Discover Penang-The Pearl of the Orient
Jul 10, 2018, 1:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 118
Discover Penang-The Pearl of the Orient
Last February, my family and I went to Penang for 3 nights during the long public holiday. In this trip, I will be joined by my parents and my nephew (whose mother sponsored our flight tickets and accommodation). We flew there with Malaysia's homegrown LCC, Air Asia. This also marked the very first time for me to fly out of KLIA2 terminal.
Penang or "Pulau Pinang", is 1 of the top tourists destinations in Malaysia and famous among locals and foreign visitors for its beautiful heritage buildings and scrumptious cuisines. Penang is also known as "The Pearl of the Orient" and "The Culinary Capital of Malaysia''.
DAY 1
On the day of departure, we left our house at 5am and went to KLIA2 with Grab. We arrived in KLIA2 around 6am.
A sea of Air Asia planes.
Early morning rush.
We entered the terminal which looking more like a shopping mall and went to AirAsia's self check-in kiosk to print out the boarding pass and luggage tag.
Then, we proceeded to luggage drop-off counter to drop some of our bags.
We went to the prayer room (Musolla) which located in the same departure level of the terminal to perform Fajr Prayer before we had our breakfast in Agrobazaar Cafe. This cafe serves mainly traditional Malaysian cuisines and it is attached to the Agrobazaar shop that sells varieties of locally-made products and handicrafts.
Fried Kway Teow, Toasted Breads, Kuih-Muih (Malaysian Confectioneries) and yes, a colorful Rainbow Cake for breakfast!
Finished our breakfast, then it was time for us to head to the departure gate.
We got gate K9,which required us a long walk to get there.
1 of the many duty-free shops along the way.
Plane spotting can be quite boring in KLIA2 as you will only see Air Asia planes for most of the times.
We arrived in our departure gate quite early as it was still not opened yet. We had to wait outside of the gate for more than 2 hours before we allowed to enter and seated there for almost 30 minutes. Finally, the boarding for our flight started and we became among the last passengers who boarded the aircraft.
Airline: Air Asia
Flight: AK 6112
Aircraft: A320-200
Origin: Kuala Lumpur
Destination: Penang
ETD: 9:55 AM
ETA: 10:55 AM
Seat: 7C
My mum, nephew and I were seated in row 7A-C while my dad was seated few rows away from us. The flight seems over 95% full.
My seat, 7C with standard Air Asia's seat pitch. It can be very tight if you are really a tall person.
The contents of the seat pocket featured AK's inflight magazine, "Travel3Sixty", the safety information card and the inflight duty free sales catalogue. The inflight menu, "Santan" can also be found inside the Travel3Sixty magazine.
After all doors were closed, the plane started to push back and readied for take off. Being an LCC, Air Asia has a very short and quick turnaround time. Nevertheless, the taxi to the runway was quite long as traffic in KLIA (both terminals) was pretty heavy that morning.
Finally, we were airborne. It was quite tricky to get a decent shot of the outside as I was not seated next to the window.
5 minutes into the flight, the crew came to deliver our meals which pre-ordered by my sister, Chicken Pasta Arrabiata.
The pasta was blend and almost tasteless. It would be much better if my sister ordered the Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak for us instead.
After serving all the pre-order meals, the 4 crew continued with the regular buy onboard meals service followed by the inflight sales of gifts and merchandises. Not so many takers from both activities though. Half an hour later, the cockpit crew announced that we would be landing in Penang International Airport shortly.
We were safely landed in Penang ahead of schedule. Definitely lesser than 50 minutes!
1 last look to our aircraft. The design of Penang International Airport's terminal is really not friendly for spotters!
From the airport, we took a cab to get to our hotel which located in the Armenian street, a narrow street that is so famous for its street arts and mural paintings. Armenian Street is located in the heart of Penang's capital city, Georgetown.
Arrived in our hotel, the Armenian Suite.
This boutique hotel is housed in an old heritage building and there is no elevator inside, so every guest needs to climb the stairs to get to their room. There is no room available in the ground floor unfortunately.
Climbing the stairs after checked-in and collected our key at the reception.
At first, we were given a huge family room located at the highest floor of the hotel.
An antique wooden wardrobe.
Bathroom.
But later, we found out that the room was not in the best condition and properly cleaned with some stains on the bedsheet, ants on the floor and doors malfunction. My nephew then informed to the staff on duty about our situation and requested for a room change. Our request was granted and we were given a new room which located in the 2nd floor.
Our new room was much smaller than the previous one. It had 2 bunk beds, a table and an attached bathroom. But it was way cleaner and seems more comfortable to sleep in than our 1st room, so we had totally no complaint. I didnt take any photo of the room, but it looked exactly like this:
*credit photo to Booking.com website
We didnt spend too much time in our room. Few minutes later, we already went outside to look for a great eating place to have our lunch.
And we were so lucky as the restaurant that we really wanted to go was just only a short walk from the Armenian Suite Hotel. The "Kapitan Restaurant" is 1 of the highly-recommended Halal restaurants in Penang. It is famous for its legendary Naan Bread, Tandoori Chicken and Claypot Biryani.
The restaurant was packed with customers, but we managed to find 1 empty table for us. All 4 of us ordered the Claypot Biryani Rice with Chicken.
Both the Biryani rice and the chicken were so tasty and flavorful. You really can taste the variety of spices that they added into the rice and used to marinate the chicken. All in all, a truly 5-star meal!
Finished with lunch, we walked out from the restaurant and headed to the nearest bus stand where we booked a Grab to bring us to Komtar.
Bumped into this building while walking. At first, we thought it was a mosque, but later we found out that this building known as "Nagore Dargha Sheriff" is actually a shrine built for 13th Century Muslim Saint named Syed Shahul Hamid who hailed from Southern India.
5 minutes later, the Grab car that we booked arrived and took us to Komtar, the 1st attraction that we visited in this trip. Our aimed was to go to the highest level of the building.
Constructed in 1974 and completed 8 years later, Komtar was the tallest building in Malaysia during the mid 1980s until 1988. It consists of 4-storey podium block and a tall tower which housed the administrative offices of the Penang State Government. And today, Komtar is still holding the title as the tallest structure in Penang.
It was named after the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the word "Komtar" is a short form for "Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak". In year 2012, Komtar was revitalized with many new attractions and sorts of entertainment were added to bring more lively atmosphere to the tower building. These include the Observatory Deck, Rainbow Skydeck, an Aquarium, bars, restaurants and lounges. This whole revitalization project is known as "The Top".
The first 2 floors of the podium block are occupied by Pacific Hypermarket & Departmental Store.
We bought the "Window of The Top" combo ticket which include the entrance ticket to the Observatory Deck and the Rainbow Skywalk. The ticket fee for Malaysian citizen is RM45 for adult and RM26 for kids below 12, senior citizen and disabled person. We found the rate as quite reasonable.
After we purchased the tickets, we were ushered by the friendly staffs to ride the elevator to the Observatory Deck which located in level 65. After we arrived, we were presented with a mini-documentary about the history and background of Komtar along with The Top revitalization works.
The late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, 2nd prime minister of Malaysia.
After the mini-documentary ended, the showing screen was lifted up automatically and we were presented with a spectacular view of Georgetown area and beyond through the large glass window.
Georgetown as seen from above.
We moved further inside the Observatory Deck and stepped into a section that fully made up of glass including its ceiling, walls and floor. It provides visitors with more amazing views of Georgetown from all angles (right, left, up & down) + a terrifying experience that you will never ever forget! Definitely not for someone with a faint of heart.
The 1 of 2 iconic Penang Bridges that connect the Penang Island with the rest of Malay Peninsula can be seen from here.
Try to walk on that outside platform if you are looking for something more adventurous.
Would you dare to stand on this?
After taking countless of photos in the Observatory Deck, we took the elevator again and went up to level 68 where the Rainbow Skywalk is located.
Coco Cabana Bar & Bistro which located in the same level with Rainbow Skywalk.
The panoramic view of Georgetown and surrounding area at a higher altitude.
Penang Bridge.
The other side of Penang, Seberang Perai which also known as "Province Wellesley".
I believe that is the Penang Hill.
The "luckiest chair in the world".
The Wishing Pot of Gold.
Where visitors throw some coins and ring a bell while making their wish.
The main attraction, The Rainbow Skywalk.
We had to remove our shoes and wear the "special feet protector" which looking like a blue-colored plastic bag in order to walk on the glass skywalk.
Also known as "Komtar Walk", the Rainbow Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge (looking similar to the Grand Canyon Skywalk) with a glass walkway sits at an elevation of nearly 250m above the ground.
The Rainbow Skywalk offers visitors a panoramic view of Georgetown, Penang Strait and the Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera). We spent for about 2 hours in Komtar before decided to leave the place and return to our hotel.
Besides the Observatory Deck & the Rainbow Skywalk, there are many other interesting attractions available at Komtar's The Top such as "Ocean Explorer", "7D Discovery Motion Teater", "Penang State Gallery" and "Top Boutique Aquarium".
Ocean Explorer.
Top Boutique Aquarium.
We took a Grab again for the return ride, but this time the driver dropped us at the other end of the Armenian Street where we had to walk to get to our hotel. We were completely fine with it as we could take this chance to look into the stunning design and architecture of the heritage buildings along the way much closer.
This stunning heritage building features mid-19th century Straits style and it was belonged to a powerful pepper merchant from Aceh (in present day Indonesia), Syed Mohammed Al-Attas. It was later converted into Penang Islamic Museum until 2011 before being closed down. During our visit, this building was still not opened to the public and there were some renovation works still going on in that area.
Beautiful Buddhist Temple.
Colorful and heavily decorated trishaws. Known locally as "Beca", Penang is 1 of the few Malaysian states where the trishaw is still available though the number has been declining each year.
After shower and a short rest, we went out of the hotel again for dinner. We took 1 of the cabs that we found near to our hotel. The cab driver, Mr Ali handed his name card and told us that we can call him again for the return ride.
For dinner, we chose to eat in Padang Kota Lama food court. It is also 1 of the famous Halal eating places in Penang.
You can choose to seat in the open-air area that offers a beautiful view of the evening sky.
Managed to get an empty table for us.
Pasembur.
We had a Pasembur (Penang's version of Rojak), Fried Rice with Chicken, Chicken Rice, Sotong Kangkung (Squid with Water Spinach/Morning Glory) and Assam Laksa which is not in the photo. The foods in Padang Kota Lama food court were great and quite cheap, but the cleanliness level of the place was below average.
Fresh Watermelon Juice
After dinner, we took a stroll along the Padang Kota Lama promenade. Also known as the "Esplanade", this waterfront area covers the field adjacent to "Fort Cornwallis" which known locally as "Padang" (it means field in Malay) and the seaside promenade along the edge of the field.
Penang City Hall building.
Penang Port.
While walking, we met an old Cenotaph.
This Cenotaph is actually a memorial which erected in 1948 to commemorate the Commonwealth soldiers killed in the 1st & 2nd World War.
There is also a separate monument located in the same ground that dedicated to those who lost their lives in the past tragic events such as the Malayan Emergency and the Siam-Burma death railway.
We did a stroll only up to this Cenotaph Memorial and decided to go back to our hotel. We called Mr Ali to pick us up and he arrived 10 minutes later. We reached our hotel around 9pm, went straight to our room and ended our 1st day in Penang.
The Armenian Street was looking even more beautiful at night when the decoration lanterns were lighten up.
Penang or "Pulau Pinang", is 1 of the top tourists destinations in Malaysia and famous among locals and foreign visitors for its beautiful heritage buildings and scrumptious cuisines. Penang is also known as "The Pearl of the Orient" and "The Culinary Capital of Malaysia''.
DAY 1
On the day of departure, we left our house at 5am and went to KLIA2 with Grab. We arrived in KLIA2 around 6am.
A sea of Air Asia planes.
Early morning rush.
We entered the terminal which looking more like a shopping mall and went to AirAsia's self check-in kiosk to print out the boarding pass and luggage tag.
Then, we proceeded to luggage drop-off counter to drop some of our bags.
We went to the prayer room (Musolla) which located in the same departure level of the terminal to perform Fajr Prayer before we had our breakfast in Agrobazaar Cafe. This cafe serves mainly traditional Malaysian cuisines and it is attached to the Agrobazaar shop that sells varieties of locally-made products and handicrafts.
Fried Kway Teow, Toasted Breads, Kuih-Muih (Malaysian Confectioneries) and yes, a colorful Rainbow Cake for breakfast!
Finished our breakfast, then it was time for us to head to the departure gate.
We got gate K9,which required us a long walk to get there.
1 of the many duty-free shops along the way.
Plane spotting can be quite boring in KLIA2 as you will only see Air Asia planes for most of the times.
We arrived in our departure gate quite early as it was still not opened yet. We had to wait outside of the gate for more than 2 hours before we allowed to enter and seated there for almost 30 minutes. Finally, the boarding for our flight started and we became among the last passengers who boarded the aircraft.
Airline: Air Asia
Flight: AK 6112
Aircraft: A320-200
Origin: Kuala Lumpur
Destination: Penang
ETD: 9:55 AM
ETA: 10:55 AM
Seat: 7C
My mum, nephew and I were seated in row 7A-C while my dad was seated few rows away from us. The flight seems over 95% full.
My seat, 7C with standard Air Asia's seat pitch. It can be very tight if you are really a tall person.
The contents of the seat pocket featured AK's inflight magazine, "Travel3Sixty", the safety information card and the inflight duty free sales catalogue. The inflight menu, "Santan" can also be found inside the Travel3Sixty magazine.
After all doors were closed, the plane started to push back and readied for take off. Being an LCC, Air Asia has a very short and quick turnaround time. Nevertheless, the taxi to the runway was quite long as traffic in KLIA (both terminals) was pretty heavy that morning.
Finally, we were airborne. It was quite tricky to get a decent shot of the outside as I was not seated next to the window.
5 minutes into the flight, the crew came to deliver our meals which pre-ordered by my sister, Chicken Pasta Arrabiata.
The pasta was blend and almost tasteless. It would be much better if my sister ordered the Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak for us instead.
After serving all the pre-order meals, the 4 crew continued with the regular buy onboard meals service followed by the inflight sales of gifts and merchandises. Not so many takers from both activities though. Half an hour later, the cockpit crew announced that we would be landing in Penang International Airport shortly.
We were safely landed in Penang ahead of schedule. Definitely lesser than 50 minutes!
1 last look to our aircraft. The design of Penang International Airport's terminal is really not friendly for spotters!
From the airport, we took a cab to get to our hotel which located in the Armenian street, a narrow street that is so famous for its street arts and mural paintings. Armenian Street is located in the heart of Penang's capital city, Georgetown.
Arrived in our hotel, the Armenian Suite.
This boutique hotel is housed in an old heritage building and there is no elevator inside, so every guest needs to climb the stairs to get to their room. There is no room available in the ground floor unfortunately.
Climbing the stairs after checked-in and collected our key at the reception.
At first, we were given a huge family room located at the highest floor of the hotel.
An antique wooden wardrobe.
Bathroom.
But later, we found out that the room was not in the best condition and properly cleaned with some stains on the bedsheet, ants on the floor and doors malfunction. My nephew then informed to the staff on duty about our situation and requested for a room change. Our request was granted and we were given a new room which located in the 2nd floor.
Our new room was much smaller than the previous one. It had 2 bunk beds, a table and an attached bathroom. But it was way cleaner and seems more comfortable to sleep in than our 1st room, so we had totally no complaint. I didnt take any photo of the room, but it looked exactly like this:
*credit photo to Booking.com website
We didnt spend too much time in our room. Few minutes later, we already went outside to look for a great eating place to have our lunch.
And we were so lucky as the restaurant that we really wanted to go was just only a short walk from the Armenian Suite Hotel. The "Kapitan Restaurant" is 1 of the highly-recommended Halal restaurants in Penang. It is famous for its legendary Naan Bread, Tandoori Chicken and Claypot Biryani.
The restaurant was packed with customers, but we managed to find 1 empty table for us. All 4 of us ordered the Claypot Biryani Rice with Chicken.
Both the Biryani rice and the chicken were so tasty and flavorful. You really can taste the variety of spices that they added into the rice and used to marinate the chicken. All in all, a truly 5-star meal!
Finished with lunch, we walked out from the restaurant and headed to the nearest bus stand where we booked a Grab to bring us to Komtar.
Bumped into this building while walking. At first, we thought it was a mosque, but later we found out that this building known as "Nagore Dargha Sheriff" is actually a shrine built for 13th Century Muslim Saint named Syed Shahul Hamid who hailed from Southern India.
5 minutes later, the Grab car that we booked arrived and took us to Komtar, the 1st attraction that we visited in this trip. Our aimed was to go to the highest level of the building.
Constructed in 1974 and completed 8 years later, Komtar was the tallest building in Malaysia during the mid 1980s until 1988. It consists of 4-storey podium block and a tall tower which housed the administrative offices of the Penang State Government. And today, Komtar is still holding the title as the tallest structure in Penang.
It was named after the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the word "Komtar" is a short form for "Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak". In year 2012, Komtar was revitalized with many new attractions and sorts of entertainment were added to bring more lively atmosphere to the tower building. These include the Observatory Deck, Rainbow Skydeck, an Aquarium, bars, restaurants and lounges. This whole revitalization project is known as "The Top".
The first 2 floors of the podium block are occupied by Pacific Hypermarket & Departmental Store.
We bought the "Window of The Top" combo ticket which include the entrance ticket to the Observatory Deck and the Rainbow Skywalk. The ticket fee for Malaysian citizen is RM45 for adult and RM26 for kids below 12, senior citizen and disabled person. We found the rate as quite reasonable.
After we purchased the tickets, we were ushered by the friendly staffs to ride the elevator to the Observatory Deck which located in level 65. After we arrived, we were presented with a mini-documentary about the history and background of Komtar along with The Top revitalization works.
The late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, 2nd prime minister of Malaysia.
After the mini-documentary ended, the showing screen was lifted up automatically and we were presented with a spectacular view of Georgetown area and beyond through the large glass window.
Georgetown as seen from above.
We moved further inside the Observatory Deck and stepped into a section that fully made up of glass including its ceiling, walls and floor. It provides visitors with more amazing views of Georgetown from all angles (right, left, up & down) + a terrifying experience that you will never ever forget! Definitely not for someone with a faint of heart.
The 1 of 2 iconic Penang Bridges that connect the Penang Island with the rest of Malay Peninsula can be seen from here.
Try to walk on that outside platform if you are looking for something more adventurous.
Would you dare to stand on this?
After taking countless of photos in the Observatory Deck, we took the elevator again and went up to level 68 where the Rainbow Skywalk is located.
Coco Cabana Bar & Bistro which located in the same level with Rainbow Skywalk.
The panoramic view of Georgetown and surrounding area at a higher altitude.
Penang Bridge.
The other side of Penang, Seberang Perai which also known as "Province Wellesley".
I believe that is the Penang Hill.
The "luckiest chair in the world".
The Wishing Pot of Gold.
Where visitors throw some coins and ring a bell while making their wish.
The main attraction, The Rainbow Skywalk.
We had to remove our shoes and wear the "special feet protector" which looking like a blue-colored plastic bag in order to walk on the glass skywalk.
Also known as "Komtar Walk", the Rainbow Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge (looking similar to the Grand Canyon Skywalk) with a glass walkway sits at an elevation of nearly 250m above the ground.
The Rainbow Skywalk offers visitors a panoramic view of Georgetown, Penang Strait and the Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera). We spent for about 2 hours in Komtar before decided to leave the place and return to our hotel.
Besides the Observatory Deck & the Rainbow Skywalk, there are many other interesting attractions available at Komtar's The Top such as "Ocean Explorer", "7D Discovery Motion Teater", "Penang State Gallery" and "Top Boutique Aquarium".
Ocean Explorer.
Top Boutique Aquarium.
We took a Grab again for the return ride, but this time the driver dropped us at the other end of the Armenian Street where we had to walk to get to our hotel. We were completely fine with it as we could take this chance to look into the stunning design and architecture of the heritage buildings along the way much closer.
This stunning heritage building features mid-19th century Straits style and it was belonged to a powerful pepper merchant from Aceh (in present day Indonesia), Syed Mohammed Al-Attas. It was later converted into Penang Islamic Museum until 2011 before being closed down. During our visit, this building was still not opened to the public and there were some renovation works still going on in that area.
Beautiful Buddhist Temple.
Colorful and heavily decorated trishaws. Known locally as "Beca", Penang is 1 of the few Malaysian states where the trishaw is still available though the number has been declining each year.
After shower and a short rest, we went out of the hotel again for dinner. We took 1 of the cabs that we found near to our hotel. The cab driver, Mr Ali handed his name card and told us that we can call him again for the return ride.
For dinner, we chose to eat in Padang Kota Lama food court. It is also 1 of the famous Halal eating places in Penang.
You can choose to seat in the open-air area that offers a beautiful view of the evening sky.
Managed to get an empty table for us.
Pasembur.
We had a Pasembur (Penang's version of Rojak), Fried Rice with Chicken, Chicken Rice, Sotong Kangkung (Squid with Water Spinach/Morning Glory) and Assam Laksa which is not in the photo. The foods in Padang Kota Lama food court were great and quite cheap, but the cleanliness level of the place was below average.
Fresh Watermelon Juice
After dinner, we took a stroll along the Padang Kota Lama promenade. Also known as the "Esplanade", this waterfront area covers the field adjacent to "Fort Cornwallis" which known locally as "Padang" (it means field in Malay) and the seaside promenade along the edge of the field.
Penang City Hall building.
Penang Port.
While walking, we met an old Cenotaph.
This Cenotaph is actually a memorial which erected in 1948 to commemorate the Commonwealth soldiers killed in the 1st & 2nd World War.
There is also a separate monument located in the same ground that dedicated to those who lost their lives in the past tragic events such as the Malayan Emergency and the Siam-Burma death railway.
We did a stroll only up to this Cenotaph Memorial and decided to go back to our hotel. We called Mr Ali to pick us up and he arrived 10 minutes later. We reached our hotel around 9pm, went straight to our room and ended our 1st day in Penang.
The Armenian Street was looking even more beautiful at night when the decoration lanterns were lighten up.
Last edited by airways91; Jul 16, 2018 at 6:48 pm
Jul 15, 2018, 10:27 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 118
DAY 2
We started our 2nd day in Penang early as our goal for the day was to visit the Penang Hill. We had to get there early as possible to avoid the crowd and long cue for the entrance ticket. First, we had our breakfast in 1 Indian Muslim (Mamak) restaurant named "Kassim Mustafa" where we had some Roti Canai, Thosai and Chapati.
Kassim Mustafa Restaurant.
After the quick breakfast, Mr Ali (we agreed to book him for the whole day) arrived at the restaurant to bring us to the Penang Hill.
The Penang Hill is listed everywhere as 1 of the "must visit" attractions in the island. It is located in Air Itam suburb, about 6km from downtown Georgetown. Just like Komtar, the Penang Hill offers visitors a spectacular panoramic view of Georgetown and other nearby areas. Many local Malaysian called Penang Hill as "Bukit Bendera" when actually Bukit Bendera refers to the most developed peak, Flagstaff Hill where the Funicular Train station is located. Other peaks in Penang Hill are Bukit Laksamana, Tiger Hill, Bukit Kerajaan and Western Hill (the highest peak).
We arrived at Penang Hill's lower train station main entrance 20 minutes later and Mr Ali said that he will be waiting for us at the same spot for the return ride.
There were only few other visitors at the ticket counter as it was still quite early, thus it didnt take long for us to get the train tickets. We then walked to a designated area where we had to wait for the Funicular Train to arrive.
Some vintage photos of Penang Hill on display.
The Funicular Train ride is the most popular and convenient way to get to the top of Penang Hill. Alternatively, visitors can do a hiking through a 5km tarred road known as the "jeep track". This steep road is only open to the vehicles (mostly motorbikes and 4WDs) of Penang Hill's residents. Some of the passing 4WD drivers may be willing to offer visitors a ride, but with some charge of course.
15 minutes later, the Funicular Train arrived at the lower station and everyone was rushing to enter the train.
The train implementing a free-seating concept with limited capacity, so those who didnt manage to squeeze in have to wait for the next train to arrive.
We managed to enter the train from 1 of its 5 opened doors. Once inside the Funicular Train, we were greeted with a pre-recorded welcome announcement and few seconds later, the train started to move upwards to the top of the hill.
This new Funicular Train was introduced in 2011 replacing the much slower old train which was in service for more than 30 years. The journey with the new train from the lower station to the top will only take about 10-15 minutes.
Nice view along the way.
On its way to the upper station, the train will make a stop at the middle station which is exclusive only to the hill's workers and residents. Other passengers will be asked to stay inside the train. This also applied when the train is going down to the lower station.
Once we arrived at the hilltop station, most passengers including the 4 of us, went to this observation deck to get the best view of the city and take lots of photos. The air was so cool and fresh up here.
Although we had been to Komtar on the previous day to see the view of the Georgetown, but the feeling and experience of seeing the city view from the top of the hill were completely different and incomparable!
Georgetown, Seberang Perai and the Penang Bridge.
Besides enjoying the amazing views, visitors can also checking out other attractions available at the top of Penang Hill such as "The Owl Museum", "Little Village" and an "Earthquake Simulation".
There are even Hindu Temple and Mosque here.
Penang Hill's Mosque with its golden dome.
"Bel Retiro", a former luxurious resort built in the 1800s for the high government officials and visiting dignitaries including the King and Prime Minister of Malaysia. This handsome building was still vacant during our visit and its future remained uncertain.
We bumped into this "Bellevue Ginger Garden and Aviary" and decided to go in. FYI, the entrance fee to this garden and other attractions on top of Penang Hill is not included in our train ride's ticket fee. So, we had to pay it separately.
As the name suggested, the garden is filled with many Gingers and other types of plants that belonged to the "Zingiberales" family.
To create more "exotic" and exciting experiences to the visitors, some artificial dinosaurs complete with pre-recorded sound effects are placed in all over the garden.
I guess this is a T-Rex.
Spinosaurus.
There are also several birds such as Peacocks, Peasants, Pigeons and Hornbills occupied the garden. Its good to know that they are the real birds and not just plastics.
More exotic plants in the garden.
The entrance ticket to the Ginger Garden gave us an access to enter the Panorama Garden which also owned and managed by the Bellevue Hotel.
The Panorama Garden offers visitors a scenic view of the island with a more privacy and quiet environment.
It was really peaceful up here.
Bellevue Hotel, a small hotel housed in a 1950s-era colonial bungalow that owned both gardens.
It was almost towards the lunch time, so we decided to leave the top of Penang Hill and went back to the hill's lower station via the same way as we arrived.
Too bad the train ride was quite short. We really hope it was much longer as we really enjoyed the outside views.
We met with Mr Ali who was patiently waiting for us at the main entrance and we asked him to drive us back to Georgetown.
We wanted to eat "Nasi Kandar", an iconic Indian Muslim dish in Penang for our lunch. We asked Mr Ali to bring us to any restaurant that serves Nasi Kandar in Georgetown area and he suggested us to have the Nasi Kandar in 1 of his favorite restaurants, the "Mohamed Raffee". Fortunately, we managed to arrive there before the rush hour and there was just a short line of people who ordering the foods. My nephew and I joined the queue to order our Nasi Kandar while my parents were looking for an empty table.
We had 4 Nasi Kandar with Fried Chickens, Beef in Dark Gravy, Prawn Curry, some Vegetables and not forget, the crispy Papadom for the extra "kick"!
The Nasi Kandar tasted delicious and the portion was so big and in fact, 1 plate of the Nasi Kandar can be shared by 2 persons. We got really full after eating this lunch and we left the restaurant when it was getting crowded inside.
We got into Mr Ali's car once again and we were off to the next attraction, the "Entopia" aka Penang's Butterfly Farm.The Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm or simply known as "Entopia", is located in Teluk Bahang and close to other attractions such as the Tropical Spice Garden, Tropical Fruit Farm and Penang National Park.
It was established in year 1986 and became the 1st Butterfly Sanctuary in Malaysia. In 2016, it received a major upgrade and adopted its current name.
There was absolutely zero line at the ticket counter when we were there. Great!
The Entopia is the home to around 15,000 Butterflies of various species, over 200 species of plants, as well as several types of reptiles, amphibians and other insects.
The exhibitions in Entopia are divided into 2 main areas; "The Natureland" and "The Cocoon". First, we discovered The Natureland area which features the real reptiles, amphibians, several types of insects and plants in the artificial huge garden.
A big Toad.
An exotic Snake in a glass enclosure.
An artificial waterfall.
And the main highlight of The Natureland is no doubt the colorful Butterflies that flying freely in all over the place.
This majestic colorful creature can be seen in every corner such as near the ceiling.
On the plants.
And even on the floors. So, you need to be careful with your step!
2 Butterflies enjoying some nectar from the flowers.
The Butterflies drinking nectar from Hibiscus (Bunga Raya), the national flower of Malaysia.
We then entered The Cocoon, an indoor learning discovery center that educate visitors about many interesting facts and info of Butterflies and other invertebrate creatures.
The exhibition in The Cocoon is showcased through a technology guided interpretation such as this Pandora Forest that features colorful illuminated artificial plants.
We really had a great time in Entopia and we spent almost 3 hours exploring the whole place. We purchased some souvenirs at the gift store and met with Mr Ali who was waiting outside to send us back to our hotel in Georgetown.
During our visit, this Entopia was still undergoing an expansion project which scheduled to be completed by 2019. I would love to return to this place by that time.
On our way back to Georgetown, we made a stop at Batu Ferringhi for a quick visit to the most famous beach in Penang.
It is well-known among tourists and locals for its water sport activities and seafood restaurants. There are also several hotels and resorts located along the Batu Ferringhi Beach including the Hard Rock Hotel. But due to the shortage of time, we only managed to visit a small part of the beach which was totally uncrowded and almost empty.
We continued our journey back to the hotel and when we reached the city center, we dropped by at "Jeruk Madu Pak Ali" shop to buy some Pickles.
Jeruk Madu Pak Ali is 1 of the leading brands that sell "Jeruk" (Pickles) originally from Penang. It has been in the business since year 1985 and started to commercialized in 2007. And today, Jeruk Madu Pak Ali producing over 50 Pickle-based products and operating more than 20 outlets and branches in Penang alone.
The sweet aroma of Pickles welcomed us as we stepped our foot inside the shop. We bought some of its bestseller products and continued our journey again.
When we arrived in our hotel, we reminded Mr Ali to pick us up again later in the evening for dinner. At 8pm, Mr Ali came to our hotel as promised and we asked him to drive us to Bayan Lepas.
We went to Bayan Lepas as we wanted to eat in "Ah Basri Satay Restaurant". Depending on the traffic, it can get some time to reach there from the downtown area. We found out about the restaurant on the internet few months before our visit to the island. It received many positive reviews online due to its high quality and good taste of the Satay.
Another special thing that made this restaurant stands out from the rest is due to the various types of Satay meat available here. Customers can choose their preferred Satay meat from the standard Chicken, Beef and Lamb to the more rare options such as Deer, Rabbit and even Ostrich!
Order and payment for the foods and beverages need to be done at the counter (similar to the way in a fast food restaurant) where our order will then be delivered to our table by the worker. We had almost all types of Satay available in the restaurant (Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Rabbit, Deer, Ostrich and Calamari) as well as the Nasi Himpit (square-shaped Rice Cakes). The Satays came with a complimentary "Kuah Kacang" (Peanut Sauce) and slices of Cucumber + Onion.
The Ah Basri Satay tasted so different than many other Satays that we had before and definitely 1 of the best!.The Satay was made up of fresh meats with different herbs and spices used to marinate it for long hours before being grilled to perfection.
The Satay had a juicy and tender texture. The complimentary Peanut Sauce was equally tasty.
Each Satay was labeled according to its type of meat by the color on the stick e.g. Red for Lamb, Green for Ostrich and Yellow for Rabbit. The Beef and the Lamb Satays were pretty good while the Ostrich and Rabbit Satays were fine too (It was the first time ever that I ate Ostrich and Rabbit meats). But for me, the real winner was hands down, the Calamari Satay! I will definitely order the Calamari Satay more in my future visit to this restaurant.
That night, we went back to our hotel with a happy tummy and smiling face. The deliciousness of Ah Basri Satay continued even in our sweet dreams.... =)
We started our 2nd day in Penang early as our goal for the day was to visit the Penang Hill. We had to get there early as possible to avoid the crowd and long cue for the entrance ticket. First, we had our breakfast in 1 Indian Muslim (Mamak) restaurant named "Kassim Mustafa" where we had some Roti Canai, Thosai and Chapati.
Kassim Mustafa Restaurant.
After the quick breakfast, Mr Ali (we agreed to book him for the whole day) arrived at the restaurant to bring us to the Penang Hill.
The Penang Hill is listed everywhere as 1 of the "must visit" attractions in the island. It is located in Air Itam suburb, about 6km from downtown Georgetown. Just like Komtar, the Penang Hill offers visitors a spectacular panoramic view of Georgetown and other nearby areas. Many local Malaysian called Penang Hill as "Bukit Bendera" when actually Bukit Bendera refers to the most developed peak, Flagstaff Hill where the Funicular Train station is located. Other peaks in Penang Hill are Bukit Laksamana, Tiger Hill, Bukit Kerajaan and Western Hill (the highest peak).
We arrived at Penang Hill's lower train station main entrance 20 minutes later and Mr Ali said that he will be waiting for us at the same spot for the return ride.
There were only few other visitors at the ticket counter as it was still quite early, thus it didnt take long for us to get the train tickets. We then walked to a designated area where we had to wait for the Funicular Train to arrive.
Some vintage photos of Penang Hill on display.
The Funicular Train ride is the most popular and convenient way to get to the top of Penang Hill. Alternatively, visitors can do a hiking through a 5km tarred road known as the "jeep track". This steep road is only open to the vehicles (mostly motorbikes and 4WDs) of Penang Hill's residents. Some of the passing 4WD drivers may be willing to offer visitors a ride, but with some charge of course.
15 minutes later, the Funicular Train arrived at the lower station and everyone was rushing to enter the train.
The train implementing a free-seating concept with limited capacity, so those who didnt manage to squeeze in have to wait for the next train to arrive.
We managed to enter the train from 1 of its 5 opened doors. Once inside the Funicular Train, we were greeted with a pre-recorded welcome announcement and few seconds later, the train started to move upwards to the top of the hill.
This new Funicular Train was introduced in 2011 replacing the much slower old train which was in service for more than 30 years. The journey with the new train from the lower station to the top will only take about 10-15 minutes.
Nice view along the way.
On its way to the upper station, the train will make a stop at the middle station which is exclusive only to the hill's workers and residents. Other passengers will be asked to stay inside the train. This also applied when the train is going down to the lower station.
Once we arrived at the hilltop station, most passengers including the 4 of us, went to this observation deck to get the best view of the city and take lots of photos. The air was so cool and fresh up here.
Although we had been to Komtar on the previous day to see the view of the Georgetown, but the feeling and experience of seeing the city view from the top of the hill were completely different and incomparable!
Georgetown, Seberang Perai and the Penang Bridge.
Besides enjoying the amazing views, visitors can also checking out other attractions available at the top of Penang Hill such as "The Owl Museum", "Little Village" and an "Earthquake Simulation".
There are even Hindu Temple and Mosque here.
Penang Hill's Mosque with its golden dome.
"Bel Retiro", a former luxurious resort built in the 1800s for the high government officials and visiting dignitaries including the King and Prime Minister of Malaysia. This handsome building was still vacant during our visit and its future remained uncertain.
We bumped into this "Bellevue Ginger Garden and Aviary" and decided to go in. FYI, the entrance fee to this garden and other attractions on top of Penang Hill is not included in our train ride's ticket fee. So, we had to pay it separately.
As the name suggested, the garden is filled with many Gingers and other types of plants that belonged to the "Zingiberales" family.
To create more "exotic" and exciting experiences to the visitors, some artificial dinosaurs complete with pre-recorded sound effects are placed in all over the garden.
I guess this is a T-Rex.
Spinosaurus.
There are also several birds such as Peacocks, Peasants, Pigeons and Hornbills occupied the garden. Its good to know that they are the real birds and not just plastics.
More exotic plants in the garden.
The entrance ticket to the Ginger Garden gave us an access to enter the Panorama Garden which also owned and managed by the Bellevue Hotel.
The Panorama Garden offers visitors a scenic view of the island with a more privacy and quiet environment.
It was really peaceful up here.
Bellevue Hotel, a small hotel housed in a 1950s-era colonial bungalow that owned both gardens.
It was almost towards the lunch time, so we decided to leave the top of Penang Hill and went back to the hill's lower station via the same way as we arrived.
Too bad the train ride was quite short. We really hope it was much longer as we really enjoyed the outside views.
We met with Mr Ali who was patiently waiting for us at the main entrance and we asked him to drive us back to Georgetown.
We wanted to eat "Nasi Kandar", an iconic Indian Muslim dish in Penang for our lunch. We asked Mr Ali to bring us to any restaurant that serves Nasi Kandar in Georgetown area and he suggested us to have the Nasi Kandar in 1 of his favorite restaurants, the "Mohamed Raffee". Fortunately, we managed to arrive there before the rush hour and there was just a short line of people who ordering the foods. My nephew and I joined the queue to order our Nasi Kandar while my parents were looking for an empty table.
We had 4 Nasi Kandar with Fried Chickens, Beef in Dark Gravy, Prawn Curry, some Vegetables and not forget, the crispy Papadom for the extra "kick"!
The Nasi Kandar tasted delicious and the portion was so big and in fact, 1 plate of the Nasi Kandar can be shared by 2 persons. We got really full after eating this lunch and we left the restaurant when it was getting crowded inside.
We got into Mr Ali's car once again and we were off to the next attraction, the "Entopia" aka Penang's Butterfly Farm.The Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm or simply known as "Entopia", is located in Teluk Bahang and close to other attractions such as the Tropical Spice Garden, Tropical Fruit Farm and Penang National Park.
It was established in year 1986 and became the 1st Butterfly Sanctuary in Malaysia. In 2016, it received a major upgrade and adopted its current name.
There was absolutely zero line at the ticket counter when we were there. Great!
The Entopia is the home to around 15,000 Butterflies of various species, over 200 species of plants, as well as several types of reptiles, amphibians and other insects.
The exhibitions in Entopia are divided into 2 main areas; "The Natureland" and "The Cocoon". First, we discovered The Natureland area which features the real reptiles, amphibians, several types of insects and plants in the artificial huge garden.
A big Toad.
An exotic Snake in a glass enclosure.
An artificial waterfall.
And the main highlight of The Natureland is no doubt the colorful Butterflies that flying freely in all over the place.
This majestic colorful creature can be seen in every corner such as near the ceiling.
On the plants.
And even on the floors. So, you need to be careful with your step!
2 Butterflies enjoying some nectar from the flowers.
The Butterflies drinking nectar from Hibiscus (Bunga Raya), the national flower of Malaysia.
We then entered The Cocoon, an indoor learning discovery center that educate visitors about many interesting facts and info of Butterflies and other invertebrate creatures.
The exhibition in The Cocoon is showcased through a technology guided interpretation such as this Pandora Forest that features colorful illuminated artificial plants.
We really had a great time in Entopia and we spent almost 3 hours exploring the whole place. We purchased some souvenirs at the gift store and met with Mr Ali who was waiting outside to send us back to our hotel in Georgetown.
During our visit, this Entopia was still undergoing an expansion project which scheduled to be completed by 2019. I would love to return to this place by that time.
On our way back to Georgetown, we made a stop at Batu Ferringhi for a quick visit to the most famous beach in Penang.
It is well-known among tourists and locals for its water sport activities and seafood restaurants. There are also several hotels and resorts located along the Batu Ferringhi Beach including the Hard Rock Hotel. But due to the shortage of time, we only managed to visit a small part of the beach which was totally uncrowded and almost empty.
We continued our journey back to the hotel and when we reached the city center, we dropped by at "Jeruk Madu Pak Ali" shop to buy some Pickles.
Jeruk Madu Pak Ali is 1 of the leading brands that sell "Jeruk" (Pickles) originally from Penang. It has been in the business since year 1985 and started to commercialized in 2007. And today, Jeruk Madu Pak Ali producing over 50 Pickle-based products and operating more than 20 outlets and branches in Penang alone.
The sweet aroma of Pickles welcomed us as we stepped our foot inside the shop. We bought some of its bestseller products and continued our journey again.
When we arrived in our hotel, we reminded Mr Ali to pick us up again later in the evening for dinner. At 8pm, Mr Ali came to our hotel as promised and we asked him to drive us to Bayan Lepas.
We went to Bayan Lepas as we wanted to eat in "Ah Basri Satay Restaurant". Depending on the traffic, it can get some time to reach there from the downtown area. We found out about the restaurant on the internet few months before our visit to the island. It received many positive reviews online due to its high quality and good taste of the Satay.
Another special thing that made this restaurant stands out from the rest is due to the various types of Satay meat available here. Customers can choose their preferred Satay meat from the standard Chicken, Beef and Lamb to the more rare options such as Deer, Rabbit and even Ostrich!
Order and payment for the foods and beverages need to be done at the counter (similar to the way in a fast food restaurant) where our order will then be delivered to our table by the worker. We had almost all types of Satay available in the restaurant (Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Rabbit, Deer, Ostrich and Calamari) as well as the Nasi Himpit (square-shaped Rice Cakes). The Satays came with a complimentary "Kuah Kacang" (Peanut Sauce) and slices of Cucumber + Onion.
The Ah Basri Satay tasted so different than many other Satays that we had before and definitely 1 of the best!.The Satay was made up of fresh meats with different herbs and spices used to marinate it for long hours before being grilled to perfection.
The Satay had a juicy and tender texture. The complimentary Peanut Sauce was equally tasty.
Each Satay was labeled according to its type of meat by the color on the stick e.g. Red for Lamb, Green for Ostrich and Yellow for Rabbit. The Beef and the Lamb Satays were pretty good while the Ostrich and Rabbit Satays were fine too (It was the first time ever that I ate Ostrich and Rabbit meats). But for me, the real winner was hands down, the Calamari Satay! I will definitely order the Calamari Satay more in my future visit to this restaurant.
That night, we went back to our hotel with a happy tummy and smiling face. The deliciousness of Ah Basri Satay continued even in our sweet dreams.... =)
Last edited by airways91; Jul 16, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Jul 16, 2018, 12:42 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 118
Jul 16, 2018, 12:45 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 118
