Towns and Places on Penang Island

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Destination: PENANG

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Let me help you get familiar with the names of towns and places on Penang Island. You may have heard of some of them, Batu Ferringhi, Bayan Lepas, Batu Maung, and so on. On this page, we get to know the names of the places and where they are located in Penang.

Penang Island, especially the east coast of the island, is one of the most densely populated places in Malaysia. Here, you will find place names appearing in rapid succession. A visiting friend from Kuala Lumpur commented to me on this. Travelling along the expressway, he noticed that as soon as I finished pointing out the name of one place, we were passing through another.

On Penang Island, the towns and places often seem squeezed together. There is little undeveloped land, and the many people are forced to live in high-rises. You will see lots of high rise flats, apartments and condominiums. It is not cheap to live in Penang. Indeed, a 3-bedroom apartment on Penang Island may cost as much as a two-storey house in a smaller town in Malaysia. However, many people choose to live in Penang due to job opportunity. Also, although the roads are narrow and often congested, distance from one place to another is shorter, so people who moved to Penang from more sprawling cities like Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru find that they actually save on fuel.

Refer to the above map for place location.

Name of Places in Penang

1. Esplanade: This is the sea-side promenade built by the British. This place is also called Padang Kota, in reference to the playing field beside Fort Cornwallis. The Esplanade contains mostly administrative buildings from the colonial era.
2. Weld Quay: You hear this name often, as it's the terminus for the city buses as well as ferry services. Located just south of the Esplanade, as its name suggest, it's the port area. You can take the bus from here to practically anywhere on Penang Island.
3. Jelutong: This is a working-class neighborhood with shophouses and light industries. In the last ten years, Jelutong has seen rapid redevelopment, with plenty of new low and medium cost often nondescript high rises.
4. Pulau Tikus North of Esplanade, this is one of the older residential neighborhoods in Penang. Along the shore is Gurney Drive, which is lined with luxurious condominiums, while further inland are huge bungalows in verdant surroundings. The name Pulau Tikus means "Rat Island" or "Island of Rats". It is either named after the small islet off the coast of Penang, visible from Tanjung Bungah but not visible from Pulau Tikus district itself. Alternatively, the name "island of rats" could refer to the sanitary condition of the 19th century when Pulau Tikus was first settled.
5. Tanjung Tokong: The name Tanjung Tokong means "temple cape", and got its name from the Tua Pek Kong Chinese Temple on the cape. The area surrounding the cape was once a fishing village, but is today dominated by high rise condominiums. This is today an affluent neighborhood that enjoys some of the best views of the city of George Town.
6. Tanjung Bungah: A winding stretch of beaches and coves, Tanjong Bungah - the name means "cape of flowers" - is developed with beach hotels and high rise condominiums dotting its hills. Often spelled Tanjong Bungah.
7. Batu Ferringhi: This is the most popular strip of sandy beaches in Penang, and today dominated by beach hotels and resorts. In between, one can still come across the old fishing village of Batu Ferringhi which has not been totally erased by tourist development.
8. Jesselton Heights: This is a leafy, affluent neighborhood, with some of the grandest homes in Penang.
9. Air Itam This is what was once "hinterland" to the folks living in George Town, supplying vegetables and farm produced to the city - the hills in Air Itam still contain vegetable plots. Today Air Itam is a major working-class neighborhood linked to George Town by the often over-congested Jalan Air Itam. Air Itam is also spelled Ayer Itam and Air Hitam as well.
10. Farlim: This is a working-class neighborhood that was developed since the early 80's with new highrises still being put up today.
11. Paya Terubong: Hemmed in by hills on the east and west, Paya Terubong was once farmland and cemeteries. Now it has been developed into a dense low-income neighborhood with high rise flats squeezed into the hillsides.
12. Green Lane:Orchard land until the middle of the 20th century, Green Lane area is mostly residential. Houses here were built in the 60's and 70's.
13. Gelugor: Used to define the southern limit of George Town, today Gelugor is part of the greater metropolitan area. A great part of Gelugor is taken up by Universiti Sains Malaysian ahnd the Malaysian Teacher's College (RECSAM)
14. Minden Heights: This is an affluent neighborhood next to Universiti Sains Malaysia, developed to be an alternative to Jesselton Heights and Pulau Tikus but never approaching the "leafliless" or character of the two.
15. Batu Uban: Once a hillock with one of the oldest Malay villages in Penang, Batu Uban is today dominated by high rise condominiums with superb views of the Penang Bridge.
16. Sungai Dua: Once vegetable farmland, Sungai Dua has since been developed into a working-class residential neighborhood. It contains some high rises and commercial activities supporting Universiti Sains Malaysia, which has one of its main entrances through Sungai Dua.
17. Pantai Jerejak: Middle-class neighborhood with view of Pulau Jerejak, the biggest island off Penang. Hemmed in on either side by Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, the main road, and the Bayan Lepas Expressway.
18. Pulau Jerejak: Island off Penang Island. Still very much underdeveloped, safe for an island resort.
19. Sungai Nibong: Area south of Gelugor, and includes the aforementioned Pantai Jerejak neighborhood. Once farmland now turned into residential area.
20. Bukit Jambul: Hilly neighborhood with mixed development ranging from the working class to the upper middle class. Along the hillside of Bukit Jambul are palatial homes with splended views.
21. Bayan Batu: This is a new township within Bayan Lepas that was developed in the early 70's and 80's from former paddy fields and coconut groves. Today a major working class neighborhood in Penang supporting the industrial area of Bayan Lepas.
22. Bayan Lepas: Major area on the southeast of Penang Island. It contains the Penang International Airport and the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone, a major electronics industrial area in Malaysia. within Bayan Lepas are pockets of old Malay and Chinese villages that existed before Bayan Lepas became part of the Penang metropolitan area.
23. Relau: The name "Relau" means "quarry", but there isn't one here anymore. Formerly fruit orchards, the land in Relau has also since been transformed into a working-class neighborhood dominated by high rise blocks.
24. Sungai Ara: Literally "Fig River", Sungai Ara was farmland that is rapidly transforming into a neighborhood with mixed development. This is one of the few low-lying areas left on Penang Island that has not been completely encroached by concrete.
25. Batu Maung: This is a major fishing village on Penang Island. Institutions supporting the fishery industry as well as the Penang Aquarium are located here. Much of the low-lying areas of Batu Maung was mangrove swamp that has since been developed and now contains part of the free-trade zone. More housing estates are expected to mushroom in Batu Maung, which has been identified as the island link for the second Penang Bridge.
26. Telok Tempoyak: A sleepy fishing village, Telok Tempoyak has not seen much development, mainly because it is hemmed in by surrounding hills. This is a place to go for good seafood.
27. Permatang Damar Laut: Seaside village between the Penang International Airport and Batu Maung, Permatang Damar Laut was once farmland, now developed with light industries. The place is becoming a mixed residential neighborhood.
28. Telok Kumbar: A fishing village now receiving some development spilled over from the over crowded east coast, Telok Kumbar is another place to go for good seafood.
29. Gertak Sanggul: Regarded as the furthest point from George Town, Gertak Sanggul retains the slow village pace that has disappeared elsewhere in Penang. A place to admire swaying coconut palms against the blue sea.
30. Pasir Panjang: A stretch of sandy beach on the southwest tip of Penang Island, Pasir Panjang is a favorite among local picnickers and anglers.
31. Pulau Betong: Village named after an off shore islet, Pulau Betong retains much of the "kampung" feel.
32. Balik Pulau: This is the district on the southwest side of Penang Island, including the villages of Pasir Panjang, Pulau Betong, among others. With new roads under construction linking it to the developed east coast, Balik Pulau is expected to see more housing development. So far, this is one of the few places left on Penang Island where one can purchase new landed properties rather than high rises.
33. Sungai Pinang: Named after one of the two rivers in Penang named Sungai Pinang, Sungai Pinang is a fishing village that has not been touched by development.
34. Pantai Aceh: Like Sungai Pinang, Pantai Aceh (also written Pantai Acheh) is still very much untouched by urbanization.
35. Telok Bahang: This is the westernmost reach of urbanization. There are a few tourist sights here, including a butterfly farm, a recreational forest, a dam, and a few fruit orchards. The only five-star hotel in Telok Bahang closed in 2007.
36. Muka Head: An oddly named place on the northwest tip of Penang Island, Muka Head is a promontory reached only by trekking through the forest of the Penang National Park. Muka Head is well known for its lighthouse built to signal approaching ships.