25 October 2017

Penang (Malaysia Pt. 1)

Dear readers,

today I want to continue sharing our Asia journey with you. If you have not read the previous parts, HERE and HERE are two about Thailand and HERE is one about Singapore.
Penang was one of my favourite stops - it surprised me with its non-touristy laid back vibe. We arrived from Singapore in the evening and took a bus from the airport to Georgetown. Their bus systems are really easy to get used to since everything is written clean on their website and the amount of bus connections is not too high. Our hotel (Just Inn Georgetown) was OK, located near their main shopping centre and bus stop Komtar. We somehow survived the first two days in a room with fans and without any window glass and air conditioning. For the last night we made up with the owner that we really need a room with A.C. The rooms were big, equipped with big beds, the shower was a shared one. There was always fresh cold water in the water dispenser.
After a hard night of sleeping with only two fans turned on, we were happy when we woke up since we could finally start exploring the city. The owner of the hotel provided us with different maps, so it was easy to get around. You can find Georgetown on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list because of their rich history - the city was a part of the British colony, taken by Japan in the World War II and after the war again by the British. Today it hosts a mixture of different cultures, so when walking through the town, you will see a catholic church, mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, a China district and Little India. We were really excited to see the interactive street art spread across the streets of Georgetown. One important tourist spot, which you just cannot miss, is the Fort Cornwallis, a fort built by the British. We spent the whole first day in the old town, snacking on Malaysian sweets and treats while sitting and watching the sea waves hitting the shore.
On the next day, we decided to drive to the other side of the island with the bus, since there were supposed to be secluded beaches somewhere. We took the bus to the national park and after a two hour walk - and a monkey who stole a bag of snacks from us - we came to the famous monkey beach. There were no monkeys there, just a little bar and an incredibly stunning sand beach with almost no visitors. We spent some time there just soaking in the sea and laying under the palm trees. Since my boyfriend took only his sandals (for jungle trekking), we decided to take a boat back to the starting point. Then we took the bus to another town on Penang, which was in between the national park and Georgetown. It pretty much looked like a resort, with people only using the hotel pools - the sea was supposed to be full of jellyfish, but I did not encounter any even though I was swimming two times at the resort. In the evening, a vibrant street market filled up the main street. We bought some souvenirs and clothes there and enjoyed some dinner with food we could not even pronounce - deliciouuus.
On the last day we visited a huge Chinese Buddhist temple, Kek Lok Si, of course again with the bus. Climbing the stairs up the hill in such a hot weather was pretty hard, so on two thirds to the top, we decided to take the inclined lift. The view reached all down to the sea. After driving back to Georgetown with the bus, we still had some temples we wanted to visit, so we headed straight in their direction. It was interesting to see a Burmese temple, full with sculptures of different animal creatures. We ended our day with a walk next to all the tall buildings at the seafront, apparently hotels and business centres.
We left Georgetown in the morning, going to our last destination, Kuala Lumpur, by bus. To conclude, Penang has so much history and at the same time relaxing private spots. I hope you enjoyed the blog, tune in next time!

Love, Julija


























4 comments:

  1. Lovely snaps , wonderful places and good info.. ! thanks for sharing.. i wish i could visit these places one day

    ReplyDelete

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