Blogs from George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Asia - page 56

More photos for your viewing pleasure, Laura x... read more

Hi ya, Overslept this morning but managed to pack in a lot today. We have walked around China town and looked at all the market stalls havent really bought much but its really interesting looking round. We had lunch in a Chinese which was delish big prawns with lovely fresh veg, chicken and rice. We then caught a bus to Penang Hill where we caught a train up to the top it takes half an hour in total We saw loads of monkeys as we were going up. There are temples at the to of the hill which are beautiful so ornate. The next on our agenda was the Kek Lok Si Temple which is absolutely huge there are massive Gold buddahs everywhere and again the architecture is really ornate. Got a taxi back to our ... read more

The trip from the Perhentian Islands to Georgetown meant crossing Malaysia from east to west. Although it is not as far as the country’s expansion from north to south, it is said to be long and rather tedious, because there is no direct road. There is a direct bus, though, from Kota Bharu to Butterworth, the mainland city closest to Georgetown on Penang Island, at 9:30 a.m. As the morning boat was supposed top leave the island at 8 a.m., we should easily catch this buys; but the boat was late (rather unusual for Malaysia) and the shared taxi did not manage to take us to the bus terminal on time. There was either a night bus or a bus next morning to Butterworth but we were determined to reach Georgetown the same day and were ... read more

Lisa has classes some of the days, so I ventured out on my own. I visited a butterfly farm and then a spice garden. On the way I met a very nice couple from Holland. I had to take a bus about 1hr and a half away to get there! On the way back, I stopped in a little village to have lunch. It can be very difficult to order when there isn't a menu. I ended up stopping at an Indian restaurant and having roti, ( a type of pancake) and some cold curried chicken. It wasn't bad considering it was only a buck! ... read more

The journey from KL To Penang was another to remember- and so far the worst! About half an hour into the journey we realised we were being watched by an army of cockroaches who had nested in the cushioning by our seats. We thought it was bad enough them running along the floor and up the walls, but when one fell onto Laura's head we soon realised there was no getting away from them. We spent the rest of the journey dodging the cockroaches and keeping watch of each other incase anymore decided to jump on us. Five hours later we crossed the bridge from the mainland into Penang Island, and were extremely glad to get off the bus. We headed to a hostel in Georgetown recommended by the Lonely Planet as being 'clean and spacious', ... read more