Our next Penang Island destination on this excursion would take us to a vantage point some 2,700 feet/823 meters above sea level. This would be accomplished via a funicular railway that starts travels 6,549 feet/1,996 meters, starting at an elevation of about 295 feet/90 meters and ending at an altitude of 2,460 feet/750 meters. This, my friends is Penang Hill, and the conveyance is the famous Penang Hill Railway. And while the above shot seems to show a ridiculous slope, the gradient ranges between 18.8% (10.7°) and 52.9% (27.9°). Still steep enough that I wouldn’t care to climb it, and looking downslope certainly does give one pause.
After standing in line for a few minutes, probably no more than five, we boarded our funicular car.
And as the funicular ascends, sit back and enjoy the ever-changing view:
But your climb in not yet over. After disembarking you still have a way to go to get to the highest point, Western Hill at 2,733 feet/833 meters. Before we get that far, however, you first must pass through the upper station:
As one would expect, the views from the upper station are quite impressive. Here you can see George Town and the 15-mile-/24-kilometer-long Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (Penang Second Bridge).
Turn around from the viewing platform for a look at an arriving funicular:
On Wednesday we’ll explore Penang Hill. But before that, here are two views as you leave the station on foot:
Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 