Penang
A beautiful island on the west north side of Malaysia with George Town as the biggest city. The island is colorful and has a completely different vibe then the rest of Malaysia. Switch between city life and island/nature life and enjoy some days here.
National park
The national park of Penang is all the way to the west of the island. You can take a bus for 1 hour or take a grab for 45 minutes. The bus is a lot cheaper 3,70 ringgit compared to a grab of 30 ringgit but it really depends on how comfortable you would like to travel. When you arrive at the national park everyone want to sell boat rides to you. You can take a boat ride back and forth to different beaches but of course they all have different prices. Most important thing you have to know is that entering the national park will cost you 50 ringgit which is a fee you have to pay for entering the park. We did a hike through the park for 1,5 hours to Kerachut beach where they also have the turtle conservation. We didn't book a boat ticket back but we arranged that on the spot at the beach, it saved us a lot of money! We only paid 20 ringgit each instead of renting a whole boat for 100/200 ringgit in total. So don't rent a boat up front if you are planning on hiking through the national park. Were good shoes and bring enough water with you because it is extremely hot in the park
Kek Lok Si temple
Kek Lok Si temple is a temple just 20 minutes out of the centre of Georgetown and is a combination of a Chinese and Hindu temple. The temple is beautifully decorated with different colors and details and has many different flower gardens spread around the premises. The first part of the temple is all free and lovely to just wander around there. If you want to go to the big tower you have to pay 2 ringgit (€0,40) and you can even go up all the way in the tower. Have a beautiful view over the temple and also parts of Georgetown. All the photo lovers, this is an amazing place to make some beautiful pics to make some people jealous.
Penang hill
Penang hill is just 20 minutes outside the centre of Georgetown and it is really easy to just take a grab there. When you arrive you have two options to go up. You can walk which is around 1,5 hours (watch out for some stray dogs) or you can take the train up for 30 ringgit (€6,00). The train is actually really nice and goes pretty quickly. We thought that there wasn't that much to do on Penang hill but we were completely wrong! You can see a mosque and a Hindu temple up there. You can do a skywalk and enjoy the beautiful view over Georgetown, you can find a lot of cute monkeys there, have a nice drink or something to eat and you can walk around to visit some different garden's. Almost everything up on the hill is free so it really is a nice way to spend a afternoon there. Even better is to go first to the botanical garden and from there you can walk to the Penang hill with free acces and it is a small walk from the garden to the hill.
Street art
One of the famous things to see in Georgetown is the different street art all around the city. They have two types of street art, the old ones and the new metal ones. The new ones tell you more about the history of Georgetown and are a lot of fun to watch and read. The old ones are only in one area in the town and are amazing to make pictures with. When you stay at House of Journey they have a map for you with all the different spots for watching the street art throughout Georgetown. Have fun with walking around!
Breakfast places
When you are staying in Penang/Georgetown for a few days you definitely have to try out these two breakfast places. Many options and all very delicious!
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The mugshot cafe is less then 1 min walk from House of Journey hostel and has bagels, croissants, muffins and many more delicious things for brekkie. You can try out different things every morning so just give it a shot.
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Yin's Sourdough Bakery is a really nice place for a big brekkie. They have different types of bread with salmon, eggs Benedict and many more different things to make your breakfast very delicious. Ooh and the lemon ice tea is also really good there!
House of Journey
House of Journey is a social hostel in the vibrant area of Georgetown on the island of Penang. Maximum amount of people in a room is 6 and plenty of space for you stuff in the room. Beds were okay but very clean and also the bathrooms were nice and clean. For any questions the staff is more then happy to help you and give you tips about what to do on the island. The hostel is located near to different good places for food and going out in the evening. It is also within a 10 min walk from little India, Jetty, the street art and many more nice neighborhoods that you can discover. A bed in a mixed dorm for 6 people is around €9,00.
