Penag Hill vistit, a crazy que and wait

Today I will visit Penang Hill, or The Habitat, 833 m.a.s.l. Looking forward to it.

I ate my my breakfast then I step 500 meters down to the harbor and busterminal. Bus 204 will take me to the funicukar entrance.

After 45 minutes bus ride through small villages and alleys it stops just outside the entrance.

The large entrance hall is jam-packed with people and I had to wait 45 minutes in a

in a winding line before I could buy my ticket.

The cashier asked me…
– Fast or Normal lane?
– ???. I replied normal lane
– 30 Ringgit

On my ticket is a batch number, No. 17. Above the gate to the cable car, a digital sign shows which batch number is allowed to pass through the gate.
After my batch number shows 13.03, so I have about 30 minutes to buy coffee or a soft drink.

Just before 1pm I stand in line again, waiting, waiting but nothing happens. It is 14:00 before we are let through the gate to the cable car.

Here a new queue awaits and a 20-minute wait, then another queue before we get to sit in the funicular’s cabin or carriage.

Now I understand what was meant by ”Fast and Normal”
”Through Fast Lane, visitors are able to opt for a shorter waiting time and avoid the long queues”

The track up Up to to Penag Hill is about 2 km and max steepness 52,9 %. I promise you it was steep and it took about 10 minutes.

Signs all over tells you what You can expect to find and how to navigate around. Up here also shops selling souvenirs, cafe, coffee bars and it’s very expensive.

Of course, I want to go to the rainforest part that they call The Habitat and to Curtis Crest, a 360 degree and 100 m long oval bridge made of metal that is above the treetops.
They are located about 1 km away from the entrance to the Penang Hill summit itself and you can travel with a jeep or TukTuk like vehicle.

The jeep stopped short before The Habit cafe and shop. Here you need to buy a ticket if you want to visit the rainforest area. In the café I  bought a Tiger beer which I thought I deserved after all this waiting in line. Double price then down town.

The reinforest park trail is approximately 1.6 km long and most of ther tracks are paved with non-slip  concrete. Also few bridges, 30-40 meters above the ground, one of the is Langur Way Canopy Walk.

Curtis Crest, The Treetop Walk is the highest 360-degree viewing platform in PenangThe Treetop Walk is the highest 360-degree viewing platform in Penang. It provides visitors a spectacular view of the island, and on clear days, Langkawi can also be seen in the distance.
Walk around the platform and marvel at the beauty of nature before you. You get there via a number of stairs and I counted the steps to 120. It’s called the TreeTop Walk at Curtis Crest

The weather today was cloudy so it was’nt possible to see isle Langkawi from here. After my visit here I then took the steps down towards the paths and The Habitat Cafe and find some fancy orchids after the hike. That I’m in a rainforest is not hard to see.

In the park lots of flowers and orchids.Best time for this is beterrn april and may

Sound of monkeys and other mammals could be heard but not seen. They were too shy for that.

Panorama view over George Town from Penag Hill

I get back to the Café and take a look at the inflated prices of everything before I take a jeep back towards The Habitat entrance area and the railway down.

The bars up here should be avoided because the prices are not cheap compared to the bars down town. When I arrive at the funicular railway I got a minor shock

If the queue down there was long, this one even worse. 100 meters long and two may be three queues and I have a only ”normal” ticket so it will probably be to stand at least two hours.
At the ticket counter at the very front, I tell a lie about my plane leaving at 8 o’clock, so I need to go first.

The ticket seller believes my ”emergency lie” and responds by saying..

 – an upgrade ticket to ”Fast” cost 20 and you pay down below
 – OK!
 – Please give me your card, she says in a firm voice through the door

I hand over the card and get a ticket that says ”upgrade” and which must be shown to the ticket inspector down there.

I still have to stand in line for about 45 minutes before I can board and sit at the front for the sake of the view. It is without a doubt steep. Less than a year ago, this area was hit by a tropical storm and tore away most of it, but you don’t see much of that today.

When I come down, you have to pass about the same gates as when entering the subways in Stockholm and put the card down in a legible slot for that gate to open. A
An inspector sees that I try to put the receipt with the barcode instead and asks me to stand aside. ^^

A chromed gate is right in front of me and not locked so I just turn the handle down and walk out towards the exit and the Rapid Panang bus. 20

I have now saved Ringgit in this dishonest and sneaky way, but I did not want to stand and wait until everyone had passed.

Before I’m back at the hostel, I buy Evening Dinner in another fast food restaurant and take it with me

See Yeah Later
// P–G The Global Cyclist