Today we were heading for Penang Hill, a viewpoint standing at 800m above the city, accessed by train (or a 2hour 5k uphill walk, guess which option we thought sounded preferable).
Before going there we had work to do though, book our bus ticket from Georgetown to Cameron Highlands, a journey we were taking the next day. This turned out to be a surprisingly easy task, and we were soon in a taxi and on our way.
We arrived at the train station about 20minutes later, our taxi driver cheerfully pointing out all the buses which were also heading there, which I’m sure were a fraction of the price we paid. We were soon being hustled into a queue by the staff who were for some reason in full military attire, looking more suited to a day of battle rather than small crowd control at local attraction. We forked out our fare (obviously 7xmore than the locals pay) and waited at the platform for our train/funicular which you need to get to the top of Penang Hill. We did not wait long, and were soon on our way, in the best seats in the house which Rach wrestled to nab, having decided that as we had paid significantly more for exactly the same experience, we deserved them. And they were worth it, fantastic views beneath us of the city getting smaller and smaller. The views were so good, Phil even forgot he was not keen on heights.
More breathtaking views at the top, and a few temples, shrines and cafes. We took photos and Phil got photobombed by a friendly chap we had met on the ride up. We enjoyed iced mango and orange juice before discovering a few more attractions, the less predictable ‘Owl museum’ for example. We also saw a young bride and groom, just married, having their photos taken.
After mooching about gazing at the view, we did decide to pay a visit to the owl museum, declining the option of being dressed up like Harry Potter, which I’m sure would have enhanced our visit but never mind, maybe next time. It took around 9 seconds to fully appreciate this extensive collection of owl paraphernalia, and then we were outside again. Our attention was suddenly captured by an intriguing, unusual sign. We looked again, and yes, we were reading it correctly, it said ‘Devonshire Cream Teas!’
Within the blink of an eye we were seated on the tearoom Terrance, soon tucking in to a surprisingly good scone, complete with tea, jam and cream. The only thing which wasn’t quite right was the heavy metal music which was serenading us, but we could live with that!
We had been up the hill about 4 hours now, and decided to head back down. Standing room only this time.
Down at the bottom we spotted one of the buses the taxi man had shown us, and hopped aboard. The journey here in the taxi was short, turns out the bus takes a slightly longer and more scenic route, but we enjoyed it none the less!
INFO – The top of the hill is accessible by walking or from the Penang Hill Railway via the base station of Jalan Bukit Bendera, Air Itam, the Funicular runs daily from 0630am-10pm. Plenty once up the top of the hill for a full day out. Including many hiking trails, cafes/restaurants , museums, temples , mosques , and gardens . See https://penanghill.gov.my/index.php/en/attractions for more information.
