Arrived on the island of Penang via a 15km bridge. The main reason for visiting Penang is to explore Georgetown which is a UNESCO heritage town. It is a colourful mix of British colonial, Malay, Chinese and Indian, really interesting buildings, temples, mosques and churches! We are staying in a heritage inn right in the middle of little India which is a riot of colour, sound and delicious food. We had the best selection of samosas for lunch yesterday. Food is exceptionally cheap in Malaysia, lunch will be less than £2 each and an evening banquet less the £10 each. Everything we have eaten has been delicious – with one exception – durian fruit. It is a Malaysian delicacy and an acquired taste. The smell is so bad it is banned from hotels, public attractions and even our hire car. We tried it in a diluted form inside a bun and it was still pretty disgusting!
Went on a bike tour of the east of the island with a lovely guide, Chew. Explored the fishing and farming communities, tasted amazing goat milk yoghurt and then nutmeg juice. On the way back stopped at a street hawker who specialises in Penang's most popular dish – Assam Laksa, which is a fish broth with rice noodle, fresh greens and prawn paste. Delicious.
The other thing Georgetown has become famous for is street art. There are painted murals located all around the city, very like our banksy artist They are really smart.
We also managed an early morning hike in Penang National Park to turtle beach. Excellent forest hike over the hills to the beach. Chilled on beach for an hour then returned to park HQ. About a 3 hour hike altogether. As we were getting ready to leave the beach lots of local young people were arriving for the afternoon, it is the first time I have been on a hot beach when everyone is fully clothed, including me! Long sleeves and trousers for everyone, even the boys swimming in the creek. Fabulous few days on Penang. The best place so far and the best hotel so far.
