Penang with Buddies - Part 4

Our final full day in Penang and after all the fun we had at Adventure Zone the previous day, we kids were told by our authoritative parents that it would be an ENTIRE day of shopping! 

Cue vehement protests.

Or at least that was the initial plan. In the end, the adults gave in and chose somewhere more educational instead.

Bukit Bendera, or Penang Hill, is situated 823 metres above sea level in the Air Itam area. So in order for us to get up to the hill, we had to ride in a funicular tram.

Yup, the steep-looking vehicle in the photo above. Apparently, the entire railway was overhauled in 2010 so everything is spanking new! And the thing goes super fast too, so we kids were simply too excited to get onto the funicular tram and hoist ourselves up to the top of the hill.

Well, the ride up there sure was smooth and pleasant. Not exactly thrilling as we kids had hoped for it to be. Maybe it was because all of us were not in the first cabin. So for our descent later, we made a mental note to kill anyone who stood in our way in order to try our best to reach the first cabin!

Pity that it was rather hazy that day... so the view kind of sucked.

But the temperature, oh my word, was so cooling! It wasn't exactly cold like Genting Highlands, but it was cool enough to please everyone!

See, the cool temperature even lulled mei-mei to sleep.

Daddy reckoned it should be about 23-25 degrees. Which is perfect for that chillin'-over-a-cuppa moment.

But what activities lie in wait for us kids on Penang Hill?

Well, there're the Owl Museum, Indian Temple, Mosque, and lots of flora and fauna to spot. The Canopy Walk, which is a suspension bridge hanging over treetops, was closed when we were there... presumably under repair.

There's even a hotel right up on the hill! Which we headed towards... not for a night's stay, but this.

Yup, a bird sanctuary. Admission is chargeable though, at RM5 for Adults and RM3 for children.

To be honest, Jurong Bird Park it is not. But at least it's cooler! Haha... so we weren't breaking out in perspiration.

It wasn't too bad for the price of admission we paid. The birds in the sanctuary were rather friendly actually - they kept bending their heads forward in a bid to get us to stroke them!

And mei-mei simply adored her time fluttering from cage to cage. All because she is in her bird-phase currently.

But the one thing that the rest of us older kids really really enjoyed was something else. Something which made us climb a steep flight of stairs before we reached it.

Erm... no, not the Indian temple. Although Daddy remarked it was exquisitely designed. But rather, it was the thing lying beside the temple.

Playground madness!!!

At the end of the day, it was something so simple that made us kids truly so happy.

Mei-mei would agree, no?

I think the adults were just grateful to be able to sit down on the benches and watch us carry on with the fun. With the cool climate, Daddy & Mummy felt it was like having us play on the playgrounds in Australia. Hmmm, am I being sensitive or is that a hint? :p

Anyway, there were ample food options up on the hill when our tummies did finally rumble. Yup, even ample non-spicy food options like chicken rice and mee soup.

After lunch, it was time to make our way down the hill. And as luck would have it, we kids managed to occupy the entire front of the funicular tram!

And no, no human beings were harmed in the process.

As it turned out, the descent was soooooo much more fun than the ascent! We were all initially caught offguard by how fast the tram was actually hurtling us downwards that we screamed. Don't believe? See us in action below.

But it was all done in jest, I assure you. Heh.

And when we had our feet firmly planted on the sea level eventually, the adults had an Eureka! moment.

So the adults DID get their shopping craving fix after all.

The thing about Penang is, meal times tend to come by so FAST! Before we knew it, it was time for dinner.

And for dinner, we headed to Straits Quay Marina - a marina for docking boats, with retail and F&B outlets.

We had one of our meals at Nyonya Breeze, a Peranakan restaurant, the last time when we were in Penang. So this time we just had to bring all our friends there to try out the yummy food too.

Only this time, the adults enjoyed the food so much that only this photo was taken.

After dinner, we made an impromptu visit to the Charlie Brown Cafe where the adults browsed through the memorabilia while us kids could only stand and wait.

I'm kidding. We kids were having our own kind of fun by posing for silly photos with the character murals on the wall!

And it seemed like mei-mei made a new friend too!

But it was time to part ways all too soon, as we headed back to our hotel. Our 4 nights at Penang had come to end and we thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it! Now, there's only one thing left to do - plan for our next holiday together! :D

Useful information about Penang Hill

Address: Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera, Ayer Itam, 11500 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Opening Hours: 
Weekdays - 6.30a.m - 10.00p.m (Last train from top station)
Weekends/Public Holidays & School Holidays - 6.30a.m - 11.00p.m (Last train from top station)
Charges: Adult RM30 | Child (3-12) RM15 | Family Package (2A & 2C) RM70
*NOTE: Prices above are for non-Malaysians.
Website: http://www.penanghill.gov.my/