Georgetown, Penang
- Amy
- Apr 27, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 14, 2019
GEORGETOWN, PENANG
23rd - 26th April 2019
23/04/19
Hello and welcome to Georgetown! Located on the small island of Penang on the north west coast of Malaysia, this town is the hustle and bustle of the island. After a long 6 hour bus journey from Kuala Lumpur, we finally made it.
We checked into our quirky hostel that we’d be staying in for the next 3 nights, Rope Walk Guesthouse, which was the perfect location for being a few streets away from the main food streets and nightlife. Good pick from us!
The hostel was split onto two sides of the road and we stayed in the one with the mass of greenery all outside it. Needless to say we were very pleased with the aesthetics. It was very unique with writing all over the walls and artwork printed everywhere. There was a cafe downstairs so it had a cute coffee shop vibe. Dad, you would have definitely gone in with your laptop and done some work there, haha!
Megan and I stayed in a 16 bed dorm which sounds like a lot... because it was... but the bunks were separated really well and they tried to give us as much privacy as possible. I had 3 walls around my bed so luckily mine was tucked into a little nook.
We ventured out into the bustling streets for dinner and once we spotted it we couldn’t say no. We had to have a falafel platter with hummus, flatbread, babaganoush and other bits. It was SO delicious, they actually have a lot of hummus and similar styled dishes in Malaysia which surprised us. Not that we were complaining!
After our meal we met up the with guys we had been in Kuala Lumpur with previously and ended up having a few drinks, sitting on little tables outside of bars. I didn’t actually take any photos though - a bit slack if you ask me! We also had a shisha pipe between us (know you’ll be proud Ben). Got to try these things when you’re sat on plastic chairs on a little street in the middle of Malaysia don’t you!
24/04/19
Good morning! We didn’t actually get up until past 10am... well... let’s just say I didn’t actually wake up until after 10am which was a revelation for me! I honestly can’t remember ever waking up after 10am but we did get in reasonably late as were chatting for ages and enjoying the bustling nightlife of the market streets. The town almost comes to life at night.
Around midday we met up with the guys again and went to Restoran Kapitan which was an Indian restaurant in the Little India part of Georgetown. The service was actually awful, they didn’t even pass us our plates just chucked them onto a nearby table but it’s all about the experience isn’t it! The curry itself was DELICIOUS though!! I had a Dal Sunehri with rice and a naan... such a good choice! It was our only proper meal of the day because we were so full afterwards and with the heat didn’t want much more.
With full bellies, we explored the artwork and colourful buildings of Georgetown. Known for it’s British colonial buildings, Chinese shophouses and mosques, we wanted to see all the beauty it had to offer! I don’t think I found it as quirky as Malacca, which I fell in love with, but it was still very beautiful and colourful.
Along each side of the road there were always rows and rows of archways leading to different shops and stalls. They were like little corridors that went along so we didn’t have to risk our lives on the main road... except we did spend most of the time just walking down the side of the road instead so didn't take full advantage of this!
We then decided to walk up Penang Hill to get an amazing view, however, in the mid heat of the day (worst time ever to walk and be outside) where we we sweating just standing still, we decided to abort the mission partway up due to the steepness and sat on a little table and chair set for ages chatting.
We were there for about an hour when suddenly about 20 monkeys appeared coming down the road and swinging through the trees. They started rummaging through the nearby rubbish bin taking out coke cans and taking them up into the trees and dropping them down. Needless to say, we were in danger of having bottles and cans dropped on our heads out of the trees!
One particularly cheeky monkey, definitely the ringleader, sat on one of the seats and started stealing the bottles from our table and opening them (crazy how they know how to open different bottles from watching people do it)! All was good until my recently bought water bottle was stolen, opened, drunk out of and then tipped on the floor!!!!!!! Clearly the monkey doesn’t understand how sacred bottled water is, especially to us! Rude! I was beyond irritated by this pest that had stolen my most precious possession that day. Needless to say I didn’t want the bottle back after a monkey had drunk out of it, haha!
The same monkey actually got up onto the table and started growling and showing it’s teeth at one of the guys we were with. It did this several times to the point that we genuinely thought he was going to be attacked by the monkey, so we made our exit pretty swiftly. Note to self: monkeys can actually be really vicious!
(The culprit is the one with the Pepsi bottle)
Instead of continuing our journey up the hill, we went down, away from the monkeys, and visited the botanical gardens at the bottom. They weren’t particularly special, not many flowers or strange plants that I was expecting but it was nice to walk through the greenery.
We past a beautiful mosque on our adventures back in the centre of the town...
I loved some of the random artwork we were able to find tucked around corners and down alleys in Georgetown! Particularly this little Mr Bean number!
Now the next photos may not look the most traditional when it comes to Malaysian food... or any Asian food... but everyone else was getting one so of course I couldn’t say no! Sometimes you’ve got to treat yourself! It was a brownie cheesecake with chocolate ice cream, YES PLEASE!
We enjoyed the nightlife of Georgetown again for our final night with the guys before they went to Langkawi. Had a few drinks and chatted for most of the evening but don’t worry, didn’t get to bed too late as we were all tired from the adventures of the day! This street below in particular, the main street in Georgetown, was literally a 3 minute walk from our hostel... we picked a perfect location!
Shield your eyes now from these photos if you don’t want to be disappointed in Megan...
25/04/19
This was one of my favourite mornings of the trip so far. I literally sat on a sofa down in the cafe whilst Megan was still asleep upstairs and drank a cup of tea whilst writing my diary. Completely undisturbed and in pure bliss! What a morning!
We met the guys again for a curry at the same place as the day before (because it was that good and it only cost me 9.20 Malaysian ringgit, which is under £2... can’t complain)! They then left afterwards to continue their journey north whilst Megan and I spent another night in Penang.
We went out and explored more of the beautiful buildings in the town but had a relatively chilled day.
Our hostel had some of the best artwork that previous guests had drawn onto the walls in the cafe. Some must have actually been artists because they were AMAZING! It was just such a unique place and my personal favourite was both the “A banana a day keeps depression away” and the sea monkeys one on refusing straws and plastic bags! Save the planet!
I obviously had to pull out my creative side (which is a questionable side) and wanted to leave something that other people could find if they ever went to the same hostel. So I wrote my favourite saying that I live by, “Slow and Steady Wins the Race” because why not!!
We had a fun time in Penang but looking forward to our next adventure! I can’t believe how quickly this trip is suddenly going... not long before we’ll be home!
Stay tuned for my next blog post to join us on our journey from Penang, Malaysia to Krabi, Thailand...
- A
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