Category — Malaysia

I am currently staying in Georgetown, Penang. It is commercial center of Penang and has a large ethnic Chinese population. There are also quite a few Indians and the city even has a “Little India”. I just finished reading Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Triple J radio host, Sarah Macdonald, which has made me really want to go and check out India.

I like Malaysia so far, except that most of the cheap hotels I have seen so far only have shared bathrooms. This is the first country I have been to on this trip where this is the norm, rather than the exception. Nothing worse if you have had a few beers (or an Indian curry) and have to walk around in the night trying to remember where the bathroom is.

I just booked a guesthouse in Langkawi tonight. Langkawi is only about a 2-3 hour ferry ride from here, so I couldn’t resist.

Here are some pictures from my walk today.

Carpenter’s guild – where carpenters come to prey. The temple was built around late 1800s and is on a street called “Love Lane”.

Little India

Tonight’s dinner. Delicious, but I might be regretting it later. Served on a banana leaf which is not only more environmentally friendly than plastic plates, it saves on the washing up.

Arrived in Penang Malaysia this afternoon. Pretty uneventful border crossing over to Malaysia. It is my first time to visit the country. I wanted to come via Lang Kawi, but because it is low season there didn’t seem to be any easy transport options.

I sat next to a Malaysian tour guide on the minibus coming from the Malaysian border. He was going to meet a tour group at the border. He had the right day, but the wrong month. He proceeded to tell me every problem with Malaysia and the government. He was funny to talk to, but I just wanted to sleep. Not sure what it is, but I can now manage to fall straight to sleep as soon as I get on a bus.

It is not so hot, but pretty humid. The hotel rooms I looked at were mostly pretty bleak looking rooms. Tomorrow I am going to spend some time looking for a nicer place. At least there are a few places offering free Wifi.