Have Perut Will Travel...: PEN Day 1 │ Arriving in PENANG

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Thursday, 16 June 2022

PEN Day 1 │ Arriving in PENANG

From KL Sentral to the Mainland

After a pleasant ETS ride from KL Sentral, we arrived at Butterworth ETS Station at exactly 12:15pm. From there, we navigated a maze of corridors, staircases, and walkways before finally reaching the Butterworth Ferry Pier, just a short distance away.

A Pleasant Surprise

We were delighted to learn that ferry tickets were free for Malaysians — all we had to do was show our identity cards. A small but lovely perk. About twenty minutes later, we were ushered onto the ferry, and just over five minutes after that, we arrived at Swettenham Pier on Penang Island.

Heading to the Hotel

We booked a Grab to our hotel, Hutton Central, located along Jalan Hutton. The ten minute ride cost RM11 (≈ USD2.50/EUR2.40). Since it was still too early to check in, we registered first and left our luggage at the counter before heading out in search of lunch.

First Meal in Penang

We hadn’t eaten anything all day and were absolutely starving. Thankfully, just a few doors down was Nasi Kandar Pokok Ketapang. Lunch was simple but wonderfully satisfying — rice with their garlic sauce chicken, plus drinks. The total came to RM19.20 (≈ USD/EUR4).

For those unfamiliar, nasi kandar is a Penang classic: steamed rice served with a mix of curries and side dishes, originally brought over by Indian Muslim traders.

A Sweet Treat Before Check In

After lunch, we walked to a nearby Mydin to stock up on drinking water, then returned to the hotel — but our room still wasn’t ready. So we crossed the street to Laksalicious, where we were pleasantly surprised to find cendol on the menu.

We ordered one bowl of cendol and a glass of soy bean milk with cendol, which came to RM14.80 (≈ USD/EUR3). Cendol is a beloved Malaysian dessert made with green rice flour jelly, coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup — cold, sweet, and perfect for Penang’s heat.

Checking In at Last

By the time we finished our cendol, it was 3:00pm, and we were finally able to check into our room. More on that in our upcoming video.

We spent the afternoon doing laundry (thankfully, our room had a washer dryer) and took a much needed nap.

Stay tuned for our next post — our first walkabout and dinner at our absolute favourite food court in Georgetown.