As previously mentioned, the geography of Penang State comprises Penang Island and Seberang Perai (also called Province Wellesley) on the mainland. The central part of Penang Island is hilly. Like a concrete carpet, the urban sprawl of George Town rolls out from the northeast tip of Penang Island and spreads across the lowlying areas. Much of the northern side of Penang Island is hilly, so only a ribbon of development skirts around the north, characterized by the tourist belt of Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah.
The central hills halt the city, forcing much of the development south through Gelugor and reaching Batu Maung to the south. Most of the people live on the east coast of the island, as the central hills make access to the western part difficult. Nevertheless, the pressure for housing has resulted in new development reaching Teluk Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul as well as Balik Pulau.
Balik Pulau, a town whose name translates roughly as "hindside of the island", was pretty much a sleepy hollow until recently. With increasing demand for housing on the island, Balik Pulau finally sees some development. Nevertheless, the town is still popular among Penangites for its orchards, particularly of durians and nutmeg.
Seberang Perai is relatively flat, save for Bukit Mertajam, the name of a hillock as well as the town at its foot. The snooty urban folks of Penang Island seldom venture into Seberang Perai - regarding it as a far-away countryside - until the pressing need for cheap housing forced some of them to live there. Now towns in Seberang Perai such as Juru, Jawi, Sungai Bakap and Nibong Tebal, once regarded as the agricultural hinterland as late as a decade ago, have experience rapid development, in terms of industrialization and the sprouting of new housing estates. These towns are expected to benefit from the construction of the second Penang Bridge.
A network of highways and expressways link these two halves, as seen on the map below:
The Penang Bridge carries a dual-lane carriageway, the E36, across the channel connecting Penang Island and the mainland. Linked to the Penang Bridge is Route 1331, comprising Jelutong Expressway and Bayan Lepas Expressway. This is the main motorway on the east side of Penang Island, connecting Batu Maung in the south to Weld Quay in George Town.
On the mainland side, the Penang Bridge connects to the North-South Expressway, E1, the main motorway running along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The E1 connects to the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, E15, and the Butterworth Outer Ring Road, E17. With the exception of the Jelutong and Bayan Lepas Expressways, all the motorways mentioned are tolled.
George Town, the capital, is located on the northeast tip of Penang Island. It is where most of the sights of historical significance and tourist attractions are located. It is also where most visitors to Penang will be staying.
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Penang Island
Here's the map of Penang Island in more detail. I label all the towns and villages as well as the major roads. George Town is shaded a lighter green. Route 6 is the main road that goes around the island. - you can take the bus to go round the island, changing buses in Balik Pulau. The Penang International Airport is located in Bayan Lepas, about 12 miles from George Town.
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Seberang Perai (Province Wellesley)
Here's the map of Seberang Perai showing the major towns. The North-South Expressway, E1, runs through Seberang Perai from north to south. In addition, the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, E15, runs east-west into Kedah while the Butterworth Outer Ring Road, E17, makes a loop around Butterworth.
Now, please select a topic within the Table of Contents above or go to the next chapter, and let me tell you about the Weather of Penang, or when it's the best time to visit.
Compare and Find the Lowest Hotel Room Rate
Booking hotel rooms online is today the most convenient and cost-effective way to get accomodation. But do you know that different Hotel Booking websites actually offer the same hotel room at different prices? If you just stick with one Hotel Booking site, you could be paying more for the same reservation. Why pay more?
At Penang Travel Tips, I want to encourage people to become informed travelers. Before you book your hotel room, use the free Hotel Search Engine below to find out the rates offered by the major Hotel Booking Sites. First, the engine shows you the rates from different hotels. Select the hotel, and it will show you the rates for the same room offered by different Booking Sites. You will see that the different sites really offer different rates! Select the Hotel Booking Site that offers the most attractive rate and you could well be saving a good amount of money.
Flying somewhere? Compare Flight Prices from different Airlines
Now everybody can book flights online. It's the cost effective way, cutting out the travel agent. But which airlines has the lowest-priced seats for the date you are flying? It would be tedious to go from one airline website to another just to compare their prices. But there's better way to go about that.
Use our free Flight Search Engine to compare the rates offered by different Airlines for the date destination. First we show you the best price from different airlines. Select which one you prefer, and we take you to the airline website. It saves you a whole lot of time comparing prices from different airlines sites.
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