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Published: April 19th 2008
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Approaching Panang on the 6am ferry
Impressive skyline - The camera couldn't fit it all in! Date visited: 13th-15th April
We boarded the overnight sleeper train to Kuala Lumpur as first class passengers this time round: a) To have our privacy back b) to sleep on a bed than on a backpack and c) to keep our sanity incase we repeated the kid-carriage from the journey previous...
Unfortunately this time round, our carriage was bang over the wheels of the train, add to this a very old cranky railway and even the best brand of ear plugs are challenged.
We struggled through the night arriving in Kuala Lumpur with barely a few hours kip between us. KL was 'okay' but I wouldn't say as 'pleasant' as Singapore - neither as green or as clean, still, for Asian cities it isn't bad. We used the day primarily to do odd-jobs rather than sightseeing. We purchased some anti malarials on the cheap for our next few weeks: Doxyclycline for me and Malarone for B (I am hoping the antibiotic nature of mine will keep my stomach well behaved!) We wondered around a few busy market areas before returning to KL's very impressive train station for our next sleeper train to Panang, North West Malaysia.
We
slept better this time but what a long day - the train got us to the port for 6 am then we hopped on a cheap ferry, only about 10 minutes to Panang (Georgetown)
The Skyrise strip was impressive appearing as an orange haze in the distance on our approach - the panoramic view reminded me of a Manhattan skyline or similar.
Georgetown is a busy bustling city with hundreds of cultures living and working side by side, as elsewhere in Malaysia. Hindu temples and Mosques, Indians eating chinese food and vice versa, all kinds of transport from times past and even the crumbling colonial buildings attached to the modern shop signs on their fronts - all this contrast is really quite interesting and refreshing. The city seemed to lack a centre as such so one is left to explore the various districts e.g the market bizarre area, the seafront upmarket colonial area, the little india which is clean and pedestrianised and the modern shopping centres and business district.
In addition to the city we were told 'Panang Hill' was worth a look - a hill overlooking Georgetown and the surrounding area offering good views of
the area. We wrongly assumed a quick trip up on the funicular train would be easy. Unfortunately this led to an appaling 4 hours of queues, loud kids, Sunday crowds and feelings of utter entrapment. Two trains, 2 hours in 2 stages, 2mph, and hundreds of tourists later we got to the top. Yes the view was superb - perhaps the best 'city' viewpoint I have been to where the city and jungle terraine merges cleverly. It was certainly worth a look but the hassle and expense to get here certainly wasn't.
We got a public bus back to save the quids and enjoyed our very much needed bottle of lager after what was quite a stressful and long day. We checked in at our excellent budget hotel and had a shower for the first time in 3 days!
2 days later....
Poor Penang! (or Georgetown rather!) Its actually quite a nice happenning city but with the pair of us arriving knackered and weary it was never going to be long before something would seriously piss us off and the swear words would get a good airing...
For a few hours everything seemed to be a hassle and hardwork - from crossing the street avoiding the endless chain of scooters to finding a decent food stall serving reliable and safe food or getting a cab without being swizzed, or finding a place of interest that isn't closed (as we arrived on Sunday). We had planning' to fit in to the visit as well - and as ever this included the usual think-tank of juggling dates, money and reading reviews to ensure we don't end up somewhere awful... at one point it just made us both want to bury our heads in the sand. Luckily, and which helped to redeem things a little, our stay at Georgetown's YMCA was a good find. Clean, and with all the facilities we needed - the only gripe being that it was unfortunately a fair trek to the city and happenning areas - maybe this was the last straw! As a result we were either at the mercy of the taxi drivers with their 'westerner rates' or left to walk the city's scruffy edges avoiding 6 ft holes, trenches and open drains at the side of the road and scuttling across the busy streets looking for a half decent place to eat. It seemed like all work and no play in some respects.
That said, we did get used to the long walk in and sampled some of Panang's reputable food in the Indian district eventually. We also had time to check out the historic district in the more spruced up and quieter area of town. The talking bird was my highlight I think (which I have on video).
I think seeing this hectic yet incredibly varied and vibrant city with its friendly people was just timed wrongly on this occasion - especially after a tiring journey spreading over 2 days and 2 nights on the sleeper/less! train. I think I am glad overall that we made the effort to come here - maybe at this stage in our trip our minds are a little too tired to take on 'in your-face cities' in classic asian fashion.
ah well!
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