Interesting Places to Visit at Penang Hill

This is Penang Hill’s entrance, the most and only famous hill patronised by tourists worldwide in Penang. There is Bellevue Hotel right at the top since time immemorial and I am not sure if they have also refurbished the old hotel, but under DAP’s rule, things have certainly look much better than it was before with more attractions and improvements.

Waiting time is about 20 minutes or less with a long queue; hence the train is much faster now. When you reach to the top, this is the view you will encounter as you disembark on the left side of the train if you are facing the hill. There is Owl Museum and Cliff Cafe.

If you would take a walk up to the top of the above structures, you will encounter ‘Love Locks’ similar to the one in Paris’ Love Lock Bridge. But this is safer and will not weigh down the metal holders as they are made of pink plastics. You can sign on the pink love locks with your name and that of your loved one or husband or spouse to seal your eternal love and bonding. Simply look for an empty one.

Tired of walking? Just pay RM30 for the buggy service with a tour guide cum driver to ferry you around the place and along the way, you can see a few privately owned mansions atop the hill, with one supposedly owned by Ananda Krishnan, Maxis’ head honcho, a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist. Nicknamed A K, currently he is estimated to have a net worth of US$7.9 billion according to Forbes’ latest annual report.

At the end of the route, there is Monkey Cup walk-about tour with commentary from a guide. For the adventurous, you can also access Penang Hill by hiking up via Moon Gate in Tanjung Bungah or take a 4-wheel drive or SUV up the hill road.

Take a walk in Penang Hill’s latest experience called ‘The Habitat’, experiencing breathtaking vistas of a fragrant jungle walk.

After some walking around and viewing ‘The Habitat’, you can have your food at Cliff Cafe near the train station.

This is a banner showing the wide repertoire of delicious desserts ranging from RM4 to RM20 to choose from. The local desserts will quench your thirst after some exploration around the hill.

Inside the Cliff Cafe are 2-3 souvenir shops selling a plethora of fridge magnets, including Hard Rock Cafe Penang t-shirts, plus a host of other memorable items. The ambience is made of wood and you could feel like you are in Papa Rich Restaurant, well known for its wooden interior.

After a round of chendol at the Cliff Cafe, take a walk downstairs to Owl Museum. The first museum of its kind in Southeast Asia, the Owl Museum displays a collection of owl-inspired artifacts, sculptures and paintings created by various artists across the continent. There are souvenirs related to owls including t-shirts and fridge magnets for the buying.

At the exit of Owl Museum, take some flights of stairs up to reach another food cafe where you can see hand wax art as shown above. Simply dip your hand into the warm wax for it to form the shape and the process is fast with your model hand wax finished in a jiffy. You can make your own hand wax creation in various colours too.

As you come out from Cliff Cafe, you will hear loud chirps of a cockatoo and a blue-and-yellow feathered parrot that seems to call out “come take photos with us”. For RM15 you can take your favourite photos holding the birds. There is also an iguana in a cage for the bold-hearted and a python which we did not see.

On the way up from exotic pets instant photo taking, you can walk up to an upmarket restaurant called David Brown’s Strawberry Hill @ Penang Hill. We had the signature dish – chicken and mushroom pie for RM48 with Virgin Pina Colada without alcohol and a cappuccino for RM94 total, including 6% GST and 10% service charge.

There are several binoculars at RM1 for 2 minutes of viewing at the viewing deck. Stools of various heights are catered to children of various ages for them to see the whole of Georgetown. Perched atop Penang Hill at a breathtaking 800 meters above sea level, visitors will literally get a bird’s eye view of the island.

As you walk nearer to the train station, there is a high lift to take you down to the ground, around 2-3 storeys height, instead of using the long stairs for more nature walk. And if you are tired, just head for the lift up again. There are rest rooms at the station before taking the train down back home again. That wraps up your visit to Penang Hill.