A Visit to Teluk Kumbar & Gertak Sanggul

Teluk Kumbar is a small Malay fishing village located just between Bayan Lepas and Balik Pulau on the southern part of Penang Island, Malaysia. The main attractions around the village are the various kinds of fresh fish for seafood & a good view of the setting sun basking off Gertak Sanggul.

Another popular fare from Teluk Kumbar is 'mee udang', a spicy noodle dish cooked with big-sized prawns sold mostly at the Malay stalls and patronised by the many office workers from the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone during lunch.

The idyllic life of the villagers has been interrupted by the rapid urbanisation of Penang & the impending completion of the second link at nearby Batu Maung. Teluk Kumbar has also seen some recent property development & among these are the housing estates in Sungai Batu & Sunway’s Aspera at the 'New Gurney Drive' for the high-end buyers.

In contrast, Gertak Sanggul is a predominantly Chinese village, located on the southwest promontory of the island. The Chinese name of this village is ‘MeiHu’ (美湖) which means beautiful lake. It boasts a picturesque setting of a Malaysian fishing village with a white sandy beach frequented by picnickers & surrounding hill slopes that 'come alive' with hikers & bikers who go there for exercise on weekends.

One of the residents, Mr Lai who is also a retired fisherman, was kind enough to invite us into his orchard & share with us his knowledge about pit-vipers & rose apples or ‘jambu mawar’ which are known to have curative properties.

A Visit to Teluk Kumbar & Gertak Sanggul (Pt 1)


A Visit to Teluk Kumbar & Gertak Sanggul (Pt 2)