Malaysia 1998 Part 3: Penang

After our stay in the Cameron Highlands, we were refreshed and ready for the next part of our journey. After our bus journey to get to the Highlands, we decided we definitely were not going by bus to Penang!!. After some research we found we could get the train from a town about 40 minutes drive away called Tapah. We travelled by taxi to Tapah which cost about £10. The trains are excellent, comfortable and safe. The prices are also very reasonable, and because there was so little difference in cost between standard and first, we decided to travel first class.

The journey takes between 2 - 3 hours and it was about £15 standard and £20 first class. Penang is very different to Kuala Lumpur and Cameron Highlands, in the fact it was very hot and more of a tourist beach resort. (I remember somebody even comparing it to Benidorm!!!!) I must tell you having been to Benidorm as a teenager, it is much nicer and classier than Benidorm... It was very busy and there were loads of Brits in town. With the World Cup being on in France there was a carnival atmosphere.
There are loads of hotels to suit every budget. I cannot remember the name of the first hotel we booked into in Penang and I say first as we only stayed here a couple of nights as my cousins wedding was here. It was far out and you had to get a taxi to the beach and it was a bit grotty inside. The wedding reception was really good, It was a Chinese buffet, but there must have been about 15 different courses!!!. After the wedding, we moved onto the Shangri-La Golden Sands Hotel, where we had 4 nights booked. The Golden Sands is a resort with its own beach and is really nice. There are cheaper alternatives such as the Holiday Inn and Copthorne Orchid. For cheap rooms in Malaysia see Asia Rooms.

Penang is known as the Pearl of the Orient. The main beach area is called Batu Ferringi Beach in the district of Georgetown in Penang. Penang has lots to offer as well as beautiful beaches and warm climate!!! You can get the funicular up to Penang Hill or Bukit Bedera as it is otherwise known!!! It has amazing views and is cooler than the resort below. There are also lots of Temples, Mosques and Houses of Worship for every religion. I would recommend visiting the Snake Temple. There are poisonous snakes outside on a stand but it is said that that they have never bitten anybody and they guard the temple. It is free to enter the temple which is beautiful inside, but there is a donation box. Another Temple I would recommend a visit to is the Temple of the Reclining Buddah or Wat Chayamangkalaram as it is also known. This has a 33 metre gold plated reclining Buddha with lots of smaller Buddha's surrounding it. The Temple and the grounds are all beautiful and again this is free to enter with a donation box.

At the back of the Buddha, you will see lots of Niches containing the ashes of devotees. We were told that it cost a lot of money to have the ashes stored here. There are other attractions such as Penang Butterfly Farm, and Batik Craft Factory where you can buy local arts and crafts such as suits, clothes, paintings and tapestries. There are also day and night markets where you can buy local foods, fish, souvenirs, copy replica football shops and copy designer bags among other things. There are a few Malls in Penang such as Penang Mall, also there are lots of restaurants in Penang to suit every taste including Malaysian, Chinese, English, Japanese and European among others. There are fast food restaurants if you are not very adventurous such as Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Burger King!!!!

There are stalls along the beach selling snacks such as noodles, and lots of fish and seafood restaurants which are filled with huge fish tanks as you go in with everything from lobster to octopus and you tell your waiter which one you want and they go and cook it for you!!!! (Yes they are alive when you choose!!!!).

The currency is Ringgit and your money will go far in Malaysia as everything is so cheap and the people are really friendly. Taxis are probably the best way to get around Penang, they are cheap, but I would recommend agreeing a price before jumping in.

You can get buses but they are not as frequent, car hire is also an option but as the drivers are a bit mad, you may not want to tackle the roads on your own. There are bars, pubs and nightclubs in Penang that are popular if you fancy dancing, drinking or both until the wee small hours!!!! There are tours that you can book if you want to leave the organising to somebody else. All the temples and places we went to, we jumped in a cab, but you can book a proper tour and will probably learn more.

The tours you can book range from the places I have mentioned previously and tours around the Island and to museums. You can also book trips to Langkawi which I highly recommend (my blog on Langkawi will follow this one!!!) You can also visit Thailand as it is close to Penang. The weather in Penang is warm and sunny most of the time, they do not have a rainy season but September to November are known to be the wettest months. You can get to Penang with various airlines including Malaysian via Kuala Lumpur, KLM via Amsterdam and Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich.

There are no scheduled direct flights to Penang from the UK, although there may be charter flights. We loved Penang and 4 days is not really enough time especially if you want to soak up the sun rays as well as seeing everything. There are people who we spoke to who had booked a 2 week holiday in Penang and were just enjoying the weather and never ventured from the beach, which I think is a shame when you are travelling 14 hours or so on a plane, but it shows how popular it is.

Coming Soon Langkawi..........