Girls' Day Out - Penang Hill

A painting-like scenery of Penang from the Penang Hill! #nofilter  It was kinda fogy in the morning and it got better in the afternoon. I am glad that you can still find greeneries among the cities. Photo credit goes to Xin Yi and Vikee.

A real semester break rest is the one with no laptop.   --- Xiwen, 2014

Ok I quoted my own saying, please don't judge, haha. After some putting in some serious determination, I made it to the second trip of this semester break with Vikee and Xin Yi (the first one was with my family to Taiping) to the Penang Hill! This was my second visit to Penang Hill for the past 21 years and I think it is one of the best places to go in Penang to escape the scorching hot sun. Well before you go, you should check out their official website and fell in love with it before falling in love with the actual place!

'Bukit Bendera' stands for 'Flag Hill' in Malay. When we mention Penang Hill in other languages such as Malay and Mandarin (not sure about Tamil and other languages), we don't call it Penang Hill. For Mandarin, with direct translation it is 'Raising Flag Hill', hahaha.

There are a few ways that you can choose to reach the top of Penang Hill: hiking, hiking, hiking, hiking, driving (I think you are not allowed to do so even though there is a tar road leading there), cycling or taking the train. I mentioned so many times of hiking because there are quite a few hiking routes to choose from. But please bear in mind that it is really steep and unless you are well-trained, please don't try. So of course, as energetic nerds, we girls chose to...pay and queue for the train. It was a Friday late morning, we can see quite a lot of people there especially foreign tourists. Can't imagine how overcrowded it can be on weekends!

Selfie in the train! Meet Xin Yi (middle) and Vikee (right)!

They call this ' funicular train', it is pretty comfortable inside but due to limited seats, most probably you will have to stand. Elders or pregnant women or handicapped people can board the train first, unless you bought the fast lane ticket, you will cramp with other people waiting to board eagerly!

The long track that leads to the top of the Penang Hill. The train moves quite fast and you can see greeneries along the way and imagine what if you have to hike all the way up here.

One of the best weathers I have ever experienced! It was not really chilling and the sun was quite warm. At least the breeze was cool enough when you are under the roof!

When I first came here I could see black monkeys hanging out among these tall trees but there was no one in sight this time.

Well we came to Penang Hill was more like a hangout rather than a visit because we didn't actually explore the whole Penang Hill because we were lazy and I actually think that we should have! You can refer to the map available on their website before going for a trip there to ensure that you get the most out of the trip. Besides, they even provide audio tour guide on the website so that you can get some explanation on the history or description of the attractions. There are some signboards with number on it around Penang Hill so that you identify the attractions on the audio tour guide. If you prefer something more than that, you can actually hire the 'golf car' (I don't know what to call them) in which the driver can take you around and give you some explanation on the spot and help you to take photographs if you don't have a selfie stick.

We took the route at the left hand side which leads to Tiger Hill, according to the map. Along the way there are chairs and pondok (sorry can't think of the right word in English) for you to rest and enjoy the sceneries. There were some small gates at the road side that marked the location for nature walk, I think, but we didn't go for it. The things that caught my attention so much were the heritage bungalows. They looked so so nice with some English feel with bricks walls and a well-maintained garden. I didn't take photos of all the buildings so you have to go and see for yourself (I could have but that was not my main purpose of vising Penang Hill so oh well). However the route was long and winding that after spending some time walking, we have to turned back.  

An emo doggy sleeping behind the stall that sells hand-made grasshoppers from leaves. It was quite surprising that you can see strays up here.

This wooden structure was actually the older version of the funicular train! We are having the fourth generation now.

The old-fashioned red mailbox that we usually see on TV dramas!
Photo credit goes to Vikee.

Pay-to-use binoculars! And of course we prefer to enjoy the scene with our naked eyes, if you know what I mean. *wink*
Photo credit goes to Vikee and Xin Yi.

The entrance of my dream house! *cough cough*
Photo credit goes to Vikee and Xin Yi.

We ended up having lunch at the food court on Penang Hill after the long walk to spend more time up here. Picnic would be a better idea because the food here was somehow overpriced and the portion was small (we should have listened to you, Vikee). After that, we stuck our butt at the David Brown's bar because they have nice seats facing the Penang sceneries. And yeah, we were stuck there until time to go home. Hey hey, still, don't judge because we had a great time hanging out there! Hahaha...

David Brown's Restaurant which looked really classy, the classiness that we didn't dare to approach, hahaha. I like the pond with water lilies and frogs and some tall water grass? It was lively!

THE BEST PHOTO OF THE DAY!

Coffee Latte! The price was almost the same in other cities and the caffeine was strong!

Tiramisu which contained alcohol! But I can get a piece 5 times larger than this one in KL with the same price!

There are some renovation going around on Penang Hill such as the coming-soon The Habitat which I believe is a canopy walk through the forest (so exciting!!!) and a building which looked like a restaurant. I shall come again next month and visit the Owl Museum and the Aviary Ginger Garden!

P/S: Always remember to bring your student card if you are a student, and bring your IC if you are a Malaysian, the ticket fares can be much much cheaper!