Exploring Penang Hill -- Some Tips
This isn’t going to be the most useful of posts, but I wanted to write something while it was fresh and I had a moment while the babies napped.
Yesterday we went to Penang Hill. I had heard that it can be about ten degrees cooler and thought it would be good to know what that was like.
And, yes, it is definitely cooler and gives a pretty nice view. It’s a typical tourist attraction, complete with a fun but out of place miniature zip-line for kids. It was hard to find a good place to really enjoy the view and the incredible lush greenery. I had hoped to find more of it. But here were some takeaways that could be helpful for a traveller with kids:
Add mosquito repellent
We haven’t been wearing either mosquito repellent or the handful of clothes we did treat with premetherin (which I do highly recommend doing). Away from the city, there are alot more plants and, particularly near the restaurant at the top, still water, there’s lots of mosquitos.
Bring extra cash - RM$35 per adult for the funicular
Good thing we brought it, but I was totally expecting to pay with a credit card. They do accept it, but their dial-in wasn’t working. This has happened before (for us, it was at Seven Terraces, another surprising location for something like this).
Hm, nothing much else I can think of. We went and had tea with scones and jam at the restaurant at the top at David Brown’s. Perfectly fine. Couldn’t really sit in the garden area because of the said mosquitos, and it is only really there you can see the incredible view of Penang.
It was worth going once but I don’t think it will be the haven from Georgetown I was originally hoping that it would be.
What is interesting is the ride up gives you a view of Penang’s mountainside that is very different from what you see in the city. Not only in terms of luscious greenery, but the types of housing scattered along the hill, connected with poorly maintained roads.