An Elephant in a China Shop: Dumbo On The Go

I thought I knew Penang Island quite well.

Then I discovered that, well, I didn't. Especially the west coast of Penang Island.

Ever since my wife and I sort of moved to Pantai Acheh, we had been planning to visit all the accessible beaches and fishing villages on this side of the island, and Gertak Sanggul was on the top of my wife's list.

She first heard about the place when a colleague of hers was supposed to be transferred to a school there this year, but refused to go. "That place is so remote!"

(Well, now I'm really optimistic about the future of our education system.)

Anyway, the name of the place somehow appealed to my wife's fancy. She has been imagining how beautiful the place must be, before I even showed her the satellite image. And after I did, she was even more convinced than ever that it would be among the most beautiful beaches in Penang. "We simply have to go there one of these afternoons!"

Bubbly. That's the word to describe her when she said that.

Personally, I was a bit apprehensive about the idea, knowing how bad the road condition is going south from Balik Pulau. And besides, I wasn't sure I could find that particular junction in Teluk Kumbar that leads to Gertak Sanggul.

"But we haven't even been to Pulau Betong yet, which is nearer!" And may I add, the road there is straighter. Much straighter.

But there was no stopping my wife.

So, yesterday around 5pm, we started from Pantai Acheh, and headed for Gertak Sanggul (美湖).

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Well, let me first say that, it is easy to miss the aforementioned junction in Teluk Kumbar.

If you head there from Balik Pulau, you won't find any road sign pointing you to Gertak Sanggul prior to that junction. And at the junction itself, there is only the name of the road to give you the clue.

"That junction we just passed by... I thought I saw a sign naming the road 'Jalan Gertak Sanggul'," my wife said after we overshot the junction.

Great.

Anyway, if you go there from Bayan Lepas, you will have slightly better luck, because there is a road sign pointing you to the right direction just before the junction. Nevertheless, you need to keep your eyes peeled once you are in the Teluk Kumbar precinct because the said road sign is kind of obscured by other haphazardly-placed signs.

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Once you found the right junction to turn into, there is no getting lost. There's only one road, straight down all the way.

Rapid Penang goes there, by the way. Hop onto T308 if you want to go there by bus.

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Technically speaking, as soon as you are onto the right road, the beach starts to your left, a whole stretch of it all the way till you reach the Chinese fishing village at the end of the road.

All along the road, you will see cars sporadically parked at the roadside, the occupants somewhere down there at the beach. Feel free to do so yourself at any point along the road.

As for us, we - or rather my wife - were there primarily to see the idyllic fishing village of her imagination. So, we drove all the way to the end without a single stop.

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And, she was not disappointed.

There is only one main road, with a nice roundabout thingy at the end for turning back. On your left, blue sky, wide open sea (with a tiny, cute little island somewhere out there) and sandy white beaches; and on your right, clean, well-kept compounds of village houses with the old world feel about them.

Idyllic is the word.

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You could practically go down to the beach at any point, but we found this:

A sight-seeing pier made for wide-eyed tourists like us! How thoughtful.

The beach is probably not as free from debris as we had hoped, but at least, those were mostly natural debris, like twigs, leaves, etc. I think most tourists aren't aware of this place yet. (So keep the knowledge of this place to yourself; tell it only to those who are eco-conscious.)