Penang By Foot - Day 2

I woke up very early, had a quick breakfast and went on with my journey - again. No rain, no sun and no drizzle. The atmosphere was dry and gloomy. 

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9:00 a.m. - First stop was the Jetty Port bus stop and the Church Street Pier. This was built in 1897 which paved way for transportation and commerce. They recently developed it into a high-end waterfront area and renamed it as the Tanjong City Marina and was completed in 2005. It is open to the public and provides yacht services and other activities (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Penang).

the old one

the fresher one

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9:20 a.m. - Just a few meters away from the Tanjong City Marina is the Frank Swettenham Pier. It was established in 1903 and was named after the first Resident General of Malay States (between 1896 and 1901). The redeveloping program of the pier was completed in September of 2010. Its International Cruise Terminal caters to larger luxury cruise liners.

Frank Swettenham Pier

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9:35 a.m. - Walk further and you will pass by the Queen Victoria Clock Tower. People usually call it the "Big Ben" of Penang.  In 1897, the tower was constructed to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The tower is 60 ft. tall. Each foot corresponds to each year of Queen Victoria's reign.

According to wikipedia, Jubilee Clock is a term used in reference to a number of clocks constructed and erected throughout the British Empire in commemoration of the Golden or Diamond Jubilee of various British monarchs, most commonly, Queen Victoria's.

large

medium

small

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9:54 a.m. - Next was the Fort Cornwallis. Structure-wise, it was so much like Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. This star-shaped fort was built for the Royal artillery troops and the military - not really for defensive purposes. Now, it's open for public as a tourist spot or venue for weddings and the like. Entrance fee is RM 3.00 (39 pesos) for adults and RM2.00 (26 pesos) for children. I didn't go inside because you can actually see its totality from the entrance gate and it sufficed my curiosity.

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10:04 a.m. - Next was the play area outside the Fort Cornwallis. 

play area

seating area

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10:11 a.m. - Esplanade was next and from the playground's point-of-view, it showed Neo-classical style structures all lined up - Penang declared Independence from British administration in August 31, 1957. I went closer and saw Penang's Town Hall and City Hall (Dewan Bandaraya, opened in 1903). 

Padang Kota Lama - green field (which is across the town and city hall)

Town hall and City hall (L-R)

played with sepia and felt nostalgia

Town Hall

City Hall

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10:20 a.m. - Still in Esplanade was the Penang War Memorial - a monument to commemorate the soldiers who died during the Battle of Penang in World War I.

the monument

a cenotaph for the soldiers

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10:26 a.m. - Part of the Esplanade was their version of Manila's baywalk - a better version.

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11:17 a.m. - docgelo constantly reminded me to visit Queensbay mall for a better view of the Penang bridge. So I went KOMTAR to ride a bus to Queensbay for RM 2.00 (26 pesos).

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11:36 a.m. - Queensbay mall is quite far from Georgetown but is near the Penang bridge. The view here was awesome. I wish the sun showed up for better photographs of the bridge. 

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1:18 p.m. - After some quick shopping at the Queensbay mall (nice and pricey shops but luckily they were on sale) I went into an eatery to have some kopi-o or their iced coffee but ended up eating lunch there. I got to taste their version of the Hainanese Chicken rice with veggies and chili salsa on the side plus a free soup for RM 3.50 and kopi-o for RM 1.20 (both for 66 pesos). 

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I ended my tour at this point because I needed to go home and pack my things for my 6:00 p.m. flight to Kuala Lumpur then to Manila. 

My 2 days were very much well spent on my walking tours. It's quite cheap and it's really fun to do it even when you're alone. I never had any solo trips but this can be a preview of what just  might happen next right?

Check Penang, Malaysia accommodations here