| |
 Penang, Malaysia travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Penang, Malaysia.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Kuala Lumpur city guide,
Langkawi city guide,
Melaka city guide,
and Penang city guide.
Pages (5 of 56):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
| A Adeni |
02 August 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Tanjung Bungah is right at the middle of the road from Georgetown city and Batu Feringgi, so there shall be no problem for you to go to both places. During my stay, I didn't pay much visit to places nearby since the public transport is hardly available here (I suggest you rent a car or buy your own car during your visit in Penang!). My recommended restaurants are Craven Cafe (just across the road from this hotel), and the restaurant just near the lobby of this hotel. Just one thing to keep your tour cheap and neat, rent a car! It's only around $30 per day and you shall have fun touring Penang since it's not hard to find yourself way around Penang.
|
| J Koordes and mr. pim ten hoorn |
26 July 2004 |
Stayed at Eastern and Oriental Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
The Penang Heritage Trust organises walkabouts in George Town. These are very interesting and we can recommend to join them!
|
| K Hom |
19 July 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Penang is such a beautiful island, it's a cross between Bangkok (a little dirty) but not as smoggy with car pollution and Florida. It's really a sweet place. I went two weekends in a row...I went to the Butterfly Farm which I thought was really great as you can pick up the butterflies and but them on your hand carefully. Definitely check out the Kek Lol Sei Temple...it's so beautiful. You must take a taxi there, but the taxis in Penang do not run by meter, you MUST ask for the price beforehand.
Getting back from the temple is somewhat difficult though. You must go through a cave of street vendors as you proceed down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, there is a bus stop...there are NO taxis! So, make sure you know where the bus stop is...everyone speaks English or Cantonese. The Malays are proficient conversational speakers, which is great for us English speakers.
My favorite pub/bar is LEVEL ONE which is in Chinatown, upstairs of Oriental Hotel. Downstairs, there is a japanese karaoke bar, which is cheap by U.S. standards. Also, there's a fun music, but no dancing place called "Commons". Of course, when in Southeast Asia, you must try the food hawk stalls. It's like the mall, you go up to the vendor, tell them your table number, order, and they bring your food to you and you pay them as you are served. I'm definitely going back...heard the Northam Hotel is a great, great hotel to stay at for only 18USD PER NIGHT. I'm going to try that hotel my next trip. Have fun!
|
| G Martin |
01 July 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Penang is a very hectic island. Forget the image of a sleepy tropical island, this place pumps 24/7. Penang Street in Georgetown has some great shopping, as does the night market of Bathu Ferringhi. Get your bargaining hat on and have fun.
|
| P Chong |
21 June 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Plaza Parkroyal, Penang - Penang, Malaysia.
|
We loved Penang! It was my second time there after 22 years and I wish I were back there now! The tiny streets of old Georgetown, the huge mansions, the great food all added up to a really nice holiday. We stayed two nights at Batu Ferringhi to enjoy the beach resort and two nights in Georgetown. I think having a car is essential. The many one-way streets can be confusing so a good map is essential. We particularly enjoyed touring Cheong Fatt Tze mansion and the Khoo Kongsi. Penang is a great place for wandering around, punctuated by great food breaks!
|
| J Lim |
01 June 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Continental Penang, Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
The Penang Hill lift is under repairs for the next few months and we heard that if you insist on going up there, a cab can bring you there for a high price of RM60.
When you go to Gurney drive hawker centre for a meal, and need to get out by cab, it's best to get a cab outside Gurney plaza but always agree on the cost before hopping on the cab. If you plan to use the public buses, prepare to wait for about half of the bus to be filled before it moves.
There is a tiny coffee factory at 354 jelutong road (sin boon kee coffee factory) that may be worth visiting. It’s a shophouse that has been there since 1955 and has an old charm about it. The owner was very friendly and obliging and allowed us to take pictures in his factory. He even offered us a tour of the factory to see how coffee is manufactured. For local produce such as preserved nutmeg, nutmeg oil, and durian cakes, go to the market opposite the central police station. Bargain and walk off to another stall if the price isn't right as there are several vendors peddling similar stuff. They cannot wait to undercut their rivals, so that's to your advantage.
For the best assam laksa, visit the dingy assam laksa stall near the foot of the hill where Kek Lok Si Temple is. It's situated on the left of the junction where you turn into the small lane leading to the foot of the hill. It's durian season now, so durian lovers get going to the area near the foot of the hill where Kek Lok Si is, and have your fill of durians that are sweet with bright-yellow flesh!
|
| S Khalik |
14 May 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Try the Golden Horse hawker centre - next to the Chinese Swimming Club and walking distance from the hotel. The seafood there is good and good value for money. A western stall sells chicken and mushroom pot pie at $7 - to die for!
|
| J Boxer |
18 April 2004 |
Stayed at Oriental Hotel Penang - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Alor Setar has a pleasant ambience and atmosphere. Small with few attractions except for its local "Menara Telekom" (telekom tower) people are friendly. Most of all Alor Setar is best suited for a stopover if travellng to the nearby Malay/Thai borded just 40 min away by taxi.
|
| J Dinsmore |
09 April 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
We took an express bus from the Puduraya bus station in KL directly to Penang where they let you off at the KOMTAR shopping center. We found KOMTAR somewhat confusing but it is the transportation hub, has a tourist office, shopping and supermarket. The express bus ticket offices are right there too (outside)so it was easy to get return tickets. We took the guided tour of the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion (11AM and 3 PM-10 RM per person) and enjoyed that. You can also stay there since it's a hotel. We walked around the Chinatown area and Little India. We also took a bus to Air Itam to see the Kek Lok Tse temple which was quite a large complex. The tourist office guy had told us that the funicular railway to Mt. Penang was out of service. The cable had broken so they purchased a new one complete with Swiss engineers to install it and it broke too. One evening we took a bus to Batu Ferringgi which is the full-tilt beach resort area. We ate in a hawker center and looked at the night bazaar stalls but decided it wasn't quite our thing. Everything was oriented to the foreign tourist which some people like.
|
| F Ong |
05 April 2004 |
Stayed at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - Penang, Malaysia.
|
Penang is a great little city - has both the city and country atmospheres. I love the local food and the night markets. A must when you are visiting!!! The beaches are not the nicest or best in the world but the water temperature always makes it tempting for a swim anytime! The centre of Penang is also great to explore as it used to be a British colony and still has much left in its many buildings and architecture. The people are friendly and English speaking. Highly recommended to visit if you are in Malaysia.
|
|
Pages (5 of 56):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
Book a hotel in Penang, Malaysia
|
