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Published: August 29th 2012
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Arranging transport to cross into Malaysia was very easy, as everything in Thailand. We knew we would miss that convenience for sure but also we were excited about some challenges we may encounter when traveling around Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. It is extremely easy to get lazy and let other people do/plan things for you but it takes the excitement out of the journey a little bit, I think.
We were taken directly to
Georgetown in Palau Penang and dropped just at the corner of a famous
Love Lane. There happened to be a guesthouse just where we were standing, together with a Burger Stall which made amazingly looking and smelling sandwiches and they offered us a room with AC and Wi-Fi for 30 RMB/10$ only. It was late evening and we were tired of whole day travels so of course we took it without looking elsewhere. We also knew that staying at Love Lane may be considerably more expensive so we felt no urge to walk around. When we drove into the city that evening we saw massive and modern buildings, shopping centers etc and we got a little bit scared that Georgetown may not be what we were
looking for but when we reached the
Old Town, we loved it straight away.
With no particular plan and agenda we just wandered around and visited very recommendable
Heritage Centre that supplied us with maps and walking tours advice. You can follow these trails and visit all the significant colonial buildings and admire beautiful architecture, or lose yourself in the food heritage trail trying local specialties like coconut and egg tarts, pancakes or a fusion of Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisine. We found Georgetown irresistible to us. Love the history of it, love the atmosphere and mixture of cultures leaving in harmony next to each other and we love the food of course. Heritage Centre recommended us to visit Old Town Coffee shop and it was just simply fabulous. Amazing interior with old photographs of the town and delicious coffee made us want to stay there for hours. We were not in a rush but really wanted to see as much as we could.
We also tried to see
Penang Hill and even waited for an hour to catch a local bus but when we arrived at the bottom of the hill we saw that entrance fee is
Love Lane
view from the end not 10RMB/3,5$ as we thought but 40RMB per person so we just gave up. It was also full of local tourists and Chinese tours so we knew we would think of it as unworthy the money later on. We got back to town and went to see historic docs instead which we really enjoyed and found pleasant to walk around. We had to also figure out how to get to Parhentians next and finding a bus proved not to be very straightforward. After walking around for some time, trying to find a ticket office of government buses we were directed to find some agency. We finally found Kong Tours (which we then used to travel with around whole Peninsula) and paid very high fee of 150RMB/50$, including return boat journey to the islands. We hoped this place had better be worth it…
Additional Note: •
from Railey/Krabi in Thailand you can take a direct minibus to the border or Penang for 650Baht each. Do your research as we were quoted range of prices from 650-850Baht so asking around is worth the effort •
for nice breakfast options in Georgetown try Old Town Coffee Shop (rather expensive set for around 12RMB/4$ per person or simply get something from a bakery at the corner of the Love Lane (excellent place) and a nice fresh coffee from 7/11 next door – that was my favorite breakfast in Malaysia actually
•
different tour agencies change different fee to get to Perhentians and back so again ask around as the difference can be up to 10$ per person
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:)
Now, I have to go back to Penang island some day. I somehow managed to not come across or even discover any coconut tarts, and I know I would love them. Maybe they were all hidden away, because it was Ramadan when I was there.