PENANG ISLAND What to see and do
بينانغ جزيرة ما يجب رؤيته والقيام به
Heading out from George Town in the morning, turn into Medan Selera food court near the floating mosque at Tanjung Bungah, about 6km away. At breakfast time, Pak Lan’s stall makes the best roti canai flatbread for about 40p, then from 11am, Lidiana Ekonomi Rice lays out a buffet of 20 spicy Malay curries, fried fish and vegetable dishes (about £1). To the south, around Ayer Itam’s wet market either order a bowl of tasty assam laksa (90p) at the famous Air Itam Laksa stall, or a plate of tender roast pork and crackling at Ah Joo’s hawker stand. Head for spicy Thai cuisine at Tree Monkey inside the Tropical Spice Garden or wait till you get to the fishing village of Pulau Betong at the tip of Balik Pulau for seafood straight from the boats at Kedai Kopi Hai Ching restaurant (dishes from £2). Fishermen and villagers hang out all day here, playing mah-jong, talking politics and eating plates of steaming lala clams with spring onion and ginger, fish poached in lemon grass, chilli and lime, or crabs cooked in belacan, a pungent fermented shrimp paste made in an artisan factory up the road. Not surprisingly, Anthony Bourdain “discovered” it for one of his TV shows.
بينانغ جزيرة ما يجب رؤيته والقيام به
Driving out of George Town, head first towards the centre of Penang island to bustling Ayer Itam. The friendly town is free of tourists and its colourful market is worth a stop-off, though the tour buses at the nearby Kek Lok Si Temple, marked by a towering 30-metre statue of the goddess Kuan Yin, aren’t far away. The Buddhist temple is always packed, and nearby Penang Hill is actually more Zen, with a nature trail to follow through the rainforest after getting out of the funicular train that ferries visitors up and down. The funicular will reopen at the end of the month following recent flooding.
After getting back on the coast road, hit the beaches and resorts of Batu Ferringhi, followed by the must-see Tropical Spice Garden. Paths lead through landscaped jungle, past hundreds of species of exotic plants, flowers and spice terraces, through water gardens and bamboo groves. But this is just a taste of what awaits at Penang national park in Balik Pulau, the north-western tip of the island. From the park headquarters, either trek through this dense jungle and marine reserve, or take a boat that hugs the coast, stopping off at idyllic Monkey Beach for a swim before arriving at the turtle hatchery and strange meromictic lake at Kerachut Beach. Hiring a guide is advisable.
Around the rest of Balik Pulau, visit the Entopia Butterfly Farm, the Escapeadventure park for kids, durian farms and the Ghee Hup Nutmeg Factory, a reminder of how important the spice trade once was to Penang.
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