All Aboard! - The Ferries of Penang

Ferry ride is a must in Penang.  We normally go to the island on ferry and leave it via the Penang Bridge.  Very rarely did we ride the ferry to travel from the island to the mainland because the queueing up is always tiring.  Everybody just wants to get home after a fun day in Penang.

The ferries, until a few years ago, were all yellow in colour.  Now, the authority painted them with many colourful designs.  They are still one of the main transportations and attractions to connect the mainland and the island.

We departed to Penang from Alor Setar and since we used the old road, this view greeted us.  We could see the island in the background.

The highway is right next to the port.

This is the Penang Port.

Thousands of containers await their turn.

And we were also greeted by huge oil tanks.

Constructions of any kind never stopped here.  We're still on the mainland.  The surrounding area was very hot. The sun was blazing with no trees around.

The toll plaza just before the pier was always jammed with traffic.

We had to wait in line for a few minutes before reaching the toll booth and paid RM7.70 per car.

A normal sight here.  No superstitious connection to our trip.

Nowadays, they put up a TV screen to inform the number of ferries operating that day (4) and the length of time (in minutes) the next ferry is arriving at the pier.  Before this everyone had to wait without any information whatsoever.

We're now on board the ferry.  I love the mechanic parts of it here. So as usual we got out of the car to explore all nooks and crannies of the ferry.  There are 2 level on all ferries. The lower level is always for cars (with motorcyles allowed on at the back) and the upper level is for a combination of vehicles and pedestrians.

Leaving the pier.

Getting all excited.

The last post at the end of the pier.

Ready and excited to explore the upper level.  Both the stairs (at the front and back of the ferry) were narrow and steep. One person at a time.

Careful there!  When someone is climbing the stairs, the person at the top has to wait his turn if he wants to climb down and vice versa.

There were pedestrians, people riding motorcycles, bicycles and a few cars on the upper level.

Both were a little shy because people were looking at them.

Enjoying the view and sea breeze from the upper level.

A ferry approaching from the island.

After that we came down and tried to get a standing space in front of the ferry but there were too many people there and we only managed to stand on the side.

An extension of the Penang Port into the sea.

They maintained this ferry with the original colour.  The skyline of the Penang island included the famous KOMTAR. 

The latest colour scheme of one of the ferries.  This one just left the island's pier.

A blue hue for this one.

And a combination of these colours for this one.

We've arrived at the island and leaving the ferry.

We're on the island now and those traffics were waiting to aboard the ferry to go to the mainland.

After this, our trip would always consisted of winding roads and confusing turns and getting lost on the island before reaching the intended destination (whatever and wherever they may be).  That's the fun of driving in Penang.

Till we meet again, Penang!