Day 17: Penang Hill!
Today we started off with a rooftop breakfast with an amazing view before packing our bags. We left the hotel and began exploring Ipoh starting with a tour of the famous Tin Museum where we learned about the history of tin mining. After the museum we went to Concubine Lane where we looked around the shops and stalls. After we finished our exploration of the town, we boarded the bus. We stopped at a beautiful Buddhist cave temple, Perak cave temple, for a photo stop. After all children were accounted for and seated on the bus, we began our "short" drive (meant to be only 2 hours) that ended up taking more time as we were getting passed by other busses and large trucks. We took a quick lunch stop at Hulu Halfmoon Cafe in Taiping owned by the family of Menlo Student Claire Yao. Once we made it to Penang island by crossing the bridge from the mainland we loaded out bags into pickup trucks and drove up to the top of Penang hill where we found dinner at a food court. We then went on a guided evening walk at The Habitat (a nature preserve) across a sky bridge which featured somewhat aggressive monkeys crawling along the railing. We then walked up a to a raised platform where we watched a sunset very hidden by clouds. After our guided walk, we went on an adventure through the steep trails to find our hotel the Hickory House where we will be staying for the next three nights. After dropping our bags in our rooms they welcomed us with cake and a very friendly pet dog. We look forward to exploring Penang tomorrow.
Written by Sophia and Emily.