ENTREPOT Penang Hill: A journey through time
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
Size: 26 x 23.5 x 2.4 cm, 272 pp, 1.3 kg
Language: English
Penang Hill, Bukit Bendera, means a great many things to a great many people.
Last year over 1.6 million people travelled by the train and the jeep track to the summit to take in the same views that have been drawing visitors for well over 200 years. First a lookout post for the British East India Company during the Napoleonic Wars, it soon became the first ‘hill station’ and convalescent retreat in the entire region, preceding those of British India by some 20 years.
Today, as then, Penang Hill draws residents and visitors to its cooler climes. With stunning views in all directions, numerous pathways, historic bungalows, pleasing forest habitats and a rich resident population of birds, animals and insects, it is indeed a very special place. The original steep, winding access road is still used today and its famous funicular railway features the steepest tunnel in the world.
Mike Gibby has captured – for the first time – not only the fascinating ‘journey through time’ of Penang Hill but also what it means to visitors, residents, Penang and the world, including a discussion of its possible futures and a helpful walker’s guide for discovering many of its hidden gems. Lavishly illustrated with over 500 images, many never seen before, this is truly a book to treasure.
