Really fun day in nature at The Habitat on the Penang Hill Hill Station. Was looking forward to this tour a lot and it lived up to the hype.
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc138
Heading Out
We woke up bright and early to the captain’s announcement that we were in port early and cleared to go ashore. I stumbled out of bed and headed down to Centrum to meet up with Mom and Nate. Thankfully, our guide, Su Li and I were in contact so we were able to start the tour early as well.
Tour
Georgetown
As we walked to the car and then out of Georgetown, we got a little history of the city. Really interesting to walk around, but also ready to get out to the hill station and to nature.
Penang Hill
We got to the funincular station and got tickets to ride the train up to the top of the hill. Based on our guides recommendation, we got the express / priority tickets so that we didn’t have to wait and waste time, and she also knew the best places to sit, so we got prime viewing spots in the train on the way up and down.
The track was actually very steep, pretty cool and fast, but also not for the faint of heart if that kind of thing messes with you.
Once we got to the top, we walked around a bit, then decided to pay for the little golf cart ride through the rainforest before we did the hike through The Habitat. The ride was really nice, and we were able to spot some of the Dusky Leaf Monkeys from the cart and stopped to snag a few photos. After the ride, we made it to The Habitat and went in through the back route (since we took the golf cart to the other side) which was really nice because we essentially skipped and bypassed a lot of the cruise ship tours.
Flora
Awesome flora all over The Habitat. Could’ve just gone for the flora and spent a couple hours up there.
Birdlife
Lots of different birds up there as well, had a great time watching them as they soared through the air, and listened to them chirping to each other. Often I’d just stop and observe for a bit before the crowds of people came yelling and scaring all the birds away.
Butterflies
SO many butterflies as well. Hard to capture and mostly just used my eyes, but many different kinds and some endemic to Penang Hill. Very peaceful and calming to just watch in the garden sections.
Insects
Nate’s favorite…the insects and bugs. He definitely was freaking out, but I enjoy capturing the tiny creatures as well with some macro photography.
Dusky Leaf Monkeys
One of the highlights here were the Dusky Leaf Monkeys (wiki). They are so cute and we had a great time trying to find them and just watch and observe as they went on with their life.
Squirrels
Another one of the highlights were the giant squirrels here (and some regular small ones). The Black Giant Squirrel (iNaturalist) were so large, and it was quite fun trying to find them, and then when we did find them, to capture some photos and watch them eat, run and play.
We were actually about to leave when my mom gasped and pointed and there was one of the giant black squirrels sitting on the railing about 10 feet from us. It came right toward us for a bit, then turned around and ran down the railing and up the tree, finally just grabbing a branch and passing out for a nap. So cute. Look at those chubby cheeks.
Lizards
Saw a whole bunch of lizards as well. Mostly they were hiding, but Su Li was really good at spotting them and pointing them out.
VAMPIRE Crabs.
Perhaps my favorite part was finding the vampire crabs. These things were so small and kinda cute, but having them crawl all over us was pretty fun. Most fun was watching Nate freak out internally at the crab, but proud of him for trying.
The Views
Beautiful space, and really enjoyed the hike through The Habitat and also the raised canopy walk where we got to walk above the treeline.
Great Advice
Love these two piece of advice as well that were towards the end of the walk. Pretty much sums up how I approach nature and wildlife (and life) these days.
Bonus: Nate
Was taking some photos for Nate and Mom made a comment about smiling. Nate, being Nate then decided to be extra dramatic, and I got the whole series of pics (there’s like 60 of them). Just a few here to tell the tale.
Food
Stopped by to get some food at a local food mart and we ended up getting a couple different dishes to share. So many noodles in different ways, and they were ALL delicious. Honestly could’ve had more of any of them and they would’ve all been devoured. Another delicious meal.
Back to Port
We headed back to port in time, and we said our goodbyes and snagged a quick selfie with Su Li. She’s an excellent guide, and we highly recommend any of her tours (ToursByLocals Profile).
Side Note: The blue thing in Mom’s hand is a credit card holder / extender. We saw Su Li use it to pay at paystation and instead of falling out of the car / window just extended it to tap. We were amazed, and she just gave it to Mom. So cool and amusing.
Side Note 2: I knew I would like the day in nature from the tour description and some research, but was also really glad that Nate and Mom seemed to enjoy themselves. Sometimes they don’t really enjoy the nature and are like “I’ve seen these type of trees before”, but we got to see some really unique things and hopefully they had themselves a fantastic time (even if they didn’t get to see cities and buildings :D).
We were heading back in, and I noticed some birds having a meal on the walkway, so stopped for a few to capture the moment.
Dinner
After settling back in for a bit, showering and resting (while transferring files), we headed down to get some dinner. Had some really nice tomato soup (asked for a big bowl) and some fettuccine alfredo. Good times, and a really nice end to the day.
Vibe Check
5 parts joy – one of my favorite days out in nature
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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