Day 7 : George Town, Friday 14th June 2024
Fine, 31°
Up at 5:30am, left at 6am, got a Grab ( MYR21/$7 ) to Penang Hill Lower Station, bought 2 return tickets for the funicular railway to the top at 6:15am ( MYR60/$20 for 2 ), and got on the first train up at 6:30, arriving at 6:40. Very steep track up. Walked around the viewing platforms waiting for sunrise ( too cloudy/misty up there ) then walked to the top of the hill to look at the Gate House building then to the Hindu Temple for a look around. Back to the station at 7:30am and waited for the next train down at 8am. At the bottom we ordered another Grab back to our Hotel ( MYR 11/$4).
Had breakfast then back to the room to book the next part of the trip. As we had trouble finding accommodation in Hat Yai, Thailand ( our next destination ) for the 15th June ( the date we wanted to start our stay there ) we decided to stay another night in George Town and head to Hat Yai on the 16th June. We booked accommodation in Hat Yai for 16th to 19th June ( Centara Hotel, Hat Yai; 3 nights, THB9,691( Thai Baht ) / $431 ). We then tried to extend our stay at Citadine Connect which was going to be too expensive ( $200 ), so we booked another hotel nearby ( Sentral George Town, MYR180/$60 … which we later cancelled…see below ) for the night of 15th June.
The train from George Town to Hat Yai on the 16th ( actually 2 trains; 1 to the Thai Border at Padang Besar, then a shuttle train to Hat Yai from the border ) cannot be booked as they are just local trains, so we would just turn up and jump on those on the day.
Relaxed in the room for a while longer.
Out at 11:15am, walked down to the waterfront and looked at the Clan Jettys ( we looked at Chew Jetty yesterday, but wanted to see the less visited / touristy ones ). Went to the Mixed Clan Jetty, then Lee Clan Jetty then Tan Jetty. Each is quite different and interesting in their own way. And they were all largely devoid of tourists ( as you can see in the photos )
Walked along to the “kids on a swing” street art in off Chulia Street then had a drink / snack at 12pm at a little restaurant in a warehouse type arcade ( popcorn chicken, butter toast with condensed milk and 2 drinks MYR30/$10 )
As a gauge of costs in Malaysia we have decided that the actual number value is the same between NZ and Malaysia, just the currency is different; ie something that costs $10 in NZ will cost MYR10 here ( excluding whiteware, large items etc ), but that is the equivalent of only NZ$3 due to the exchange rate. So we found thing in Malaysia to be about 1/3 the price of the same thing in NZ for food, clothing etc
We walked through the banking area of town around the north end of Beach Street, passed a couple of wedding photo shoots in progress ( on a Friday ), and over to Fort Cornwallis at 12:45pm, and bought 2 tickets to look around ( MYR20/$7 each ). Fort Cornwallis is the original Fort built by the British to protect their interests in the Penang Area. The Fort was interesting but not a lot to see; just a stone walled Fort with lots of cannons!.
Left the Fort at 1:15pm, and booked a Grab to go to Gurney Paragon Mall ( MYR10/$3 ), arriving at 1:45pm. Looked around the shops ( Liz bought 2 tops ($25 ea from H&M ) and some jandals ( $10 )), had a drink, then caught a Grab back hotel at 3:30pm.
Rested again. The early start and the heat was taking it’s toll today.
Out for tea at 6:15pm, walked to Times Square mall north of our hotel and had tea at Uncle Don’s ( 2 dishes and 2 beers, MYR80/$27!! ) We resisted the urge to get burgers or steaks ( not too hard to resist) . Walked back to hotel the long way ( around the block ), via the 7Eleven at 8pm.
After looking at reviews for the Sentral George Town that we booked earlier today for tomorrow nights stay, we decided to cancel that booking ( and probably lose our money ) and book the Bayview Hotel down by Fort Cornwallis instead ( 1 night $85, including breakfast ) which had better reviews and was in a better location ( and as we found had a huge room and a great view ).
Another day spent exploring, and clocking up 18,000 steps in the process.