MALAYSIA
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – WEST COAST •• Pulau Penang Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotelsgardens, an old-fashioned kiosk, a restaurant
and a hotel, as well as a lavishly decorated
Hindu temple and a mosque at the top.
From Kompleks Komtar or at Lebuh
Chulia in Georgetown, you can catch one of
the frequent local buses (201, 202 or 203) to
Air Itam. From Air Itam, walk five minutes
to the funicular railway (adult/child RM4/3
one way, 30 minutes, every 15 to 30 min-
utes from 6.30am to 9.30pm), where long
queues may await. Those who feel energetic
can get to the top by an interesting three-
hour trek, starting from the Moon Gate at
the Botanical Gardens, or, if you’re really
fit, hike through the forest from the upper
funicular station to Teluk Bahang, 6.6km
away (around five hours).
Kek Lok Si Temple (h9am-6pm), the largest
Buddhist temple in Malaysia, stands on a
hilltop at Air Itam. Construction started in
1890, took more than 20 years and was largely
funded by donations. To reach the entrance,
walk through the souvenir stalls until you
reach the seven-tier, 30m-high Ban Po Thar (Ten
Thousand Buddhas Pagoda; admission RM2). There are
several other temples here, as well as shops
and an excellent vegetarian restaurant (% 828
8142; mains from RM5; hlunch & dinner Tue-Sun), while
a cable-car (one way/return RM4/2) whisks you to
the highest level, presided over by an awe-
some 36.5m-high bronze statue of Kuan Yin,
goddess of mercy.Botanical Gardens
The lush, 30- hectare Botanical Gardens (% 227
0328; http://www.jkb.penang.gov.my; Waterfall Rd; admission
free; h5am-8pm) has an orchid house, palm
house, bromeliad house, cactus garden
and numerous tropical trees, all labelled in
English. The most famous tree is the cannon-
ball tree, which produces large pink flowers
that eventually form stinking fruits about
the size and shape of a human head. You
can get all your kooky horticultural ques-
tions answered at the Plant Information Kiosk
(h8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri).
To get here, take Bus 102. There’s also a path
that leads to/from the top of Penang Hill.Batu Ferringhi
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Following the coastal road east will lead you
to Batu Ferringhi, Penang’s best beach area,
which is lined with resorts at one end and
guest houses at the other. While it doesn’tcompare with Malaysia’s east coast beaches or
those on Langkawi, the sleepy village ambi-
ence at the eastern end of the beach is a lovely
respite. An increasing amount of folks from
the Gulf States stay at the resorts – you’re
likely see men walking shirtless next to women
in full chador and veil on the beach.
Low-key guest houses are clustered to-
gether opposite the beach, and most will give
discounts for multiday stays. ET Budget Guest
House (%881 1553; 47 Batu Ferringhi; r RM25-60; a) is
a laid-back double-storey Chinese house with
basic rooms, most with a shared bathroom.
The pricier rooms come with air-con, TV
and shower. Livelier is Baba Guest House (% 881
1686; [email protected]; 52 Batu Ferringhi; r
RM30-60; a), a big Chinese family home with
plain rooms (most with shared bathrooms)
that’s a hive of activity with sister at recep-
tion, grandma doing laundry, dad fixing the
plumbing and so on.
Bus 101 or 105 from Kompleks Komtar
takes around 40 minutes to reach Batu
Ferringhi and costs RM3.Teluk Bahang
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There’s not enough beach at the sleepy fish-
ing village of Teluk Bahang for any resorts
to crop up, so the main thing to do is tool
around the 2300-hectare Penang National Park
(Taman Negara Pulau Pinang). The area en-
compasses white, sparkling beaches that are
devoid of humans but popular with mon-
keys, and has some challenging trails through
the jungle. Start at the Penang National Park
Office (%881 3500; end of Jln Hassan Abbas; h8am-
4.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon & 2-4pm Sat & Sun) for maps
and suggestions.
If you want to stay the night, stop at Miss
Loh’s Guest House (%885 1227; off Jln Teluk Bahang;
dm/s/d from RM8/15/30; a), a ramshackle throw-
back to the good ol’ days of long-term back-
packing. To find the guest house, look for a
store on Teluk Bahang’s main street that says
‘GH Information.’
Fisherman Village Guest House (%885 2936; 60
Jln Hassan Abbas, Kampong Nelayan; dm/d from RM7/18;
a) isn’t quite as laid-back as Miss Loh’s, but
is still just the sort of garden spot to fully
immerse yourself in some indolent idleness.
Bus 101 runs from Georgetown every
half-hour all the way along the north coast
of the island to just beyond the roundabout
in Teluk Bahang.468