Penang, Malasian mystery

We have today finally reached the island of Penang, our true first taste of the far east.

Penang has always been one of the most popular tourist destinations in Malaysia. With both an international airport along with a deep-water port, it has become one of the main gateways to the far east.

Penang's diverse, cosmopolitan society means that there is a great ethnic diversity in its population and this leads to many religious celebrations, and festivities in any given year.

Exploring the city, you find that Penang is home to a relatively wide variety of architectures, both historical and modern. The historical core of George Town has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Today i am taking the chance to ride the city’s funicular railway.

Visitors can enter the funicular railway at the Lower Station at Air Itam, with the final stop of the ride, being the Upper Station at the top of Penang Hill.

Since the 2010 upgrade, the train normally proceeds directly to the top without stopping at any of the Middle Stations.

The Upper Station has been upgraded with the construction of an extended viewing platform named Skywalk, an elevated walkway leading to a food court, as well as a lift, a cafe and a museum gallery. At the time of the visit, visitors can reach the station on the 204 Rapid Penang bus from George Town, Penang.

The views from the skywalk can be truly stunning, even in poor wheather conditions.

One of the marvels you cannot miss, particularly if arriving by sea, is the second Penang Bridge which spans 24km linking the island to the mainland. The bridge was opened in 2014 and is currently the longest bridge in Southeast Asia.

I am pleasently suprised by this region of Malaysia, as i did not expect it to impress me much. But it has impressed me in ways i did not expect.