Penang, "The Pearl of the
Orient" lies off the northwestern coast of
Peninsular Malaysia. Exotic and historic, Penang
is Malaysia's best known holiday island. A fascinating
blend of history, culture and commerce set against
a backdrop of tropical beaches, rugged hills and
manicured parks.Penang today bears the mark of an
early history of successive foreign influences -
from the early Indian Civilization that took root
in northern Malaya to that of the Portuguese, Dutch
and later the British who came to this part of the
world in search of spices and stayed to participate
in the lucrative trade. |
A
scenic 74 km drive around the island, gives
you the best of Penang, famed for it’s
sun-kissed beaches, lush greeneries and the
enchanting fishing village along the way.Your
tour will take you to the famous Fort Cornwallis
and the Waterfront noted for it’s stilt
clan house settlers. Here you will admire modern
city structures blending in with old historical
buildings.
Some
devotees from as far away as Singapore and Taiwan
come to pray in the temple on Chor Soo Kong's
birthday (the sixth day of the first lunar month).
The temple was built in about 1850 and is dedicated
to Char Soo Kong. The statue of the deified
healer was brought to Penang by a monk from
China. The legend is that this pious monk gave
shelter to the snakes of the jungle; when the
temple was completed, the snakes moved in.The
Snake Temple is located at Sungai Kluang near
Bayan Lepas airport in the Penang Island.
The
Botanic Gardens on Penang are located at the
end of Waterfall Road, about 8 kilometres form
the Georgetown city centre. You can reach it
by taking bus nr. 7 at the bus station down
at the Komtar building. The Gardens came to
existence in 1884. Previously it was an old
granite quarry. The the Gardens were known as
"the Waterfall Gardens", because at
the end of the Botanic Gardens is a 122-metre
high cascade waterfall with its water flowing
through the Gardens.
The
tropical Spice Garden shows us over 500 species
of local and foreign flora from Malaysia and
around the world. The imported plants or trees
by the English are for example: tea, rubber
tree, and rain tree. You can have a look at
the tropical herbs and spices, set amongst a
lush nature conservation. The Garden is also
the home to wild animals, birds and insects.
Tanjong
Bungah is one of the suburbs of Georgetown,
the capital of Penang. It was known as a fishing
village, but now it's populated by many commuters
from Georgetown and people, who work in the
hotels along the beach. In (our) wintertime
these hotels have great offers for the tourists,
who want to spend the wintertime on Penang.
There are special rates in the hotels and the
food in the local restaurants is cheap. That
makes Tanjong Bungah a good base to discover
the island of Penang. 
