After we had a good night sleep at the hotel. We woke up early to take our breakfast, then we went for our first destination which is the Penang Hill.
We did not manage to go to the Penang Hill last trip back in 2010, during our family trip together with Brother Andrew and Sister Agatha that time. I still remember that time it is also due to the funicular train is under maintenance as the Penang Hill authority was changing their old system.
Penang Hill is the oldest British hill station in Southeast Asia, dated late 1700’s. The highest peak of Penang Hill stand at 833 metres (2,732ft) above sea level.
The Penang Hill funicular train service started on October 1923. The current funicular trains is the 4th generation system which started its operation on 24th April 2011. The 1st generation was from 1906 to1906. The 2nd generation was from 1923 to 1977. The 3rd generation was from 1977 to 2010.
The funicular track stretches a distance of 1,996 metres (1.99KM) from lower to Upper Station which is the longest in Asia. Penang Hill funicular tunnel, at 79 metres (258ft) long and 10feet (3.0m) wide with a steepness of 27.9degree, is the steepest tunnel track in the world. Number of visitor to Penang Hill in 2014 exceed 1.36million.
Already a lot of people queue for the tickets to go up the hill as this is a long holiday weekend. I bought the tickets for all of us and we were queuing up for our turn to take the train too. When it was our turn, we were lucky too as we managed to get a good spot for the children and us, so that we were able to see both sides of the hill while the funicular train going up towards the hill.
I was a bit surprise to see that, there are houses or locals stay at the Penang Hill. They must be travelling up and down using the funicular train for their daily supplies, household items, etc. I guess there must be road access to the Penang Hill too, may be need to use 4 wheels drive to access. We can see forests, some monkeys, hear the birds chirping, and the air is getting cooler and fresher as we were almost at the top.
Once we reached the Upper station, immediately we can see the Cliff Cafe or Astaka Bukit Bendera. It is a three-storey food and beverage centre in Penang Hill. Cliff Cafe became operational January 2012. The two higher levels houses the food court, with food stalls on the upper level and souvenir stalls and drinks stalls on the lower level. I believe that the view is particularly beautiful at night, when the city lights up. We just passed through the Cliff Cafe to go to the Owl Museum.
The Owl Museum showcases the largest collection of owl-themed arts and craft collections in ASEAN, which are made from a myriad of materials such as wood, stone, metal, glass, clay, plastic, buffalo horn, seashells, beans, plant fibres, crystal, porcelain, earthenware, paper and recycled items. Special collections on loan from private collectors are also on display.
The museum is a very popular destination not only with the tourists, but locals as well. It has a very popular merchandising shop known as the 'Owlet' where cute owl-themed items can be purchased. You can be inspired by the enigmatic bidrs of prey and the magic they have sparked in human cultures and imaginations since the beginning of time. Along the exhibits, some fun facts, creative activities and a souvenir shop for great owl-theme gifts as well can be find here!
After the Owl Museum, we were attracted by a Hindu Temple. Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan, or better known as the Penang Hill Hindu Temple, is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Penang. It started off in the 1800's as a small shrine to the Hindu deity Murugan - the deity associated with Thaipusam - by the Indian sepoys and sedan chair carriers, and is located at a mount within Penang Hill called Gun Hill. A trident, or Murugan Vel, was installed there by the devotees. Over the years, it was enlarged and rebuilt. The present-day incarnation of the Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan is a very ornate Hindu temple in the Dravidian architectural style of South India.
The Dravidian style of constructing Hindu temples calls for four principal parts. The temple proper, or vimana, is the shrine with a tower, a mandapa, or porch, gopurams, or gate towers, and chawadis, or pillar halls. In addition, there would usually be a tank of water for use in sacred rituals or for cleansing.
Just not far from the Hindu Temple, is the Penang Hill Mosque, or Masjid Bukit Bendera, is the only mosque on Penang Hill. Erected to the use of Muslims living and working on the hill, the mosque is located at a short distance from the Penang Hill Hindu Temple. The majority of users of the mosque are those working at the stalls near the Penang Hill Railway Station, government servants attached to the post office, and other departments on Penang Hill.
The Penang Hill Mosque brings Islamic architecture to the otherwise colonial buildings of Penang Hill. Its minarets and domes stand in stark contrast to the surroundings, balanced only by the existence of the Hindu temple nearby.
There are a total of 52 hill bungalows located on Penang Hill (42 of them are private-owned and 10 bungalows are state-owned). Most of them are more than 100 years old and Bel Retiro (Governors Bungalows) built in1789 is the oldest. We did not manage to take the photos of it.
With the oldest building dated to 1803 (Convalescent Bungalow), Penang Hill is a good repository of bungalows featuring a fusion of architecture from British colonial to Asian and modern architecture. Although the bungalow itself is out-of-bounds to the general public, one can hike up to its gate, a beautiful brick structure with an arch entranceway. Visitors can go all the way to the gateway of the Bel Retiro Bungalow but no farther as it is private.
Tucked away on top of Penang Hill lies a distant rumour of a long forgotten garden - David Brown's at Strawberry Hill, a quintessential British colonial Restaurant and Tea Terraces. David Brown's now stands was believed to have been originally leveled by Captain Francis Light for planting strawberries which grew well here until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1941. We did not go in and dine there as we don’t drink tea or coffee.
Just down from the David Brown’s, at the apex of the hill near to the train station the focus is on enhancing visitors experience, maximizing the stunning views and resolving space needs. Both soft and hard landscaping have been extensively used to augment the hilltop forest experience.
The holding area has been expanded for shade and shelter while large viewing decks and pathways with luxuriant planting have been fashioned into the slopes to create a journey of discovery. The Viewing Decks with gardens at varying heights provide changing panoramic vistas while two additional platforms at the lower level allow rest under natural forest shading. The Skyway will allow stunning 360° views while fulfilling all accessibility needs.
This is our last place to visit, as we were queuing on going down the hill, the visitors became more and more, until the station were packed with people waiting to go down the hill. We felt do lucky that at least we were early while the hill itself was not so crowded while we were there!
❤️. Below is the recipe from Sister Krouskop:
