George Town (Penang), Malaysia

3 nights in Penang

We were beyond excited to spend a few nights in Penang – a destination that we have both wanted to visit for some time.  One of the reasons being that Penang curry is a firm favourite food, so imagine our surprise when we realised that it doesn’t exist in Malaysia – it’s more of a Thai name for a peanut-y, coconut-y curry.  Who knew!  (Also, on that note – we were surprised to find out that Singapore noodles don’t exist in Singapore either!)

Sadly I managed to get my first two mosquito bites that flared up in the same way as mine (and Claire’s) have done in recent years.  I had one on each ankle so that slowed me down a fair bit and I had one day that I couldn’t leave the hotel room and Ryan had to ferry me tasty food!

Despite that we did manage to do a little exploring of the old heritage part of George Town (another UNESCO world heritage site and named after King George III), but was aware that this was only a tiny section of George Town in its entirety and also that we didn’t get to explore anything more of Penang Island.  We are on a bit of a more strict schedule at the moment because we want to get up to Bangkok in time to meet Beccy and Phil at the end of their holiday there on the 18th November.

Here are some of our highlights from George Town.  We had most fun just ambling around the centre, through Little India and Chinatown, to the old Jetty areas and the political centre.  Like most other Malaysian cities the mix of architecture and religious buildings was fascinating – and similarly to Malacca, there was an abundance of street art.

Typical street scene in the old town

George Town is famous for it’s street food!

Chinese temple at the entrance of Chew Jetty

Kapitan Keling Mosque

Nagore Durgha Sheriff Mosqie

Walking around the old Jetty area of George Town

I am all for a bit of recycling!

Looking from the old Jetty up to the new Jetty where boats leave for Butterworth and Langkawi (both trips we will be taking soon!)

Fort Cornwallis

The lighthouse at Fort Cornwallis – apparently the oldest in Malaysia (the birds seem impressed)!

Town Hall, Georgetown

Probably the most photographed piece of street art in George Town!

 Our final adventure in George Town was to catch the 3 hour ferry from the Jetty to Langkawi, a tropical island in the Andaman sea on the border of Thailand, for a week in the sun (and out of cities!) before heading briefly back to Penang and onto Bangkok.

In terms of VSO, we have had some contact with both VSO / Save the Children, who have now heard back from the donor, which seems to coincide with a positive election outcome in Myanmar.  Exciting times for Myanmar! However there is still no definite news about whether the project will go ahead or timeframes, we are still keeping everything crossed and hoping for some developments soon.