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| George Town in Panorama, Penang Hill |
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| Kek Lo Si Temple in Panorama, Air Itam |
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Penang 2nd Bridge in Panorama,
Batu Maung |
" LIFE goes on ... whether you choose to move on & take a chance in the unknown. Or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could have been "
" My Cuti Cuti (Vacation) Malaysia & Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) free & easy visit together with my travel buddies KF Wong & Thompson Tham to George Town, Penang (an UNESCO World Heritage site, our group first maiden interstate overnight visit) from Friday Jan 10 > 14 2022, travelling by KTM train from Sentral Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth & return, my 25th outdoor trip after a National Lockdown (Movement Control Order / Emergency) imposed by the Malaysian Government on May 6 2021 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases; a National Vaccination campaign is currently being implemented by the Malaysian Government (Phase 1 started in Feb 2021), as at Dec 24 2021 a total of 22.8 million individuals or 97.5% of the adult population in Malaysia have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations, Selangor (my home state) is now under National Recovery Phase 4 (NRP4) starting from Monday Oct 11 2021 hence the Malaysian Government has eased restrictions allowing individuals with vaccination certificate or card for inter-state travels, dine-in restaurants, hotel accommodations & homestays, outdoor sport & activities etc "
My travel buddies, KF Wong & Thompson Tham travelling together with me on this 5 days 4 nights Cuti Cuti (Vacation) Penang trip.
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| Penang Hill |
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| E & O Hotel, George Town |
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Ghee Hup Nutmeg Factory
Balik Pulau |
Travel itinerary: SS15 Subang Jaya, Selangor > KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur > Butterworth / Penang > KL Sentral > Subang Jaya, total distance round trip is approx 367km x 2 = 734km, my last visit to Penang was in Jan 2017.
Total expenses incurred (5 days 4 nights, group of 3): Rm584 (US$137.40) per pax
KTM train tickets: Rm45 + Rm47 = Rm92 (50% discount, senior citizen) per pax
Hotels (4 nights): Rm210 per pax
Car Hire (24hrs): Rm64 per pax
Food (5 days): Rm204 per pax
Entrance fee: Rm6 (Penang Hill)
City Bus: Rm3.40
LRT trains: Rm4.20
My last visit to George Town, Penang was in Jan 2017 (3 days 2 nights) focusing my visit to Kek Lo Si, Teluk Bahang Jetty, Penang National Park, Gurney Drive (by public buses) & a walking tour to major historic sites in UNESCO Core Zone, George Town. For this recent visit, using a combination of public buses & hired car, our group was able to do a round the island Penang visit; thanks to my 2 travel buddies ie KF Wong (for initiating the online bookings of hotels, pre-booking of a hired car & offered to drive us around) & Thompson Tham (performing the role as our "navigator" throughout our 5 days in Penang island); each of them had one way or another made this visit less stressful & a pleasant one ! I played a small role ie as a book-keeper & managing the food bills etc and last but not the least, did the blogging for our entire trip in Penang ! A great team effort ! No doubt, this visit was a great outcome for our group & as for me, I had scored some brownie points ie seeing Penang in a greater depth on this particular visit plus the following:
- first time visit to Batu Maung, Balik Pulau, Teluk Bahang Dam & Pulau Tikus; touristy places & food street / market ie Chew Jetty, Kimberly Food Street, Macallum & Farlim Night Market
- a down the memory visit to Snake Temple, Penang Hill, Penang Botanic Gardens, E & O Hotel - my last visit to these places was probably 30 years ago !
- the opportunity to savour the various Penang hawker style food ie fried kway teow, fried carrot cake, assam & curry laksa, prawn mee, ho fun soup, popiah (fresh spring rolls), lobak (5-spice meat rolls), rojak (slice fruit & vegetables with prawn paste dressing), cendol (iced sweet dessert), tong sui (sweet or warm soup), roti bakar (toasted bread with butter & kaya), chee cheong fun (steamed rice rolls), puthu mayam (Indian rice noodle) & puthu pirin (Indian rice snack), apam balik (pancake), fried nian gao (glutinous rice cake) & banana fritters, zhongzi (sticky rice pork dumpling), fried fish head bihun, fish & minced pork bihun soup, wan tan noodle, braised chicken feet / egg / taufu, roasted duck & pork with rice, duck meat / offal porridge, Penang white coffee, almond & nutmeg drink - overnight each of us had become a glutton of Penang food after savouring close to 30 various Penang style of hawker food & drinks in this UNESCO World Heritage site !
Travel Highlights:
1) Macallum Street Market, George Town
2) Chowrasta Market, George Town
3) Komtar, George Town
4) Penang Hill, Air Itam
5) Kek Lo Si Temple, Air Itam
6) Chew Jetty, Jalan Pengkalan Weld, George Town
7) Snake Temple, Bayan Lepas
8) Sisiran Pantai & Penang 2nd Bridge, Batu Maung, Penang Island
9) Balik Pulau, Penang Island
10) Ghee Hup Nutmeg Factory, Balik Pulau
11) Teluk Bahang Dam, Tanjung Bunga
12) Batu Ferringhi Beach, George Town
13) Shangri-La Golden Sands Resort, Batu Ferringhi Beach, George Town
14) Penang Botanic Gardens, George Town
15) Wat Chayamangkalaram, Lorong Burma, Pulau Tikus
16) Farlim Market, Bandar Baru Air Itam
17) Kimberley Food Street, George Town, Penang Island
18) UNESCO Core Zone, George Town, Penang Island
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Queen Victoria Memorial
Clock Tower (1897) |
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| Fort Cornwallis (1810) |
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| Esplanade (1786) |
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| Padang Kota Lama (1786) |
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| Penang City Hall (1903) |
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| Magistrate Court (1874) |
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| Penang High Court (1808) |
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| St George Church (1818) |
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| Church of The Assumption (1787) |
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| E & O Hotel (1885) |
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| Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion (1904) |
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| Goddess of Mercy Temple (1728) |
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| Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi (1906) |
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| Pinang Peranakan Mansion (1893) |
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| Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple (1850) |
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| Choo Chay Keong / Yap Temple (1924) |
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| Masjid Kapitan Kling (1801) |
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| Swettenham Pier (1904) |
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| Chew Jetty (Mid 19th Century) |
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| Sri Mahamariamman Temple (1883) |
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| St Xavier's Institution (1852) |
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| Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh (1808) |
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| Central Fire Station (1909) |
Pictures in Panorama taken by my travel buddies, KF Wong & Thompson Tham:
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| Kek Lok Si Temple, Air Itam |
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| Penang Hill, Air Itam |
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| War Museum, Batu Maung |
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| Ghee Hup Nutmeg Factory, Balik Pulau |
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Seh Tek Tong Cheah Kongsi,
George Town |
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Cheong Fatt Tze (Blue Mansion),
George Town |
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| Kek Lok Si Temple, Air Itam |
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| George Town |
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| E & O Hotel, George Town |
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| Jalan Teluk Bahang, Tanjung Bungah |
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| Snake Temple, Bayan Lepas |
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| Fort Cornwallis, George Town |
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| Penang Hill, Air Itam |
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| Penang Hill, Air Itam |
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| Penang Hill, Air Itam |
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| Penang Hill, Air Itam |
1) KTM train ride from KL Sentral > Butterworth (11.00>15.00), travelling time 4hrs, train speed 60km > 140km per hr, Platinum seat Rm45=US$10.60, 50% discount for senior citizen, air-conditioned temperature 22c > 23c
2) KTM train from KL Sentral arriving at KTM Butterworth train station 15.00 (4 hrs train ride)
3) Exiting KTM Butterworth train station & a 5 minutes walk to Penang Sentral for our ferry crossing to Swettenham Pier, Penang Island
4) Penang Sentral, Butterworth - a multilevel transportation hub with ferries, trains & buses plus food & shopping outlets.
5) Ferry Terminal (foot passengers) for our ferry crossing from Penang Sentral, Butterworth > Swettenham Pier, George Town - first ferry departing Swettenham Pier at 07.30 & last ferry is at 21.00; from Butterworth the first ferry departure is at 07.00 & the last departure is at 20.30.
6) Ferry crossing from Butterworth > George Town - ferry ticket & return - free of charge !
7) Arriving at Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, Pengkalan Weld, George Town, Penang Island (16.10)
8) Boarding of Rapid Penang (CAT) free shuttle bus service (16.15) from Swettenham Pier Bus Stop > Pengkalan Weld Bus Terminal (Bus 202) > H S Sam Book Store, George Town, Penang Island (5 mins walk to Chulia Heritage Hotel)
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| Penang Free CAT bus route |
9) Our group's first 3 nights stay in Chulia Heritage Hotel, Chulia Street, George Town, room tariff Rm154 (US$36.20) inclusive of tax per night (2 Queen beds) @ Rm51(US$12) per pax
10) After our hotel check in (16.45) & a short rest & as planned, our group made a visit (17.30) towards Cecil & Maccalum Street Market to savour some local Penang hawker style food ! The best has yet to come !
Walking tour - Chulia Heritage Hotel > Cecil Street Market > Maccalum Street Night Market - walking is approx 2.2km (28mins, one way)
11) Day 1 - Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) from Chulia Heritage Hotel to Cecil & Maccallum Street Market passing the UNESCO Core Zone of George Town
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| Hui Ann Association, Jalan Magazine, George Town |
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| Low Clan Association, Jalan Magazine, George Town |
12) Lily of the Alley, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Kling, George Town, Pennag Island
13) Yap Temple, corner of Armenian Street & Cannon Street, officially called Choo Chay Keong, the main temple of the Lum Yeong Tong Yap Kongsi, located in the core zone of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.
14) Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple (1850), Lebuh Armenian, George Town, Penang Island - a community temple devoted to the worship of Twa Peh Kong (God of Prosperity & Morality), this unique double storey temple built in 1850s houses 4 affiliated societies ie Tong Kheng Sean, Poh Hock Sean, Cheng Hoe Sean & Hokkien Kongsi, in the 19th century, it served as headquarters of Kean Teik Tong, also known as the Twa Pek Kong Kongsi which was founded in 1844, the Chinese Traders Society took over the ownership of the temple property in 1890 through legal process, today the Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple stands as a permanent reminder of the progress achieved by the Penang Chinese Hokkien community.
15) Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Queen Street, George Town - the oldest Hindu Temple in Penang, features sculptures of gods & goddess over its main entrance & facade, also known as Mariaman Temple or Queen Street Indian Temple.
16) Masjid Kapitan Kling (1801), corner of Buckingham Street & Pitt Street, George Town - a mosque built in the 19th century by Indian Muslim traders in George Town, Penang.
17) George Town World Heritage Incorporated Building, Armenian Street, George Town, Penang Island
18) Armenian Street Heritage Hotel, George Town, Penang Island - our group stayed in this hotel on our final night (4th), located closer to the Weld Quay jetty & a Rapid Penang CAT bus stop right in front of the hotel ! Very convenient indeed !
19) The 19th Century Bungalow (Dr Sun Yat Seng Heritage Trail), 152, Lebuh Carnavon, George Town, Penang Island - this old bungalow belonged to Khoo Tiang Poh, residence of his daughter & her husband Syed Mohamed Alatas, now under the management of the Thean Oon Senior Home Care Centre.
20) Pasar Lebuh Cecil, George Town, Penang Island.
21) Lebuh Macallum, George Town, Penang Island
Makan Makan (Small Eat) - our group's late lunch in Xi Nan Cafe, Chulia Street, George Town - wantan noodle + drink (horlick & almond) = Rm22 (US$5.20)
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| Dried Wan Tan Noodle Rm5 (US$1.17) |
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| Wan Tan Noodle Soup Rm5 (US$1.17) |
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| Almond Drink Rm2 (US$0.47) |
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| Horlick Drink Rm3 (US$0.70) |
Our group's dinner in a bihun (rice vermicelli) soup house No 160, Lebuh Macnair, George Town, Penang Island - fish & minced pork bihun soup Rm39 (US$9.20)
Bi
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Bihun Soup with fish & minced pork
Rm13 (US$3.05) |
Group's Supper in Macallum Night Market, Geogre Town, Penang Island - Fried kway teow + fried rice + Nutmeg drink + Rojak + Apam balik = Rm27 (US$6.35)
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| Rojak Rm8 (US$1.90 ) |
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| Fried Kway Teow Rm6 (US$1.40) |
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| Fried Rice Rm5 (US$1.20) |
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| Nutmeg Drink Rm1.60 (US$0.38) |
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