George Town to Penang Airport @ Penang

Date: 1/12/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 5, CX flight from Penang to Hong Kong

Since I was taking the flight at 0750 back to Hong Kong (which was early in the morning), I had been very worry about how to get to the Airport from Day 1. After asking around, I could take Bus No 401 or 401E in Komtar Terminal or Weld Quay Terminal to the Airport. The bus get off from Weld Quay and the second stop is Komtar. There is no other station in between.

The locals advised that the bus ride would take at least an hour, so I'd better take the bus at 0530, which was the first bus of the day. There is a bus every 20 min. So my plan is to get up at 0450 and get to the station at around 0520 for the 0530 bus (it should take around 10-15 min walk from my hostel to Weld Quay Terminal).

That, however, was only a plan, since when I was awake it was already 0535!!! Oh my gosh!! I immediately got change and rushed out to the Terminal. Don't even have time to wash my face/ brush my teeth... It was around 0550 when I got to the Terminal. I was so worry when I was waiting for the bus and had been kept asking the bus drivers at the Terminal whether I could make it to the Airport before 7am (There were lots of drivers in the Terminal since many routes start at Weld Quay). The drivers were so nice and helpful. They told me the ride was around 40 min and it was!! I was so grateful. I got on the bus at 0610 and arrived the Airport at 0650!! Since it was early in the morning, the sky was still dark and there was no traffic at all and just a few passengers throughout the ride.

I still had time to wash up after checking-in and enjoy the sunrise @ Penang Airport. Que bien!!

PS. 40 min bus ride to Airport should only valid for early morning in weekends. I heard from the locals that the traffic jam starts at 0630 and the ride would usually take much longer.

#travel, #travelblog, #penang, #George Town, #penangbus, #penang airport, #sunrise

Penang Airport to George Town @ Penang

Date: 27/2/2012
City: Penang, Malaysia
Route: Day 1, CX flight from Hong Kong to Penang

I had very impulsively booked a ticket to Penang. Having booked the flight and hostel, I was ready to go!!

The flight departed from Hong Kong at 0825, and took around 3.5 hours to Penang. The plane landed at 1200. One could took Bus No 401, or 401E of Rapid Bus on the 3rd lane right outside Airport to George Town, which was the World Heritage Area and basically the down town area of Penang. Airport was in the southern part of Penang Island while George Town was in the top northern part of the Island. So, it took around an hour to get to George Town. The bus fare from the Airport to George Town was RM 2.7. And the bus has no changes. So if possible, prepare some small notes/ coins.

PS1. I should had waited the bus for quite some time. So beware you might need to wait for a while in the airport. 15-30 min I guess. And one more time to note, the 401/ 401E bus of both direction stopped in the same bus stop, so don't just look at the bus number, but also its route. Look for those goes to "Jetty", or simply, ask the bus drivers.

PS2. The public buses in Penang is operated by Rapid Bus. Most of the buses would stop at Komtar Terminal and Weld Quay Terminal (both were in George Town). So you should be able to interchange almost all of the bus routes in these 2 stations.

PS3. Penang government operates FREE shuttle bus services within George Town. It is called CAT City Shuttle. It has bus stops in almost all main tourist spots within George Town. So if you stay within George Town, you may get on the CAT City Shuttle at Komtar Terminal and Weld Quay Terminal to the bus stop near your hostel/ hotel. The Penang map with bus stop information is available in the Airport.

#travel, #travelblog, #penang, #George Town, #penangbus, #penang airport