We went to the Island of Penang twice - first only briefly after my passport was nicked before heading
to Davids, but we liked it so much we had to go back. That time we 'couch surfed'
with Ang, a very energetic
fellow highly involved in the Chinese community there, which was handy as it was Chinese New Year so he knew
about all the parties! The night we were there we accompanied him to a 'clan open house' - saw the dragon
dancing at the temple and enjoyed a great buffet dinner with many other celebrators. In the morning Ang took
us to the park next to his home for a stroll and a quick lesson in Tai Chi, which he teaches along with several
other practices and massage. Relaxed us completely before our mad rush to leave and meet David that afternoon.
So, when we returned we got back in touch with Ang and he invited us back to his place in Georgetown (the main
city) for another few nights. First of all though we stopped off at Fort Cornwallis, an old British navel base
where we read about the colonial times and climbed the light house for a great view. Back at Ang's we made hummus
with the tahini we sourced in KL and shared it with him and another
'Couch Surfing' friend, Ramesh. The 'Couch Surfing'
community in Penang is a strong network and many are friends with each other which makes for a nice and social stay.
Next day we went into town and I did a bit of research for a new camera, found a good deal and so can start taking pic's again. Also visited a good bike shop to get Tabs' gear shifter replaced after it decided to totally stop working. Then to the Penang museum which has impressive exhibits on the different cultures and the rich history of the island. One of the better museums we have seen. Back to Ang's and along with friends Chong and Cynthia, and Julie, a Swiss student researching her thesis in Penang we went to have dinner at Chin Chins home - another 'Couch Surfing' She cooked us wonderful vege curry and had a great night exchanging stories.
The next day we were up ready to scale Penang Hill with Ang. We weren't too long down the road when we had a forth companion - whom Tabs named Beans cos of his speckled coat. This amazingly friendly and jolly dog came all the way up the hill with us, always waiting for us to catch up. Stopped at the half way point for complementary coffee and cookies, then on up the final (and slightly confusing) set of trails to the top. Spectacular views of Georgetown and beyond, ate a huge ABC (you'll need to see previous posts if you haven't been paying attention) and managed to loose good ol' Beans before we took the funicular down again. [Ang has since reported seeing him well and happy at the bottom of the hill again, probably looking for more unsuspecting dog walkers.] Went to eat lunch at a local Malay stall and then back to pack up the bikes again and head off on our cycle of the island.
We only got as far as Chin Chin's home 15km away! We had rung to see if we could stay and she said sure, so we were lucky to have another nice meal and chat with her. She lives near the beach full of resorts and tourists - and we were planning to go down for a swim in the morning but awoke to the first real rain in ages. Stayed put waiting for it to stop but didn't, so finally set out anyway but only to do a shorter ride. Visited the semi interesting but pleasant smelling'Tropical Spice Garden' and on to a nice local fishing village for a late lunch before going back the same route to Georgetown.
We went to find Ramesh's house south of Georgetown, in a big apartment complex. Got in quite late and quite wet so showered and to bed. Next morning we relaxed a bit before heading to the bus station just down the road. Got out tickets then had some good Indian tucker before boarding for the Cameron Highlands.
Up and up and up the bus snaked, 1,600m above sea level to the old British hill station now famous for its vegetables, strawberries and tea plantations. We were going to bike up but we learnt that a few weeks earlier 2 cyclists had been robbed and all their bags taken after being stopped on the quiet road - so we decided it was safer not to ride in case the culprits decided to try it again. It was dark and raining when we arrived, called yet another great 'Couch Surfing' host and went to stay with Rica. She is so hospitable that she had a total of 5 guests there that night! A Brit guy and 2 Russian hitchhikers. And thats along with another housemate and her 2 children - full house!
However she was off the next day for the weekend in her hometown so after a lazy morning we moved to a hostel nearby.
Ended up being a great place - met lots of fellow travellers. We cycled to a nearby town in the evening to check out
the night market - bit touristy with souvenirs etc but tried some yummy snacks. Back to sit out by the bonfire and
sing along with a local guitar player who played my 2 fav's Tracey Chapman and Bob Marley back-to-back. Sung till
the wee hours.
The next day a bunch of us went on a jungle walk. Germany, Spain, Italy, America, Sweden and France as well as
England and NZ were represented on the trip! Nice trekking through the trees, soon coming out to the vege gardens
and a walk along a road to join up with another trail heading back into the town. Very enjoyable chatting away with
everyone and most of us went for lunch when we got back. Watched a movie at the hostel and had some dinner before more
drinks and singing by the fire again.
Everyone was heading out on different trails the next day but we decided to use our bikes for a look round. To a strawberry farm first, not that great but munched on some before we left for the hill cycle.. ended up being a real steep road in parts, not suprising considering its the highest road in mainland Malaysia.
Past picturesque tea
plantations and then mossy lush jungle, stopping for a picnic lunch in the trees before finally making it to the
summit. Just as the mist rolled in. Typical. So didn't really get the view but an achievement all the same. Wizzed
back down again and to the Butterfly Garden to see some wildlife. Were checkin out the snakes and bugs etc when a
member of staff came over and started showing us all the creatures we had missed and picking them up for us to hold!
Giant stick insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes and many other creepy crawlies were seen very up close and personal!
Yushan (probably spelt that wrong) is from Bangladesh and the friendliest guy - by the end of the tour we were in his
house eating honey! Agreed to see him again the next day, as had to go and move back in to Rica's place. The Russians
were there again too.
On the bikes again on Tuesday to cycle up another impressive hill to a tea plantation. Went on a tour that kinda
showed you a bit of the process and had a cuppa with a great view then down again (obviously). In the evening we
met Yushan and his friend Appu for Indian roti and drinks. Nice to chat with some locals and learnt a lot about
the situation in Malaysia, and they asked us lots of questions about life in Europe - its a dream for them to go there.
We were intending to leave the following day but slept in and still had some odd jobs to do so stayed another day and got them done and also wrote up this here website for y'all. Next stop - Taman Nagara National Park - even deeper into the jungle....