Penang

Penang is an island off the West coast of peninsular Malaysia. We stayed in George Town, which is the main town on the island.

I’d been to Penang before (as I had to KL) but that was a long time ago and much has changed. George Town is now a heritage site and there is a huge amount of street art about. In places it is pretty trendy.

There are a lot more tower blocks in George Town than I remember and the North coast is dominated by hotel resorts taking up all of the waterfront. However, if you get far enough along the road then you can find some pleasant public beaches.

This beach was opposite the Tropical Spice Garden, which also has some fantastic flowers. There is an audio tour with an express option but it sounds a little out of date compared to the map. They give you mosquito repellent at the ticket desk if you forgot to DEET up.

George Town is small enough to walk around and the food is great. If it gets too hot then you can take the funicular railway up to Penang Hill where it is slightly cooler.

At the top of the hill there’s interesting wildlife, lovely views and quiet walks (if you wander away from the crowds). There was a big landslide in November 2017 and some rebuilding was still occurring when we were there.

Overall, we enjoyed our short stay on Penang island. It’s well worth a visit. Now we’re getting the boat to Langkawi, which is looking rainy.