This post is about the highlights of spending two months and a half in Penang. It includes famous places and hidden gems, my favorite food and favorite sunset spots, and what made me stay in Penang for so long.
Dear Penang,
Thank you, thank you so much for these two months and a half that we’ve spent together.
I’ll truly miss you.
I’m so happy and so sad at the same time. So happy because these months have completely exceeded my expectations, they’ve been some of the best I’ve had while traveling. So sad that it’s time to go, not because I want to, but because my tourist visa is for 90 days.
When I think that, at the beginning, I wasn’t even planning to visit you! It was a last minute decision because a local couchsurfing friend was moving abroad and I wanted to meet him before his departure.
And what started as a one week visit became a two months and a half stay. Penang, you have become my new home away from home. I have so many great memories…
Street art and temples in Georgetown
The first week in Georgetown was about exploring. Even though I had already been in the city two years ago, everything felt like it was “new”: the weather, the crazy traffic, the colonial architecture, the food, the trishaws.
I enjoyed walking around, looking for the famous and not so famous street art murals, and visiting several Chinese temples (I never get tired of them!).
Beach party at the Spice Garden beach
That party was the beginning of everything, the day I started meeting new people.
We had food and saw the sunset. At night, we swam to see the glowing plankton. The sky was cloudy and dark, the sea completely black. The water was warm. And while moving the hands inside the water, I could see many sparkling lights. The glowing plankton.
It felt magic. I felt so happy and thankful for being there, living new experiences and making new friends.
Teluk Kumbar, a fishermen’s village in the South
After Georgetown I moved to Teluk Kumbar for one month.
At the beginning it was strange. I was the only foreigner in the village so every time I went out, someone would shout “hello hello! where you from?”. Most people couldn’t speak much English, and it was far from Georgetown.
As you know, it grew on me. I liked its quietness, the colorful fishing boats and the friendly people. In addition, I enjoyed having a routine. Having lunch at the same restaurant, facing the sea. Working in the afternoon at home. And my favorite part: going to the hidden sandy beach in the evening to watch the sunset.
The Snake Temple
I’ve been there three times and I still feel a bit dizzy when I enter the Snake Temple.
Yes, I know, they’re sleeping during the day, but still… they’re venomous vipers!
Even if a bit scary, it’s cool to see the snakes from close. They’re inside the temple, in specially arranged branches, and also on the trees in the rear garden.
I asked if the snakes are devenomed and was told that they are not. They’re free to come and go since there are no windows. The temple is a sanctuary for them, a place to have food and be safe.
Hiking in the Penang National Park
Something I like about you, Penang, is your diversity. You have everything: city life, small villages, beaches and sea, hills and jungle.
I enjoyed hiking the National Park, being in the jungle. The sounds were amazing! We hiked for about one hour and a half to Kerachut beach. Such a beautiful beach! It was just a bit disappointing that it’s forbidden to swim due to the jelly fish (but yeah, I agree, no kidding with the jelly fish).
By then it was very hot so it was cool to take a boat instead of hiking back.
Bukit Genting, Penang’s hidden gem
On my last day in Teluk Kumbar two friends of my Airbnb host took us out for lunch.
I thought we were going to a restaurant, but it was much more than that.
Bukit Genting is a hill in the South West of the island. On the top there is a Thai restaurant surrounded by a beautiful decorated garden. Best of it? The views.
Since it was facing west I thought it might be a great place for sunset, so one week later I went back with a couple of friends to watch the sunset. And yes, it was gorgeous!
Batu Ferringhi, a beach destination in the North
The last weeks in Penang I stayed in Batu Ferringhi which, guess what? is also next to the beach!
Teluk Kumbar and Batu Ferringhi cannot be more different though. One is non touristic, the other touristic. While one has small houses, the other has high condos. One has a secluded small beach, the other a long beach with plenty of people offering massages and water sports.
I liked Batu Ferringhi too, in a different way. It’s more lively, with more food options and a daily night market. In addition, it’s closer to Georgetown, where I used to go 2-3 times per week to meet my friends.
Penang Hill
On my last day in Penang one of my friends said she was free to go around.
“Is there any place you haven’t been yet?” she asked.
“Mmm yes, Penang Hill”.
“What??”
Penang Hill is one of the top attractions in Penang, and in more than two months I hadn’t been there!!
Since we were too lazy to wake up early to hike, we took the cable car. It was a cloudy and foggy day so the views from the top were not the best, and it just cleared by the time we had to go back, but it was still nice and fun. Definitely a place to go back!
Food
Did you know that food was one of the reasons why I chose to come back to Malaysia? Malay, Chinese, Indian… so many choices, love it!
I’m not even sure which is my favorite… I’d say char kuey teow, though I also like asam laksa, prawn noodles, roti canai, popiah, ice kacang, dim sum, lassi, and some others whose names I don’t remember. I also love that fresh fruits and juices are available everywhere!
In addition, there was a food festival in April! There were daily events but we went only to the big ones on the weekends. All the famous street food stalls and restaurants put together, so we could taste so many different specialties. Could it get any better?

Sunsets
Oh my… Penang, I completely fell in love with your sunsets! So colorful, so magical, so gorgeous. I have no words to describe them.


People
I have many great memories, but the best of it was people. My time wouldn’t have been the same (and I wouldn’t have stayed that long) if it were not for the new friends I made.
Thanks to my couchsurfing friend, who I met two years ago, I met other couchsurfing members who became my friends, and I had many great experiences thanks to them. We even started a Spanish conversation group and met once a week for six weeks. It was so fun!
Honestly, the local couchsurfing community in Penang is the best!
In addition a blogger friend was there for one month. Anna from Slightly Astray and me had virtually known each other for about two years, so it was great to meet in person and hang out together. We went to the beach, to the night market, to visit the island, to the Spanish classes, to try new food. And we talked, talked, talked. That month went so fast.
My time in Penang went so fast.


Penang, I know that traveling life is full of hellos and good byes.
It is the life I’ve chosen.
But… I cannot stand telling you good bye.
I can’t, not yet.
So… I will be back.
See you soon,
Laia
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Great post on Penang! And lovely photos! I stopped by here when I did my university exchange. And I just had char kuey teow for the first time in years yesterday! Ahhh so good!! 🙂 Did you do airb&b and couchsurf while you were there? Interested to know how you saved in the two months! 😀
Thanks Charmaine! And sorry about my late reply.
The first week I stayed in a hostel dorm. After that I stayed in two different airbnbs and the last three weeks I rented a room through one of my friends.
Ahhh char kuey teow is so good!!!
Great post and my favorite are sunset/street art pictures. I liked the way you wrote on a personal account with Penang.
Thanks Sapna, so happy you enjoyed the post! Yes the sunsets are great and the street art in Georgetown is unique!
What a lovely letter. It certainly sounds like you had an amazing adventure. It’s never goodbye just until we see each other again.
Hi Jean! Yes, I had an amazing time there. And actually it wasn’t a real good bye, it was a “see you soon” 🙂
Those sunsets look magical! It´s great that you stayed long enough to have time to make local friends and live in several places 🙂
Hi Karin!
Yes the sunsets in Penang are magical, I love them! And the best of staying long time was indeed to make local friends, that’s what made me feel like I found a second home 🙂
Just yesterday we were talking about visiting Penang someday and here I see this article :)… I have heard a lot about food there… Do you think Penang is veg-friendly?..
Hi Aarti,
So sorry about my late reply. Mmmm I think Malaysian food is not the most veg-friendly, but I guess it’s possible to find (I’m not vegetarian). Indian restaurants are the easiest, they always have vegetarian dishes. I’ve seen some vegetarian options in Malay restaurants too, though not as many choice as in the Indian. Chinese restaurants might be the most difficult but if they speak English I guess you could ask if they can prepare the dishes without meat.
I love when this happens. It is so sad when you leave but so lovely to find a place that you want to stay in and that completey exceeds any and all fo your expectations. Can’t wai tto visit for myself Thanls for the inspiration.
Yes it’s great when you find a place so great that you want to stay, and so sad when you leave… but it’s all part of the experience.
I hope you can visit Penang, and that you enjoy it a lot!
Oh girl I can so much relate to this feeling. I recently had to say goodbye to my 5 months long home in Jerusalem. It was time to leave, but still hard, and lots of amazing people and memories will stay with me. I’m so glad you went with couchsurfing as well, in my opinion it’s one of the best ways to make local friends 🙂 – and cool to hear anyway, for when I’ll go one day haha.
Oh, and the sunset shots are truly stunning, great job!
Thanks Christina!
I can feel you, saying good bye after 5 months must have been very hard, specially when you had a great time there! The good thing is that you can always go back and the memories will always be with you 🙂
Yes I think that couchsurfing is the best way to meet locals.
It looks like you had an incredible experience! And those sunsets are stunning!!
Thanks Julia! Yes I had an incredible experience! and I’ll never get tired of those sunsets…
I’ve always wanted to go here it looks so interesting!
Hi Sonja! I really enjoyed Penang, I cannot recommend it enough! 🙂
Penang was SO much fun! Loved hanging with you and crashing your Spanish class!! It was hard leaving after one week, I can’t imagine leaving after over 2 months. It’s definitely a place I’d go back to again for a long period of time. Maybe we can meet there next year 🙂 🙂
Hi Carmela! It was so nice meeting you and having you in my Spanish class! When we truly enjoy a place it’s so difficult to leave, I like to think that there will always be an opportunity to go back. And an opportunity to meet again in the future. Maybe in Penang? Or somewhere else in the world? Who know! 🙂
Awwww I love this so much Laia! My month in Penang definitely exceeded my expectations too and you were a huge reason for that! I really loved meeting the couchsurfing group through you and just hanging out and chatting with you. Penang is the kind of place I can stay in for 3 months too, but I know when I go back there, it won’t be the same, and that’ll makes me sad. We must meet up again next year! Oh, and I severely miss char kuey teow already!
It was SO nice meeting you Anna! I really enjoyed hanging around with you and going shopping and trying new food! My time in Penang also exceeded my expectations and it’s all thanks to the great people we met!
Going back to places we enjoyed a lot is always a bit difficult due to the great memories… it will never be the same, but it might be great in a different way, sometimes.
We must definitely meet again in the future. Keep in touch! 🙂
Glad that you enjoyed your stay. There are still many hidden gems that are not promoted by the tourism board (as it is not profit-making). Do you know there is a bat cave near Penang Hill? Well, now you know. I am from KL but I used to visit Penang a lot in the past, and some places I discovered by accident while exploring.
Hi Fabian,
Wow, no, I didn’t know about the bat cave! Thanks! Penang will never stop surprising me 🙂