Accidental Blogger: Beautiful #Penang (Pictures) - Pt 1 - Teluk Bahang Dam & End of the World

My recent trip for the Chinese New Year Holidays took me back to my hometown of #Penang. The holidays coincided with my birthday and wedding anniversary (celebrated slightly earlier). Although my wife and I planned to go to Thailand for a couple of days but we decided to call it off as it was too much of a hassle especially with the little one because we would have to leave him with my in-laws or my parents which we were not comfortable as we were not too sure if he would be okay without us for two days. So we decided to spend the holidays in Penang as there were some places that we had not visited.

Note: If you would like to skip the yada, yada, yada that follows in this article, please scroll right down to the pictures :)

The trip was indeed worth it as we managed to explore some places that we had visited as kids and have long forgotten and also some places that we have not been at all; Penang is a big place you know :).

On the first day we took a round the island trip starting from Bayan Baru via Relau to Balik Pulau and from Balik Pulau to Batu Ferringhi. Along the way we made stops at Balik Pulau town which is on the west coast of the island and is not as developed as the east coast where Georgetown is. There, we visited a small temple that my family used to frequent as I was in my pre-teens-teens. After a short stop there, we continued to use the road from Balik Pulau to Batu Ferringhi. We stopped by Pantai Acheh which is a small fishing village on the west coast. Then, we continued to drive and finally ended up at the Teluk Bahang Dam which is about 15KM from Balik Pulau. The distance is short but it goes through a windy road with deep ravines and fruit orchards. For Durian lovers, this is the road you take! The dam brought back a lot of memories for my wife and I as that is where we used to "Pak Toh" when we were courting. I hold a special place in my heart for the dam as it was not only our dating spot but also a place during my college days where my college mates and I used to hang out and chat until late!

Once we were done with the dam, we drove further down the road for about 3KM to the "End of the World". The place is called such because it is at the northern tip of the island and it opens up to an open sea. I have been there before a long time ago but today, there are Jetties which extend quite far out into the ocean. I have a fear of heights and deep water therefore, I was very careful whilst walking on the jetty which was built on stilts and also the pathway was very narrow. I got some good photos from there as well which I have shared below.

The "End of the World" is also the starting point to track to beaches like Pantai Acheh, Pantai Kerachut and Monkey Beach. This place has also been designated as the smallest Taman Negara (national park) in Malaysia. If you enjoy tracking, this is a place for you, if you track up to Pantai Kerachut, there is a meromictic lake which means that the lake has 2 layers of water that do not intermix and has different temperatures(google it up if lost :) ) The End of the World is also a haven for sea-food. Just go into the kampungs around the area and you will be greeted with the abundant amount of sea food shops.

After the visit to The End of the World, we continued to Batu Ferringhi for dinner and then headed back home to continue the next day for part 2.