We had a great bus ride to Penang - We shared the van with another couple - from London, England - Helen and Richard. They had traveled all over Europe/Asia so we listened / shared stories and advice for the 5.5 hour drive. Once in town we had a plan and found a very simple, but clean room in centrally loacated China town. We were a little disappointed in the town itself - a lot of city attractions were closed due to Ramadan. So we planned a bus trip to Penang Hill for the next day - the ride out to the suburbs was a nice change from the city which was a little run-down feeling. The rail ride to the top of Penang hill was smooth and the views were wonderful, 
although foggy. We decided to walk down (instead of ride) and end the trip at the Botanical Gardens - Steep 5K walk, but nice, of course the monkeys gave Scott a bit of trouble. Once down - we did walk thru the gardens and then down the street to see a few temples. Amazing detail and sculpture - We also saw the largest reclining Buddha - (felt like being in Graceland - lol). Had a cheap, but well needed and deserved) meal in the Gurney Market - a blend of Chinese and Malay food - We had a fish soup, won tons and a chicken rice for under $4.
Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi Island.
although foggy. We decided to walk down (instead of ride) and end the trip at the Botanical Gardens - Steep 5K walk, but nice, of course the monkeys gave Scott a bit of trouble. Once down - we did walk thru the gardens and then down the street to see a few temples. Amazing detail and sculpture - We also saw the largest reclining Buddha - (felt like being in Graceland - lol). Had a cheap, but well needed and deserved) meal in the Gurney Market - a blend of Chinese and Malay food - We had a fish soup, won tons and a chicken rice for under $4.Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi Island.
Hi Amy and Scott - hope you enjoyed Georgetown and the rest of Penang...we eventually ended up in a cheap (despite my "backpacking with money" philosophy!) hotel at the top end of the street where the bus dropped us off; we did go out to Batu Ferringhi - it's not the end of the world...but you can definitely see it from there, so we came back to civilisation ASAP.
ReplyDeleteWe hope you find Langkawi drier than we did two weeks back (!) and have a great time on the rest of your travels...if you ever decide to slum it in London, we know a cheap (free!) flat 5 mins walk from "Buck House" if you're interested (I'll e-mail you a contact e-mail address from your galley's home page)
Have a good one!
Helen and Richard
Hi Amy & Scott!
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up on your blog posts...more good ones! I believe that Scott must be a 'monkey magnet'...can't wait to hear more of the details! haha. I've been a bit under the weather but perking up! We hope to try a new restaurant on the River tonight. Can't wait to see you guys in Vietnam and of course in Seoul!
Keep enjoying your adventure!
Nicole :-)
We are really enjoying reading about your travels. Sounds like God is watching over you two. We went up to Ohio last weekend to see Dave's family. Good visit. We finally finished unpacking the library at school and hope to open this Tuesday. Erin got the internship with the Durham newspaper. She's working about 20 hours with no pay while taking classes. The newspaper does pay her mileage to wherever she needs to photograph events, people, etc. She photographed a high school football game in Durham on Friday and her picture made the whole top half of the front page of the Sports section. She is excited needless to say. You two take good care! Love ya!
ReplyDelete