10 THINGS TO DO IN Penang - Ransel Kecil · Georgetown, the capital of Penang state. It is...

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1 0 T H I N G S T O D O I N

Penang

Penang is a menagerie of rich

cultural and historical legacies

all blended in a compact island

roughly one-half the size of

Singapore. The food is a major

scene and is a vein in everyday

IN A NUTSHELL

When we think history, it’s not just

physical vestiges that are all in the dust.

They’re alive and breathing well — today.

!When you think you’re done with the

history (though we bet you won’t), a lush

greenery of hills and meander roads

await you at the larger part of the island.

!To blend everything in, the food scene in

Penang is like the blood that runs

between the rich history and culture.

!Penang is an easy weekend gateway. It’s

compact, relatively modern but still

keeps its old-age charm. Prepare a good

sandal.

INTRODUCTION

1. Early morning walk in

Lebuh Chulia

!2. Evening in Little India

!3. Savour Assam Laksa in

Weld Quay

!4. Live life at a leisurely pace

!5. Catch a ride to Balik Pulau

HERE ARE THE TEN THINGS YOU DO HERE

6. Eat in the breeze at

Fort Cornwallis

!7. Cross to Butterworth

!8. Ride up to Bukit Bendera

!9. Eat your heart out at a

kopitiam

!10. Walk through the history

HERE ARE THE TEN THINGS YOU DO HERE

PENANG BRIDGE

ORIENTATION

Balik PulauGeorgetown

To Butterworth

Penang International Airport

Sg. Nibong Bus Terminal

Bukit Bendera

Lebuh Chulia Lebuh Pantai

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

FORT CORNWALLIS

LITTLE INDIA

ASSAM LAKSA

FERRY TO BUTTERWORTH

LEBUH CHULIA

GEORGETOWN

KOMTAR

GETTING HERE

Four main points to arrive:

!BY AIR

Penang International Airport (IATA: PEN)

!BY LAND (BUS)

Komtar Bus Terminal (City centre)

Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal

(Closest to Penang bridge)

!BY LAND (TRAIN)

Butterworth Train Station

(Cross with ferry)

Four main modes to go around:

!RapidPenang Bus Services

(Recommended, cheapest)

!Rent a car

(Various choices)

!Rent a bike/motorbike

(Various choices)

!Taxi/cab

(Some don’t use meter so you need

to negotiate)

GETTING AROUND

Early morning walk in Lebuh Chulia

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

LEBUH CHULIA

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

Lebuh Chulia is in the center of

Georgetown, the capital of Penang state.

It is literally also the heart of a preserved

old town. This is the ideal place to start

and base your journey in Penang.

Numerous budget accommodations line

in front of this street and behind all those

“lorongs” or lanes that connect to the

main street.

!Some notable sights along this street is

endless array of Straits-style Chinese

shophouses, Kapitan Keling mosque,

numerous eateries, and if you meander

along the lanes, you can find more

surprises like an old wet market

(Campbell Market), Little India (for its

1. EARLY MORNING WALK IN LEBUH CHULIA

food), Beach Rd. for chick cafes and

plenty others. Get your breakfast at a

local mamak stall. It’s the best.

!Be sure to wander early morning at

around 7am so that there is hardly any

traffic going around and you can see

fresh produces from the street markets.

!It gets really hot during the day and

traffic jams are common.

Where:

Lebuh Chulia, it’s easily noticeable

because it’s the main street in old town.

!When:

Early morning, 6 to 7 am

Evening in Little India

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

LITTLE INDIA

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

Just a shy away from Lebuh Chulia is the

entrance to a colorful world of Little

India. Now, like everywhere, you’d expect

some glaring audio from music shops,

different kind of smells from all the

different kinds of Indian snacks and

cuisines from the endless choices of

eateries, and not to say the last, a feast

for the eyes for all the displays of vibrant

shop signages. It’s everything for the

senses.

!Some delicacies are must-haves in Little

India: thosai, mutton rice and puthu.

Thosai is a thin crepe made of flour,

roasted and usually served in a single

rolled leaf that would roll your eyes for

2. EVENING IN LITTLE INDIA

its sheer size. Your choice of fillings, from

a simple plain thosai to a delish masala

and onion-sprinkled mashed potato—

add some chutneys of your choice too—

it’s like an all-day energy-booster you

can always rely on.

!Mutton rice is like what it says: it’s rice

over mutton (or vice versa, if you prefer).

Topped up with curry sauce, make sure

you eat with your bare hands. Sounds

rude, but this is how you do it. It is eaten

on top of banana leaf. Wash things down

with cardamom-sprinkled teh tarik. Then,

puthu is a great dessert or afternoon

time snack that you can buy off a street

vendor.

Where:

Little India, enter through Lebuh King or

Lebuh Penang

!When:

Evening, starting from 3 or 4pm

Savour Assam Laksa

in Weld Quay

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

WELD QUAY

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

Assam laksa is a fine delicacy unique to

Penang, and the northern part of

Malaysian peninsula in general. It’s a

soupy, noodle-y dish tossed in an

aromatic and fresh broth, topped up with

fish shreds, torch ginger slices, shallots,

chillis, tamarind and other fine-tuned

tropical ingredients made especially for

your senses. Influences of Chinese, Thai

and Malay cuisines abound in this dish.

!There are, of course, several versions

throughout the island, but being close to

the heart of Georgetown, this particular

stall wins the day.

3. SAVOUR ASSAM LAKSA IN WELD QUAY

Where:

Lebuh Ghat Aceh off Weld Quay

!When:

Noon for lunch, or afternoon for relaxed

Cycle, motorcycle or walk

3. SAVOUR ASSAM LAKSA IN WELD QUAY

Live life at a

leisurely pace

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

LEBUH CHULIA, LEBUH PANTAI, WELD QUAY

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

Head up to the nearest modern coffee

shop (or a kopitiam for that matter). Or

just wait by the side of the road until a

make-shift food court appears by the

side of it.

!If you choose, just walk around your local

neighborhood and find surprises: food

festival, street arts, old man on a bike.

!Life life at your own leisure, and it’s

possible in Georgetown. Walk around

and discover something new.

4. LIVE LIFE AT A LEISURELY PACE

Where:

Around Lebuh Chulia, Weld Quay and

Beach Rd (Lebuh Pantai).

!When:

Anytime of day

Cycle, motorcycle or walk

4. LIVE LIFE AT A LEISURELY PACE

Catch a ride to

Balik Pulau

THE WHOLE PENANG ISLAND

PENANG BRIDGE

To Butterworth

Penang International Airport

Bukit Bendera

Balik PulauGeorgetown

Sg. Nibong Bus Terminal

“Balik Pulau” literally means “the back of

the island”. The western part of the

Penang island is pretty much a lush

green paradise. Georgetown and most of

the developments are in the eastern part

of the island. Rent a car or take a bus,

pick a map and then stop by to eat

seafood or kampong dishes and enjoy

the lush greeneries through meandering

roads.

!Remember to be back by the evening!

5. CATCH A RIDE TO BALIK PULAU

Where:

Western part of the island

!When:

Early morning to evening (all-day)

Bus or rent a car

5. CATCH A RIDE TO BALIK PULAU

Eat in the breeze at

Fort Cornwallis

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

FORT CORNWALLIS

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

There’s a couple of eateries near Fort

Cornwallis, you can pick any place you’d

like, although we recommend the one

closest to the fort and away from the

shore. This food court probably has no

name, but there’s a special dish called

“mee sotong”, which is basically a squid

friend noodle (the super-nicest version).

!Quench your thirst with a coconut float,

which is a coconut water drink with a

vanilla ice cream on top of it.

!Make your way to Fort Cornwallis if you

want, then to the shore where you can sit

for as long as you wish.

6. EAT IN THE BREEZE AT FORT CORNWALLIS

Where:

Northeastern-most part of the island.

Get to Lebuh Light and cross the street

to the old fort.

!When:

Starting from 10am

Bus, cycle or walk

6. EAT IN THE BREEZE AT FORT CORNWALLIS

Cross to Butterworth

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

THE PIER

gLebuh Farquhar

Esplanade Park

Lebuh Union

Gat Lebuh Acheh

There’s a very-frequent ferry service

between Georgetown and Butterworth in

the mainland. This service is free

Butterworth-bound, and less than a

ringgit the other way around.

Butterworth is nothing much to see, but

you can see the Penang bridge (longest

in south east Asia) from the ferry ride.

First ferry departs Butterworth at

05:20am, the last being at 00:40am.

First ferry departs from Georgetown at

05:40am, the last being at 01:00am.

!If you want to catch the peninsula train

heading to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or

Bangkok, this is the transportation mode

you have to use first.

7. CROSS TO BUTTERWORTH

Where:

Northeastern part of Georgetown, just

ask where ferry terminal is.

!When:

Ideally 8am when it’s not too hot and

you can see the bridge.

Bus to ferry terminal

7. CROSS TO BUTTERWORTH

Ride up to Bukit

Bendera

Bukit Bendera

Georgetown

BUKIT BENDERA

Start here at Komtar

Bukit Bendera (“the hill of the flag”) is

situated at 833 m above sea level and it’s

a strategic point to view Georgetown and

the northeast portion of Penang island.

You will enjoy the ride up and down, in a

modern rail-based transport that takes

around 10 minutes each way. Bring your

umbrella in case it rains or shines too

hard. It can also get very windy up there.

!To get here, you need to catch bus 204

from Komtar or from Weld Quay. The 6

km journey would approximately take

15-20 minutes depending on traffic.

!The fee to go up is RM30 for foreigners,

return trip.

8. RIDE UP TO BUKIT BENDERA

Where:

Air Itam, central part of the island, west

from Georgetown

!When:

7am — finish

Bus no. 204 from Komtar/Weld Quay

8. RIDE UP TO BUKIT BENDERA

Eat your heart out at a kopitiam

You can find kopitiams in almost every

modern part of the world, but nothing

beats the charm of old-age, original

version. Penang is one of the forefronts

in this Chinese peranakan coffee culture.

As in any kopitiams, try kopi-o or kopi,

both -c or -peng. No idea what those

are? Well, you have to learn those terms

first! Dishes vary from just toasts and

half-boiled eggs to something like

wonton noodles.

!Just walk around Georgetown,

particularly in Lebuh Chulia and find the

flocks — there’s a good chance you’ll

bump into a (good) stall.

9. EAT YOUR HEART OUT AT A KOPITIAM

Where:

Almost any part of Georgetown and

Penang island

!When:

All day, really

Walk, cycle, motorcycle, rent a car, bus

9. EAT YOUR HEART OUT AT A KOPITIAM

Walk through

the history

Weld Quay

Lebuh Light

FORT CORNWALLIS

PERANAKAN MUSEUM

MASJID KAPITAN KELING

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS

CHONG FAT TZE MANSION

CLOCK TOWER

CAMPBELL MARKET

With old colonial-style buildings mixed

with Chinese Straits-style shophouses

lined up along the historic Georgetown,

you can’t miss the history. Some buildings

are converted into museums that you

might want to visit. Peranakan Museum

and Cheong Fat Tze Mansion are both

recommended, although if you don’t, a

sheer walk covering Georgetown is enough

to feel the historical value, especially in

Lebuh Pantai (Beach Rd.)

!A (rather) complete list in the next page.

10. WALK THROUGH THE HISTORY

Historical highlights:

!• Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Lebuh Leith

• China Town

• Clock Tower, Pesiaran King Edward

• Esplanade

• Fort Cornwallis

• Nagore Shrine

• Penang Islamci Museum

• Penang Museum of Art Gallery

• Pinang Peranakan Mansion

• Residence of Ku Din Ku Meh

• State Art GAllery

• Sun Yat Sen’s Penang Base

• Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum

• War Museum

Where:

Mostly in Georgetown

!When:

All day

Walk, cycle, motorcycle, rent a car, bus

Photo Gallery

Street hawker prepares his dinner for

everybody in Lebuh Chulia.

Georgetown heritage trail puts decent

signages that help you get around

The deteriorating city hall in Esplanade

doesn’t make it less beautiful.

Old couple enjoying the afternoon breeze

at Esplanade.

As an art scene, Georgetown streets can

sometimes be quirky.

Old and new: Modern coffee shops and old

kopitiams live side-by-side in harmony.

When days get hot (and they do), find one

of these drink hawker stalls.

Malay-English (Manglish) is a cute

everyday conversation-starter.

A man doing watercolor painting of Lebuh

Chulia in the afternoon.

Scouring the morning markets around

Campbell Old Market.

Architectural details abound if you really

look into them.

Don’t be fooled by the mediocre-looking

building. It can have great food!

Try this cardamom-sprinkled teh tarik at

Veloo Villas, Little India.

Looking at the Penang Bridge from the

Bukit Bendera.

Inside the Peranakan mansion that is

now a museum.

Locals walk on the street.

At one side from Lebuh Chulia.

Wonton noodle.

Life is relaxed at early mornings.

Looking at the bay to Tanjong Bungah from

Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

Old Campbell Market.

A bowl of assam laksa. It may look ugly,

but sure is worth a try.

Penang High Court building.

Picture frames at Old Penang Hostel.

Thank you for using this guide.

!We picked top ten activity you could do

at leisurely pace that would give you a

great glimpse of what the destination is

about. One thing is for sure: we don’t

want to be an encyclopedia.

!We know you’d think this guide would

have more to offer, but we believe in

curating our best experiences, so they

can be uniquely yours, too.

!Email us at info@ranselkecil.com for

suggestions and critics. Visit us at

ranselkecil.com/guides for more guides!

Ransel Kecil means “little backpack”,

which originated as a travel blog back in

the 2010, serving Indonesian readers.

Our content comes from our readers,

sometimes from our own editors. We

share journeys, photo essays, tips,

accommodations, food and many others

—in the hope of spreading travel bug

among Indonesian young generation.

!www.ranselkecil.com

10 THINGS TO DO IN Penang - Ransel Kecil · Georgetown, the capital of Penang state. It is...

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