My Island Penang, Penang travel and tour guide. Get Penang travels tips from a local who loves her beautiful Malaysian island.

Welcome to My Island Penang, the loveliest destination for vacations in Malaysia. The Gateway to the Orient, Asia.

My Island Penang Travel Tour Guide will share with our wonderful state in Malaysia. If you look in the map of the world, you probably will not find it, maybe just a tiny little dot between big brother Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand in the north. Still, we are a BIG part of the Malaysian islands.

Pavilion Goddess of Mercy in Kek Lok Si Temple
Pavilion Goddess of Mercy, Kek Lok Si Penang

Make sure you arm yourself with a good map of Penang and scroll with me.The island where one can find evidence of rich colonial life right in the middle of Georgetown. We locals knows it as our living heritage city and a place of cultural fusion.

We may be one of the many Malaysian islands but we are simply THE BEST one! My Island Penang Travel tour guide is prepared for you by a REAL local lady, who is passionate about her island Penang.

That is why this travel tour guide covers a lot more then the usual tourist attraction in Penang or Malaysia. It contains everything I know, experienced, learned and revisited over the years.

Having lived here all my life, is it not better to get all this information from the horse's mouth? If you want to really feel part of the my island Penang, you have to embrace the culture, seep or drink with it for the time you are here.….. then you will not be disappointed.

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My Island Penang Updates
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Ti Kuih or Kuih Bakul ,Sticky and gluey Nyonya Ti Kuih that pleases the Kitchen God
Kuih Bakul or Kitchen God Food!
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Penang Chinese New Year 2007 story and photo report
We had a wonderful Chinese New Year celebration, a great start for the year 2007 and what a Chap Goh Meh to finish the fifteen day celebration, with nyonyas dancing the coconuts shells dance.
Here are some events we had ... and
a photo page
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Jom Pi Penang, relaxing way to get to Penang by rail,land and ferry
Jom Pi Penang
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Thaipusam 2007 story and photo report
In February Penang looks forward for Thaipusam,
one of the crowd puller events for the month.
First time, a VEL handling over ceremony was held in the Penang Thaipusam history
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Penang Food is not to be missed
Hokkien Mee, Char Koay Teow, Laksa, Rojak, Lor Bak to name a few are a die for food. If you have not eaten it, you have not tasted Penang, that is what you will be told. Street Food or hawker food are so cheap, your pockets won't be melted away.
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If you want a holiday that is more than just memorable, or a place you want to consider your second home one that will stay with you forever, then My Island Penang Travel Tour Guide will take you there and guide you from first hand experience.

Easy Penang Travels

There are several ways of coming into my island Penang. You either fly in where you will land in Bayan Lepas, then take a cab to the nearest hotels. Or alternatively, you can come by land. You can drive to Penang through the Penang Bridge or coming from the North or South of Malaysia, by rail or bus. You need to take the ferry from Butterworth if you coming by rail or in-bound buses. My island Penang warmly welcomes you to this part of the world!

Spectacular Penang Lion Dance

Getting in and around my island Penang is not difficult. Consider taking a bus or a trishaw, sit in our latest Penang buses, The Rapid and you can enjoy the air-con in the bus. If not, just hop into the local buses stretch your legs and enjoy the breeze as it takes you to the furthest point in Teluk Bahang or Balik Pulau. Cars are easily rented if you have an international driving license.

Top Best Penang Tours

But hey, take a scroll when you are in my island Penang. You are going to experience a spiritual life changing journey, as you round our street of harmony with the multiple facade of temples, churches, mosques.

Jade Emperor Temple, Penang Hill

We are modernized in many ways yet you can see quaint little buildings, streets and alley ways mushrooming around you as you walk by the streets of harmony in the heart of Georgetown.

Little Indian man bending down hard at work in the goldsmith shop next to Chinese kopi tiam (coffee shops) is a common sight in my island Penang. The temple looms over visitors with its prominent red roof, snarling dragons and lions.

The incense, smoke in the Chinese temples will make your eyes watery as you observed the devout or god fearing locals praying away on the 1st or 15th of the Chinese lunar month.

We have many Buddhist, Thai, Burmese, Taoist and Hindu temples all over my island Penang. You might even hear the calling of the five times prayers from the nearby mosque if you lived in the heart of Georgetown.

Churches sounding the bells can be heard if someone passed on in the neighborhood. Walk and tour our island's places of worship here. Then there is a snake temple or Admiral Zheng He's place where you will see his gigantic footprint. Georgetown in my island Penang was also listed by the World Monuments Watch as one of the World's Hundred Most Endangered Sites. My Island Penang is quickly losing its heritage character through modern renovations and defacement but it has not lost its charm.

Hotel Equatorial Bukit Jambul Penang
Hotel Equatorial, Bukit Jambul Penang

Penang Hotels

Arriving by plane in our Penang International Airport and looking for a taxi or a car rental? Or you are on a business visit and need a private car to take you to your destination in style. No worries, booked before you get here and have them greet you at our airport. You like that? Talk to Richard, my car rental man of beautiful Penang.

When you want to select a place to stay, it depends on the duration of your stay. Town, beaches or business class hotels are sprouted all of my island Penang. Just picked your choice. From home stay to places fit for a king and queen, we will pamper you to no end. You even get decent island meals from some budget hotels.

Backpackers have choices along the Chulia Street in Georgetown or Batu Ferringhi. Well, there are even some great accommodation packages which comes with a car. Hotels along Batu Ferringhi is most popular with tourist and can be packed during the peaked seasons. So be sure to booked online at least months ahead. There are hotels in the heart of Georgetown city and in Bayan Lepas for the working professionals. Sometimes the traffic jams during peaked hours can be a challenge if you are catching a plane to your next destination.

Have you ever attended a festival in Penang? Was it interesting? Do you want to tell us? Great! Click here to add your story

Penang Festivals

Thaipusam Festival in Penang
Thaipusam Festival, Penang

You will not be disappointed when you are in Penang. The number of festivals we have here are a talk of the town. Some even felt it was a "once in the lifetime" experience. Some were spiritual awakened. Of course some shook their head at the sacrifices they think the devotees made. The Thaipusam festival will give you something to think about, some new meaning to body piercing and body sacrifices.

Well, the other aspect is, do come and learn about our culture too. We have the Nyonyas like me and Eurasians beside the major three races Chinese, Malays and Indians who lived in almost perfect harmony.

The wooden stockade that Captain Francis Light had assembled upon disembarking in 1786 was rebuilt almost two decades later with convict labour into a major fort, much of which remained intact.

You will be amazed by our racial tolerance. Mixed marriages amongst us has bridge the racial gaps any country will be proud of. If you are in Penang in January or February, that will be during Chinese New Year for the Chinese. 60% of Penang population consist of the 19th century immigrants from China. The Chinese New Year festival surely puts you on a new track for the new year, all on My Paradise Island Penang.

Boy, would you be surprised when you hear us cross speaking each other languages. Most Penangites or Malaysians speak a minimum of 3 languages. It is not surprising to hear the guest in our country exclaiming Penang or Malaysia is not what the world think.

Deep in them, some felt that their friends, colleagues and families should come to this part of the world for a holiday to experience our culture to understand us. I have friends coming here for the past three years each time there is a vacation for them. So two days is not enough to know the Penang I love.

Door Spirit
Chinese Mystical Door Guards (Mui Sin)

Penang Food

Try taking a cooking course while you are here. Most of us are taught the finest point of cooking from young. Well, remember be involved even to go to our fresh wet market. The abundant and varieties of vegetables, locals herbs is really a feast to your eyes.

The Chowrasta is as close as it gets to a well-stocked bazaar boasting of prices that even the locals will call cheap. The market trip to acquire ingredients and tips on authentic dishes will charm you to the simplicity of our locals lifestyle. Eat cheap, delicious food only locals know where to find. The authentic Indian Spicy Curry,Malay Nasi Lemak, the Mamak Nasi Kandar stalls, the Chinese Hawker or Street Food with Hokkien mee, Curry mee, Chee Cheong Fun will make you burst your belts and seams. But it will not make a hole in your pocket.

Fish Curry Tumis, A sweet Sour Nyonya Curry

Malaysian food cuisine fuses traditional Malay ingredients with Indian, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Nyonya and Portuguese Eurasian styles. We now are diverse with our mixed marriages to make things even more confusing. It has been said that you talk of food, you think of Penang.

The Penang Nyonyas rich cooking heritage is now left in the hands of the last few. Don't leave Penang without eating Nyonya Food.

Some exclaimed "It's divine or "die-for" food ! The traditional dessert for our festive season Nyonya cookies are big time favorite during Chinese New Year.

After that, go for a jog or walk in our lovely trails in Penang Hills or the seven hills surrounding Penang. My Island Penang is more beautiful than you can ever imagined. I must agree though our laid back attitude towards life does gives you a sense of space and freedom you never though possible.

You can jog in Botanical Garden and observed a nursery for the planting of tropical plants. The 72-acre garden has bloomed with cool tropical plants, lakes and greenery, becoming a venue for joggers, family outings.

Charcoal Factory in Matang Taiping

There is a wonderful array of attractions on the island to keep you busy exploring for days. You can find adventure exploring the waters, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and several other activities for nature lovers. If that is not enough, you can go over to the mainland to discover more out of town places only a privileged few has enjoyed.

Penang stands out a better choice is because her history and nostalgia sentiment. She is not too developed to get rid of all the heritage or cultural identity in the communities. Yet, she is not that too rural to be depraved of all the necessities.

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All you need is enough information, and a reasonable measure of common sense. I like to think that I can offer you plenty of both, so lets get started. Just remember, I am not a qualified tourist guide or a paid guide. so you might say, why must you listened to me? Well this is why, and I write from my heart of the Penang Island I love. Is that good enough for you?

Hi Pearly, Thanks for your sense of humour. I was giggling when I read your anecdotes.

LayWah Khoo, USA

Hi Pearl

I love Penang food as I come from Penang and now working in Singapore, I would like to refer to some of my Singapore friends to look at Penang delicious food with photo such as Char Kaoy Tow

Great blog / great site.

from G.T. Loh (Penang guy in Singapore

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