A quick planning won’t have to be bad, this is an example. It was her birthday, I had enough self-pressure to give an outing for her. She had managed to escape these escapades for a while.
I have a Nationality that comes with its restrictions when one tries to wander – made me utilize a near expiring Malaysian visa. My Plan was to find a simple resort and lay back, I know with the kid, later is a dream. Penang was selected as the destination and the real chore was to find a place to stay arose. Happens when you have too much of options!.
Penang being the Unesco heritage for its 200 years of historic values. British settlements in 18th century left pretty much of what they had, and Penang managed to retain the charm. The Architecture of the buildings here mostly of all varieties from Chinese to English and everything in between. George town specifically marked for its historic buildings by Unesco.
There are mainly four areas of accommodation for the travellers. Starting from down south – less popular Bayan Lepas (Airport area), The famous George Town area for those who don’t mind the crowd and noisy street life, Gurney Drive for the shopaholics, Tanjung Tokong for the quite, secluded cliff views and last, the Tanjung Bungah for the sandy beaches and a bit of adventure sports.
I have a serious aversion with the crowd (expect more from an introvert??!!), hence I had very tough time choosing between George Town and Tanjung Bungah. Most of the hotels/resorts in Tanjung Bungah costs surprisingly more and George town 2-story street hotels costs even more but they have ‘class’ with them – almost every one of them. I was about to settle for Campbell house and then somehow distracted myself to ParkRoyal Hotel in Tanjung Bungah. Rooms were not as much big as we wanted but couldn’t complain.
Jan 18th, 2015
To avoid the specific timings of some day tours (such as Penang Hill, Kek Lok Si temple), we got a car rented-out with PG car rentals in Penang and had the best experience by all means. Car was slightly old, but was in excellent condition. I had my doubts about driving in Penang but that’s a cakewalk with the Google Maps or community-based app Waze. I used Waze and am sure that’s one of the best thing next to the actual GPS consoles. Be warned, traffic is quite high in Penang especially around tourist attractions.
Almost an hour of Journey brought us to ParkRoyal in Tanjung Bungah.
Tanjung Bungah
This little half-sleepy village near the beach offers good recreation facilities (mostly Spa services), huge night market and a good list of restaurants. The beach is decent, clean with low tides, and at nights looks like a lake. As the Tanjung Bungah shares the beaches with all the hotels which are at each other’s compounds makes the area generally look crowded if not overcrowded. Water sports and parasailing add some colors and vibes. We spent that evening with a beautiful and unique sunset – watched the sun set behind a series of hills from the beach. Though the sky was not clear to give that gold coin finish, it did splash the entire sky with lovely bright orange color. However, beaches were not good to take a dip as the jellyfish warnings keep the people not to venture swimming here.
That evening, flashy “Golden Thai” was chosen by me for seafood for her, turned out to be kind of flop. There, Ambience is too good with a grand entrance with live fishes to the size of 50 kgs (can be catered to huge tour groups), live performances and courteous hosts to accommodate our requests. Food tasted was reviewed as “just-OK” by my wife and I settled with an orange Juice almost next to the beach. Late evening sea breeze and the sound of the waves crunching the sand is one of my all time favorite. Last but not least, Golden Thai is expensive and the bill will make you raise your eyebrows as the menu items are based on the ‘weight’ of the crab/fish.
“Living room” restaurant (rated as No 1 in tripadvisor) situated next to ParkRoyal hotel which is surprisingly cheap for the service and location and serves delicious food. Though menu items are limited, everything tastes too good. Next door Firangi Garden is more of a garden restaurant with wall fountains and stream – ambience is impeccable and serves more elite class food – which I generally call bit bland to eat. 😛
Jan 19th 2015
Penang Hill Funicular train
I had my worries about finding a car parking as Penang traffic and parking is generally not that comfortable one. Luckily there was a brand new multi-storey car parking open right next to the ticket counter office and we were lucky enough to use it in the first hour of grand-opening. It’s so convenient and am sure it will be a great hit for tourists. At this time, it costs 30 MYR for the non-local adult 2-way ticket.
Trains were there from 1923 (construction started from 1905) but got its complete upgrade. It’s quite fast and almost close to the amusement park ride experience if you sit at the back of the car either way. Straight line track gives a long view – almost until the start for a long time. Near the Penang hill peak, it offers bird eye view of Penang. Tanjung tokong, Gurney area, George town and some other valley towns can be seen on a clear day. Our luck was better that day as the sky was clear enough and sunny, even the distant bridges connecting Penang with the peninsula were visible.
At the top of the Hill, a two-minute walk takes to the multi-storey food court and an Owl Museum at B3. Periodic breeze gives slight chill reminds that we are on top of a hill. Right outside, there is an open stage, and further steep 50 steps take us to a the peak that has a mosque and temple. It good for spending some time there at the peak. It will be more beautiful once dark as Penang is lit up. Trains do run till 10pm we heard.
Almost at the end of the detour gets you to the Sky terrace restaurant which offers spectacular views of Gurney and George town areas.
As per the plan, we were suppose to go Kek Lok Si temple but when we reached there from the base (hardly 5 mins drive) it was already closed for the day. I read about how beautiful the temple looks once it is lit up that made me to think its open in the evenings but its not. Last entry is by 5:30. A passerby suggested to go to Air Itam Dam, up in the hill.
Air Itam dam
Drive is not for the faint hearted cars and the curves are good fun to drive if you enjoy. Though its a short hill compared to Penang Hill, driving requires attention all the time. Dam is relatively small but quiet and serene. This is mainly flogged by the local expatriates – they come happily cycling all the way up. It fits all the requirements for a quiet picnic spot.
Check out the part 2!!
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