Blogs from Penang, Malaysia, Asia

I realize the heat and humidity theme is getting a bit tiresome but never in my wildest did I think it would be so insanely hot... much to my shock and chagrin of course. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into since I had already been to both Thailand and Malaysia in April and May way back in '06. I was sadly mistaken... I really should have published this entry before arriving in Sumatra as it is pleasantly cool here. $US ≈ 29 Thai baht (B) ≈ 3 Malaysian ringgit (RM) Koh Samui Accommodation and food I decided against reserving a room in advance and checked out a few places in Lamai before settling on Ninja Place which had justifiably good reviews on Tripadvisor. The bungalows were located on the main road but ... read more

So, finally the opportunity to travel again, only this time with my ‘husband’ We spent a few nights in KL at a different Guesthouse, Birds nest, a good place to say it was fan only. Also cheap at RM35 per nt for a double room. We then took the bus (5hrs) to Penang and he slept all the way here!! Lol, scrap that I think it was me; at least I had a good pillow J He passed the time watching his oh so loved animation. We finally arrived and then had to take another, long bus ride into Georgetown and then we walked from Komtar to Red Inn Heritage Guesthouse. He was not impressed, he carried most of the bags, and we had LOTS of them; all the way, see what a nice guy I ... read more

Our exploration of Malaysia lasted about three weeks and was limited to Peninsular Malaysia. Due to weather conditions and a beach-overload in Thailand, we chose this to be a cultural exploration focused on cities. Where better to do this than a country where Malay, Chinese, Indians and many other ethnicities live together. Food adventures, people and history abound. We travelled overland by bus from Thailand to Georgetown on the island Penang, to Melaka and to Kuala Lumpur. The difference in prosperity between Thailand became immediately apparent when crossing the border and became greater with every place we visited. These were our last stops in six months of travel crossing the Eurasian continent, just before creating a temporary nest in Western Australia. This blog comes mainly in pictures and is bilingual. Enjoy Malaysia's multitude of faces!... read more

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

On the Friday night, we went for a nice meal at the same place where Sophie and I had lunch, then went for a few drinks at Reggae Penang. On the Saturday morning, after I waited around for hours while everyone pulled their fingers out and got ready, we took the 101 bus to Batu Ferringhi, the closest beach to George Town. After experiencing Thailand's white sands and crystal-clear waters, we were understandably a little disappointed. Tony, Sophie and I hired jet-skis and sped right out at sea. The water was quite choppy, but we had fun. We went so far out that Edithe couldn't even see us to take photos! After a short time relaxing on the beach, I decided to grab a MacD's and head back to the hostel. I was sorely judged for ... read more