2 Best Ways to get to the top of Penang Hill

Penang Hill on Penang Island in Malaysia is a must visit. The spectacular view offered at the top of the hill will be worth the trip. There's David Brown restaurant(western style food) and Astaka, a food court with fruits, drinks, desserts and several types of Malaysian food. On weekends, the peak is filled with tourists and locals enjoying the nice weather and fresh air. 

The first step to get to the top of Penang Hill is of course to get to the foot of the hill! This official website has detailed instructions on how to get to the Train Station at the foot of the hill.
http://www.penanghill.gov.my/index.php/how-to-get-there

The 2 best ways to get to the top of Penang Hill would be 

1) By Train

2) Hiking/Walking

The Train

The Penang Hill train brings you from the bottom to the top in under 10 minutes. The train is air conditioned. Seats are pretty limited, sitting around 8 people in the middle carriages, 4 people at the top carriage and 6 at the bottom carriage. On weekends when there is a crowd, it's hard to get to seat. Standing isn't so bad though, considering how quick the journey is. 

There are two trains carrying passengers up and down the hill. They usually travel at the same time and at the middle, the tracks separate and one train goes left, the other goes right. So, don't be shocked if you see the other train coming towards the train you are in. On the sides of the tracks are trees and you can also see some view of Penang from the train as it is moving.
Visit the official penang hill website for the latest ticket prices. The ticket prices below are screenshot from the website. 

The train operating hours is from 6:30am to 11:00pm daily. The wait for the train is not long, in my experience, the longest wait time was 15 minutes. Please take note of the promotion time. The ticket is sold at promotion price before 9am and after 7pm daily. I'm not sure if it applies to foreigners though. The promotion is not valid during school holidays (by Ministry of Education, Malaysia). 

Hiking
For hikers, trekkers and those who like walking, this may be the most satisfying and interesting way up. Depending on the trail, the adventurous fellow who walks up may go through local farms, through the tropical rainforest and along the train tracks. The experience would be really different from going up by train. The locals farms at Air Itam have flowers and fruit trees, aside from the typical vegetables you might see. These farms are different from what you'd see in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. There are many farms in Cameron Highlands which are open to tourists. These are big and very organized. The farms on Penang Hill in the Air Itam area are smaller and feels very out of town. It's not like you went back in time. It's like you're in a different place. The hike would take an averagely fit person 3 hours. It is really recommended if you can find the time. 

Refer to this post if you want to hike from Air Itam area. 

Penang is a city with multiple personalities. Air Itam, Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang have farms. There is Penang Hill with forests. There are countless places of worships for numerous religions, all with beautiful designs, traditional and modern. There are malls like Queensbay, Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon. There's the heritage area in Georgetown and if you explore, there are areas with villages. We've skyscrapers and kampung houses, all in Penang. 

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Designated Hiking Trail]

My 2nd time hiking up, I started from Persiaran Taman Cantik as well. If you're wondering how to get to the Middle Station from Persiaran Taman Cantik, there are details on my post Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam].

Just before the middle train station, I went up the designated hiking trail. 

The trail starts here and goes all the way up to the train station at the top of the hill. Follow the neon orange arrows all the way up. There aren't that many forks anyway and along the way, you'll go past a few train stops. I guess if you're really too tired, you can get the train to stop at the train stop though I'm not sure how. This route is more straightforward. I'll post more pictures of the trail later on.

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Farm Trails]

So far I've hiked up Penang Hill twice. Both times starting from Persiaran Taman Cantik and hiking to the Middle Train Station, details in my post Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam]

From the Middle Train Station of the Penang Hill Train, I've tried two ways to hike up all the way to the top. The first time I hiked up, I used the farm trails. If you're standing at the station, looking up Penang Hill, the farm trail is to the left of the station. You'll see steps on the left of the train tracks. The trail starts around there. 

Don't give up, you'll reach the top

Endomondo map :)

I started endomondo at the bridge on Persiaran Taman Cantik and turned it off when I reached the one of the roads at the top of the hill. So there's a bit more to walk until you reach the station. It's flat so it will feel super easy after the steep hike. You can see a few switch-backs along the path. You'll even go through farms. I saw beautiful blooming flowers and some other plants growing really well.

Plants at one of the farms

Flower blooming at one of the farms 

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [Air Itam]

One way to hike to the Penang Hill Middle Train Station is to take one of the trails which starts at Persiaran Taman Cantik. Train rides are available for going up to the top or down from the Penang Hill Middle Train Station. For hiking up, there are at least two possible trails.

Starting Point : Persiaran Taman Cantik
Climb To : Penang Hill Middle Railway Station
Estimated Time Required : 1.5 hours
Difficulty : 7 out of 10
Trail Type : Steep slopes most of the way

At Air Itam, drive towards the Penang Hill Railway Station. Keep a lookout for Persiaran Taman Cantik on your right as you are nearing the Penang Hill Railway Station. Turn into this road. You can park along this road. It is within walking distance from the Penang Hill Railway Station so it's convenient for those who choose to take the train down.

Persiaran Taman Cantik (from Google Streetview)

Walk in and cross the bridge in the photo below. Once you've crossed the bridge, lookout for a path with a temple on your left.

After this bridge, watch out for the path to the trail on your left (next picture)

This trail is narrow and is shared by a handful of hikers, some cyclists and motorcyclists carrying vegetables or farming items up and down Penang Hill. Always listen out for bicycles and motorbikes when hiking up. If you hear them coming, some are quite fast, don't panic and just find a spot beside the trail where you can stand and let them go by.

Go up this little lane. It will be on your left if you're coming from the bridge on Persiaran Taman Cantik

This trail has a lot of forks. If in doubt, ask the motorcyclists or people in the farms along the way and they'll point you on your way. Just keep going straight most of the way. The paths are narrow as you can see in the picture below.

Narrow path all the way up (some parts are cement, some part dirt)

Keep going straight along the trail until you come to this fork here, with a silver-ish signboard. Follow the arrow and go left here.

Turn left here, there's a small signboard with a red arrow

Walk along the slopes and in a few minutes, you will see another "landmark". A red umbrella. From a closer distance, this looks like an "open air" kitchen. Anyway, you will walk past this.

You'll see the red umbrella after a short climb

You will know you're on the right track when you come to this altar. This means you're on the right track. Keep walking ahead.

Go past this little praying place next

There will be some steep ups and downs along the path. Keep going and you'll come to this temple. This place has a good view of Penang. You might want to rest and enjoy the peacefulness here. When you're ready, just keep going ahead.

View from the temple 

Keep going on you'll come to the Middle Train Station

After the temple, keep going straight along the paths until you come to the Middle Train Station. If you've hiked enough, you can take the train up to the top of the hill for sightseeing or down to the foot of the hill. if you're feeling adventurous, I'd say, hike on to the top! There are two ways up from the Middle Train Station that I've tried, one is through the farm trails and one through the "designated hiking trail".

Links :

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Farm Trails]

Fitness Adventure : Hiking Up Penang Hill [From Middle Train Station via Designated Hiking Trail]

Good Food Friday : Ssambap Korean Restaurant, Krystal Point, Penang

My favourite lunch place! I always leave this place feeling satisfied and happy! They've a good lunch menu for RM19.90++ (RM23.20 including tax and all). This set includes choice of 1 meat dish (barbecue), side dishes (refillable), rice, soup and choice of 1 drink (coke or green tea).

I've had the lunch set a few times and have tried the fried pork, grilled pork belly and bulgogi. If you're here with friends, you can order different types and share so all of you get to try all 3 types.

The types of sides dishes vary. Each time, they will serve 9 types. The 5 times I was here, they served kimchi (cabbage), brocolli, fishcake, anchovies, beansprouts and the potato salad. They other side dishes vary. There's seaweed, sausages, celery, pickled radish, and kimchi(cucumber) which I remember eating.

 I usually order the stir-fry pork now that I've tried all 3 types of meat they offer for the set meal. It is always well cooked and tasty. The sauce is really absorbed by the meat. The hot plate keeps it warm throughout the meal. I like wrapping this in the lettuce leaves with some kimchi and a slice of garlic. The garlic they give is really good, spicy like chilli.

The grilled pork belly is good too. That would taste best with the sauces and garlic provided, wrapped in lettuce leaves with some kimchi. I prefer the stir fried pork as there is more "kick" to the taste. I tried some bulgogi too but the smell was too strong for me to handle. I prefer beef with as little smell as possible.

The soup should be bean paste soup. It's really taste! There's vegetable slices in it. There used to be some clams the first two times I was there but I've not seen clams in the soup lately. Rice is normal, nothing to shout about. And the hot green tea which I prefer, over coca cola, when eating korean food.

Lunch at Ssambap always makes me happy and satisfied. The set might be a tad too much for smaller eaters. Smaller eaters can always opt for something else on the menu and try some of the meat those with bigger appetites order. 

To those who want to try Ssambap, it is at the Krystal Suites Block, at the Dominos side. They also have a branch at all seasons place. 

Samsung S7 Edge Back Camera and Photography

With the Samsung Note 7 out, there are 3 Samsung phones with the same camera specifications! The Samsung S7, Samsung S7 Edge and the Samsung Note 7. The back camera of these phones are 12 Megapixel Cameras with f/1.7 aperture and 1.4µm dual-pixels. There are many reviews out there about these cameras. Also, countless tutorials already on how to make full use of the camera's capabilities. Here's a link to one, on trustedreviews.com. I found the review and tutorial on this one to be pretty good and accurate. The lens is really good for macro close-up shots. It's true that it's not so good for portraits, I've tried and have yet to get the effect I want.

I have to admit, I watched many reviews on youtube and read many reviews on blogs and websites before deciding to buy the S7 Edge. I needed to have a good camera on my phone. I like how the camera focuses fast and also the macro shots I've been taking. I mean, bees and butterflies the size of my fingernail have been photographed beautifully using the S7 Edge. I was able to capture the "furry-ness" of the butterfly, the beautiful blue tone on its body and the little black dots on its tiny wings. The white strips on its antenna are clear too. The flower bud the butterfly is on is just about half a centimeter long. That's how macro we can go with the S7 edge.

Butterfly the size of my fingernail (added my fav phrase to this picture using photo director app)

Having the Pro Mode really helps. The focusing is accurate when set manually using the Pro Mode. Most of the time, I have the Shutterspeed, ISO and White Balance on Auto. I play with the Focusing a lot and quite a bit on exposure as well. To capture the butterfly, I had the focus set to the closest possible. The background is clearly blurred out while the butterfly is clear. The S7 edge has really good depth of field effect, especially for macro shots.

I went to the Botanical Gardens, Penang to look for bees or butterflies to photography. I tried out fast shutterspeed settings with higher ISO to try and capture bees mid-flight, not much luck there yet. I've uploaded a number of photos on my nature (mostly flowers) gallery on Instagram (@cherishedshots). You're welcome to browse through them to see what the S7 Edge can do. It probably can do even better if I were a better photographer.

My first try(on any camera) with a slower shutterspeed setting to capture the light streaks as the cars zoomed down the road. Lots of room for improvement on my part but definitely a fun thing to try out. It is definitely possible for slow shutterspeed photography with the S7 Edge Camera.

Cars zooming past

There are other good phone cameras out there. I just find the S7 Edge Camera to suit my style of photography so I'm really happy with it. There are good reviews on the Huawei P9 camera and also the LG Phone Cameras. Interested in buying the Samsung S7 Edge or other phones? PM EricaYinAdventures on Facebook (for Penang-ites only).

Pulau Tikus, Penang, Malaysia

I've been living in this area for more than 10 years. What to eat? How to get around? What to see? 

5 must try foods in Pulau Tikus

1) Bee Hooi O'Chien (Fried Osyter)

2) Bee Hooi Chicken Porridge

3) Mee Goreng (at the stall at the corner shop opposite the polic station)

4) Roti Canai (Mohd Raffee at night) 

5) Laksa (corner coffee shop opposite Penang Chinese Girls High School)

How to get around?

Take the Pulau Tikus Loop bus. This is a free shuttle which starts at Jalan Kelawei between Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon. It's really convenient for Pulau Tikus folks and tourists staying in the G-Hotel..If you time it right, you can take this bus around Pulau Tikus to get to all the shops in the 5 must try foods list in Pulau Tikus.The Pulau Tikus Loop bus passes by Adventist and Gleneagles Hospitals so it's convenient if you're here for healthcare purposes as well.

See the rapid bus parked here? This is the Pulau Tikus Loop bus. 

I took a panaroma short of the the area where the bus is parked so you'd have a better idea. I would say it's nearer to G-Hotel Kelawei and Gurney Paragon than to Gurney Plaza.

Zoom in to the bus. Free Pulau Tikus Loop is displayed on the side of the bus. 

 The 'Pulau Tikus Loop' words actually loops on the display on the side of the bus. You'd still be able to see clearly that it is the Pulau Tikus Loop bus though. And FREE is displayed at the front, back and side of the bus. Other Rapid Penang busses going through Pulau Tikus have numbers displayed.

'FREE' shown on the back of the bus. Yes, there are free-bus rides in Penang!

What to see?

Other than Pokestops, the temples on Burmah Lane actually has beautiful designs, worthy of a visit and also if you're into photography or architecture, these temples are a must see. In the mornings, the peaks of these temples' roofs look beautiful against the blue sky and white clouds when the weather is good.

The Pulau Tikus area may not be as tourist-y as the town area but it's not less interesting. If you're visitng Penang and are staying at G-Hotel or any other hotel along Gurney Drive, you might want to consider trying the Pulau Tikus loop. Start from Gurney Paragon(next to G-hotel), you can take the bus and alight opposite Island Plaza. Cross over to Island Plaza, continue walking down the road and you'd arrive at Straits Quay. Come back to the bus stop to take the Pulau Tikus Loop bus, and alight once the bus passes the Penang Chinese Girls High School traffic lights. Cross the road to the Laksa coffee shop. After eating, take the bus again and loop back to Gurney Paragon. 

Drop a comment below or email me if you need more information about what to see in Pulau Tikus. I'll be glad to help if I can. I'll be posting pictures soon. Hopefully I'll manage to find time to take pictures of the bus stops and the coffee shops with the 5 must try foods to help you recognize them better. 

Good Food Friday : Restaurant Waka Waka

If you're thinking of where to eat, try Waka Waka at Sungai Ara.

Food Type : African Style (I guess)
Variety : Limited (mostly chicken)
Price : $$
Drinks Orders : Not Compulsory
Air-Conditioning : Yes
Parking : Lots of parking lots around the shoplots where the restaurant is located.

On the day I was here, there was a whiteboard at the entrance beside the door, with Lunch and Tea Break Promotion. You can always take a look at this for promotions to help you decide if you'd like to eat here.

Waka Waka Lunch and Tea Break Promotion

This restaurant has a nice environment. The design is minimalistic and the colours are pleasing to the eyes. I came in here planning to buy the food and "takeaway" to eat at home. I changed my mind when I stepped into the restaurant.  There is a "green wall" with flowers and the other walls have a geometrical pattern which is pleasing to the eyes. 

After ordering, the first thing served was the milkshake. It was thick and milky Just like how a milkshake should be. The cup has the words Waka Waka and It's time for Africa. Yup! So the restaurant has an African theme. 

Waka Waka Milkshake

Grilled chicken with salad and rice. This was supposed to be eaten with the super spicy chilli. I did not take a liking to the chicken. It was a bit red at the bone too. The outer layer of meat was tender but nothing outstanding here.

Now the burger is a different story altogether. It was made perfectly. The meat was tender and juicy. Amazing. I really recommend trying the burger if you come to this restaurant. It may not have been life changing, like how in-and-out burger was for me but yummylicious all the same. 

I definitely preferred the burger to chicken set. The burger was filling and tasty. I could have done without the fries but the fries were fried right too and I enjoyed eating them. I was really full after the meal. 

Then came dessert. Dessert was good though it looks normal in the picture. I guess they could make it look tastier with a different method of serving. It's a real chocolate lava cake. I recommend this! Even though my tummy was filled with burger and fries, I could somehow find room for the dessert. 

Location : Sungai Ara, Penang

Address : 2D-1 Tingkat Kenari 6, Sungai Ara, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang

Link to google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/QWJamqu2tHz

Opening hours : 11AM - 9:30PM Daily (closed on Wednesdays)

Waka Waka

Have you tried the food at Waka Waka? What's your verdict?