George Town, Penang

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After a rather choppy 3 hour ferry ride (Stuart Little was showing on the tv which helped a bit) we arrived at George Town. Off we trudged for the usual hunt for cheap/clean digs. One of the places we looked at was basically a converted theatre where large cages were the bedrooms and beds were kind of scattered around the floor - very different! It was a definite no from me as we needed a private bathroom (still felt dodgy). We found a bearable place in Chinatown, a bargain at 25 RM per night including fan and private bathroom. After a quick shower we went exploring.

Time for a history lesson guys

Penang can be traced back to 1786 when Sir Francis Light created a settlement on the island for the British East India company. For you guys in Ipswich, did you know that Francis Light was born in Dallinghoo, near Woodbridge and was schooled in Seckford (it's a small world). For you guys in Australia, Francis Light's son, William?, founded Penang's sister city, Adelaide :-)

We spent a pleasant afternoon following the George Town heritage trail gaining a more insightful view of the city. Starting off at Fort Cornwallis where Francis Light first landed, we walked around George Town taking in the combination of old and new exploring the sights, sounds and smells of the different areas such as Little India and Chinatown.

Visiting the Goddess of Mercy Temple one of the oldest temples in Penang - the temple was built in 1880 by early immigrant settlers from China. When we were at this temple, there was a constant stream of devotees lighting incense sticks and buying and releasing caged birds. It was fascinating to watch and made us feel somewhat lacking in spiritual beliefs although the incense sticks weren't that cheap so spiritual beliefs might stretch our budget :-)

It was very humid during our stay in Penang - thank god for shopping malls :-) If there is one thing that will get Chad to the shops it is the air con...... sweeeeet. These places are like an oasis in this heat. Luckily, there was a massive one at the end of our road. We even managed to visit the cinema (cheap Wednesday 6RM) and watched the new sci-fi flick Sunshine in a romantic "couples" seat. Yes, the movie was in english!

We have enjoyed our stay in Penang - it is very multi-cultural and has been fun to learn some history.

Next stop Cameron Highlands which is 6 hours away in the middle of the mountains. It is supposed to be a lot cooler so we might finally get to use the jumpers that Chad has had to carry all this way :-)

PS Steve and Ciara - Hope you have a wonderful wedding day - be sure to send pics. Remember, the key to a successful marriage is keeping each other happy, it's as easy and as hard as that :-) xx

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