Agora Hotel Pulau Penang

After a few nights in Batu Ferringhi we took a bus to Georgetown, the biggest city on the island. Georgetown is one of the few remnants of the old colonial trading route of the Malacca straight, and for that reason has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site.<br><br>After finding a hotel we took a bus to Kek Lok Si, which is a large Buddhist temple situated on a hill. On the walk up to the temple we saw a huge monitor lizard sitting on a rock near the river. It ...

... down. There was no bargaining to be done, so we just had to pay up and shut up. We ate at the little cafe by the police station and watched the evening storm brewing across the lake. We made it back just before the heavens really opened and then watched from the comfort of our room as the storm passed across the lake. The next morning, as we were pushing our bikes up the lane past the generator hut, something shot out from the undergrowth at top speed, grunting and ...

... is great, rows of conjoined buidings - some done up well, a lot crumbling or blackened with the ever pervasive Malaysian flora sprouting from roofs or walls. There are also not a lot of pavements here - instead you have to brave a combination of walking on the street, avoiding the open drain system, walking on people's verandahs and generally 'mingling' with the traffic. From a touristy perspective we've ...

... lienee yksinkertaisinta menna uintiharkkoihin taksikyydilla. Kasperin vastaus kysymykseen, mita on matkan aikana oppinut, on ollut, etta ainakin sen on sisaistanyt, etta nimenomaan bussia numero 201 kannattaa Penangissa kayttaa, mikali mielii Permata Sports Complexiin. Toivottavasti paahan on tarttunut muutakin hyodyllista oppia, kun tuo 201-tietokin nain osoittautuu huonosti hyodynnettavaksi. Matkan takiahan Kasperi sai vapaata koulusta ne 11 kokonaista ...

... lovely colonnial buildings and really friendly people. The only problem is that it's very hot! There's a solution to this, however. The centre of the island rises 750m above sea level and is accessible by cable car. Once you're up there, the temparature drops to a much more sensible 25 degrees with a bit of a breeze and lots of oxygen. The views are stunning and the rainforest is just amazing. I bumped into a helicopter engineer ...

... spent a good few hours walking up and down amazed at the sights. There was a never ending procession of devotees on route to the temple and when ...

... that day as one point or another. A couple of days later there was an open street party were there ...

... economy by purchasing souvenirs, knock off bags and I focused on other less bulky materials with equal finesse - DVD's. I convinced us that we absolutely had to take a rickshaw dressed up in neon lights and fake flowers. We just had to. Today, we continued our tourist duty by checking out some local attractions. You can see them in the pictures. But we managed to stumble upon yet another interesting taxi driver, only this one was ...

... Me oltiin tunti myohassa. Meinas vahan nolottaa. Uudestaan vaan kassalle yrittamaan vaihtoa seuraavaan lauttaan. Hattu kourassa selitettiin, etta ei se mun vika kun toi kello.. Laitto ne uudet leimat mut sano, et jos nyt ette ehi, niin sitte ei enaa armoja tipu. Mainiota, oli meinaan aika hintavat liput. Georgetownissa pimean laskeuduttua. Hylattiin taksien tarjoajat, siita ...

... elsewhere on the Island - although I guess if you are dropped off in the wrong side of town in any city you would feel the same way - the only thing is I'm not sure if this WAS the wrong side of town!  We set the alarms for 7:00am and to bed ...