Sunway Hotel Georgetown

I was so scunnered with Singapore and their lack of recongnition for my VIPness, that I couldn't bear to stay another minute in such a place, so instead of waiting the extra day for an available flight we hopped on a bus back into Malaysia. A 12 or 10 hour journey (depending on how fast your driver is) was undertaken by all with a certain degree of aprehension, I mean I shoulda woulda coulda screamed my head ...

I awake this morning feeling like I am in a sauna!! A cold shower and breakfast follows and I still do't feel too great. I must admit the soft and slightly chewy foccacia bread makes me feel a little better as it's delicious though.

We stroll around the streets of Penang and arrive at the Komptar shopping centre where an extremely helpful guy sorts me out with a fab new camera and then we head back to our hotel to book our trip to the ...

... yesterday we noticed that the
adjoining travel agency organises Thailand tourist visas. After a bit
of research we found out that as an aussie citizen we can get a 15
day visa on arrival if we do a land crossing. If we apply for a
tourist visa we can get a full 60 days which is better cos we won't
have to do visa runs out of the country. So we headed back to the
travel shop and kayla had some passport photos taken for ...

... form of Buddhist worship, this time in the Dharmmikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple, Penang's first Buddhist Temple, built in 1805. Completely different in style, the eight and a half metre high Buddha here, together with a multitude of smaller Buddhas, appeared to be the only common thread with the Thai version.

From here, we were driven to the Penang Hill funicular railway, in order to take the crawling half-an hour ride to the top of Penang ...

Man, it's hot here. That seems like a stupid thing to say but wow it's really freakin' hot here. We're in Malaysia. And it's freakin' HOT (as you may have heard...) AND it's an Islamic country so I'm trying to be respectful and cover from my shoulders to my knees but I would so love to wear teeny shorts and a tanktop. If I was a young British girl maybe I would, as so many of them ...

... to ‘attractions’, and a number of people I know seemed to have been thoroughly bored by the place. I don’t understand this thinking, as I found just wandering the streets and watching life unfold to be more than enough to keep me happy. There are the inevitable glitzy modern buildings, presumably the result of pre-crash development in the early 90’s, but far more interesting was the old colonial architecture, the Chinese temples and drinking dens and the Indian markets and restaurants. The place reeks of a rich and somewhat salubrious history, and strolling around the back alleys and crumbling buildings I thought enviously of the fun the triads and smugglers and old school colonials must have had. I imagine it would ...

... the food, if not the cheap cafe style restaurant itself, that we were served our meal on a banana leaf! On my final morning, I walked around the parts of town I hadn't yet visited, which included Fort Cornwallis, a fort where the British first based themselves on the almost uninhabited island of Penang, which also had a lighthouse on the complex, which had good views over the surrounding sea, as one might expect!

... ei mennyt ihan korottelyna, kun sattui pari pienta vastoinkaymista tielle. Georgetownissa hypatiin aamulla lauttaan ja tultiin maan puolelle bussiasemalle. Siella kaikki meni viela hyvin, kun (kuten taalla usein muuallakin) mies tuli radiopuhelin kourassa ohjaamaan meidat suoraa oikeaan bussiin, joka oli juuri lahdossa Ipohiin, kaupunkiin missa pitaisi vaihtaa bussia paastakseen Tanah Rataan. Paastiin Ipohiin mukavasti aikataulussa ja loydettiin lippuluukku, mista ...

... We hung out for about 5 days leading up to Chinese New Year, drinking some cold beers, enjoying good food and celebrating watching George Bush finally leave the Whitehouse ...

... siina pyorittiin ja kaytiin katsomassa konserttia esplanadilla. Esiintymassa oli mm. intialainen rap bandi. Ihmisia odotettiin paikalle 100 000, mutta alkuillasta satoi muutaman pisaran vetta mika ehka vahan verotti. Ilotulitusten aikaan, jotka olivat hienot, ihmisia oli tullut paikalle todella paljon. Kaytiin syomassa sormilla intialaista ruokaa banaaninlehdilta. Paivalla kaytiin katsomassa IP Man elokuva, kungfuahan sen olla pitaa. Elokuva oli kylla ihan hyva muutenkin.