Year 2- 2nd November 2025 - Penang Island
It rained in the night but there was no Adhan luckily and we woke to a slightly damp hazy morning. I decided to make some smoothies which are rather good and refreshing and brightened up the start of the day. We managed to get a water taxi arranged as it is difficult and would not have been safe to leave the dinghy here. He came at 10.00am and deposited us at Chew Jetty. This is a wooden jetty with Chinese Houses on stilts and there are a number of them along this part of the waterfront. This one is part of the Chew Clan.
The Clan Jetties form a residential neighbourhood within the city of George Town in Penang. Situated within the city's central business district, it now comprises seven wooden villages lining the coastal road of Weld Quay, each owned by residents of a specific Chinese clan – Ong, Lim, Chew, Tan, Lee, Mixed Clan and Yeoh jetties.
The community of Clan Jetties came into existence gradually over a period spanning from the 1880s to the 1960s. In total, nine clan villages were built, but developments post-independence reduced their number to the current seven. After the city centre was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008, the Clan Jetties became a heritage tourism destination.
We walked along the Chew Jetty and it was made up of houses (some of which had their own mini temples/shrines in them) where some live and there are a number of shops selling tourist type stuff, ice creams and drink stalls and all very Chinese. This was quite a contrast compared to Indonesia and reminded me of Hong Kong. There is quite a lot of street art in George Town and there was some on the sides of some of these houses. At the end of the jetty and at the end of some of the other jetties there were a number of ornate temples made of wood but inlaid with gold leaf. They clearly take their religion seriously here as there are a lot of temples in George Town and every time you pass them people are burning incense.
There are a number of bicycle rickshaws here which are quite endearing and remind you of a bygone era. We walked on to Tan Jetty where the residents were originally mainly oyster and harvesters from a coastal village in the Fujian province. This was less developed and really consisted of houses and storage places. We went on to the Lee Jetty and the residents came from impoverished villages in China. It used to be where the ferry terminal was but it was moved here when the ferry terminal was developed. In this area of the Clan jetties there were lots of Chinese buildings and businesses and lots of street and roadside cafes and restaurants all cooking all sorts of dishes with wonderful smells. I remember coming here in 1990 and recall lots of street food areas which were all busy and food here is a very important factor for them.
We wanted to go and find the art area and walked off the front and away from the water. This was still Chinese really and I saw them making egg pancakes with peanuts which I loved when I came in 1990 and so I bought some. There were lots of cafes around this area and it was colourful with old colonial style buildings. There was also quite a lot of street art and one famous picture is of a bicycle on a wall with two children on it where everyone wants to get their picture taken.
We joined the others for a coffee in a good café called the Black Kettle. The coffee was excellent and they made some great bread and croissants. It also sold books about Penang which was interesting and Keith bought one on the East India Club. The Battle of Penang was a surprise naval engagement by the Imperial German Navy's East Asia Squadron during the First World War that took place on 28 October 1914. The battle involved the German cruiser SMS Emden in the Penang Strait, which sank two Allied warships as part of its commerce raiding operations throughout the Indian Ocean. During the battle, a total of 135 French and Russian sailors were killed and 157 others were wounded, while the Germans sustained no casualties. It was the only battle of the war fought in British Malaya.
We then decided to go and visit Art Lane – but it was closed so we wandered about and came to what is called Little India.
Little India is an ethnic Indian enclave located within the downtown core of George Town within Penang. The oldest Hindu temple in Penang, Sri Mahamariamman Temple is located here. The Little India is also main business district in Georgetown. Various Indian related business can be found here. Although, majority of business here were owned by the Indian there also small number of Chinese owned shops. There are many Indian fashion stores (Mainly in Market Street), they sell mostly saree, silk and cotton, almost anything that has the essence of India. Traditional costumes, spices, precious gold and costume jewellery which use semi-precious gems are sold by most of the shops. There also large number of restaurants and cafes which provide Indian culinary and western foods. There are also music video stores with the latest Bollywood movies and songs.
It certainly lived up to the description above with lots of Indian music and sari shops, jewellery shops, restaurants and cafes. There were also flower shops selling garnets and strings of flowers that are put around your neck, mostly yellow and orange. We thought about getting a curry but it was too early. We therefore walked on seeing the old temples with people burning incense and as a result paying homage. We walked on through to the waterfront where there were old colonial buildings and water polo being played on paddle boards. We decided to go to the funicular which takes you to the top of Penang Hill. This was about a 15-minute taxi drive away and took us through what appeared to be a very modern city with tower blocks and offices and a well-developed road system.
The Penang Hill Railway is a one-section funicular railway which climbs the Penang Hill from Ayer Itam, on the outskirts of the city of George Town, Penang. The railway first opened in 1923 as a two-section railway, but was overhauled in 2010 into a one-section system. It is a single-track railway with a passing loop, and it passes through a tunnel which is the steepest in the world. The total journey time can take between five and twenty minutes. The funicular train coach travels directly from the lower station to the top, but may stop at other intermediate stations upon request.
The Penang Hill Railway was initially constructed for the British colonial community to enjoy the cooler air of the Penang Hill. The first attempt at a mountain railway on Penang Hill began with a proposal by three British residents, D. Logan, Joseph Heim and Alan Wilson and the formation of a private company in 1897, with funding from the colonial administration. The first attempt used a steam engine and was not funicular, and it proved to be a failure. The line was constructed between 1901 and 1905, but did not work due to technical faults. An original coach of the Penang Hill Railway was used from 1923 to 1977.
In 1909, the Straits government organised a new project, the Penang Hills Funicular Railway. This railway project was designed by Arnold R Johnson, an engineer with the Federated Malay States Railways, based on a Swiss design. Construction of the second railway cost 1.5 million Strait’s dollars. The 2,007 m (6,585 ft)-long funicular railway was informally opened on October 21, 1923, for the commencement of a trial operation. After a successful trial period, on 1 January 1924, the railway was officially opened by the then Governor of Straits Settlement, Sir L.N. Guillemard. In its first year of operation it carried 35,201 passengers and made 4,021 trips. The Penang Municipality, George Town managed and maintained the railway from its opening until February 1, 1977, when it was taken over by the Penang state Government.
Until 2010, the Penang Hills Funicular Railway had two independent sections due to the difference in gradient between the lower and upper section, and passengers were required to change trains at the middle station. The upper and lower sections each had two counterbalanced 40-passenger cars, and each section had a passing loop in the middle and intermediate stops. The cars were pulled by steel cable electrically driven with a 500-volt power supply. The railway has a tunnel which measures 79 m (258 feet) long and is the steepest tunnel in the world. It took 30 minutes to go up the hill on the funicular service with a change of train in the middle station.
The 1977 upgrade-The first carriages were wooden with defined first and second-class compartments in each one. The four carriages were in use on the railway for over 50 years until they were retired in 1977 and replaced with the red carriages which had fans and automatic sliding doors. Each of the red Swiss-made carriages can hold up to 80 people, mostly standing. They were in use for over 30 years until 2010.
2010 overhaul After a series of breakdowns, the idea of a complete overhaul of the system with a new funicular railway was mooted. On 22 February 2010, the 87-year-old funicular railway was closed for an upgrade to a new system at a cost of RM 63 million New tracks were laid, and new cars purchased to increase the passenger capacity and the speed of the train. A new base station and a public carpark were also constructed. The timber from the old railway track was re-used in the construction of a new four-storey Penang Hill Visitor Centre at the top.
The new train and railway system, unlike the railway before 2010, does not require passengers to change trains halfway up. Passengers now enjoy non-stop service in air-conditioned Swiss-made cars, painted in blue and white, that are capable of ferrying up to 100 passengers in one go. The funicular train maximum working load has been set at 7,500 kg (16,500 lb). It can carry 1,000 passengers per hour compared to 250 under the old system.
On April 25, 2011, the new railway system resumed its service, although initially there were a number of technical hitches which caused the service to be temporarily suspended. The train service runs from 6.30am to 9pm daily, and the new car can reach the top in as little as five minutes. The upgrade led to a large increase in passengers carried; in 2014, the number of passengers reached 1.365 million, compared to the visitor numbers to Penang Hill of around half a million in 2008. Ridership increased to 1.74 million by 2018, leading to concerns of congestion. In 2019, a proposed cable car system linking the peak of Penang Hill with the Penang Botanic Gardens was announced by the Malaysian federal government as a means of reducing the overdependence on the railway.
Visitors can enter the funicular railway at the Lower Station at Air Itam, and the final stop of the ride is the Upper Station at the top of Penang Hill. There are a number of stations along the railway between the Upper and Lower stations - the Middle Station (which is currently open only to residents), as well as the Claremont, Viaduct, and the Lower and Upper Tunnel stations. Since the 2010 upgrade, the train normally proceeds directly to the top without stopping at the Middle Station. It is however possible to stop at some of the intermediate stations by arrangement with the driver. The Upper Station has been upgraded with the construction of an extended viewing platform named Skywalk, an elevated walkway leading to a food court, as well as a lift, a cafe and a museum gallery.
We bought our tickets and up we went. I was astonished about the speed it rises at and it whisks you to the top being about 735 metres in 5 minutes. As you rise you see various houses initially and then jungle and gardens and concrete waterways to prevent erosion. It was beautiful and I also think there is a walkway so that you can walk up or down through the jungle hillsides. When we arrived at the top the views were magnificent looking down over the whole Island, George Town spread out below us and the bridges that take your eyes over to the mainland. Whilst it was a little grey it was a spectacular view.
Once we had enough of marvelling Mark and I got a drink and the others walked to a temple and then joined us. We formed a plan to go and get a curry in Little India and I found one called Karaikudi. We therefore retraced our steps by descending in the funicular and straight into the taxi to the restaurant.
This was a most authentic Indian restaurant and it was full of Indians and we were the only westerners. We had a great meal and as usual with Indian meals you always end up feeling so full as the flavours are great and you want to taste everything ordered. People talk of a Penang Curry. However, a Penang curry (also spelled phanaeng or penang) is a popular Thai curry known for its thick, rich, and creamy consistency, which is less soupy than other Thai curries. It is distinct due to the addition of crushed peanuts in the curry paste, giving it a signature nutty flavour, and a prominent zesty makrut lime flavour.
We had arranged to push back our water taxi so by the time we wandered back to the Chew Jetty the man was ready and so we returned to Stormbird for a rest and then subsequent glass of wine. It had been a great day and we look forward to exploring more tomorrow.
The picture of the day is view from Penang Hill.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com