Bayan Lepas 峇六拜, Penang

Bayan Lepas, Penang (12 January 2022)


Bayan Lepas (English: 5.29487, 100.25954; Traditional/Simplified Chinese: 峇六拜, Pinyin: Bā Liùbài; Penang Hokkien: Ba3 Lark3pai4 , often contracted to Ba3 Pai4 ) is a district in the southeastern part of Penang Island. The district is named after the Bayan Lepas town located to the south, and includes other towns such as Batu Maung, Kampung Seronok, Kampung Binjai, Permatang Damar Laut, among others. The main road through Bayan Lepas is Jalan Bayan Lepas, formerly simply known as Main Road. It is part of Federal Route 6. In the mid 1970's the new township of Bayan Baru was created, and has since become a major suburb of a greater Penang metropolitan area.

The name Bayan Lepas means "the parakeet has flown away". According to the story, a wealthy Sumatran family had arrived by boat at the coast of Bayan Lepas some time in the late 19th century. During the commotion of coming to shore, their pet parakeet escaped. The incident became the basis for the name of the place, Bayan Lepas.

The name Bayan Lepas is appropriate for a site that has been an airstrip for Penang since the earlier part of the 20th century. The Bayan Lepas airstrip has been expanded several times, and is known today the Penang International Airport, the second busiest airport in Malaysia. Perhaps the most famous tourist attraction in Bayan Lepas is the world famous Snake Temple, located in the area called Sungai Keluang.

Pekan Bayan Lepas

The pekan or town centre of Bayan Lepas is located at the junction of Jalan Bayan Lepas and Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim (formerly Jalan Sungai Ara). This is the location of the Bayan Lepas Market, a convenient meeting point for villages in the surrounding area. Until recently (early 2015), the old town of Bayan Lepas has remained very much unchanged. It is still lined on both sides by early 20th century shophouses, resulting in a bottleneck for traffic passing through to the southern part of Penang Island. The town is the site of a major police station as well as a market, which was built in 1930.

During the second quarter of 2015, some forty shophouses on the south side of Jalan Bayan Lepas were demolished to make way for the road expansion project. They include a number of pre-war houses. This is part of a RM207 million federal project that will also affect the Bayan Lepas Police Station and its quarters, the Department of Civil Aviation and the Bayan Lepas Community Hall.

The road expansion will include two overhead bridges - a four-lane 750-meter elevated structure from Jalan Teluk Kumbar to the Penang International Airport, and an elevated U-turn.¹ This is part of a parcel of Federal roadworks to alleviate traffic congestion following the completion of the Second Penang Bridge.

 Videos about Bayan Lepas

Location of Bayan Lepas

Measuring from the junction of Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim with Jalan Bayan Lepas (GPS: 5.294625, 100.259720), Bayan Lepas is 17.0 km to Komtar, 10.5 km to the Penang Bridge, 10.5 km to the Second Penang Bridge and 2.6 km to the Penang International Airport.

Map of Bayan Lepas, Penang

Apartments and Condominiums in Bayan Lepas

Commercial Properties in Bayan Lepas

Hotels in Bayan Lepas

Landed Properties in Bayan Lepas

Markets in Bayan Lepas

Miscellaneous Sights in Bayan Lepas

Petrol Stations in Bayan Lepas

Private Clinics in Bayan Lepas

Public Clinics in Bayan Lepas

Roads in Bayan Lepas

Schools in Bayan Lepas

Chinese Temples and Buddhist/Taoist Religious Institutions in Bayan Lepas

Mosques and Muslim Religious Institutions in Bayan Lepas

Food & Beverage Outlets in Bayan Lepas

Businesses in Bayan Lepas Town

What to eat in the Bayan Lepas area

Updates on Bayan Lepas

7 November, 2015: The Star reports that the state government has approved land reclamation in the Bayan Bay and Bayan Mutiara neighbourhoods of Bayan Lepas. The reclaimation is to be carried out by Ivory Tropicana (14 hectares/35 acres) and Gim Ventures (10 hectares/24.79 acres). The reclamation will enable the construction of 2,100 houses, a velodrome, a football field, basketball court, volleyball courts, an international standard swimming pool and diving pool.

Getting to Bayan Lepas

Several Rapid Penang buses pass through the Bayan Lepas area as well as its towns and villages. Among the buses include 302, 304, 305, 307, 308, 401 and 502.

Amenities in Bayan Lepas

There are several markets to choose from within Bayan Lepas, the biggest being the Bayan Baru Market. There are also smaller community markets in Bayan Lepas town and Batu Maung. Sunshine Square and Jusco are two of the department stores in this area. Bukit Jambul Complex and Queensbay Mall are the shopping malls here, while Giant Hypermarket in Bayan Baru township is the hypermarket in the Bayan Lepas area. The Bayan Lepas Post Office and Queensbay Mall Post Office are in the township.

The pekan, or village centre, of Bayan Lepas. The houses along this row were demolished in 2015 for the road upgrading project. (12 July 2008)


Bayan Lepas Market (4 February 2013)


Bayan Lepas pre-war townhouse, one of those demolished for the road expansion. (4 February 2013)


This coffee shop, now demolished, used to have nasi kandar stall that my father took me when I was small. (4 February 2013)


Chong Shan School Union Building, now demolished (4 February 2013)


Musallah Kampung Bukit with its religious school, Madrasah Khairiah Islamiah in Bayan Lepas (2 February 2013)

Bayan Lepas is on the Map of Penang

References

List of Towns in Penang and Towns in Malaysia

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.