I’m not going to lie, eating and roaming around looking at all the street art were my two, absolute favorite activities in George Town. That is not to say that there was nothing else to do though. Penang offered a wide range of activities, and I did manage to fit in three of the more popular ones (with the addition of the Blue Mansion which I have already written about). So if you find yourself looking for even more to do in George Town, consider checking out Batu Ferringhi Beach, the Clan Jetties along Weld Quay, and Penang Hill. 

Batu Ferringhi Beach 

I hadn’t planned on going to the beach in Penang, not with Thailand just around the corner. But the girl I’d befriended was eager to get her beach time in before heading back to Shanghai for work. Of course I wasn’t going to turn down the beach either, not in a million years. So I went up to the room to grab my things and invited the new girl who was just arriving to join us.

We decided to attempt the local bus, which cost us 3 ringgit each ($0.75 US), and took an hour. The journey out of George Town was a bumpy one, as the bus was standing room only and the driver didn’t know any other way of applying the brakes besides slamming on them. Once we were out of the main town though, some seats opened up, allowing us to merely slide forward with every brake slam instead of almost toppling into the other commuters. 

We debarked at the Holiday Inn stop, not a moment too soon, and crossed the street. At the sight of the ocean, I ripped off my shoes and went running joyously down to the water. There was the ocean, so close that I couldn’t wait another second. The other girls laughed. I felt the warm water on my feet. Ahh warmth. Of course Malaysia was so swelteringly hot that I didn’t really need any more warmth, but the water temperature was so welcoming after freezing my butt off in Oman’s waters. Oh how I had dreamt about this feeling those entire two months . This was my happy place. The sand between my toes and the feeling of the salt water nourishing my skin made me wonder for a moment why I was on this crazy journey around the region. I should have just planted myself on a beach with my dive gear. That’s where I belong. The moment was fleeting though. I’ve always wanted a proper, months-long backpacking trip. I didn’t actually regret it for a second. 

We watched the sun set, and wondered at a blue stripe interrupting the normal orange and red hues. One of the girls had seen that same stripe in Langkawi. I had no idea what might cause it. A lack of pollution? But then why the consistency over numerous sunsets? Surely the air moves around more than that? 

The beach actually wasn’t all that great as far as beaches go if I’m being perfectly honest. The sand was corse, too corse for one of the girls to walk on barefoot. And the water was brown. So unless Batu Ferringhi is your only chance to get your beach fix in, I wouldn’t put it at the top of your list of things to do. 

After the sun set, the Arab tourists emerged. The men dressed in normal beachwear, some even shirtless, while the women floated alongside them in black burqas with only their eyes showing.

Locals leading horses around tried to sell us rides, and after watching enough poo get scooped up off the sand, I wondered if I should be walking around barefoot. 

On the street parallel to the beach, a night market had set up. Normally we might have browsed around for a while, but hunger got the better of us and we rushed through until we found the food court. 

After dinner, we split a Grab back to George Town which was almost as inexpensive as the bus had been, and took half the time.

Clan Jetties Along Weld Quay 

My friend Tereza suggested one day that we visit the Clan Jetties, an activity that I was unaware of. That’s the wonderful thing about meeting new people while traveling, they introduce you to things that you might not have known about otherwise. 

The Clan Jetties were a village of houses on stilts over the water, built on boardwalks, and a fascinating place to to wander through. A quick walk down the main, narrow pathway was really all I needed though. I felt bad intruding into such an intimate space, as many of the homes within arm’s reach had their front doors open for the airflow, and signs to please not take any photos. This path was obviously set up for tourists though. The houses without signs had instead set up tables full of souvenirs to sell. Might as well take advantage of potential business coming directly to your doorstop. No commute to work necessary. 

At the end of the path, we emerged from the creaky wooden walkway onto a large cement clearing out in the middle of the water. This area was probably used as a jetty for smaller, local boats. We sat down and admired the view of the mainland’s skyline across the channel, then made our way to the food court, because all good days must end with an equally good meal. It is also worth mentioning that Anthony Bourdain himself once visited the food court at the Clan Jetties. I doubt he ordered the vegetarian dumplings that I found myself feasting on though. He probably went for something a little more authentic, but I didn’t see much authentic Malaysian food that was vegetarian besides the dumplings which had an interesting licorice flavor. 

Penang Hill 

Penang Hill seemed to be one of the most popular activities in George Town. The preferred route is via the hill’s Funicular Railway, which just happens to be the the steepest tunnel track in the world. It was originally constructed to give the British elite access to the cooler air at the top of the hill, and today is a popular activity for the same reason. 

Unfortunately the train was closed for its annual week of maintenance when I was there. That did not stop us though. My new friends (Sanne, Tereza, Franca) and I decided to hike the hill instead, which can be accomplished via several different well-established paths. We chose the one out of the Botanical Gardens. 

Signs in the Botanical Gardens pointed out the way to the path’s starting point, and we arrived at the base of a staircase to find numerous elderly locals in impressive shape making their way down. Apparently hiking the hill was their daily workout. How hard could it be? 

The locals out for their daily hikes were incredibly friendly, and smiled and stopped to ask where we were all from. Our group was made up of three Dutch girls, and myself the lone American. Many of them also had tidbits of helpful information to offer. “Rest stop 48 has drinks.” “Go to the top of this crest, maybe 200 more stairs, then down a little. Then right at the broken tree there is a waterfall.” 

We did try to check out the waterfall, which had a blue arrow pointing to a side path instead of the usual orange and red arrows that had marked the primary path. The blue path eventually forked, and both directions eventually led to rusty old trespassing signs. We continued a little ways past one of these, and eventually concluded that the waterfall could not easily be hiked down to. There was not much of a path past a certain point, and the steep ground was covered in a generous layer of recently fallen leaves that would have slid out from under our feet. We did, however, manage to catch a glimpse of it through the trees. 

At the rest stop that adjoined with the Jeep Road (oh yeah, four-wheelers were available for hire to drive you up and down the hill for 80 ringgit one way), a local told us not to use the next part of the trail, and to stay on the Jeep Road instead. So we walked that for a while, careful to keep well to the side, as the Jeeps seemed to have a terrifying game of racing up the road as fast as they possibly could. Luckily they would honk in warning before screeching around the corners. 

Eventually we reached a detailed sign for a trail named the Moniot Road. Eager to distance ourselves from the Jeeps, we opted to hike the rest of the way along that forest trail. 

Getting close!

The hike took us 3 hours from beginning to end. Apparently we were quite out of shape, because all of the locals at the top were happy to tell us that the hike was normally only an hour-and-a-half. 

Since the train was closed, all the activities up top were shut down as well. Normally Penang Hill offers a small variety of cheesy tourist attractions. We were mainly there for the view though, which was all the more rewarding having accomplished the hike ourselves. I didn’t feel like we were missing much with the selection of closed activities. 

The top of Penang Hill is also home to a Hindu temple (pictured here), a Muslim mosque, and a Christian church.

We had strategically timed our hike to coincide with watching the sun set from the top of the hill, but that was only partly successful. Our timing was right, we were just wrong in assuming that the sunset would be visible. Even though we were at the highest point, we found ourselves staring at the only patch of forest on the hilltop. 

On the hike up, we had been in disbelief that anyone would pay 80 ringgit to race to the top of the hill in a Jeep. Now that it was dark, and we knew the journey to be three hours by foot, the idea was sounding better and better. Plus split four ways the fee became slightly more reasonable. So we coughed up the sum and raced down the hill at a speed that made us wonder if we might go flying off the edge of the road at the next turn. 

And so concludes all the activities I accomplished in George Town. Have you ever been to this vibrant city? Have I missed something wonderful that is worth recommending? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments!