Tuesday 22 November 2011

First steps in Malaysia


I must start this post by mentioning how the people we have met in Malaysia so far are genuinely nice, friendly and helpful. It doesn't matter what we are after, we're having no hassle at all. The second thing I cannot insist enough about is the food. There are loads of options depending on the style you prefer. The country has been built over the years with influence from China, Malaysia, India and Britain. The result is phenomenal on your plate!

Langkawi, the most northern island along the west coast of Malaysia's mainland was our first stop. Tax free heaven for the locals it was our chocolate heaven. We managed to find a large selection of chocolate (including Cadbury's!) which we had not had much previously on our trip. The island is quite large and we decided to hire a car with Steph and Tora, the girls we had met in Laos 6 weeks ago, and go and explore. We stopped at some waterfalls, went to a viewpoint and overlooked the island from the top of a tower sitting at 900m above sea level and then headed to a secluded beach for the sunset. We drove over 120km that day and did most of it with the water light on the dashboard on... We were lucky not to break down.. We spent the next day relaxing on the beach with the girls and a bunch of people they had met before.

We arrived in Penang yesterday after a painful 3 hours journey by catamaran. The sea was rough and we/I were/was suffering from a late night the night before. After checking into our hotel and enjoying a revival shower we recovered from the hard day by eating one of the best meals I've had so far!: mutton roti, fresh cheese naan bred and a plate full of rice, curry chicken, tandoori chicken, egg in curry sauce and cabbage curry. 24h later I'm still not hungry!

As we discovered today whilst walking around Georgetown, Penang is a very interesting place. In the same area we found an anglican church, a catholic church, 3 Chinese temples, 1 Hindu temple, 2 mosques. The mix of culture is everywhere and everyone lives in peace with one another, a great model of humanity! Penang is also known as the South East Asian Silicon Valley and there are loads of cheap gadgets. All in all, it is a great place where tradition meets modernity!

latest pics: click here

1 comment:

  1. I read your blog at work (I had finally some time), it is fun to read, it reminds me of our good trips together in South Africa!
    You look good , buddy, take fun, for us, it's soon the return on the mainland I think 1 -2 years before leaving abroad. see you soon.
    your friend Pauletaaaa !

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