Penang day 2 - Penang Hill, Air Itam Market, Kuay Chap, Chinahouse

Here's how this day went.

As mentioned in previous entry, chit chat with the other roomies and manage to convince them to go on Penang Hill by foot. 

Showed them the blog, the photos, the route - and in the morning, I did the "Are you sure you don't want to go" question - and hurray! I managed to get companions for this trek. And boy am I glad I did.

For Penang Hill, there are many routes.

And since I was here, my choice was the most difficult yet scenic route.Didn't regret it though. It was a fantastic climb!

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: BRING LOTS OF WATER AND FOOD.

BECAUSE THERE IS NO FOOD STAND ALONG THE WAY. 

 

Got the details off a very good blog (which I'm so sorry I can't find your link anymore)

"From the KOMTAR Bus Station at the tallest building in Penang, I took Bus No. 10, which has the Penang Botanical Gardens as its last station. There are trails from the Garden itself, but just 50 meters before the bus stop, to the left, lies the Moon Gate."

"Penang Hill is very accessible from Georgetown; simply take Bus no. 10 from Komtar to its last stop (RM 2). You can go down the same way and wait for the bus at the Botanical Gardens, or take the Funicular to Air Itam and take another bus to back to Georgetown."

 At Komtar though, I was very lost. Because Number 10 does not appear on the signs like usually in the bus interchange. You have to look at the screen (as below) and find out your bus number and see which berth it is at and wait there. (Timing inaccurate) - Waited for close to half an hour for our bus when it says 11 minutes.

Prepare 2 RM per person for the bus.

 

 

 The bus will stop you here at the round about.

Turn right (and follow the road to see Moon Gate)

We followed the nice path on the grass patch and realized we were in the wrong direction. 

That another route that you can take though. Its more direct and on the road so surely won't get lost.

For bicycles, that's fantastic training ground. Just like Cameron Highlands steepness but without the curves.

Here's the Moon Gate.
A bit Ulu.


This will greet your sight.
At that moment, my roomies asked me multiple times, you sure? Will we be okay?
Is this the right route.
I was not sure too. But thankfully, we did it on a weekend so there were locals who were also making their climbs and it felt less fearful knowing we were in the right direction. 

"Start at Moongate

After starting your hike the path slowly climbs up. Soon you will hear water running and come to a junction. The path to your left will swindle further along the hills and you will get plenty of steps to climb. The path which continues straight on has no steps but you can use the roots of trees and stone boulders to climb up. There are red painted markers on the trail so you won't loose direction.

When you use the "steps trail" soon in the hike you will get glimpses of Gurney Drive. The path keeps climbing, from forest trail to cement stairs and back to forest trail. There are several paths branching off the main trail but they all come back on the main trail. Unless you want to find steeper trails, stay on the main path."

"It takes about an hour and a half to 2 hours to reach 84 including some resting and viewing here and there.

It all starts by walking through the gate and turn left. Immediately you will start climbing. Depending on the choice of path, you will follow steps or jungle trails towards #5 resting spot. After #5 there are 2 options. Directly at #5 you can hike up to Bukit Cendana, which is a trail few people seem to take. Another, more hiked option is to stay on the main trail."

We took slightly more than 3 hours though. The steps were never ending.
- Breathe - Breathe - my roomies nearly gave up at this point.

"If you use the steps, after about 25 minutes you will pass the junction that leads back to the Youth Park (about 45 minutes downhill).

Both trails come together just before #5 where later in the afternoon free coffee and biscuits are available. It is custom to leave a donation too."

 => Important to note: Yes there is a downhill somewhat. And it made us wonder whether we were in the right direction. Because the path was unclear and if we were going up a hill, why were we going down?

So after you go down, you go up again.

And after climbing for around 2 hours, this will greet you. And the inflow of fresh air makes it much more bearable.




YooHoo! We finally saw the big NUMBER 5 #5.
But was told its still a long way up. And someone prepared us for the very steep climb after #84.

"At #5 you can choose to hike directly up to Bukit Cendana (about 30-40 minutes) or follow the main trail.

Should you stay on the main trail, within 25 minutes later you will find a path to your left which leads to the Riffle Ranch, an area in Air Itam. A little bit further to your right there is the second trail leading up to Bukit Cendana. This trail is harder to find and easier to get lost. Therefore I would recommend if you want to hike up to Bukit Cendana, to start just behind #5. That trail is easy to follow."

"From this point on, it's only 20 minutes to 84 and time to decide what to do next: take the Summit Road to Penang Hill, visit Bukit Cendana"

It was way beyond 20 minutes for us. We took about an hour to get to 84.

Aka #84 was under renovation.


And this was where it became 'crazy'

The steepness is beyond my imagination.



And we did it for close to half an hour. Thinking we were reaching.
Its those kind of steepness where you have to take some time to breathe every 10 minutes of climb.
And a motorcycle coming down the slope told us another 1 hour. And another motorcycle further ahead told us 1.5 hours. It got longer and longer.

Thank God!
We stopped a vehicle and hitch ride up.
If we didn't it might have taken us forever! And we were thirsty and hungry.
And the steepness even caused the car to semi stall. I.M.A.G.I.N.E!

A big shout out again to *Oppa (oh no I called him uncle) Thank you!"

And I had high expectations for Penang Hill.
Disappointed.
Nothing much.
Its primarily for children.
And it was too hazy that day to take a photo of any scenary.




After 10 minutes made our way back down

- USING THE FUNICULAR TRAM DOWN.



*Malaysians have such a huge discount!
Should have brought my mother's IC!

The thing about this tram is they try to squeeze as many people inside. We were stepping on each other toes and when anyone talk, its directly in our ears.
Also felt suffocating!
And one cannot even see the scenery despite paying so much.






The best thing about Penang Hill though is.
Air Itam Market is nearby

Once you come out to the entrance, walk down the slope to the main road and just turn right.
(We didn't know and sat a taxi that charged us quite a bit)
 

Air Itam Market Assam Laksa

Address : Pasar Road ( Beside Air Itam Market )

Opening Hours : Daily 11am to 7pm. Closed on Wednesday.

Price : Below RM5 / USD1.50 / SGD2 per person

 Back to our hostel, we bathe and zonked out in bed. Till evening came.

And off we went to

Koay Chiap is flat sheets of rice noodle served in soup flavored with herbs, spices and soy sauce served together with different parts of the duck and pork.

The noodle or the  koay  itself is semi translucency and is slightly thicker than the koay teow and usually cut into rectangular pieces.

Address : Kimberly Street

Opening Hours : Daily 6.30pm to 11pm

Price : Around RM6 / USD2.00 / SGD2.50 per person

* If you are sua Gu like me, remember to tell the uncle you don't want the frozen blood, intestines and whatsoever.

 

I like the medicinal taste of the soup. But find Singapore has much better ones.



And when roomies gather, its time to chill somewhere and pig out in a classy place.
China house in Penang
153 Lebuh Pantai, Georgetown, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

We wanted to chill and listen to singers sing their self-composed songs. But it was so crowded.

So we left for the cakes.




I think this was a good mix :)

Made me miss the Dulce in Mexico :)

Penang day 3 : Sunday car free street + The best tar Sau Piah in Penang + Durian Feast

On our final day, was glad to be a Sunday and one of our roomies shared with us on the car free area where a carnival is held - its called Project Occupy Beach Street.
Beach Street Road will be officially close for Pedestrians, cyclist, skaters, joggers, walkers starting from 7am until 1pm every SUNDAY.
槟城'无车日'，每星期日
时间：上午7点到下午1点。
地点：Beach Street Penang 
 

Early in the morning, we went in search of bicycles for rental. (Note: For Penang, start early. In the afternoon its killer heat) but alas, there were only 2 bicycles and there was only the special trishaw like dual bicycle. So we took it - I'm glad we did it was so much fun! And everyone was showing us so much interest lol

 

Rented our bicycles and with our map, off we went.

To fill our stomach

Strongly recommended by our hostel boss. 

Here we ate like there was no tomorrow. Hilarious.

Many plates of Char Kway Teow - Oh yes remember to tell uncle "Duck egg" makes it much nicer!








Prawn noodle soup - which i felt was so so


Lor Mee - which I like - because I'm always a fan of Lor Mee



And the best of all, nutmeg drink.

 After a very filling meal, we made our way to the carnival Project Occupy Beach Street.
Areas to park your bicycle.
I love the atmosphere there.
There were lots of stalls that promoted DIY Art and projects, Handmade gifts, books, bags and even games and I love it because its always great providing an avenue for such showcases. 









Big old school board games for the children


Clowns who did balloon art for children.

Yes its ice cream.
Ice cream below, oreo crumbs on the top and plastic plant inserted in.
My friend said the ice cream is not nice though. But very interesting idea!


Then there was 2 singers who would be releasing their EP Soon if I didn't hear wrongly.
And since their song was about life and dreams, they opened the space around them to let children do drawing in chalk. Some drew their dream houses, some declared their love etc etc





At such event, of course, there's also very interesting things such as this CHOPPER MASSAGE.
A very long queue for it.


Since we were in Penang as tourist, we went in search of the famous wall paintings.
Its like 3D Illusionary art.
Thankfully there were only a few that I did not manage to capture when I arrived on Friday 2 days ago because on Sunday, Penang was packed to the brim. There were people everywhere. And for these paintings, there were long LONG queues.






So I just captured the photos with the people in it. haha. Same Same what. With or without me in it.

Next, we stopped by this famous Tar Sar Pia Store. Recommended by locals.
My mum says its the best she had eaten. Very fresh. 
Its along Lorong Chulia.




Big bag and small bag of Tar Sar Piah.
We made our way to the must go place for Singaporeans and Malaysians alike.
DURIAN FEASTING.
Yummy Yummy!
Its just opposite Komtar mall.


Food. Cycling. Walking. And Hot sun. Equates to very tired tourists.
So we went back to the hostel for shelter in our air conditioned beds/rooms.
Awesome!

When sun had set, we made our way via bus to Gurney Drive. Sit bus 10 from Komtar bus terminal.
Frankly, nothing worth raving about.
The food in the city town center seems much better.



Ending off our day, one of the ladies recommended the ferry ride to Buttersworth.
So off we went to the Jetty to board it,
Just follow the long walk way and you'll reach there eventually.
Entering the holding area, its quite scary as the crowd begins to pack in.
Haha. And the instructions at the gate reads "All passengers shall be carried at their own risk"
And since we were running late and the ferry still not arriving, we decided to forgo the ferry.
Squeezed our way through the crowd was no joke.

 
Here's where the cars enter the ferry first. Then the gates open for the passengers to walk onto the ferry.


Since we were in the area, we made our way to the Chinese clans which we had not visited.

Ending off our trip in Penang with a plate of delicious wantan mee (just opposite our hostel) on Lorong Chulia. Opens only in the evening.




Took our bath and made it to Komtar for our bus back to Singapore.
(I had my return air ticket but decided to forgo it and go back early for my grandmother's birthday)
Initially I had my concerns - I mean 10 hours bus ride into the night? I had a back injury so I was worried if I could take the sitting up position for so long.
But we had a ferrari bus driver, who got us back to Singapore in 7 hours. Amazing!
Glad we were safe. And very comfortable bus seats. All just for 60rm.

(The return flight ticket that was quoted to me because I couldn't change mine, was 500rm. Goodness)

*Oh yes, for those taking the bus. I pad 3 rm extra for the ride from Komtar to Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal. So I had thought it would be a direct bus. But no there will be a small van that they try to squeeze as many people in it (all going to different destinations) then stop at the outskirts of Penang where you will board a big bus that will be going to Sungai Nibong. Then at Sungai Nibong, you will have to wait and find your bus number. We waited for close to 1.5 hour.