Nuts and Bolts: Travel Tips for Georgetown, Penang
- Rand Blimes
- Apr 29
- 5 min read
This page has some travel tips for Georgetown, Penang to aid in planning your own trip. Remember, we are a family of five, and we travel mostly to eat. We were in Georgetown for about a week in 2015. If your trip to Georgetown is significantly longer/shorter/with a different focus, you may have a very different experience.
Georgetown Weather
We were in Georgetown in July of 2015. The weather was hot and humid. We didn’t have significant rainfall for the few days we were there. While we did make a couple of all-day trips out into the world, our general goal was to rest in the AC between lunch and dinner.
Getting to Georgetown
Georgetown is a short ferry ride from Butterworth Station, on the main rail line heading from Kuala Lumpur all the way north into Thailand. We took the overnight train from KL which was quick, cheap, and easy.
Butterworth is also well connected by bus to places throughout Malaysia. While it is generally easiest to take a bus to Butterworth and then the ferry to Georgetown, you can also buy bus tickets that go straight to the island.
Air Asia flies to Penang, and often has extremely cheap specials. Check before you go, as flying may be cheaper than other means of transportation.
Staying Connected
When we first arrived in Malaysia, I purchased a SIM and a data plan from Maxis Hotlink. I paid about RM60 (around US$15) for the card and the plan that gave me 2 GB of data. We found most hotels and guesthouses to have acceptable wifi, although sometimes we had to leave our rooms and head to the lobby.
Sleeping in Georgetown for the Cheapskate Family
We stayed in Just Inn in Georgetown. Just Inn was a reasonable walk from the ferry station, and in a part of town that we really liked. It was easy walking distance to lots of food areas (in fact we only used public transportation once), and even a mall (we went to the Pizza Hut there to celebrate the Fourth of July).
We got a family room which easily fit all five of us for RM100 (about US$23). The place was fabulously clean, as the owner seemed to spend most of his free time making sure the floors were the cleanest floors in all of Malaysia. We had shared bathrooms, but there were plenty of stalls for the number of rooms and we never had to wait.
The wifi was not bad so long as we were willing to climb up on a chair to reach the router and unplug it from time to time so it would reset itself.
The owner was quiet and polite and answered all the questions we had for him about what to eat, where to go, and how to get there.
We liked Just Inn and would certainly stay there again. NOTE: no we wouldn't . . . it seems to have closed since this post was written.
Getting Around
Georgetown has a free bus that circles the old part of the city (where most things of interest to travelers are at). Unfortunately, it was not in service when we were there. But we had little problem getting around on foot. Almost everything we wanted to see and do was in relatively easy walking distance.
The only time we needed to use public transportation was to get to Kek Lok Si temple, which was halfway across the island. Our guesthouse owner told us where to go to catch the bus, and we found the bus cheap and easy to use. I kept Google Maps navigating on my phone so we wouldn’t miss our stop, and everything went smoothly.
What to Do
EAT!!! Georgetown has amazing food. I don’t know if it has supplanted Bangkok as my favorite street food destination, but it is mighty close. I could spend a lifetime eating my way through Georgetown.
Street Art
Georgetown has a wonderfully quirky street art culture. Whether it is Bruce Lee kicking a cat, or interactive murals that let you pose as past of the scene, Georgetown's street art is loads of fun.
You could spend a month trying to visit all the sites listed in this guide. Have fun!
Kek Lok Si
This impressive temple sits on the top of a large hill about an hour ride on the public bus from the center of Georgetown. When we got off the bus, we walked on the road that went up the hill towards the temple. At a large parking lot just as the road tipped upward, we were approached by a driver who offered to drive us to the top for RM5 per person. We tried to bargain, but there were no other drivers and it would have been a very hot walk up. The driver was in the better bargaining position, and he knew it. So we paid.
In the end, we skipped the funicular going up the hill and saved ourselves a couple of ringgit that way. If you want to walk, this is the start of the path up:
At the top of the hill you will find a very impressive statue of Kuan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. There are also a variety of temple structures, and a large seven-storied pagoda (entrance RM2, and probably worth it).
To get back down, ride the funicular, and then just keep walking downhill. Find the assam laksa stall in the market near where the bus drops people off for a great lunch before heading back.
Clan Jetties
After the port area of Georgetown was developed in the 1880s, a series of docks, or jetties, was built out into the water to facilitate loading and unloading of goods. Huts grew up around these jetties, which were extended further out over the water and became neighborhoods unto themselves. Each jetty became dominated by a particular clan, and rivalries and conflicts between the clans developed.
Today you can visit the jetties, which stretch out from Lebuh Chulia, and are a fairly short walk from many of the tourist areas of Georgetown. The best time to visit is early in the morning, when the air is calm and the neighborhoods along the jetties are getting ready for the day.
You can find two kinds of jetties. First, there are those jetties that are built up for tourism. They seem prosperous and are filled with shops where you can buy ice cream and tourist hats. Second, you can find underdeveloped jetties, much poorer. You will know you are on one of these jetties when you start to fear that you will fall through the rotting planks that comprise the jetty walkway.
Both types of jetties are in close proximity, and a morning exploring the area will easily see you to both.
Please remember that these jetties, while sometimes developed for tourism, are living neighborhoods. Be careful where you point your camera and how loudly you converse with your companions.
Other Stuff
There is also a Monkey Beach and a national park, as well as the famous Snake Temple. It was far too hot for us to want to do any hiking in the national park, and being from Hawaii, we were not too tempted by the beaches of Penang. I had wanted to go to the Snake Temple for many years, but the reports we got from other travelers sounded, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, “totally lame.” So we opted out.
Just go to Georgetown and eat yourself silly because travel.
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