Pining for Penang?

The previous day had not gone to plan, but not a reason to stop plans....
When you have a loose itinerary, I think it makes sense to apply some structure to it as you go along, and then work within those constraints. I had to be in Melaka for Monday evening and so I had two days, and so, decisively, I knew there was to be no day trip style travel, and I would spend my time in Georgetown. Not sure this was necessarily the right thing with there being a lot on Penang but I'm not a huge fan of beaches and lazing around them.

The hostel was pleased to inform me that I was able to retain my room into the next day (and I then stayed an extra night on top of that too). I was pleased too. It was a nice hostel and, as long as you have reasonable expectations, I have no problem recommending it [link].

Penang Hill

I got the bus out to Penang Hill from near KOMTAR which is the central bus station and so must be some form of centre (though clearly not the tourist centre!). Penang reminded me rather a lot of Hong Kong in many ways and so Penang Hill seemed similar to The Peak. Situated a little out of Georgetown (the main city in Penang), it rises 800m above sea level and so, on a clear day, to a good view. It was a fairly clear day.

While I was up there initially, a chain of events started that ended up being annoying and where a cheetah was defeated by gravity^[1]... The hill funicular tram was very busy and it was a hot day but I eventually got on the car and took it up to the top. The view from the top is pretty special and it was a pleasant day so I was taking advantage of the view and dropped my lens cap - that'd need replacing later. I spent the rest of the time up there protecting my lens whilst walking around and taking photos. There were a few things up there including a temple, mosque, bizarre snake "zoo" and a cracking owl sanctuary (museum). I had some food up there, had a little wander and then queued to get down - it was a long queue.

Once down at the bottom, a looked around for the bus stop (construction at the bottom of the hill meant things were in different places and eventually walked back to where the bus was waiting. Almost empty, air conditioned and almost quiet - except for some Bengalis. My Bengali is not good enough to entirely tune out when I hear it so I was quite glad when a few stops on, it got a little busier to drown it out. As I got near the central bus stop, I suddenly remembered that I needed to get a lens cap and jumped off. As I later found out, I had left my mobile on the bus² but I was successful in purchasing a lens cap, and it even had a little bit of string to tie to the lens. Considering the loss, I'd say it was not a successful shopping trip...

I got back to the hostel, asked them what I should do about the phone and then went out to continue looking around the city. I walked along the coast a little where the buildings were beautiful and the traffic was too much to cross. It wasn't a big city but it was pleasantly diverting and fairly walkable although there were buses through the city centre. Most of the city centre of Georgetown is a world heritage zone and so is protected from development that would be out of character. There were a lot of people out and I found a nice outdoor food court near the esplanade but, as I was not hungry so I did not get food from there.

Near my hostel, there was a "nightspot" which was a large food court called Red Garden. There was a massive choice of food and drinks were served by waitresses (may have been waiters too, but probably not). It was quite a lot of fun and I did not feel out of place on my own so that was a bonus.



Kek Lok Si

The next day, the weather was significantly less pleasant. Luckily, the hostel was happy to lend me an umbrella for the day. I also wanted to organise my trip to Melaka which they also helped me a with a little - I had wanted to take the train but the train was slower than the bus and significantly less convenient seeing as I would have to get to Butterworth from Georgetown. I booked the coach for the next morning at the ever-present KOMTAR, inclusive of a pickup from the hotel, and then made my way to the Kek Lok Si temple [link] (also known as the Temple of Supreme Bliss).

By the time I got there, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was tipping it down - I was pretty glad to have an umbrella. It was still busy there though and so I had a wander around. To get to the temple, you had to make your way through an apparent warren of stalls although there was actually only one path. It did look mysterious shrouded in mist though, and I was glad for the variety to some degree. Though dry clothes would have been nice too.

Coming into the temple through the ramshackle entrance, there are hundreds of turtles inside a small pond which is both cruel (to the turtles) and interesting (to me) as there is a small covered bridge with seats over the pond. The temple itself is fantastically located and so has great views across the city as well as some interesting architecture itself. I was wet, but it was still fun.
I made my way back on the bus, a little more carefully than the day before, (although I now had a lot less to lose) but I did not really know where to take the bus to. As Penang reminded me so much of Hong Kong, as a homage, I decided to replicate the Star Ferry crossing by taking the ferry across the Straits of Malacca. The weather didn't really improve but it did mean some rather dramatic cloud formations which I hope I did justice to. The ferry is not as popular as it once was as there is now a massive Penang Bridge (though not that close) across of which you get a nice view on the crossing.
Butterworth had a train station and bus station and appeared to be not much else for the tourist so I returned to Georgetown almost straight away.

Once back, the weather improved a little so that I could have a spot of lunch in Little India (one of many Little Indias through the trip); see a pretty nice sunset near the water and enjoy a coffee from a roaster. And that also allowed me to see that most modern of sights - friends ignoring each other whilst being in close proximity of each other.
Just after getting my coffee, a man spoke to me in  a language I didn't understand, I explained I was not from India as he thought. He walked off, and then a few moments later he returned amd asked me for some money for his son's medicine. I was dubious.
He explained what he needed and that his son needed something for his asthma - an inhaler. An inhaler I happened to have on me... I explained that I had the inhaler but he was unsure of the difference between Ventolin and Salbutamol and would not believe it was the same thing. I offered to go to see his son but eventually just gave him the money. It may have been a scam but, frankly, it had been quite a lot of effort for what was a relatively small amount so I gave it. I'd have preferred to have helped. Maybe I did.

Off to Melaka.

Penang 2013 - click for photo album

<sup>1. A few years ago, I was in Tanzania (I don't regularly partake in exotic travel so indulge me here) on a safari. On the final day, we managed to track down and follow a cheetah which was obviously an amazing and exciting experience. Exciting enough for me to drop my lens cap. Just the lens cap, mind. I wanted it back, so I got it back but this was supposedly not what you are meant to do when a cheetah is on the prowl a few metres away. It was amazing though to see one close up on the prowl (link). The lens cap spring arm was actually broken so it doesn't stay on properly and can be knocked off fairly easily↩
2. I was not that bothered by the loss of the phone, it was irritating as it was convenient for checking email and as an alarm clock but it wasn't super expensive. It was not until later that it really annoyed me when I attempted to replace it - I had a small android phone with a keyboard and that is a style that basically no longer exists. It was not a great phone but, and I have tried writing some of these blogposts on my present phone, I really miss having a keyboard to flip out. The cult of touchscreen I guess is just another sign of me feeling a little marooned in the sea of modernity.↩</sup>