Finally back to share with you all my itinerary for my Penang trip in May 2017. Felt so blessed to have traveled 4 times before the year even ends. Went to Desaru in January, Penang in May, Japan in July, Melbourne in August. This makes me tempted to go solo traveling after graduation!
Will share with you guys my itinerary for Japan, Osaka in my upcoming posts!(: Now let me share with you on my planning for the Penang trip. Do note that I'm not sponsored for any of the food/ places I'm sharing! Frankly, I feel Penang is a really affordable and nice place to visit for Singaporeans who have short leave/ vacation! I booked 5D4N accommodation after much deliberation but honestly 4D3N was sufficient as Penang is a pretty small island. I simply wanted to make my air ticket worth and spent more days since accommodation there is really cheap! Read on to find out on the details!
By plane or coach?
I honestly wanted to, as usual, go on a budget trip. So taking a coach was initially my plan. This trip almost didn't happen cos my mother did not want to 'live' in a coach for 10 hours (time taken for the coach to reach Penang from SG) although it cost only about $35-40 per pax, the reviews for the coach didn't convince my mother to take it (passengers complained about rude drivers who didn't bother to ensure everyone was onboard before departing the customs, bed bugs on the seats, uncomfortable and dirty buses, etc.) and the flights were so expensive when I was planning for the trip in April.
But, thank god, 1 week before our scheduled trip, Jetstar was on sale, and guess how much I paid for the round trip tickets? 100 per pax? NOPE, it was only $65!
Do note I didn't purchase check-in luggage (so I only had a 7kg handcarry- think that's sufficient unless you intend to bring back liquid products?) (TIP: Rmb to not pack in your toiletries like shampoo and shower gel unless it's packed in 100ml bottles- otherwise you'll have to say goodbye to them even before boarding the plane)
Although it was ~$30 more than taking the coach, taking into account the amount of time you save (from taking plane VS coach), it is actually extremely worth it!! The flight was only 1h 30min (but it took shorter than expected, we arrived in about 1h 15min)
But do note, the timing for the flight isn't the most ideal as we arrived in Penang at 9pm. This meant, 1 day has been 'wasted' and you basically just head to the hotel to sleep after arriving.
Accommodation
There is a wide variety of hotels you can choose from but Armenian Street Heritage Hotel attracted me due to their attractive price and decent location!
I paid ~$35-38 per night stay and overall the hotel was super worth the price paid! The only downside is that you should pray you don't get a room with the air conditioning installed in the room. Felt that was such a major architectural flaw. The room that we first got had a mini room to house the compressor, so when we turned on the air conditioning, the whole room sounded like an enclosed helipad.
The staff were really kind when we requested for a change in room and kindly explained to us that the only room available for the night as a replacement room is a Double bed room (which was 3/4 the size of the previous room) instead of a Twin room which we booked. But since we value a comfortable sleep on our first night, we agreed to sleep there for that night (but we eventually switched back to a twin room on the 2nd night onwards).
The room comes with an ensuite bathroom, which had all the toiletries you needed, a cupboard to hang your clothes, luggage stand. I was just hoping there would be bathroom slippers (cos we only brought one pair of slippers so we had to take turns just to walk around the room to do whatever we needed to do)
The location was convenient as it was just a 5-10 minute walk to Chulia Street (which had the amazing night life every tired Singaporeans need- with amazing lok lok and other food options too). There was also a busstop directly opposite the hotel (but we didn't take the bus at all as most places are walkable distance from the hotel).
Itinerary
Do refer to the itinerary I have below. I did not follow it 100%, as I altered it based on weather conditions (it was raining crazy on one of the days). Some of these places are recommended by my friend who is a Penangite.
Day 1
6pm Arrive
at Changi Airport for dinner
7.30pm Flight
3K677
9pm Arrival
at Penang - Take Uber (RM15) (About 30 minute drive)
Check-in
hotel (Armenian Street Heritage Hotel)
10.30pm Explore
and head to Chulia Street Night Hawker
Day 2
7am Rise
and Shine
7.30am Breakfast:
Roti Canai @ Transfer Road (Business hours: 6am-2pm)
9am Lebuh
Kimberly Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng (RM5) (Go early, lunch time) and Kimberley
Street Char Koay Kak (opens 7 - 11am)
10am Penang
Wonderfood museum (RM20 per pax using discount coupon)
12pm Lunch
at Joo Hooi Café (has all different food, outside has popular chendol)
1pm Explore
all murals (use the map provided from airport)
3pm Prangin
Mall, 1st Avenue Mall, Komtar Mall, Gama Supermarket and departmental store (behind Komtar mall)
5pm 888
Hokkien Mee (Lebuh Presgrave)
Day 3
6am Rise
and Shine
6.30am Head
to Penang Hill (Via bus 201 from Komtar or Uber)
11am Try
Air Itam Assam Laksa (at foot of Kek Lok Si) and Lim Sisters Curry Mee (opens
until 1pm only)
12pm Head
to Kek Lok Si Temple thereafter
1pm Travel
back to George Town
2pm Ah
Leng Char Kuay Teow (Dato Keramat) (8.30am to 2.30pm)
3pm Head to Cecil Street Market and Hawker Centre
(Behind Komtar) (Must try Duck Kuay Teow Theng)
4pm Pinang
Peranakan Museum (Church Street)
5pm Lebuh
Macallum Pasar Malam
Day 4
7am Take
pictures at Clan Jetties (Chew Jetty)
9am Cheong
Fatt Sze Mansion (blue house)
Kimberly
Street Duck Koay Chap (opens 6 – 11pm)
Tua
Pui Curry Mee (Kimberley Street) (9am – 5.30pm) Closed on Wednesdays
Ban Heang Bakery
Ming Xiang Tai egg tarts (To buy back!)
Reclining Buddha Wat Chaiyamangalaram and Dharmmikarama Burmese Temple
Gurney Plaza
Gurney Drive Hawker Centre for dinner
Day 5
8am Wake
up
Final moments in Penang
Chowrasta Market
Try the famous Char Kway Teow (directly opposite hotel)
7pm Leave
for Airport
7.45pm Need
to reach airport
9.45pm Flight
3K678
11.10pm Arrival
@ Changi Airport
I'll upload some photos in my next post! So do keep a lookout!!(: Oh yes, if any of you is wondering, I did not purchase SIM card or Wifi. It was honestly a bit of a torture as we are all so reliant on internet these days. I still managed to get around Penang without much trouble (except when I had to book an Uber back to the hotel - had to search for Mcdonald's in the malls in order to book one)
Regards,
Rachel
