 | George Town Flights and Airline Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
There are hundreds of trishaw drivers plying the streets around Georgetown. It's a slow, but rather pleasant way to travel, provided the journey isn't too long. Leave a Comment Theme: Bicycle
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pubic transport is still in a mess... though I'm wondering if the free circuit buses that go around the city centre are still running...
LATEST NEWS: Finally, we are going to get a so-called monorail system on the island to be build in the next 5 years! There will be some changes to the bus systems as well. Hope all will be good... Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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It's an err.. um... interesting place to say the least.
The idea is that on the Lane signboards are the bus numbers that will arrive/ depart from that lane. Provided you know what bus number you want (any local will be able to help you there), the theory is that you wait in that lane and, sooner or later, your bus will arrive. Like I said, that's the theory.
In practice, some bus numbers go through this terminal at a much more frequent rate than others. Sometimes a backlog in buses occur as the ones that arrive first, don't seem to want to leave unless they have a full load. This creates havoc so the buses that are queued up in the street outside the terminal waiting to get it, randomly pick another empty lane and stop there. It can end up being like winning the lotto, trying to guess what lane your bus will turn up in. If it's not the one you're in, you'll get to play a game of Frogger, trying to cross lanes with buses transiting through at breakneck speed only to discover the bus leaving just as you get there!
Should you just miss the last bus and have to wait a while, there are toilets in the area and a newsagent stand with some food and water.
For those sensitive to pollution, you may want to find somewhere else to wait, as the carbon monoxide build up gets to shocking levels. There are exhaust fans in the roof, but most of the time they seem woefully inadequate. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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walking around the many narrow and winding quaint streets of old George Town will bring you back to a by-gone era; splattered with everyday life street scenes (street vendors selling local delicacies, rickshaw riders fetching school kids, the womenfolk carrying basketloads of fish & vegetables from the wet markets) to ornate windows, door carvings, coloured tiles, stuccos, gilded door panels, etc. on old Anglo-Indo-Malay-Chinese architecture link houses of the Straits Chinese (Nyonas & Babas) and their clan temples.
Light Street Convent & School was used by the Japanese occupying forces during WW2 as a temporary prisoner-of-war camp. Some American marines held there left their marks on the walls of some the classrooms, which are preserved until today. Be sure to seek permission to enter first as you might disrupt classes being held there. The chapel contains some beautiful stained glass windows. It can be rented for weddings!
In the old 200-year old Christian cemetary lie many distinguished colonial personalities including Captain Francis Light and David Leonowens, the husband of Anna Leonowens of the King And I fame. Anna retird to Canada after serving the royal court of King Rama IV (King Mongkut) of Siam for a short while.
Your walk around town will take you through tiled pathways and gilded and decorative doors of pre-war shophouses, street hawkers (we're obsessed with food-"live to eat") and many Chinese clan temples.
You should follow the trails of the heritage walks which will bring you to the highlights of Penang's architectural jewels (you can get maps of the walking trails from the tourist offices (in the 60-storey KOMTAR tower on Level 3 concourse). Leave a Comment Address: old George TownDirections: from Butterworth train station, take ferry across the North Channel (60 sen/USD$0.15-one-way, free ride from the island to Butterworth) & walk (not shop) till you drop, the whole of old George Town
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on August 26, 2003
George Town
on October 18, 2002
on April 5, 2006
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on February 27, 2007
