Teluk Bahang is a a quiet fishing village at the tail-end of the coastal road on the northern side of Penang Island. The name Teluk Bahang means the "Bay of Heat Wave", probably pointing to the high temperature of the sea breeze coming in to shore. Until the Penang Mutiara Beach Resort opened, the only purpose of going to Teluk Bahang was to enjoy the seafood at the End of the World Restaurant. Sadly, the restaurant was utterly destroyed by the tsunami of 26 December. Other than that, scouts would remember the Jamboree Camp at Teluk Bahang.
Teluk Bahang is the home of the Penang Butterfly Farm and the Teluk Bahang Recreational Forest. It has a couple of batik factories and small scale orchid farms targetting the tourist market. Further inland is the Chin Fruit Farm. Completed in 1999, the Teluk Bahang Dam offers splendid views all the way to the sea. With a storage capacity of 19.24 billion litres, it is the biggest dam on Penang Island, and doubles as a regular venue for water sports. It also holds the distinction of being the only dam in Malaysia built within a few kilometres from the sea.
Located in the hills above Teluk Bahang is the Penang National Park, which covers the whole promontory on the north west part of the island. Within the Penang National Park are many jungle treks in the hills to the northwest of Teluk Bahang. One leads to Muka Head, with a left fork to Pantai Kerachut. The sea off Teluk Bahang is not suitable for swimming, due to presence of jellyfish on account of the sewage discharged by the establishments and habitations along the coast.
The Tsunami Aftermath
Teluk Bahang was one of the places affected by the tsunami of 26 December 2004. The wave arrived around 12:50pm that afternoon, causing extensive damage and some loss of lives, albeit not as severe as other countries around the Indian Ocean. When the area was surveyed on 15 January 2005, we found the village has bounced back to the best of its ability. Broken piers were mended, or at least material is already on hand for reconstruction.
Further Reading
My friend Pearly has also described Teluk Bahang which you can read here.
Stretching your budget in Penang
If you are a prudent traveller, you can spend less than $20 per day in Penang, including your accommodation! Here's some useful tips for budget travellers to Penang, to help you manage your budget and have a great time.
Penang Tour Guides
If you're on a shoestring budget, you can explore Penang using the travel articles in Penang Travel Tips. You may print them out for your own personal non-commercial use. However, nothing compares to having a professional tour guide to show you around. If you need a tour guide, contact me and I'll arrange one for you, according to your schedule and interest. If I happen to be free, I would gladly show you around too. Just write to me at:
Finding Budget Accommodation in Penang
If you're coming to Penang on a budget, you'd be pleased to know that there's quite a number of places in George Town as well as in Batu Ferringhi that offers good clean accommodation without costing you an arm and a let. If I am allowed to be biased, I would recommend Hotel Mingood, which happens to belong to a friend of mine. If it is occupied, there are plenty of other places that cost less than US$12.00 per night. Here are some suggestions:
Hotel Mingood, from US$10.00
Hutton Lodge, from US$8.25
Baba Guesthouse, from US$7.57
E.T. Budget Guesthouse, from US$6.05
YMCA Penang, from US$6.53
Ali's Ferringhi Guest House, from US$9.63
Despite the best intentions to provide you information that is as accurate as possible, do be aware that prices may have changed and exchange rates fluctuated since I wrote this. So please personally and carefully screen through the available accommodation before making your booking, to avoid any disappointments.
The fishermen pier of Teluk Bahang, Penang.
|
|
