winding road up Penang Hill

 Was in Penang recently, Penang Hill and Botanical Gardens to be exact.

After the rather delicious lunch char kuey teow of the famous goggle equipped hawker in Lorong Selamat, Georgetown, our tummy were rather full as we tucked in additional cendol and lo bak. Though simple hawker fare lunch, this is undoubtedly one of the better lunch I had on travels.

It was a pleasant surprise upon arrival when we spotted the two controversial "majestic" arches being erected at the entrance and car park area of the Botanical Gardens. We had a good view of the arches and it was a fact that one of the arch is indeed tilting being witnessed by the many visitors whom had made the visit there during the school holidays.

It was then we took note that the Penang Hill railway service had been stopped for upgrading works and expected to resume services in October 2010. No other better way up the hill then hiring the jeeps available at the road leading up to the top.

Off we jumped onto a jeep and set the trip up along winding roads when we set upon elderly Penang folks whom we are told hiked up the hill everyday for a journey taking them approximately an hour.

As I counted the friendly nature hikers we came across along the drive up, I stopped counting and can't help feeling embarassed about how discipline these bunch of daily hikers are when we KL city folks are destined to gym and jogging around the housing estate or parks.

Mother nature had been kind enough thus far but there are signs that correctional actions had to be taken soon to reinforced the hill slopes which had seen many landslides lately.

Reaching the top, we realised that the cooler temperature climate isn't there anymore while the number of visitors to Penang Hill had taken a beating due to the temporary halt of the train services.

Other then the pollution visibly seen from atop the Hill, the breathtaking view of the mainland and Georgetown is simply awesome!

Another candid shot of the pine tree revealed a "hidden Mickey"!

Our jeep driver up the hill gave us a great narration of the bungalows, State Government actions etc. available up on the hill to make my first trip up Penang Hill by road an informative and appreciative of the green.

It's at this point that I reinforced my belief that we should start retaining the greens and do our part in preserving the environment which our future generations would be able to enjoy.