[rxpaul]

Pulsar,
Great review. I am planning a visit next year with my family to Malaysia & Singapore and this will be of good use.

[traveloholic]

Nazim, this was the much awaited TL from your side. Been waiting for this since the time I heard about your trip. Take us to some more locations ASAP. Your pics are a visual treat as usual.

[pulsar56]

Hydro Hotel @ Penang is an old & aging property and it started showing it's signs on Saturday Morning!
The flush in the bathroom stopped working!

We registered a complaint with the reception and they sent a plumber promptly. The plumber came, did his diagnosis and declared that it is working perfectly. "It's an old system lah, wait for 10 minutes and it will start to work!"

We ended up using the toilet at the Reception lobby until we checked out!
Icing on the cake - The drain got choked on Sunday Morning and the bathroom turned into a swimming pool!

Verdict: Hydro Hotel, Penang - Not recommended.
We should spent some more and booked our accommodation at Hard Rock Hotel.

Leaving the problems with the bathroom aside, the hotel is a 4* property, with swimming pool, gym, indoor games, outdoor games, a small private beach across the road, etc (we didn't use any of these facilities)

Breakfast was part of the package and lived up to our expectations based on the reviews on booking.com. Saturday morning, we stuffed ourselves with Malaysian + Continental Breakfast at the restaurant and headed out to explore Batu Ferringhi Beach & Penang National Park.

We stopped for a photo shoot near the 'Tropical Spice Garden'.















Taman Negara Pulau Piang (Penang National Park):
It is one of the smallest national parks in the world but contains habitats like - meromictic lake, wetlands, mangroves, mudflats, coral reefs and turtle nesting beaches.

Tourists have to register at the entrance with their details before entering the park. There are two trekking paths, one leading to Pantai Kerachut (Turtle Beach) and the other to Teluk Duyung (Monkey Beach). We made a deal with our boatman/guide to pick us up from Turtle Beach and drop us at Monkey Beach and then again pick us up from there and drop us back to the main entrance of the park for 80 MYR Only!















It was his first time trekking and it showed! :-P




Tired!

[gajadonga]

pulsar56
Bhai you are yet to complete the travelogue.
Why this suspense.
Waiting for your pictures and narration.

[pulsar56]

Wallpaper material!


Meromictic Lake:



Turtle Beach - Turtle Crossing. None crossed our path though.


But there were few baby turtles.






Dead on the beach! No idea as to what this is.. but creepy!


Fresh Water flowing from the meromictic lake into the sea!
It's not advisable to swim or get in the waters at the turtle beach (Pentai Kerachut) as the it's infested with Jelly fishes!



















Our transport - Pick up from Pental Kerachut Beach and drop off at Monkey Beach for water sports.



Sailing to the next stop!

[pulsar56]

Monkey Beach (Teluk Duyung)
This beach is inhabited by monkeys of the Crab-eating Macaque species.
It being a Public Holiday for Bakrid combined with heavy rains, there were not many tourists at the beach.

The first thing we do - Order for food!


Waiting for Lunch and in the meantime negotiated for the Jet Ski and Banana boat rides @140 MYR total.


Nasi Goreng - Egg fried maggi!



Our friend on the island. Gave us a great deal for the rides and turned out to be a good photographer too.







Time to put on the life jackets (very important, as I can't swim! ) and head out into the Indian Ocean!

Safety Instructions - No brakes. A Small lever for the accelerator and a strap around your wrist for emergency stop. Don't go close to the rocks or try to go to Indonesia. You will run out of fuel and the Navy will start chasing you!

Just rip it. You won't drown. If you fall, I will come and get you in the other jet ski!

Yamaha Waverunner - VX100. 110 hp, 1052cc, 4 cylinder 4 stroke with Electronic Fuel Injection, getting ready for action!











Eagle chase! LOL!








Trust the life jacket. Enjoy the sea!

[vnabhi]

I wonder how I missed this fantastic travelogue! Perhaps I was studying last month.

Please continue, Nazim. Eagerly waiting for more pics. The car does look like the Indian Etios.

[vnabhi]

A question to you, Nazim: did you need an IDP for renting a car at Malaysia? Or was your Indian DL enough?

[pulsar56]

Hi Venu,

The rental agency asked only for my Indian DL though I had my IDP with me during this trip.