Penang, Malaysia

David had to fly to Penang for business, and at the last minute I invited myself. He warned me that there really wasn't much to see in Penang. I beg to differ. As soon as I got to the hotel I gave him a lecture about NEVER going to a place with a hotel so grand without thinking of inviting me.

 

 

 

The outside wrap around balcony had an incredible view. And fortunately the weather was cool enough to actually enjoy time out on the balcony relaxing.

 

The patio area and pool terrace were as beautiful as the inside of the hotel.

 

 

 

A few shots of the inside of the hotel. Absolutely the perfect fusion of East meets West.

 

We checked out the hotel's bicycles for the day (not the same high quality as the hotel, but they took us where we needed to go). We found a city map and went on a treasure hunt to find all of the street art listed on the map. 

 

We enjoyed the sites of the city. Penang is a sleepy, low key, Asian town. It reminds me of Hawaii, yet a different type of beauty. After living in Hong Kong with 7 million people, I found the "city life" of Penang to be very inviting.

 

David was giving me a hard time about riding my bike with one hand while weaving in and out of traffic taking pictures. Which I believe I accomplished quite well. Yet HE collided with a motorcycle. Ask him about it, he loves to tell the story and put the blame on me.

 

 

 

 

 

Always the greatest site: McDonalds. Sadly, a piece of home no matter where you are in the world.

I loved the Tuk tuks. They are different than other places in Asia. The owners seemed to take great pride in decorating their rides, one owner trying to out do the other in hopes of winning over patrons.

 

Hey, it can be hard work!

 

On our last day we hiked Penang Hill with our friend T.H. The name "hill" is very deceiving. We hiked around 3000 ft to get to the top. I was sweating from places I didn't know would sweat.

 

 

We saw some beautiful scenes and amazing vegetation.

 

 

 

Fascinating to watch workers climb the Durian tree to harvest this prized fruit (worst smelling fruit I've ever smelled. Disgusting). The Malaysian's love to tell you how much better their Durians are than the Thai's. I've yet to be able to get past the smell to try one of these beloved tropical delights. Strings are tied to the fruit so when they fall they will gently sway down without getting bruised.

After hiking a few hours T.H. realized that he may be on the wrong trail. He asked for directions. We turned around.

We saw a young man and asked what trail we should take to get to the top. Turns out we were on the right one. We hiked another hour to get back to where we had turned around. (Cuss words). I watched the tram run up and down the hill, wondering why in the !*$# we were hiking.

 

However, all the sweat and hard work was forgotten once we arrived on top to enjoy the view and have a bite to eat. Fortunately we took the tram down and enjoyed seeing the fruits of our labors.

 

After our hike we only had a few hours before heading to the airport. We decided to walk to the "Blue Mansion", formally known as Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. The mansion was built in the 1880's and has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 timber louvre windows. The mansion was purchased from Cheong Fatt Tze's descendants in 1989 by a group of local Penang individuals in order to save the edifice from encroaching development and possible demolition. It now operates as a 16 room bed and breakfast. The mansion is listed in Lonely Planet as a must see. I agree.

 

 

On our way walking to the mansion, we ran into a chocolate museum. I think David enjoyed it more.

I will never trust David again when he tells me that there really isn't much to see in Penang. I'll be going back.