Penang:
The pearl of the orient
Penang is a state
in Malaysia, as well as the name of the island within the state! Penang Island is
located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is linked to the
mainland via the Penang Bridge, which is 13.5km (one of the longest bridges in the world!) and
a 24-hour ferry service! – both of which we got to experience, as we took the
bridge across to the island and the ferry back to the mainland. We Stayed on the Island for 5 days,
one of which was a long day spent counting mudskippers (creepy little half
amphibian half fishy looking creatures!) and spotting some big monitor lizards
whilst waiting for our Thai visas to be issued!
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| A 5ft monitor lizard we found lurking in the sewage system in Penang! |
In
Penang itself there seemed to be a fusion of the East and West, as
it is a city which is modern whilst retaining a traditional Malaysian charm! There’s certainly lots of history in Penang
too, especially in the capital of Penang state, Georgetown, where there is lots of preserved
heritage buildings from the colonial period.
The history of modern Penang can be traced back to 1786...which is 200 years prior
to the birth of Max!
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| The cycle rickshaw- the taxi of Southeast Asia! |
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| A stolen cannon used to defend Fort Cornwallis in Georgetown, Penang |
Whilst
in Penang, we stayed in a really old Chinese guesthouse, called Pin Seng
hotel, which apparently has had the same decor for at least 30 years (according
to a backpacker we met...). So it was very basic, but also very clean too
and...retro? We liked it anyway, even if it didn’t have proper walls, toilets or hot water and an old Chinese owner
who refused to wear anything from waste up!
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| Pin Seng hotel :-) |
Penang
is also renowned for its variety of tasty and well prepared Malaysian food for
a fair price- we can vouch for this, as feasted on quite alot whilst here!
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| Tourists are welcome to eat economy rice, which is simple but tasty mixed rice! |
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| A malaysian breakfast- chicken noodle soup! |
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| A pick and mix of Malaysian savory treats on sticks...yum! |
Whilst in Penang, we also visited the beach which was nearest to Georgetown, Batu Ferringhi. Personally we didn't think that it was the prettiest beach we had come across so far... it
smelt alot of rotton eggs, and an hour after we arrived so did a huge downpour
of rain! but we didn’t worry too much as we was off to Langkawi, renowned for
its pretty beach, next!
Langkawi: the Jewel of Kedah
Langkawi
was a lovely, lazy and laid back, little
island. It was not overly developed or touristic either, although in 10 or even
5 years time this will probably be a different story, so at least we got to experience
how the Island is at present! It also had a beautiful Malaysian charm about it,
with little cafes and stalls to eat and drink at, as well as lovely beaches,
hundreds (104 in total) of little islands to visit and some great wildlife too-
Dugongs, eagles, Asian colobus and Macaques to name a few!
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| Langkawi Permata Kedah (the jewel of Kedah) |
In
Langkawi we stayed in a chilled out little guesthouse called “Daddys
guesthouse” which was equipped with lots of hammocks to relax in and a resident
cat who would give daily room and fridge inspections...
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| The cheeky cat that belonged to the guesthouse we stayed at :) |
A
day was spent island hopping on a small speed boat which was fun and a good way
to see the nature... here we saw sea eagles being fed, swam in a lagoon, caught
sight of the “pregnant lady” shaped island a visited a “private” beach (it was
covered in other tourists...). We also experienced the cheeky crab eating
macaque monkeys actually being tourist’s sandwich eating macaques and also saw the
Asian version of Betsy (the African Angolan colobus), known to the locals as
the dusky leave monkey, which was really exciting as they are usually hard to
spot! Unfortunately they were so shy and high up in the tree’s canopy that we
wasn’t able to get a very clear picture of one.
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| The pregnant Maiden of Langkawi...an Island shaped like a pregnant lady! |
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| Diving into the fresh water lagoon! |
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| Some cheeky crab eating Macaques |
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| The "Private" beach... |
Hiring
a scooter for 24 hours was also another great way for us to get out and see the
nature of Langkawi with its rolling hills, lush fields, jungley forest and the pretty
coastline! We also scootered our way to the cable car, where we travelled 700
metres upwards to the highest point of Langkawi for a very scenic view!
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| Scootering around Langkawi's countryside |
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| Our Ascent upwards in the cable car! |
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| 700M above sea level! |
In
total we stayed in Langkawi for 8 days, it felt like more of a holiday really
than backpacking and we didn’t want to leave!! From Langkawi we began the last
leg of our adventure onward to Thailand!
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| M A L A Y S I A ! |
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| A very pretty sunset at Langkawi beach |
We
took a bumpy ferry across to Satun, which is a town in the far south of
Thailand (about 980km from Bangkok!) and from there we had to embark on the
onward journey to Krabi. Oh yes, a 5 hour journey on a rickety old bus with
built in karaoke which played continuously throughout...
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| On the ferry accross to Thailand! |
Goodbye Malaysia and Hello Thailand!
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| Bye bye for now Malaysia... |
