Penang & Malacca

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So I went for a really crazy road trip straight after my Korean language test ended. The plan was to travel from Penang to Malacca and back to Singapore using different transportation methods.

First, we took the early flight from Singapore to Penang for 2 days 1 night. Then, we took bus from Penang to Malacca for another 2 days 1 night before heading back to Singapore via Train. The craziest part was we went back to work straight after we landed in Singapore.





So we caught the early morning flight via Tiger Air to Penang and we got to catch the sun rise from Changi Airport Departure Hall!



The plan was to take the public bus from Penang International Airport to George Town, but the wait was too long that we decided to catch a taxi instead.
Penang has a taxi booking counter for taxi booking. So just approach the counter and tell the staff where your wanna go, take the ticket and proceed to where the taxi are. It costs RM44.70 to reach George Town from Penang International Airport.

Taxi ticket

Before leaving Penang International Airport, remember to grab some maps and brochures available around. My favourite was 'Marking George Town' and 'Penang Street Food'



'Penang Street Food' indicates most of the popular street food in Penang, which includes places like Batu Ferringhi and Butterworth.

First stop in George Town - FOOD!!

Can't remember where did we dine at. It was a kopitiam located within a morning market located near Komtar. But but but(!) the Chee Cheong Fun is awesome! It was so nice that we decided to take away back to our Hotel!

Chee Cheong Fun
2 for RM2.40
3 for RM3.30



We had Bee Hoon and Kway Tiao at the nearby stall, which cost RM6. It was equally good!

After that we took a taxi from the nearby mall to Batu Ferringhi where our hotel is located. It costs RM47 from George Town to Batu Ferringhi.


If you're looking at good food and shopping, forget about Batu Ferringhi. This place is all about relaxing and chilling; a really lay back place with a price.

There's this place call Glamourz Collections that sell really comfortable t-shirts at RM29 each. The material is really light, which is suitable for the ever-hot weather in Singapore.


Address: 2 Ferringhi Street Walk Bazaar 11000, Penang Batu Ferrying Malaysia


Other than taxi, there's another way to travel around Penang. You may use teh 'Penang Hop-on Hop-off' bus service. However, the bus interval can be anything from 35 - 75 minutes. It's a cheaper option is you're travelling alone or will be taking the bus frequently for the next 24 - 48 hours. If not, I would recommend taxi.

Bus operation time: Daily 0900H - 2000H

There's 3 types of tickets:
Single trip : RM20 (Adult)  RM10 (Disable/Student/Child)
24 hours : RM45 (Adult)  RM24 (Disable/Student/Child)
48 hours : RM79 (Adult)  RM43 (Disable/Student/Child)





Holiday Inn Penang





Staff there are proficient in English, so do not worry about language barrier. As we stayed for 1 night only, we did not use much of the hotel amenities, nor did we communicate much with the staffs. However, the receptionist who served us when we check-in was really friendly and welcoming.

Room is really big, which allow 3 pax to stay comfortably in the room with our 4 baggages. Room comes with a speaker cum clock, which you can connect your old version of apple product on. Comfortable bed that's around the size of a queen-size bed. There's extra blanket and pillow in the wardrobe, so there's enough to go around. Television has channels like MTV and AXN. Bathroom is clean and spacious too.

The best part about the hotel is the balcony, which you can enjoy the view of sunset from the comfort of your hotel. However, the view is partially blocked by a tree and the Holiday Inn building opposite.



Price : RM240.86 / 1 night weekday (SGD 83.79) - with IHG Friends and Family rate
Location Pro : Walking distance to Batu Ferringhi Beach, Batu Ferringhi Night market an bus stop to other area of Penang.
Location Con : Even though there are a lot of food stalls around but none are open for breakfast and only a handful are open for lunch. I had to walk to the nearest Petrol station where I can get McDonald and Subway for breakfast. Alternatively, go for the hotel breakfast!

Room amenities:
- strong wifi (I'm able to connect at the restaurant beside the hotel)
- Mini-fridge
- Toiletries (No toothbrush and toothpaste)
- Hair dryer
- Television
- 2 free bottle of mineral water
- Balcony (non-smoking room but able to smoke in the balcony)

Hotel amenities:
- Lift
- Luggage deposite

Website: http://penang.holidayinnresorts.com




Day 2!

Time to explore George Town, where most of the good food are plus the famous wall murals! I will have a separate post for the wall murals as there's really a lot of photos!

George Town Wall Murals

We took a cab from Batu Ferringhi to George Town for RM45. First stop - food!! We told the taxi uncle our location - Joo Hoo Cafe.

The uncle was friendly and told us about the many different attractions in Penang, he even brought us to a wholesaler where they sell local delights!


Joo Hoo Cafe

According to the taxi driver, this is the original Penang Laksa. It used to have a stall inside Joo Hoo cafe but has moved to a few stalls beside.


You may order other delicacies from Joo Hoo cafe from the Laksa uncle, that will save you from the long queue. Instead, the stall owner will deliver the food straight to your table!






I booked my transport online as we were scared that there's no seats available on that day. However, there's plenty of seats available on that day. It's more worth it to purchase the ticket on the spot. Even though it's the same price, but the exchange rate when purchase it online is much lower.

If you're still worried, this is the website I booked my transport from: http://www.easybook.com
It can also be used as a good reference for the bus timing when planning your trip.

Took an overnight bus from Sungai Nibong Bus Interchange to Malacca. There's 2 locations to alight at, Melaka Sentral Bus Terminal and A'Famosa.


 Well, I only realised after we alighted from the bus.


I thought we will be alighting at a location nearer to our Hotel, Holiday Inn, but we ended up at a location even further away at 6am in the morning! It's alright if we landed at a location that's far away, but we ended up at a location that further and deserted! It's that deserted that we are still in the middle of nowhere even after walking for 1 hour. Luckily for us, a kind uncle stopped and decided to fetch us to the nearest bus interchange.

Why did I say luckily? Because we are SERIOUSLY FAR FAR AWAY from our location! See!!!



We took the public bus, which cost RM4.60 per person to Melaka Sentral Bus Terminal and another bus for RM2 to Holiday Inn Hotel. It took us almost 2 hours to reach our destination. Luckily Holiday Inn Melaka allow us to check in earlier. However, as the room we requested was not available yet, we were given a temporally room to wash up and rest in till our room is ready.


Holiday Inn Melaka