Photo trip report: Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia

[buksida]

This is an ongoing report posted from location as I need to start wading through all these photos (some were shot on a phone so apologies if they're not up to usual standards) please bear with me, it will be updated over the coming weeks.

A road trip was long overdue. A road trip is always long overdue so this time we decided to avoid the increasing hassle of air travel and take a train to Malaysia. Tickets on the single-class sleeper from Bangsaphan to Butterworth cost 1079 for adults and 875 for kids so it made sense and avoided messing around in Bangkok.

On a rare occasion the trains in Thailand run on time, this was one of those occasions; we pulled out of the station at 21.10 bound for the south on silent carriage number three where most of the passengers were already deep in slumber.

A very restless night (I dont sleep well on trains) ended in Hat Yai at 07.00 where the train beds were converted into seats and a bunch of new travellers got on. All stopped at the border an hour later, immigration processing was straight forward but there was no locomotive on the Malay side to take the train on the final leg of the journey.

The final 150km or so from the border to Butterworth ended up taking half the day, and by the time we’d taken the ferry to Georgetown and a taxi to the hotel it was 18 hours after we had left … maybe a plane would have been better after all.

Views from the ferry approaching GT.

To follow: Georgetown

[oakdale160]

Good info, keep going

[Roel]

Brilliant. Once again. Looking forward to seeing more.

[buksida]

We wanted something with a pool knowing it will be a blessing after trekking around the sweltering streets of the old world heritage town. The 1926 Heritage Hotel fitted the bill and budget nicely (http://www.agoda.com/1926-heritage-hote ... id=1586997), it was a little out of town but not too far. The taxis on Penang are total rip-offs, none of them use the meter and the prices are ridiculous, it made sense then to familiarize ourselves with Penang’s public bus system which is excellent and a fraction of the cost, there is even a free bus around the world heritage section of town.

The last time I visited Georgetown was in 1998 and the difference between then and now was staggering. Primarily the number of high-rise buildings and the sheer volume of traffic, almost Bangkokian at times, were the two obvious changes to what was once a quaint little town.

Our first meal was in a nondescript Muslim place across the street from the hotel and contrary to the surroundings the food was outstanding, now my memories of Georgetown and its culinary delights started to return. Part of the travel research also involved sampling the local brew; unfortunately the price of beer on Penang is approximately double that in Thailand (cheapest can of local beer was 65 baht), on the plus side they have a large variety including Guinness and some seriously strong import beers in the 7-Elevens.

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To follow: Penang Hill

[dundrillin]

Brilliant post, interesting and entertaining. Hope to do this trip myself when we move over in a few months.

[buksida]

First stop on the tourist trail was the 830 meter high Penang Hill, the longest funicular track in Asia, and the steepest tunnel in the world. This place was absolutely chock full of Chinese tourists, we were later to discover that the whole island is way up there on China’s holiday destination list; at times it seemed that there were more Chinese than Malays on Penang.

The cable train shoots you up the hill in a few ear popping minutes, unfortunately the view will disappoint unless it is a clear, haze free day - ours wasn’t. There was little else at the summit (aside from the phone snapping crowds of Chinese) so we slid back down the track and jumped on a bus heading for the old town.

To follow: Little India

[oakdale160]

When you mention the number of Chinese tourists, I understand that Penang like s'pore has a population that is very heavily Chinese. In fact when singers made its break from Malaysia, Penang made an attempt to separate too.

[PeteC]

I have a sneaky suspicion that they copied all of that from the Hong Kong Peak tram. Pete

[oakdale160]

What is the meaning of the padlocks?

[buksida]

It was a little 'lovers row' where couples could write their names on a padlock and secure their love by locking it to this fence. It was a little bizarre seeing blokes in surf shorts being tailed by women in full black burquas carrying the umbrella for them like a caddy.

[Homer]

Good composition on the last photo of the cruise ship, DSC_0013.jpg

[buksida]

Getting hungry now, we ventured into Little India in search of the legendary banana leaf curry that I remember eating many years ago. A very busy lunchtime corner restaurant had exactly what I was looking for, and the best chicken masala I have ever tasted. The prices were just as cheap as I remember at 6.5 RM/65 baht for green leafed goodness. In fact the only changes to the area I noticed was that there were shiny new cars everywhere now where there were motorcycles 15 years ago.

To follow: Chulia Street

[buksida]

A sweltering walk down Chulia Street yielded plenty of photo opportunities though I had to time a lot of them and wait for the torrent of traffic to subside. Fortunately the character of old Georgetown remains intact despite the invasion of thousands of Japanese cars.

The mission for today was to get up the Komtar tower to see the view and get some pictures to compare to those I took in the late nineties. Arrival at the tried old mall revealed most of it closed up; including the tower so we headed over to another shiny shopping block to look at the same old stuff you can buy anywhere (the mrs and kids need their shopping fix now and then).

We did venture out after dark for a couple of St Patrick’s Day drinks but at 180 baht per glass soon got tired of that.

To follow: Batu Ferringhi

[buksida]

It was time to leave the steamy streets of Georgetown and head round the coast to the tourist beach resort of Batu Ferringhi. I found a two bedroom managed apartment on booking.com for about a grand a night that sounded better than the star hotels and all the hassle that comes with them. The owner even picked us up for no charge which saved us another taxi fleecing.

Within an hour we were checked in and walking into town … to find everything closed. Malaysia is an evening place, with the Chinese, Indians and Malays either sleeping or praying during the day most businesses and shops are closed until the heat subsides later in the afternoon. We managed to grab a bite and visit a fish spa where the inhabitants grabbed a bite out of us, a very bizarre experience that was.

It was time to get mobile and rent some bikes, which of course here are severely over-priced at 400 baht per day for a battered scooter with flat tyres. Bartered them down to 300 for two days and rode out of town to a nearby butterfly farm for a slice of tranquility and another chance to get out the camera. The ride across the western side of Penang is great with less traffic and some nice twisties up into the hills. On the way back we stopped at a spice garden for a glimpse into the local spice trade on which the island first thrived and established itself.

When compared to Thailand or Vietnam tourist attractions here are expensive with the average entrance fees for adults at around 3-400 baht and kids at 2-300 baht regardless of how big or impressive the attraction is. There is also blatant dual pricing going on but here it is only 25% extra for foreigners as opposed to ten times the local entrance fee in Thailand.

To follow: Nightmarket and Snake Temple

[hhfarang]

Buksi, which camera did you use for the butterfly photos... really sharp macro work!