Advertisement
Published: June 15th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Penang through to Langkawi (leaving Malaysia)
Another bus trip later and we arrived in Penang (or Georgetown), which is an island in the north-west of Malaysia (attached by SE Asia’s longest bridge). Georgetown is known for its historical buildings and English settlements, apparent in the many old churches. Unfortunately Penang is probably going to be remembered in a less than enthusiastic way….due to food poisoning, lethargy, small bouts of homesickness (Jane) and of course the heat (so forgive the b-grade photo selection).
Firstly we get out of the bus and stumble around (long day) to find a taxi. Score! Well not so good, some Chinese guy trying to rip us for all we’ve got. Second attempt we decide to double up with an English couple our age that we met in the Highlands and agree to a dodgy guy’s ‘taxi.’ Ummm yeah….He takes us to an unregistered car and starts throwing our stuff in the ‘boot’ (we are head to toe covered in bags) and he speeds off into the craziness of Georgetown. 30 minutes later after stories of his 3 wives (looking for the fourth), 11 children, 30 gang members (haha) and whether we want tattoo’s from his
mate (noooooo thanks) we arrive at our awesome lodge, a nice refuge! This night’s feast at the local Indian hawker proves to be the culprit for the following few days sickness for Matt, and to a lesser extent Jane. The combination of spices, temperature of the chicken, and probably cleanliness created some substandard meal that welcomed us into the reality that is travelling in Asia.
With little food in our stomachs we hit the beach in Penang (Batu Ferringhi) which is our first swim in Asia! Yah! Turns out this area was affected by the Boxing Day tsunami. We caught a bus around the island with our Pommie friends and watch parasailers, kayakers, banana boaters, boaters and swimmers mucking around in the water. With the stomach upsets causing tiredness, Jane started getting the homesickness disease, and even dreamt her Dad died...which didn’t really help. One reassuring phone call later and things are back to life on the road.
A much awaited trip to the local Baptist church was an awesome respite from our circumstances.
The pastor was hilarious, the people so welcoming and some of the congregation are from Tauranga (Kiwi moment). Speaking of Kiwi moments we were
walking down the street being approached by beggars when we started talking to the last one who we gave money to (a Malay Muslim man weighing probably 50kgs with rag clothing). He tells us he is also from New Zealand. Suuuure we think and politely smile and nod. ‘Yeah Sunnynook’ he says, ‘dropped out of Auckland uni’. Woah no kidding. We tell him we live about 5 minutes away from there and he’s pretty excited, although very adamant that he is not Maori (ok we believe you) and gives us a Kia Ora before we go. Stay in school kids.
We also spent time with our new friends at Pizza Hut, which didn’t really improve Matt’s stomach condition but at least gave us a Western food dose. With the completion of the historic trail in Georgetown, we were done and ready to move that one step closer to Thailand. Langkawi is one of the most well known tourist destinations in Malaysia, and is promoted as a beautiful island destination. We were able to get here from Penang island via a three hour boat ride. And for once Matt was completely fine and Jane was white as a sheet, gripping
Matt’s hand and holding a plastic bag over her mouth. When we arrived we met an English girl, Amanda (yes there are a lot of English tourists) who offered to hire a car with us. So we split the bill on a Malaysian ‘Proton’ and drove to Pilau Cenang (Cenang Beach) to find somewhere to stay. Great place for hostel bargaining and chalet shopping. We started in a RM80 p/night chalet on the beach (NZD27) and then moved into a RM50 p/night room (NZD18). And with Matt’s stomach bug sticking around, great food savings are being made! On our first day in Langkawi we drove the perimeter of the island, stopping at ‘hot-spots’ (most were shut, run down or restricted to hotel guests). The best sights to see were (as usual) scenic and free (yah!) such as three of the waterfalls, beautiful beaches, hills, villages and islands. We gate-crashed another resort on the beautiful Datai Bay, but felt we were pretty justified seeing as the government has blocked the beach off to visitors (security guarded gates and fences) which is pretty lame seeing as it is definitely Langkawi’s best beach.
Compared to Oz and NZ, tourism here is far
less developed and it is a bit more hit-and-miss as to whether an activity or venue will be worth going to. One good find was ‘Laman Padi,’ a rice paddy tourism centre, with a museum and lots of wonderful plants. We went with Amanda and a Swiss girl from the hostel, and as soon as we arrived we were welcomed with some free mango and a guide, who gave us a good 3 hour tour (for free). He showed us how to plant rice, the varieties, and various other plants and fruits such as tapioca, chili’s, papaya, bananas, lime leaves, lemon grass, chives, ‘malu’ plant (malu means shy, as the leaves wither up when you touch them) and the coconuts he husked for us. He showed us traditional ways of shaving the coconut and made some up for us girls and started exfoliating our arms! The other arm was reserved for aloe vera which he smothered all over us (Matt bade his time by drinking many coconuts). Our guide must have taken a liking to us as he pulled up some chairs afterwards and showed us some Malay games, and offered us bamboo to smoke.
Some not so good
activities include the Wildlife Park. The animals were kept in tiny enclosures (croc’s about 3mx3m) and bird crap was everywhere. But asides from the animal’s misery it proved to be more ‘interactive’ than other zoos. Some of the local boys worked there and decided to start chucking things on Jane, firstly an eagle, then hornbill, and finally pythons….this was pretty intimidating as the snake started constricting tighter and tighter and the only saviour’s were young teenagers. Being in the low season things are cheaper than usual, but can very often be shut. We went to a batik factory, which is a traditional art form here made on a cotton cloth. One (out of five) was open and they showed us how the artists work. The art is very beautiful and every piece original.
After navigating our way around the island, we can tell we are nearly in Thai territory, with the large limestone cliffs, caves, beaches and islands (minus the sleaziness). So one short boat trip later and we will be writing from Thailand, first stop Krabi province - can’t wait.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.189s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 15; qc: 90; dbt: 0.1024s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
margaret
non-member comment
Hi
More fascinating reading. A hint: avoid chicken - it is decidely dodgy in Asia. Plain rice and bananas work better when the stomach is churning. I can't believe how cheap the accommodation is - will give you more money to spend in Europe. Great photos again - poor Matt looks miserable. Trust you are both back to normal now. Just think of it as collecting a few more antibodies. When you know when you are arriving in Canada let us know. Dad will be there at the beginning of October. (Meetings at a stunning spot called Cedar Springs? just over the border in the US.) He will fly in and out of VAncouver. As always - heaps of love to you both.