Think Penang's food, Think Gurney Drive. Gurney Drive is a popular seafront promenade in George Town, Penang. The road is also one of the Penang most popular tourist destination. It is around 2km long and lined with opened-air cafes, condominium, 5 stars hotel and high class restaurants. Not to forget, the most popular Gurney Drive's Food Court or Hawker Centre.
Gurney Drive
Other than food, Gurney Drive also have stunning view of the sea. Locals take their morning walk or jog here. Or just enjoying the cold sea breeze. Other than that, Gurney Plaza, which is located here, is the best shopping mall in Penang for great shopping experience.
Hawker Stalls
If talking about the trademark of Penang local food, Gurney Drive is definately one of it. At here, visitor can find hundreds of food stalls which selling derent kind of Penang local food. The fact is people loves to come here, because there are large amount of food available here.
Penang War Museum, originally is a large military defences fortress built in the 1930's by the British to protect the island from the invasion of enemies. This complicated fort has all the features of a typical defence facilities with underground military tunnels and ammunition bunkers. It is located at Batu Maung Hill, southeast of the Penang Island.
During World War II, this fortress came under attacked and fell to the Japanese. It was then used as a Japanese army base where interrogation and torture of prisoners for information were conducted here. When the Japanese invaded in December 1941, it became a prisoner of war camp. It is dubbed Bukit Hantu (Ghost Hill / Haunted Hill) because hundreds of people brought there were beheaded.
Being labelled as a place of horror due to the cruelty of war, this hill was deserted after the War in 1945. It was abandoned for years until it was being cleared off and turned into War Museum by Johari Shafie and opened to the public in 2002. This museum is located on a hill and you will be able to see the Straits of Melaka as well as the surrounding areas from here.
View from the War Museum
Inside the War Museum, it houses canon-firing bay, anti-aircraft firing bays, sleeping quarters for soldiers, cookhouse, prison ad command centre. There are numerous underground tunnels in this fortress. Much of what you see today is very much in the same condition as when it was built.
Huge canon gun can be seen at the compound of the museum.
Anti-aircraft Gun
The ruin of the canon foundation and the surrounding.
The underground tunnel is well preserved until today.
Chinese temple is another prime tourist destination in Penang. Penang has the most historical and the oldest architectural Chinese temple. There are plenty of Chinese temple due to Chinese is the majority race in Penang. The temple are so famous until believer from all around the world come to visit and pray.
Kek Lok Si Temple
Kek Lok Si Temple
The Kek Lok Si Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Air Itam, Penang. It is the best known temples on the Penang Island. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia.
The construction of the temple began in 1890. The primary benefactor of the Kek Lok Si Temple in 1906 was Kapitan Chung Keng Quee.
Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas
In 1930, the seven storey main pagoda of the temple or the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas, was completed.
The bronze Kuan Yin Statue
In 2002, a 30.2m bronze statue of the Kuan Yin was completed and opened to public. The bronze statue is located on the hillside above the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. From 2005 to 2009, an ornate shelter for the Kuan Yin statue was constructed. 16 carved dragon pillars were built, carrying the top of three concentric octogonals roof.
Fort Cornwallis is an old star-shaped fort located on the northeast coast in Penang. It is named after the late 18th century Governor-General, Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis. Fort Cornwallis is the largest standing fort in Malaysia and it has become one of Penang's prime tourist attractions today.
History
In 1804, Colonel R.T Farquhar, Governor of Penang build the fort with bricks and stones. The fort was used as defense against the pirates, amry of Kedah and the French during the Napoleonic Wars. The building is the earliest roofed structure surviving in Penang from the colonial era.
Attraction
The old cannons
Seri Rambai Cannon, Fort Cornwallis.
The old cannons decorated the fort. The largest cannon is the Seri Rambai Cannon.
Batu Feringgi, also known as Foreigner's Rock, is a famous tourish's beach area in Penang. Along this area, there are large number of hotels, resorts, restaurants and souvenirs stores. There are also plenty of watersport activities can be played here.
Batu Feringgi is located adjecent to Teluk Bahang to Tanjung Bungah with miles of white sand and palm trees.
View of Penang Bridge and Georgetown from Penang Hill
Penang Hill, locally known as Bukit Bendera by the Malay, which refers to Flagstaff Hill, the most developed peak. Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peak in Penang and mainly hilly granitic mass. Other than Penang Hill, there are a number of peak such as Bukit Laksamana, Tiger Hill, Flagstaff Hill, Government Hill and Western Hill, the highest point 833 m (2,723 ft) above sea level.
Penang Hill has been a popular holiday destination. It is about 6 km from the city centre of George Town. There are a number of bangalows were built around Flastaff Hill. The lower terrain of the Hills is used mainly for agricultural and residential purposes.
The most convenient way to the Penang Hill is by the Penang Hill Railway, a funicular railway from Air Itam to the top of Flagstaff Hill. It is also a popular hiking route. It begins at the entrance of the Penang Botanic Gardens and it takes two or three hour hike to reach the top of the hill. Station Eighty Four is the last pit stop before the top of Penang Hill, another forty five minutes.
Penang Bridge, connect Seberang Prai on the mainland of Peninsula Malaysia and Gelugor of the Penang Island. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km, making it the 3rd longest bridge in the world and a national landmark of Malaysia.
History
Early 1970s, The second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak, suggested the idea to built a bridge linking Seberang Prai and Penang Island.
Late 1970s, The third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn, started to plan for the Penang Bridge.
1982, the contruction of Penang Bridge officially began.
1985, the Penang Bridge is officially opened to public for trafficing.
The bridge was designed by a well known local civil engineer, Professor Chin Fung Kee, who is a Penang resident as well.
Overview
Penang Bridge has a capacity of handling 85,00 vihicles. Currently, there are 65,00 vichicles handle by the Penang Bridge daily.
Penang Bridge originally had 4 lanes. There was a widening project due to the increasing of traffic on the bridge. The bridge had 6 lanes currently after the windening project completed in late 2009.
George Town, capital of Penang, is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island. The estimated area size of this city is 150km2 (about 58.59 sq mi) with 200,000 population.
History
George Town, named after Britain's King George III, was founded by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company in year 1786. The island was use as base for the company in the Malay States. After he obtain the island from the Sultanof Kedah, he built Fort Cornwallis on the north-eastern corner of the island. Fort Cornwallis is one of the famous tourist destination nowadays.
Fort Cornwallis, the first British settlement on Penang.
The town was first built on swampy land. In the year 1804, the fort became the nexus of a growing trading post and the island's population reached 12,000. By the 1880s, a new waterfront was created at Weld Quay. The commercial centre was segmented into the banking and the trading areas related to the port activities such as the shipping companies, the import and export trading companies and the wholesalers who dominate the southen section Beach Street (one of the Penang's commercial street) until now.
On 7 July 2008, George Town officially recognized internationally by UNESCO World Heritage Site as having unique architecture and cultural townscape in Asia Pacific, together with Malacca, the oldest and most historical city in Malaysia.
The tricolor flag features vertical stripes of equal width with an areca nut tree on the white center panel. Light blue represents the sea surrounding the island; white stands for its serenity and yellow signifies prosperity. Pulau Pinang (Penang Island) derives its name from the areca nut tree, called Pokok Pinang in Malay.
State Anthem
Selamat Tuhan kurniakan
Selamat Pulau Pinang
Negeriku yang mulia
Kutaat dan setia
Aman dan bahagia
Majulah jayalah
Negeriku yang kucinta
Bersatu dan bersama
Untuk negeri kita
Do you heard about Penang before? Well if you are local, you must have heard about this island. Maybe some of you who are non local, I shall start with Penang's history.
Penang, is one of the most historical state in Malaysia after Malacca.
Penang
The Name: Penang
Back to 15th century, A famous admiral of Ming dynasty from China on his expedition to the South Seas pass by here, where he name current Penang island as Binlang Yu and mark this in his navigation drawing. This is how Penang known by the world.
Mean while, sailor from Goa, fifteen-century Portuguese often made stopovers on this island where they name as Pulo Pinaom, on their route to Spice Islands, currently known as Maluku Islands located in Indonesia.
On the trading sea-route between Lingga and Kedah, Pulau Ka-satu or "First Island" named by Early Malays was the largest island encountered in between the trading sea.
The name "Penang", or Pulau Piang, is come from the modern Malay of Malaysia. The meaning of the name is come a plant which u will see everywhere in Penang, Areca Nut Palm, a family of Palmae tree.
Penang also often known by the world as "The Pearl of the Orient" and "Penang Island of Pearls".
