The Other Side of Penang

The new Balik Pulau Visitor Centre.  Sounds official.  It’s even listed on the Penang Tourism website.

A young guy, Eddie, picked us up at the Balik Pulau bus terminal and drove us the mile to Air Putih.  Eddie and his two friends opened a bicycle tour shop out of a rented shed at a fruit farm in the middle of nowhere and called it a Visitor Center.

Well, self-proclamation is the first step to entrepreneurship.

Eddie pointed on a map taped to the wall of the shed, and gave us a quick idea of our two hour route through the ‘back of the island’ – Balik Pulau.

Malay kampongs, Chinese villages, tropical fruit farms, rice paddy fields.

Places you tend to forget even exist in Penang when living on the developed side of the island.

We made the trip out to enjoy the last of the tropical fruits as the season comes to an end in August.

And as we biked through peaceful Malay villages, we passed red and yellow rambutan trees weighed down like over decorated Christmas trees  

 Clumps of langsat dangling far out of reach. 

Swollen cempedak and jackfruit ready to fall with the next touch of wind.

Papayas larger than the tree they grow on.

Durian trees holding onto the last one or two fruits of the season.

As we made our way into the open, along an irrigation canal, we were fortunate to catch sight of a Malay woman driving a combine, harvesting rice from one of the last paddy fields in Penang.  A sight that will soon disappear with the rapid housing developments on the west side of the island.

Like any adventure in Penang, there are always contrasts.  Excitement.

As we left the serenity of Malay kampongs, we biked into a Chinese village to be welcomed by dogs that had their fill of rambutans, and were searching for meat.  Eddie slapped his knee to scare them, but it seemed to make them hungrier.  The angriest dog only backed down after a truck barreled down the road, giving us time to bike away.

Among the fruit trees, charming sides of Penang’s history appear, like Malay wooden kampong houses. Even a colonial mansion that must have been the home of a Malay village leader in the early 20th century.

For a peek into Penang’s countryside, contact Eddie for a bike tour* of Balik Pulau.  And let him know that you are fine skipping the welcoming committee at the Chinese villages…

Explore Balik Pulau Visitor Centre
Contact: Mr. Eddie Chew
Email: aventleisure@gmail.com
Phone: 6-016-4522-100
Open: Monday – Friday: 2pm - 6.30pm, Saturday-Sunday: 12.00pm - 6.30pm Cost: RM20 for two hours  

*We wouldn’t recommend this tour for families with children.  No helmets or vests or any safety measures are taken, and the busy roads are dangerous.