Penang, Malaysia - an island retreat

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7^{th April} Penang, Malaysia



Penang is an island state in Malaysia connected to the mainland by the Penang Bridge (the third longest suspension bridge). We berthed in its capital Georgetown for a short visit, arriving at 8.00am with Sailaway at 4.30pm



The place is another UNESCO world heritage site which has managed to retain a considerable amount of natural environment.



Our island tour took us first to a typical Malay village or Kampungs, which are built on stilts for ventilation. They are surrounded by fruit trees & plants in compounds which they sell on roadside stalls.



We stopped on the roadside by clove trees, scents of clove and nutmeg were in the air at local fruit & spice stalls. Another shopping opportunity!!



The next port of call was a Butterfly Farm. Our tour was going clockwise around the island (1 of 4 coaches), the same tour (another 4 coaches) were travelling around the island anti clockwise. Where did they all meet, you guessed it, the Butterfly Farm. Result – chaos, coupled with this, it was a bathroom stop – more chaos.



The Butterfly Farm set in landscaped gardens with waterfalls etc featured over 100 species of live butterflies (I only photographed a few). It also had Water Dragons, carp, snakes & giant scorpions.



Back on the coach to visit a Craft Batik Workshop (with another shopping opportunity). They showed how the intricate and timeless art of printing the cloth with wax & dyes is presented.



Our final stop was guess what a Buddhist temple (if we had gone anticlockwise this would have been our first port of call) Whee!! (I think I’ve been on board too long.



I think this one’s claim to fame was that the temple houses the fourth longest reclining Buddha in the world. Not the prettiest Buddha, nearly 4 tonnes of concrete gaudily painted. To be fair there was a lot of restoration work going on- it could look better when it’s all finished.



Another side to Malaysia, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur although as a resort island it had its own laid back atmosphere.



Next stop Colombo, Sri Lanka

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