On Saturday we leave Ipoh and make our way to Penang. Penang is a state that includes Penang island. We are taking a bus to Butterworth (on the mainland) and making our way, via ferry to Penang island. We arrive to the bus station an hour early and our bus arrives an hour and a half late😩. It’s a very busy weekend as people are travelling for Chinese New Year. Once on the road, although there’s a fair amount of traffic, the journey is a comfortable two and a half hours. On the way I am fascinated by the miles and miles of Palm trees along the road. With barbed wire surrounding them, they are obviously palm oil plantations. When we get to our Airbnb, we quickly drop our bags, freshen up and we are on the move again. It happens to be Valentines Day and I’ve booked a nice restaurant which is Michelin recommended. It’s called Jawihouse and it’s on Armenian street which is one of the must-see streets in Georgetown, the capital of Penang state. Oh yeah and Georgetown is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Although the food is very tasty, it’s not quite what I had intended – for starters it’s serving a mix of Indian and Middle Eastern food and more importantly there’s no booze!!! Look how pretty this salad is though!
Happily fed (ish!), we explore the beautiful Armenian street and find a bar. There’s a young couple playing live music so I’m delighted. They appear to be playing only love songs and the slow tempo doesn’t change! Quite entertaining!
Next morning we wake up early and get ourselves into a Grab (the Uber equivalent in Asia), which takes us to the bottom of Penang Hill. Here we take the longest funicular in Asia to the top of the hill – it’s very steep and 800 metres high. Once at the top, we head to the Habitat – a rainforest discovery area. There are plenty of macaque monkeys as we enter and leave.
The walk is peaceful and somewhat shaded and we look out for wildlife along the way. I’m really hoping to see a langur monkey which is a black monkey or even better a Dusky Leaf Monkey, which is black but with white around their eyes. We don’t have such luck today, although we do see a flying squirrel. We walk atop “Curtis Crest Tree Top Walk”, which has the highest accessible viewing platform on Penang Island and the views are great. We’ve also beaten the crowds so we’re happy out.
There’s plenty more monkeys to see as we cautiously leave the park and explore some more of the hill before taking the funicular down.
From the bottom of Penang Hill we take the local bus into Georgetown and have a proper explore of this very pretty old town. We have a much needed feed at the Jetty food court.
From here it’s only a few minutes walk to one of the Penang Clan Jetties at Weld Quay. The jetties were built by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century and are stilt homes, now protected as part of the UNESCO site. Seven are still inhabited and in tact and we visit Lee Jetty.
Walking out to the end of the jetty is very peaceful and provides a great view of the stilt houses. That said, the sun is blazing and I’m roasting!!!
We walk back among the streets in Georgetown and happen upon a house where Sun Yat-sen lived when he spent time in Penang. He is widely revered as the “Father of Modern China” as he led the 1911 revolution that ended the Qing dynasty, establishing the Republic of China. We pay a small fee and walk through the modest house which is now a small museum.
There are so many temples that you happen upon when walking around. This one appears when we walk through a small courtyard. It’s so lovely with incense burning and there’s always someone around saying a prayer.
This is one of the most popular temples in Georgetown – Kongsi. It’s a ticketed temple, closed this afternoon as they get ready for the Lunar New Year i.e. Chinese New Year.
We continue our exploring and see Little India – big gate and lots of restaurants! We walk to Fort Cornwallis, built by the British East India company in the 18th century. It is also closed but we walk around it (still roasting!!). We see the clock tower, lots of chickens hanging around and then we head back home for a rest!
For tonight’s dinner we have Korean bbq which is delicious… and cooked by my private chef!!
Next day it’s a regular work day for Shane so I busy myself with a visit to the gym, and some pool time.
In the evening we walk to the Waterfront food court but unfortunately the few stalls that are active have just closed and before we turn around it starts lashing rain… we are stuck here for a while and a man who sees our predicament and disappointment that we cannot get a dinner, gives us a can of beer and a Coca Cola!! Eventually the rain stops (after nearly an hour) and we walk toward home and end up having a really nice meal at a local restaurant, called Bonjour.
Next day we hit another local restaurant for dinner – this time it’s hotpot. After a shaky start (well for me as I really didn’t know what was going on!!), we have a really good meal where we cook dumplings, fish, meat and veg in two different broths – a spicy one and a creamy one. Again cooking mainly done by my private chef!!
There are fireworks going off every night as we approach the Chinese New Year. Also bangers are regularly set off at the temples… is it to ward off evil spirits – who knows! Now anyone who knows me knows I have a real aversion to bangers and fireworks so you can imagine how on edge I am!! 🫣 We do have a great view from the giant window in our apartment though, I just wish I didn’t have to listen to the bang!
I’ve been looking forward to having some roti and finally I get my chance for breakfast next morning. I had tried to have it for lunch but that’s a crazy idea, apparently you have roti for breakfast or dinner but not lunch!
This afternoon I take myself off for a massage and it is fantastic. The place is really fancy – it’s called Yu Zen Wellness and I have sixty minutes of bliss – no getting short changed here for you hour and for approx €23 I have a foot soak and a ginger tea afterward. Delighted with myself! 😁 Tonight we have more delicious food at a hawker centre – we have roast duck, grilled aubergine… so much food to try.
Next day I’ve booked a driver to take me around the island. His name is Mr Teik. He’s a Chinese Malaysian grandfather about to turn 70. His English is excellent and he’s really clued in. We start by visiting Kek Lok Si temple. This is the largest temple in Malaysia and certainly the most famous in Penang. Built over a period from 1890 to 1930, it is a pilgrimage site for many Buddhists from neighbouring countries. It is huge, taking up a whole side of a hill.
I walk around the temple viewing hundreds of Buddha statues and taking in the view from various vantage points around the complex. I take a short lift to the highest point and get close to the towering statue of Guanyin, sometimes called the Goddess of Mercy. This is a beautiful bronze statue surrounded by smaller versions all around, on a platform that provides a great view of the town below. Everywhere is a sea of red lanterns and as Buddhist temples go (and I’ve been to quite a few), this is probably the most spectacular.
From here we drive to the other side of the island which is undeveloped. This is where the land is farmed and they grow the smelly Durian! Mr Teik tells me that it’s addictive (hmm I’ve tried it and it’s so smelly and strong tasting it’s hard to stomach) but you should never have it on the same day you drink alcohol!!!
We continue driving along the coast and see some nice, albeit small, beaches. We are heading to the famous beach – Batu Ferringhi. He drops me at the famous “Golden Sands” hotel and tells me to walk through the lobby (as if I’m a guest!) past the pool and straight onto the beautiful beach. I do exactly what he says and this is what I see….
I can’t believe this is supposed to be golden sands… As beaches go, it’s crap! I had taken off my runners and got ready for a dip but I’m not comfortable to try to get to the water. I can only assume that there was storm damage and there’s also evidence of erosion … there must be another stretch of this beach that is beautiful… alas as this section is right now – this is not a beach for me!
Back in the car, we drive toward Georgetown and visit two temples that are on the same road opposite each other. The first is the Burmese temple.
I love this – the world Guardian and Protector. Apparently this is quite a rare statue. It possesses the quality of the five best combinations – the trunk and tusks of the elephant, four hoofed legs and two agile ears of the horse, the lion-faced toe (chimera) with the deer’s horn, the body and tail of the fish and the two powerful wings of the Roe (Garuda). Therefore it is ideally suited for its role of guarding the world in the form of the globe. I study it but can’t see the top to see if they’ve drawn in Ireland… I hope so!
In the hall of the main Buddha, I walk along the back wall and there are rows of Buddha statues from different Asian countries. I’m fascinated looking at the differences in style and pose from some countries I’ve visited – Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Cambodia, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and others I haven’t – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Philippines. I do love me a Buddha statue.
Across the road, I enter Wat Chaiyamangalaram, the Thai temple. It has exactly what you would expect of a temple from Thailand – beautiful, dazzling gold and bejewelled naghas guarding the entrance to the main temple.
I’m delighted to see a giant reclining Buddha – it’s not as big as the one in Bangkok but apparently it’s still one of the biggest in the world.
Mr Teik suggests we stop at a Hawker food court so I can grab some lunch as it’s already 1:30 pm. I choose some dry noodles with pieces of fish and eat it in the car on the way back to the apartment. It is roasting and I’m definitely going to be jumping in the pool.
From the pool, I can hear the call to prayer from the local mosque. Depending on if there’s a breeze blowing or like this afternoon where it’s really calm, it gets louder. [Sidebar: I’m currently loving the book I’m reading, “It should have been you“ by Andrea Mara and it’s really gripping. It’s far too hot to sit out in the middle of the day so I have resorted to walking up and down in the pool reading the book!]
For dinner tonight, we go back to the Waterfront food court which is looking very different to when we were here the other night, stuck in the rainstorm. Every thing is open and everywhere is packed….
We manage to find a table in the middle of the action and order mixed seafood with noodles, roast pork, vegetable dumplings, and for dessert we have Rojak. This is chopped fruit with sauce and sesame seeds. There’s some pineapple in there, but it’s not overly sweet as the sauce is not sweet and there’s also cucumber and what seem to be some sort of radish type vegetables in there interesting!
We go for a walk next morning and decide to get some breakfast. There is a huge market with tons and tons of food options, some with really long lines. We choose some dishes that we have been looking forward to trying. They are Chee Chong Fun, Popiah and Otok Otok and they are really tasty.
Our local Nasi Kandar place has been a favourite of Shane’s for a couple of days when I wasn’t having lunch. Today I’m ready to try it and I’m having all the “gravy”… that means about six variations of curry sauces on top of the rice and chicken (or fish in Shane’s case). It’s very tasty!
It’s Friday and Shane has finished work so we are now officially on holidays. We try the Thai bbq which again is a cook your own food on a grill… it feels like a lot of work but it’s a good meal.. eventually!
On Saturday morning we are up at 6am as we’ve booked a cycling tour with a 7am pick up from town. It’s about an hour drive to the other side of the island (where Mr Teik drove me earlier this week) to explore some of the Balik Pulau countryside.
We cycle through a palm tree plantation and our guide TC tells us how good virgin palm oil is… the world seems to get the bad stuff!
We stop in a small fishing town and have a walk around to see the local houses before having tea in the local coffee shop with some locals! We cycle further to the fishing area where the guide tells us that the fisherman fish on average a couple of hours a day!
We stop at Saanen Dairy Goat farm where we have goat ice cream and feed the animals. It has a lot more animals than the goats – we see an ostrich, an emu, porcupines and other smaller animals I’m not even sure what they were!
We enjoy the cycle back to our starting point and then it’s just under an hour drive back to Georgetown.
It’s time for some lunch and we both try Hokkien Prawn Mee. I have mine a little less spicy and it’s really good.
Happily fed (again!), we set off to see more sites of Georgetown. We see the Georgetown mansion which is a beautiful green building and the Fatt Tze blue mansion.
We walk down Love Lane, see plenty of small temples and mosques and admire lots of the old buildings.
We walk through a small park toward the water and see City Hall and Town Hall.
Looking out to the water, along the Esplanade, we see the Cenotaph – a war memorial dedicated to the Penang soldiers who lost their lives in various conflicts including WWI, WWII and the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1963–1966).
We walk along the Esplanade and see men fishing before turning inland again to find the two main churches in town. The first is the Church of the Assumption (Catholic). A simple white building, the inside of which is one of the plainest churches I’ve visited abroad. Secondly, St George’s (Anglican) – another fairly plain white church.
It is crazy hot and we’ve seen pretty much everything that was on our list, so we jump on a bus and head home. We saw lots of preparation for what looks like a giant street party in town for the 5th night of Chinese New Year celebrations but we opt to stay local and go to a Korean restaurant. We have fish pancake, fried chicken and “volcanic” rice which is mixed with cheese and served with seaweed on top!!
Next morning we visit Penang National Park. It sits on the north-west tip of the island and is just under an hour drive away. Luckily Grabs are cheap! There’s an RM50 (approx €12) entry fee for me but his lordship gets in free – certainly one perk of aging!! We hike for about an hour and a half through beautiful trees and enjoy amazing jungle sounds. We cross a bridge over the Meromictic Lake which is a rare phenomenon that consists of distinct, non-mixing layers of saltwater and freshwater. There are only a handful in the world.
We arrive to turtle beach, which is stunning and we are the only people there. It’s not safe to swim as there are dangerous jelly fish. From here we take a boat to another beach.
The boat leaves us at monkey beach which is a little busier but safe to swim in. On land you’ve got to watch out for thieving monkeys though!!
After dipping our feet and walking the length of the short beach, we take another boat back to the park entrance. We walk into the fishing village of Teluk Bahang and have a delicious meal of squid, broccoli bean curd and claypot fish stew. A bus arrives as we are just finished and so we head home.
Tonight we are going to Tek Lok Si temple. This is the giant temple I visited earlier in the week and I’m excited to go back and see it at night. The temple is a focal point for the Chinese community in Penang, especially for Chinese New Year. The New Year celebrations are particularly impressive, with thousands of lights and lanterns turning the scenery into a sea of light.
What a way to end our trip – Spectacular!
odohertyelaine 
Brilliant 👍
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