A COMMON reaction when you ask any Penangite about Penang Hill is that there is nothing to do there. Everyone thinks the Summit Lookout and the short walk around the hilltop are all there is to Penang Hill
However, over the recent years, Penang Hill has been quietly transformed. Many new places and activities including the Habitat, Monkeycup Cafe and the regular nature and heritage walks were added without much publicity and these treasures are hidden in plain sight, even to the locals.
In an effort to publicise the wonders of Penang Hill and to celebrate its history and natural and cultural heritage, the inaugural Penang Hill Festival 2018 will be held from today to July 29. With the theme See the Nature. Feel the History, the festival will showcase a number of exciting programmes to celebrate all the different aspects of Penang Hill.
Visitors to the hill during the festival can participate in programmes such as a nature photography workshop, nature walks, guided historical tours on the different trails, night exploration, and talks on the local flora and fauna.
Other activities lined up during the two weekends are a visit to the former Uplands school building also known as The Crag, a Unesco biosphere reserve talk, music recital and watching a lunar eclipse from Bellevue Hotel. – July 21, 2018
The mist rolls in to cover Strawberry Hill on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh. July 21, 2018.Photo enthusiasts capture the sunrise from Lookout Point on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.The view of George Town city from Penang Hill with the Habitat in the foreground. - The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.A clump of red pitcher plants at Monkeycup Cafe on Penang Hill. - The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.Hikers walk near a giant spider hanging from its web in the middle of the trail on Penang Hill. -The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.A dusty leaf monkeys cradles its young at the compound of Tropical Spice Garden on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.David Brown Cafe at dusk at Strawberry Hill on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.Many new places have been introduced on Penang Hill added without much publicity and these treasures are hidden in plain sight, even to the locals. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.A light mist hangs over Penang Hill with George Town city in the background. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.A clown sells balloons on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.Suga, a volunteer, gives a briefing on a nature walk on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.A spread of delicious desserts at Cliff Cafe on Penang Hill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, July 21, 2018.
My family stayed at South View several times in 1958 and 1959. Wonderful memories! That's where I first listened to opera music. There was an American version of Carmen, called Carmen Jones. Decades later I began to collect CD's by performers like Kathleen Battle, Maria Callas and others. Mozart's incomparable Requiem Mass and Great Mass in C. I'm sure a lot more can be done to make Penang Hill vibrant and a ore sought after. But perhaps that's just what its few denizens don't want - they prefer to live in splendid isolation
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