Penang, Malaysia

Penang, Malaysia

Sho of the city 

Caleb and I left Langkawi on a large passenger ferry bound for Malaysia’s 2^nd largest city, Penang.  A city of over 750,000 people, where in one block you have 80 story skyscrapers and the next you have slums, where very old meets very new.  Penang, along with most of what is now Malaysia was completely controlled by the British until the late 1940’s and the capital city of Georgetown, still bears some British influence in its architecture.

We pulled into port and yet again, had to go through customs and have our bags scanned.  Waiting on the other side was a slew of taxi drivers all mumbling broken English wanting to take us wherever we needed.  Through some of our own research and on the advice of fellow travelers we had met along the way, we were directed to stay in the city of Georgetown, near the heart of everything on the 400 square mile island.  As we took the 15 minute drive there, our taxi driver was asking the standard where are you from, how long are you here, what are you going to do type stuff.  I think he truly believed he was speaking English but I could only make out 1 out of every 30 words he said.  I didn’t try to understand him, I just listened to pitches in his voice and the facial expressions I saw he had in the rearview mirror in order to determine if at the end of his ramble it was a statement which commanded an “Oh, that’s nice” or “Who knows” or if I thought it was a question that commanded an actually response when he was smiling at the end,  I’d simply laugh and say “We’ll see, we’ll see”.  This seemed to work perfectly and he dropped us off in Georgetown with a satisfied look on his face that said “I just had a deep, complex conversation with an American, I’m good”….

We walked to a hostel that had been reviewed highly on the popular hostel website www.hostelworld.com but unfortunately, they were full so they referred us to a newer place just a few blocks away called the Monkey Inn.  We walked in and this time, each bought our own air-conditioned room for 2 nights at a cost of about $13 US per night.  Once in awhile, it’s nice to have your own spot to retire to.  Upon paying, we were each handed a bath towel that’d maybe fit around my thigh and a roll of toilet paper, what more could I ask for!  One quick glimpse of Caleb’s room made me think the girl/boy at the front desk hated him and loved me.  I was happy.

Caleb's bed, stains included in price!

I put all my stuff in the room and grabbed my bag of dirty clothes to find the nearest place for laundry.  One of the nicest parts of my travels so far is that there are places everywhere that do your laundry for you for almost nothing.  The prices are always by the Kilogram (2.2lbs) and usually it’s between $1-$2 US per Kilo.  A full bag of laundry usually cost me $5 and is done in 24 hours, folded, ready to go.

After taking what has now become almost a routine nap, we set out to find some food.  Everyone that I spoke to said we needed to eat at the street vendors called Hakker stands.  They’re so cheap, I honestly can’t understand how there’s any room for profit.  One wouldn’t have to look far to find a large plate of a variety of food for less the forty cents.  I decided on a plate of noodles and some chicken slices, it was nothing short of delicious.  While the guy was loading up my plate, I saw a dish and asked him what it was to which he replied “Chicken Feet”.  They looked like they’d been cooked in soy sauce as they were super dark in color.  I had to eat this and asked the guy if I could have one chicken foot to try.  He said sure and I sat down at a nearby table and waited for him to bring everything to me.  Soon, he came with my noodle and chicken plate and not one chicken foot but one PLATE of chicken feet!  As you can see in the picture below, these are full on chicken feet, toe nails and all.  I started in on them, much to the look of horror on Caleb’s face, he couldn’t understand why I’d want to do it, but you’ve got to do everything once right!  10 minutes later and the plate was empty, didn’t taste much different than regular chicken other than it was really gooey like.

You'd eat them too!

We stopped by a Reggae Bar and had a few drinks with some locals before venturing back to our hotel to relax the rest of the evening.  Up at the crack of dawn, Caleb and I headed for a nearby place that rented motorcycles.  This one was a little more strict as we actually had to prove that we had valid motorcycle licenses back in the states, which we did, but it was the first time we had encountered anyone actually caring.  The island had about 80 miles of main roadways that would take us to the places that anyone would want to see.  We road by some gorgeous beaches and through areas that had massive housing projects that looked like they had fallen into extreme disrepair but still showed plenty of evidence that they were still fully occupied.

No, I didn't request the pink one.

 

Slums

As we were cruising, Caleb noticed a sign for a war museum so we decided to swing on up and take a look.  They called it the world’s first “live” war museum because it was the original 40 acre compound constructed by the British in World War 2 that had been kept to look nearly identical to how it was when it was fully operational over half a century ago.  We had a guide that went with just Caleb and I and we were 2 of maybe 8 people walking around the entire place, nearly empty.  He was extremely knowledgeable about everything we encountered and spoke surprisingly well English.  The sights and history were absolutely incredible.  You'd have to see all the photos to get a good idea of the place wich i'll post later.  Definitely a must for anyone that by chance makes it to Penang.

At the entrance, can you tell?

A prop simulating how the british troops and officers were lined up and shot after they fort was captured by the Japanese. Bullet holes still remain in the concrete.

We departed the War Museum in search of food on the north side of the island.  Our map showed that was where all the nice hotels such as the W, Sheraton, Hard Rock, and other similar ones were at so we assumed some nice restaurants were sure to be nearby.  As we headed on our motorcycles towards an anticipated meal, we kept getting passed by the screaming engines of countless Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, and other exotic cars at high speeds all headed in the same direction.  We pulled into the Hard Rock Hotel to find a large exotic car gathering from what we later learned was a group of wealthy Asian’s who frequently got together to drive throughout various countries in there quarter million dollar play toys.  After an alarmingly expensive dinner at the Hard Rock Café and a photo opp with many of the cars and drivers, we headed back home just in time for a torrential downpour to make our ride that much more enjoyable!

Once back, we cleaned up, went out for a quick few drinks at a local watering hole and headed back to the room for a solid night sleep before catching a bus out of town at 8am!  Onward we must go!