will take up to 5 hours train ride. *Take ETS train from Gemas going to Butterworth will take you for 7 - 8 hours.
*If you want Gemas directly go to Butterworth you need to leave Singapore early to be able to catch the 3pm train leaving Gemas - Butterworth.
Alternative: from Gemas to KL Sentral ETS train travel is about 2 1/2 hours then KL Sentral to Butterworth is another 4 hours travel time.
Total travel time: 14 hours or more!
to minimize travel time and queuing in ticketing counter you can purchase your ticket earlier online like EASYBOOK.COM , KTMB E-ticket system
B. BY BUS: one of the cheapest way to travel is thru bus, it will take more or less 10 hours sitting and will cost you SGD 35-45 depending on bus line your taking.
C. BY PLANE: if you want to maximize your time this is the best, fastest and my recommended way to go to Penang. Just book your flight to any budget airline company, it will cost you more compared to the other travelling options I gave but its worth it, hassle free and will only take you 1 1/2 hours to get there.
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| after our morning duty, we go straight at Changi Airport for our evening flight going to Penang, Malaysia! |
As soon as we arrive at Penang International Airport we ride bus 102 going to Komtar Shopping Centre and look for food. It cost around MYR 2/person.
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| dinner time :) |
For a budget traveler like us, we opt to stay in one of the cheapest inn we can get and one of it is the Lemon Inn. We took a deluxe room with AC but shared bathroom, good for 4 persons. The location of the inn was accessible to bus stops going to the city center, hospital, convenience stores and hawkers. If you want a hassle free tour they also arranging package tours, had free WiFi on all rooms and vicinity, complimentary bottled water. About the shared bathroom, they have about 4-5 cubicles provided with shampoo. But on our case we still brought our own toiletries.
The next day we start our tour in Penang by having breakfast in a hawker near to our Inn and here are some photos of their local food.
after the breakfast fix we immediately head to Time Square and wait for the Hop On Hop Off bus to arrive. We purchase our tickets on the bus itself and it cost MYR 45. You can also buy your tickets ahead on their website click HERE!
Stop 4 Time Square a residential and commercial building in Penang.
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| want an easy access around the city? Hop on Hop off double decker bus |
City route will start at Gurney Drive as Stop 1 until Stop 13 Kelawie.
Beach route start From Gurney Drive Stop 1 then Stop 14 Straits Quay until Stop 22 Taman Rimba.
We bought the 24 hour ticket and we plan our own route. We go first to the world heritage sites and popular places at Stop 8 UNESCO Heritage.
To start of our walkathon adventure, Penang's Street Arts
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| "Boy on a Bike" at Ah Quee Street |
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| "Little Children on a Bicycle" at Armenian Street |
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| "Boy on chair" at Canon Street |
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| "The Indian Boatman" at Lebuh Klang Street |
there's a lot more of this when you just roam around in every streets in George Town. There's also welded metal wall caricatures showing some history of Penang.
Taking a break from hours of walking and the heat of the sun, thinking of something cold and nice to eat brought us to Art of Dragon Gallery famous to its snack and ice ball.
We ordered this Penang's Heritage Ice-Kacang topped with double chocolate ice cream for MYR 6. Food in Malaysia is cheaper compared to Singapore so were making most of it.
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| Photo: bebe koay |
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| Glutinous rice cake made with Hemp-seeds "moa-chi" coated with sugar and peanut |
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| "Hall of Nine Dragons" to commemorate nine sons of Lim clan in China at Ah Quee Street |
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| Yap Kongsi Temple at Armenian Street |
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| Goddess of Mercy in Temple |
If you really want to go to all the places, heritage sites, try most of the local dish and street foods, do picture takings for some instagram worthy photos, I suggest to spend one whole day.
Near Stop 10 (Cruise) was this Queen Victoria's Memorial clock tower, a testament of Penang's royal connection to commemorate Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee.
Fort Cornwallis was another attraction near Stop 10. It is the largest fort in Malaysia named after Governor General Charles Cornwallis.
Stop 11 St. George Church is a combination of Neo-classical, Georgian and English Palladian Architectural style and considered as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stop 12 Blue Mansion "Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion" an 1880's boutique hotel and museum.
Stop 13 Kelawei, a snippet of Burmese Buddhist Temple from our bus.
Going back to Gurney Drive to have our late lunch then go to Beach Route.
I forgot to mention earlier that Hop on Hop off bus had schedule tour usually 30 minutes interval on both routes. For City route last bus service will be 7:00 pm and Beach route last bus will arrive at 5:30 pm. Since we spend almost our whole day at heritage sites we can no longer hop off on every stop at Beach Routes as we cannot miss the last bus at 5:30 pm.
Stop 16 Miami Beach in Penang
Masjid Terapung, floating mosque on the bay of Tanjung Bungah
last, Stop 22 Taman Rimba, fast dip at the forest park.
Going back to city and had our favorite part of the trip, Penang Hill.
Stop 3, Penang Hill, an oldest British hill station in 1700's.
Penang Hill train ride cost MYR 30 for a return trip and MYR 15 for single trip.
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| "When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top" |
Love Lock Hill, Penang has its own fences located at observation deck of Bukit Bendera where you can lock your love using Love Padlocks and to publicly show promise of eternity to your love one.
Ending the day with a nice view at the top of the hill. Displaying a scenic view of the busy city while the daylight fades.
A short getaway to a nice place with rich culture and heritage. Definetely will come back to try other places and local foods.
