Gateway town

Trip Start Aug 07, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Old Penang Guesthouse
(Georgetown hotels)

Flag of Malaysia  , Pinang,
Sunday, November 2, 2008

from KL to Penang, specifically, Georgetown. now i know what you're thinking. i thought the same thing. "why on earth is a city in Southeast Asia named 'Georgetown'". seems a bit too westernized, no? well, Georgetown, and Pulau Penang in general was an old port island used by the East India Trading Company... that name should sound familiar. so, it was obviously very westernized.

Penang (and often spelled Pinang) is a decent sized island off the coast of northen malaysia. it is not your typical southeast asian island... it is actually very modern like much of peninsular malaysia. we decided to come here as it is the perfect jumping off point for northern Sumatra, Indonesia. we thought about spending just a night here, but ended up staying three nights. as much of a dump as the center of town seems at first, its actually got a certain charm about it. at first, we hopped from guesthouse to guesthouse looking for a decent place to stay, before we found the Old Penang Guesthouse... and luckily, they had two dorm beds available (every night we've been here, it has been FULL to max capacity) which made our stay in Penang much nicer. the charm from Penang are three things from my opinion. first, its well know throughout SE asia for its food (that right there is enough for me to stay weeks). second, it is an island and therefore has picturesque beaches accessible. and finally, it has a good mix of modern/westernizedness and what we've come to know southeast asia to be. for example, we can get street food and wander through chaotic streets, trek through a jungle and get followed by creepy guys trying to lure us into their hostels and continue to see him over and over again everyday and then we can go to Queensbay Mall to eat Rotiboy, browse through Forever 21 and see what they have new at GAP. so all in all, we liked, not loved, Penang.

here's some of what we did:
-motorbikes - i'm now thinking we need to get one back home... but motorbikes are a MUST on any SE asian island... we drove all around the island looking at beaches, villages and stopping at places to eat... aside from the city driving, which can get,at times, a bit dangerous, it was very relaxing just cruising
-Queensbay mall - again, it was nice strolling through a legit proper westernized mall... we did some essentials shopping here like sunscreen and shampoo and such.. also ate ROTI BOY!
-Jungle Trek through the national park - there is a turtle conservation center within the national park; only accessible by hiking 1.5 hours each way through jungle. and to see mama turtles hatching baby turtles, we figured it would be worth it... when we got there, no turtles. and the conservatory was but a simple little building... but the secluded beach was nice was we walked for a bit before heading back to town...

next on our plans.. INDONESIA!!!!
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