Blogs from Penang, Malaysia, Asia - page 6

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Awoken again by the dogs howling it wasn't long before we were up and leaving our wooden bungalow for the bus station. We boarded the bus and after a smooth 5 hours on the bus we arrived at the island of Penang which is located in the north west of Malaysia. We are staying in an area called George Town, which is actually the capital of this state and is also a UNESCO world heritage site, similar to Melaka where we'd visited a week ago. When we arrived at the bus station we flagged down a taxi and he took us to the hostel we were booked into, called Magpie Residence. Upon checking into our 8 bed dorm room we were very pleased to see that the whole place looked clean and ... read more

Mercredi, dans le bus qui nous conduit vers Penang, nous recroisons le couple canadien ami (Jacques & Jocelyne). N’ayant pas la même destination, nous échangeons nos contacts et nos chemins se séparent. Nous gagnons la ville de George Town en début d’après-midi et suivant le flot de touristes, prenons un bus local jusqu’au centre historique. Prenant également congé de Salima, nous rejoignons la guesthouse « 33 Steward House » où nous resterons 2 nuits. C’est la 1ère chambre sans fenêtre que nous louons, mais les proportions sont correctes et elle dispose d’un système d’aération. Les douches / toilettes sont propres et les propriétaires charmants. Le patron nous indique où manger à proximité, on ressent vraiment une atmosphère familiale dans cette GH. Salima loge finalement à proximité de nous pour une nuit avant de se rendre à ... read more

1.5 years in Kuala Lumpur and I still hadnt been to Penang. Most people found this offensive, so I finally found a nice long weekend that would allow me to visit this historic island. 5o minutes on a plane and we touched down on the unexpectadly rugged island of Penang. There a few accommodation options, depending on what you’re after. Most people opt to stay in the oldest corner of the island; Georgetown. As did we. Famous for it’s maze of streets and alley ways, the place has more recently attracted attention for its street art and I was excited to wonder. And wonder we did! The place is made for this pasttime and it is what you will see most of the tourists doing around town. A lot of the action is centred around the ... read more

Wednesday 27 January/Thursday 28 January After breakfast decided to visit SAMs famous Batik house, retail outlet specialising in traditional silk Batik designed clothes. The blurb said it was in Penang road, we checked the maps and found Laluan Penang close to the ferries and Fort Cornwallis. An easy 20 minute walk later found the Street - no Shop. Checked with a Lady in the Magic Museum, who burst out laughing as we were in Penang Street and wanted Penang Road, which was about 2 minutes from our hotel, eventually, after we circumnavigated Georgetown, we found our Destination but unfortunately it was closed until 1100 hrs so completely wasted trip in the very hot and humid streets. (Note: Paula had googled the opening and closing times prior to going, but info wrong - just saying) Our plan ... read more

Sunday 24 January Blog entries seem to have duplicated themselves and photos struggling to appear, can only assume internet not strong enough here in the HighLands of Malaysia. Anyway, we are up, packed and awaiting 8.00am VIP coach from Brinchang to Butterworth, bound for Penang, via ferry, a road trip of over four hours, winding round and down through the mountains, via the city of Ipoh. The weather glorious and an easy comfortable journey, for the princely sum of £10 we had 2 front seat tickets. Breakfast stop half way - we sampled freshly made local dish of Nasi Goreng, delicious, and cost £2.50 for both as a take away, eaten on the coach, along the way. Hauled our back packs about 2kms from bus drop off to ferry terminal. As the Hindu population are celebrating ... read more