Circumnavigating Penang


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Asia » Malaysia » Penang » Batu Ferringhi
March 19th 2011
Published: March 23rd 2011
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After an ok nights sleep (air-con always makes the throat and mouth dry as hell) I headed downstairs for breakfast with my slightly less club like foot. Breakfast as ever was toast, toast, toast or noodles so toast it was! Aruna had suggested hiring scooters for the day rather than getting the bus to the closest beach at Batu Ferringhi, a forty-five minute ride away. So we spoke to the guy that hired out twist-and-go scooters at the front of the guest house and he agreed to do us a deal for two scooters. He looked a bit like Jackie Chan, with long hair so I found it hard not to laugh as he was going through the operation of the scooter with me. I had to grab fuel before we went anywhere as mine, unlike Aruna's, was empty. I'd been told by one of the other guys at the hostel that RM5 (£1) of fuel would be enough to do a tour of the whole island, rather than the RM10 that Jackie Chan had suggested. So with backpack stowed and helmets on we headed off for the beach.

Much of Georgetown is a one way system which is hard to navigate without a proper map, but once we had deciphered the place names on the sign posts we were off. I took the lead as Aruna hadn't been on a bile for a while. It was a great ride, drifting through the town into the winding roads that backed onto the cliff face. It was obvious to the local drivers and riders that we were tourists and they took every opportunity to overtake at close range. I held in mind the last time I'd been on the back of Dad's bike (about ten-years-ago) that a position close to the white line was the way forward to be seen and to better see what was ahead. We weaves our way in and out of traffic, filtering to the front at traffic lights. We passed a few beach resorts and even saw the Hard Rock Hotel, a bizarre sight on this small island. Finally I saw a small sign pointing towards beach parking and hung a right down the bumpy dirt track.

We found ourselves, more by luck than judgement, at a small secluded part of Batu Ferringhi. It was stunning, near enough white sandy beaches with small shacks offering water sports lining the beachfront. The tide was in as it was just after midday, so we headed for a bit of higher ground and settled ourselves to lap up the sun. It was blissful, a light breeze taking the edge off of the heat of the scorching sun. Hunger started to set in after an hour or so, so we headed to one of the huts offering food to grab a bite before getting back on the road.

The road continued west along the coast hugging the cliff face tightly. The road narrowed in places making negotiating corners interesting with the oncoming traffic. We headed back inland and found ourselves at Teluk Bahang Dam. It was piled high with rocks and boulders rather than being blocked with concrete, and the forest back drop made it look quite breathtaking. From here the road took us up further into the hills and through the part of the island close to the nature reserve. The landscape looked more like rainforest now rather than beach and cliff and made the atmosphere quite humid. We followed the road to the islands tropical fruit farm where we stopped to have a look and try the produce. I had a small plate of fruit piled high with mango, pineapple, red and yellow watermelon, water apples and a small cherry like fruit called acerola - more native to South America that tasted a little sour. It was delicious. The last time I'd had fresh fruit was in Varkala with David and it was most welcome.

We continued on the road to try and find Penang hill to get a better view of the whole island. It started to rain quite heavily as we rode so we stopped to take shelter, likes many of the locals, at the next bus shelter. As the sun came back out it dried our wet clothes out almost immediately so we continued on our way. We followed the signs for Georgetown in hope to pick up the signs for Penang hill. We were taken back towards the East of the island and to civilisation. The small roads turned into dual-carriageway with more and more traffic. With an open road I opened the throttle and took my little scooter up to sixty-miles-an-hour. I would say it was great to feel the wind in my hair, but we'd all know that would be a lie! After taking a few wrong turns and getting a little lost, we stopped for directions. It was getting late by the time we got to the base of Penang hill, only to find that the train that ferried people up was closed for improvements. There was a way up on the other side by road but it would have been dark by the time we got up there and we had said we'd have the scooters back before 6pm so we headed back to the hostel.

Jackie was pleased to see both bikes returned in one piece, although a bit worried when Aruna took off a high speed to fill up the tank on hers. We grabbed a bite at Line Clear again before heading back to the hostel. I was keen to try and plan my route and times through Southeast Asia, as my Thai visa would only give me fifteen days to get to Laos before it ran out.

We sat and chatted to some of the others staying at the hostel about traveling and swapping experiences of the same places we'd visited. I got hungry around ten o'clock and went to try a couple of the food stalls on the street round the corner. I had deep-fried peanut balls ad coconut pancakes. The peanut balls tasted like peanut-butter on the inside and a soft dough that had been coated in sesame seeds and deep-fried on the outside. The coconut pancakes were green in colour and had been made with tinned coconut rather than fresh which was a little disappointing but nonetheless I was satisfied. I packed my bag and headed to bed, ready for my bus journey across the boarder into Thailand.

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