Rush Hour

  Pulau Penang, Pinang, Malaysia
Monday, June 23, 2008

Pulau Pangkor - Lumut - Butterworth - Georgetown

'Why do the cats here have such a shit meow?'

I'd heard a lot about Penang before, even received emails from people saying that I 'just have to go there', though these were generally from people who tend to side with the more commercialised places. In other words I was actually happy to miss it out.

But we did it, and I have to say these last few days on the island of Penang have been absolutely spot-on. As well as continuing with the 'island hopping' theme, we decided to continue with the 'independent two-wheeled tour' theme, only this time we managed to rope Dave into the equation who (and I KNEW, even before he signed on the dotted line that he would be eating the tarmac) after only three minutes was face down in the middle of the road, at the traffic lights, in the peak of rush hour next to his overturned scooter groaning like an old sow, as I sat howling with an uncontrollable hysteria right next to it all having witnessed the whole sorry spectacle. The others couldn't believe I laughed so hard. But they were in front and didn't see how it happened. I did. And I'm so so glad that I did, because if ever I need a chuckle I'll only have to draw on this memory for a moment and I'll be beaming with happiness. That's right. It's safely up there in the chuckle banks with all the other classics.

Realistically, an industrial estate carpark, school playground or quiet country lane is probably the best place for your first ride on a motorcycle, not the insane city roads on a South East Asian island where the rules went out with the dinosaurs and the very nature of getting from A to B has evolved into a streaming mass of high-speed chaos. Especially... in rush hour traffic.



And so we got out of the city - relatively unscathed - where the traffic cleared, the threats dwindled and the roads became smooth, twisty and coastal - the perfect way to see an island. After taking a bend far too ambitiously, losing it completely and spilling onto the path of oncoming traffic (and by some small miracle missing it) Dave finally learned to slow down and take it easy. Tit.

We stopped at the National Park gate for a bit of a meander (great views) carried on round through the steep and twisty mountain roads (fantastic) and descended down into the occasional scattered villages where I got a bit of footage of Nick and Liam in full flight as I rolled on past. This time round I hired a motorbike, with manual gears. They're half the cost (20 ringgit/3 quid per day) of a scooter and make for a very economical adventure, especially as you get to go places you wouldn't normally get to see, unless you shell out for an overpriced guide that is.

And so with full freedom and flexibility we decided to do a detailed tour of the whole island, stopping at a local eatery in the middle of nowhere for some great local cuisine. Once again the people were beautiful, absolutely beautiful, and made us completely welcome in what was clearly a place that didn't see too many white faces, especially one on a head so small and cabbage-like as Dave's. We polished off litres of water, loads of cold sirap, a mound of deep fried banana and three big bowls of sup mee ayam with extra cili, easily one of the best clear soups I've ever tasted. The whole sitting came to just over 10 ringgit.



By late afternoon Dave had had far too many close-calls for comfort and decided to head back to Georgetown to return his deathtrap, and himself, in one piece. Sense. Finally.

With the risk and burden out of the way we took off up into the hills. Liam had read something somewhere about Kek Lok Si - a very old and majestic Buddhist temple in the heights of the Penang hills. We couldn't go in but we did have a lengthy poke around the grounds. The place was amazing.

Heading back into civilisation was a bit more hairy, especially as you don't see the pot-holes and monkeys that litter your path. It was well after 9pm when we got back, having blasted through the city streets with all the other mad-heads. Nick had got all the lane changing and car zig-zagging down pat and the last half hour through the city suburbs saw us snaking in and out of other vehicles like loonies with Liam clamped to Nick's back like a sober koala. It was madness. Got a bit of video footage of the calm moments which should give you a vague idea of how mad it is when you really get going.



Food

Penang's renowned for it, and with a healthy mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay and the good old Baba Nonya, you simply can't go wrong here. Penang's where the assam laksa originated, though the one I had in Melaka was far better than the one I tried at the roadside shack. We found some excellent street food, some great barbecue stalls, and the famous 'claypot briyani' in the Indian quarter was to die for. Loads of options, plenty of choice, happy days. So with all that thrown in the melting pot, and the fun and frolics we had by continuing with the 'independent two-wheeled tour' theme, Penang has proved to be a good all rounder, a few days very well spent.

Speaking of themes, tomorrow we'll be taking the high road for a lengthy jaunt cross-country over to the east coast, to continue with the 'island hopping' theme. The Perhentian Islands are supposed to be world-class in terms of diving and snorkelling, and right up there with the best in terms of a heavenly picture-perfect tropical island paradise. But that's what it's supposed to be. Tomorrow we find out for ourselves..