Foto

this is a photo taken from a funicular train, the only transportation up to Penang Hill. this is at the intersection where the track intersect and then the funicular train changes tracks - so both trains have to be accurately coordinated.

Penang Hill was the first hill station built at the turn of the 19th century by the British Empire in the colonies, well before the renowned hill stations in India, Britain's stronghold in the South East. Many bungalows along and atop the hill were built as second homes for the Europeans who preferred the cool surroundings. One such bungalow is called the "Convalescent" bungalow, a place to recuperate from fevers and to escape from the heat of the tropics.

A half hour ride on the funicular railway from the Lower Tunnel Station is all it takes to alight atop the hill. The early red and white cable cars were made in Switzerland and the funicular railway was a feat in engineering for Southeast Asia when its train carriage first passed through the steepest tunnel in Penang and also in the world.