redbean

Hello!

Will be visiting Penang during the CNY week, thankfully not during the first few days. Just wondering what it would be like staying in GT and travelling by bus to visit friends in Tanjung Bungah or BF? Should Mr redbean and I hire a morped as I heard that traffic which is normally horrendous during peak period would be worse during the CNY period?

columbine

Funny is the 1st day is usually very quiet. Yap, traffic is unbelievable from the 2nd day of CNY because most households would go visit their friends and relatives - for the red envelopes I guess hehe. Lots of cars then.
This CNY falls on 3rd Feb a Thursday. So 2nd day of CNY is Friday, will be very bad and congested together with mosque day!!! Then comes Sat and Sunday well, traffic will be terrible!

GT is only good if you walk around there and hopefully attend the Open House - you need to check when they are as it's usually in the Heritage enclave around Armenian, Little India area.

Otherwise better stay along Gurney where you can get to shops and food on foot..Bus No. 11 hehe! Good Hope Inn on Kelawei Rd is a good one There's another branch up in Tg Bungah.

Strider24

Good one Columbine. I will remember this advise as no doubt we will spend CNY in Penang one year.

The place is growing on me after Redbean reintroduced me to it last year. It went through a dreadful period, dirty, dusty, expensive, taxi drivers even worse than today...and they are still bad, shopkeepers who couldn't give a...and lousy food. We had written the place off till Redbean persuaded us to give it another chance. I'm pleased to say its starting to get back the atmosphere of the 70's and 80's which was fun.

Off subject a bit, but recently attended a buffet diner at Khoo Kongsi, which was an experience of a lifetime. Superb venue with wonderful lighting and by far the best Lion Dance I have ever seen. It truly came alive with fun antics on high poles in light rain. No easy task.

redbean

Which town is this Khoo Khongsi situated, Strider?

I did look at Good Hope Inn but it hasn't got great reviews. Wanted to stay at Star Lodge in GT but they don't respond to email and is also reluctant to take bookings over the phone so I thought I would give Hutton Lodge a shot.

Was going to book at Naza Hotel but they don't have non-smoking rooms, so uncivilised!

Thought of Hydro as it is next to my all time favourite place, The Reef but then I have to take bus to everywhere and anywhere, whereas in GT, we can walk. Hopefully arriving in Penang on 8 Feb means the traffic will have calm down by then. What do you think Columbine?

Strider24

Strewth Sheila..don't know the Khoo Kongsi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoo_Kongsi

Mrs S stayed at the Star Lodge recently and had no problem phone booking. Don't know if it was because she was an "old "customer, but got a lovely room and Robert greeted her with his one tooth grin.

Pinot Noir

It took me two hours just to cross the bridge at CNY, then another two hours to get to BF. This was six years ago. Just what we needed after a seven hour drive up from Singapore with two kids in the back of the car. Never again! My own fault though - I should have known better.

redbean

Well, instead of flying, I thought we should travel by bus/coach from KL and cross over as walk on passengers. Seeing that we will be arriving on Feb 8, I hope all the madness will be over by now. Won't it???

Strider, we all know about Mrs Strider's power of persuasion and bargaining skills. Perhaps you and Mrs Strider would like to consider joining us in Penang for a couple of days. Then, we will get to stay at the delightful Star guest house and meet "Robert with his one tooth grin"

bakedbean

Geez... well I'm steering well clear of GT from start of CNY for about a week. GT too busy at the best of times anyhow. Wish they'd put in a monorail or something like that.

Strider24

Seems that a grandiose scheme like a second bridge..to increase congestion...has priority over a public transport scheme such as monorail. A monorail would make sense, but a second bridge is without thought. Current bridge congestion is not that the bridge can't take it, its inability to get free flow of traffic on and off.

columbine

Redbean:
I should hope traffic be back to 'normal' by the 8th being the 6th day of CNY. Not sure if school is still off for the wk. with the makeup days for Sat and SUn.
Any sch holidays is another cause for traffic chaos on the island Maybe some posters with school children would know more. As you know by now the State or Federal govt has the power to announce a public holiday anytime

GoodHope Inn on Kelawei is good location wise. Drove by their branch in Tg Bungah but not sure what's it like. Poster on Kelawei road says from rm65 last wk.
Gurney hotel gets booked up fast for CNY. If booked early and if you know some one who works for the govt eg sch teacher who can book for you, I was told you get up to 50% discounts on room rates!
Golden View Serviced apartment on Tg Tokong Rd seems to be a popular one. It's at the SONY building. Walking distance to Gurney.
Hutton Lodge - heard it's not bad, was told avoid the rooms on the ground floor near the stairway as they are noisier. An x-student and her hubby stayed there last year. Breakfast was very simple, tea, coffee, toast and jam type - but you can walk out to Pg Rd to get your hawker breakfast top up hehe
(A word of caution: be careful with your sling bags - snatch thieves are always on the look out for easy targets. There are some narrow side lanes along Hutton Lane area where drug addicts hang around).
There's a newly renovated row of heritage shop houses close by to Hutton Lodge - not sure if it's up for business yet.
Have you checked out those on Leith St, Chulia St, Love Lane?....they are closer to the Heritage areas.

columbine

Pinot Noir, now we don't drive to QueensBay Mall on the eve of a public holiday. 3 weeks ago took us 1.5 hrs from the highway off QueensBay to Gurney/Tg Tokong traffic light intersection!
We thought if we used the high way we could avoid that bottle neck at Greenlane. We were wrong...the bottle necks were at the section where cars get on/off the Pg Bridge; one third end of the Jelutong highway getting into GT all the way crawling and stopping passed the new mall at Prangin Mall area, stuck on the road at the Traders Hotel, Pg Rd, Burmah Rd, all the way to Gurney/Kelawei Rd

Learned the hard way for driving on 3 CNYs. I'm with Bakedbean...avoided GT for CNY week last year and this one too Walking should be a breeze though hehe

bakedbean

Well I think that the strategy with the 2nd bridge is that it will bring workers from the mainland across into their jobs in the south of Penang (the airport and all that industrial area) and therefore free up Georgetown and the other bridge a little? It sort of makes sense.

But some kind of monorail would be good wouldn't it.

Strider24

We are heading for the Island on Monday. Looks like we better leave KL super early if we are to make out appointment in Prn. Gurney by 1500.

Are the ferries used for cars any more? If so how to get on from Butterworth side?

Strider24

You could be right bakedbean.

I was going to make a comment about most factory fodder seems to come from Indonesia these days and is probably why Melaka may end up with a bridge to Sumatra...but I wont suggest that as its too cheeky...and I have my tongue in mine!!!