Enter Malaysia, Georgetown

The sleeper train from Thailand into Malaysia is the way to go! You get your own little cubicle to sleep in during the night and in the morning they convert the beds into seats..easy. The train stops at the border for an hour to clear customs, then it is back on the train for the ride to Butterworth where it is a 10 minute walk from the train-station to the ferry dock where you are whisked across the water to Georgetown. Too easy, something had to give. Once again we arrived in a new, very full city with no accommodation booked. We finally decided on a guesthouse that we thought was o.k. (however, the guesthouses in Malaysia are not up to the same standards as the rest of SE Asia for the money you have to pay) our room didn't have a private bath, but we were finding many did not, but it did have aircon and a fan. The room was fine until we noticed our window in the room was about 30 metres from a mosque, even with earplugs this was not going to workout. The next day we were off in search of a new guesthouse...to make a long story a little shorter-the first 4 nights we spent in Georgetown we spent in 4 different guesthouses. Finally we slipped into Gary's room at the Stardust when he left, guaranteeing us the room was the best in the place...and it was. We spent 6 days in Georgetown wandering the streets and seeing the sights. Gary had been to Georgetown several times so he served as tour guide until he left. While in Georgetown we visited Fort Cornwallis, the Georgetown Heritage Museum, the Penang National Park, and the night before we left Georgetown we took the cable-car up Penang Hill to 833 metre where we had a great view of the lights of the city.

The people in Malaysia are very friendly and always willing to help, they are a real mix of origins coming from China, India, Arabia and Europe. Their religions have mixed together quietly for centuries, Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, and Christianity. This mix of nationalities makes for some excellent dining experiences, on the street or in restaurants...we love the food here, something different every night. The next 6 weeks should be interesting. This country is a little different than the others we have seen here in SE Asia, it has more modern infrastructure but is also a little more expensive. I know...wait until we get back home!

Ken gets ready for a long winters nap.

From the ferry to Georgetown you can't help but notice the contrast between the modern and the traditional.

Always a intricate entrance to one Hindu temples.

Practicing for a parade later in the month, these guys throw the flagpole into the air catching it on their forehead.

At a temple next door to one of our guesthouses one of the many street drawings overlook the courtyard.

Ken and Gary checkout the beach at the Panang National Park.

On our walk into the Panang National Park we walked along a path that one time guided the local loggers through the jungle.  It looks like the path has been worn away by erosion buy actually it was made from the years and years of buffalo dragging trees along the path.

A quick look up the cable car track shows how steep the tracks are.  This ride used to take 30 minutes to the top but now with this new modern system install last year it only takes 10 minutes.

Look at these cute little guys we met on top of Panang Hill, the Dusky Leaf Monkey.

The view of Georgetown, at night, from Panang Hill