Blogs from Batu Ferringhi, Penang, Malaysia, Asia - page 2

Hello from Malaysia! I hope you are all well and feeling revived after the Easter break. We are now in Malaysia and have spent the last 3 weeks exploring this diverse country. Our trip began in Kuala Lumpar, the capital of Malaysia. We found a hostel in the area of the city called 'China Town'. The reason it is called this is becuase it was orignially the main area where the Chinese people settled. Nowadays it is not just Chinese people who live here, but it has still retained its Chinese roots, with the food stalls in the area all being Chinese and the shops selling Chinese gifts of paper lanterns and traditional gifts. The main reason we visited Kuala Lumpar was so that I could go and watch the Formula 1 race. I have followed ... read more

Adding some pictures of the travelling, singapore airport, the hostel, just a few in Penang and a few of Batu Ferringhi... read more

Firstly, Forget what I said about Batu Ferringi not being my type of place as the national park surpassed all expectations. I took the bus to the entrance of the park where you have to sign in. Register our details, who you are, where you plan to go and when you plan to be back. I chose to take the route to monkey beach. Part of the hike was pretty tough at parts, navigating over rocks, tree trunks ad using man made ropes to climb rock faces. It's hard to describe the hike fully; yes I saw some amazing views, untouched white sand beaches with the waves gently crashing into the rock boulders, i saw some fauna (wild mushrooms and the 'shy' plant. The one that closes when you touch it, not sure of its botanical ... read more

Lordy is it hot? 38 degrees is mighty warm. And we have just visited a charcoal factory - my heart goes out to the workers. They are muslim women, and it is too hot for them to wear their scarves, and they work in appalling conditions for around 20 RM a day - around $7NZ. Criminal and dreadful working conditions too. No photos - it made me feel sick. On the other hand, we started the day at a butterfy farm, we thought it might be a bit tacky/ho hum, but it turned out to be seriously interesting with a range of critters - including snakes, (lots of them), scorpions, hamsters, rabbits, buttterflies of course, scarab beetles, stick and leaf insects and in a carefully tended, if chaotic, garden. Lots of the expected pix of brave ... read more

Vanuit Cameron Highlands boekten we een bus naar Buttersworth om dan daar de ferry te nemen naar Penang. Een 5 tal uur later stonden we in Buttersworth aan te schuiven om de boot te nemen. De ferry duurt amper 15 minuten. Een heel vlotte verbinding tot 's avonds laat. We hadden wel op voorhand een nacht geboekt in Georgetown. Georgetown is de grootste stad van Penang -eiland. We sliepen in de wijk Little India! Direct onze favoriet! Leuke Bollywoodmuziek, lekkere geuren, prachtige versierde sari's en vriendelijke Indische Maleisiërs begroeten ons in de straat. We sliepen in een redelijk recente hostel Cocoa Mews. Op de hoek van de straat zijn er goedkope Indische straatrestaurantjes. Voor €3 heb je genoeg gegeten voor 2 personen, inclusief niet-alcoholische drank. Onze eerste indruk van Penang – Georgetown was 'whoehoe leuk'! We ... read more