Short Getaway to Penang!
WARNING: Never ever book a bus ride to Penang from this website!! http://www.busonlineticket.com/
No doubt its cheap, but the service and coordination from this company is just SO bad! They took in more customers than they can handle and we seriously got a shock when we saw a huge crowd outside the tour agency when we went to collect the bus tickets.
The bus was delayed FOR HOURS, our bus timing was at 11.45pm but when we were there at 11PM, some of those 9.45pm customers had not even board the bus yet!! In the end, after 3-4hrs of waiting, they just chuck everyone irregardless of their bus timings onto whatever buses that came. I was honestly pissed off with their services.
Cost of Accommodation: Bayview Beach Resort SGD$225.66(1 night) + Hotel Penaga SGD$154.28 (1 night)
Note that I booked 2 hotels for this trip as we were heading to the beach area + George Town and I do not wish for us to rush here and there in between so I decided to stay a night at the beach area.
Before we start, here are some tips as usual:
- The bus ride took about 8-9 hrs. So unless you are fine sleeping overnight on a bus and surviving the long journey, I will honestly advise you to take a plane there instead.
- There is nothing much on Penang Hill, just some photo stop on the top for scenery purposes. Of course, they will say you have never been to Penang if you never been to Penang Hill.
There is no itinerary for this post as its just a short 3d2n trip. So, do read the entire post if you are heading to Penang!
Day 01
After a horror night, we finally reached Penang the next morning close to 10am.. First stop was to take a cab from the bus interchange to Batu Ferringhi Beach and checked into our hotel.
The hotel is located just beside the beach and I am really glad I decided to book a night here instead of all 2 nights in George Town although it’s slightly ex. You can still travel to and fro George Town via cab if you dont wish to juggle between hotels.
Changed out and off to have brunch at a cafe along the beach then its to the seaside! Tried Couple Parasailing but note that its not cheap(maybe about sgd30 for 10mins?). If you are looking at cheap water sports, I will recommend you to go Bali, Phuket or Krabi instead.
But anyway, its our first time doing it and its quite fun!
Had massage by the beach but I wouldnt really recommend this cause I think some of their beds had bed bugs.. I was itching all over after the massage but, it seems like Thye was fine. There are other massage palour there so you can try the cleaner looking ones.
Back to the hotel to chill in the pool after that as they had a bar in the pool. Feels so great to just drink and dip in the water.
Out in the night for seafood- googled this place online but, its so-so only. Its not very good and at the same time, wasnt very cheap as well. But it works fine for the ambiance and experience.
Had a horse ride on the beach after dinner.
Then its out to their night pasa-malam (near the beach) a.k.a Jalan Batu Ferranghi to walk around before calling it a night. Do feel free to haggle there and also, do check out other stalls before buying/haggling to see if its cheaper as most of them sell similar items.
Opening Hours: 19:00 – Late
Location: Along Jalan Batu Ferringhi, from Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa to Shangri-La’s Golden Sands Resort
Day 02
Checked out of our hotel after breakfast and took a cab all the way to George Town. Our hotel in George Town was slightly ex too but, the interior is SO pretty!!! How I wished I am staying for an additional night..
Out to explore the streets after check in.. THE FOOD & STREET ART!! Note that we didnt go to places like the museum or the heritage mansion as I was just keen on the street art.
First stop, PENANG CHAR KWAY TIAO, PENANG LAKSA & CHENDOL! All these are actually just located around the same area as the street art.
Nothing beats a good hotel breakfast.
Where the Penang Char Kway Tiao & Chendol were located. Its just side by side!
Walked around the entire George Town to search for the street arts after that. They have a map there whereby they indicate the location of each street so its like a small lil “treasure hunt’ to look for the individual street art and take photos with them.
We also went to try the Upside Down Museum when we were done. Back to the hotel to rest before heading out for street food + bars in the night!
Apparently this is very famous in Penang the queue is snake-long no kidding! So we decided to give it a try too!
Day 03
Checked out of our hotel and placed our luggages at the concierge. Our bus back to SG is only in the evening so we decided to head to Penang Hill but, I honestly wont recommend heading there unless you are someone who is really into scenery. There is practically nothing much to do there and I personally finds it boring.
Based on a local’s direction, we went to a bus interchange near our hotel and took a bus there. You may also check with your hotel’s reception if they can direct you to the bus terminal.
Back to town after that and its Gurney Plaza for shopping. Note that the main mode of our transport is cab/uber cause the cost was pretty cheap.
Back here for a second round of the Penang Char Kway Tiao cause Thye LOVES it!
Went to grab our stuff from the hotel and headed to the bus terminal after that. Yupp, the bus back got delayed too. It was still missing when its our boarding time. So… PLS DO NOT BOOK FROM THE COMPANY I TOLD YOU. NEVER EVER.
Lastly, there’s wasnt much to do in Penang so 3D2N or 4D3N is more than sufficient.
As there is no itinerary for this post, you may click on the following links for more things to do in Batu Ferranghi & Penang if you’re heading there for more days:
Batu Ferranghi- http://www.penang.ws/areas/batu-feringgi.htm
George Town- http://www.penang.ws/penang-top-10s/10-attraction-georgetown.htm
[…] actually my 2nd time at Penang. The last I went was a 3D2N trip(click to read here) so we didnt plan to stay long here. However, I do have a little regret of not extending for 1 more […]