another week, another country

Well that's it for Malaysia. Once again didn't really have much in the way of internet access here, so I haven't posted any pictures and obviously this is my first post since I first arrived. I'll try not to make it too long, but I have a few days worth of travelling to blog about.

So after my mini-fiasco at the airport on Friday evening in Kuala Lumpur, I did eventually make it to Penang Island Saturday morning. I was greeted by Viji and Vickna - Ravi's sister and brother-in-law as well as their 3-year old daughter Brihnda. They whisked me away from the airport back to their lovely home just south of Georgetown, the main city on the island. After dropping off my bags, Vickna gave me a tour of Georgetown in his air-conditioned car. I haven't travelled this luxuriously in weeks! Georgetown is a very cosmopolitan city with an interesting mix of cultures - Malay, Chinese, Indian and British influences combining to create a quite the diverse city. The food is equally varied with plenty of hawker stands and restaurants to choose from. For lunch we stopped at a hawker stand near their house and had a few Chinese dishes from various vendors and then at dinner enjoyed a tasty meal at an Indian restaurant. Off to a good start.

The second day I spent exploring the town by foot. It's not very large so I got a good feel for the various neighborhoods and really enjoyed the different architectural styles - from British Colonial to ultra-modern - that sit side by side. I climbed to the top of the Komtar tower (by way of an elevator) to get a good view of the entire island and the mainland. One of the other things that I noticed while walking around was how much quieter it is here than in Viet Nam and China. Most people drive cars and few if any honk their horn as is all too common in those other countries. It was quite relaxing, but having gotten used to the honking also somewhat disconcerting.

The next day I took a ferry north to Langkawi Island located near the Thai/Malaysian border. It's a major tourist spot and has great beaches and resorts - think Martha's Vineyard for Malaysians hehe. However, instead of lounging on the beach I decided to rent a scooter for the day and make my way around the island. Having previously been taught the ways of the scooter by Haskell, I decided I was ready to tackle a bike on my own. The traffic was much lighter/calmer than in Viet Nam and the roads were all well paved so the only catch was that they drive on the left side of the road here! In the end though everything went well and I avoided on-coming traffic like a pro! Among the highlights from the 40-mile trip around the island were a run-in with a pack of wild monkeys and a little hike up to a nice waterfall. Plus, I actually used suntan lotion this time so I didn't toast like Haskell and I had at Ha Long Bay two weeks ealier (I'm still suffering).

So that was Penang/Langkawi. I've since spent the last two days in Kuala Lumpur. It's very similar to Singapore in that it's your standard big city with sky scrapers and traffic and it has the same ethnic mix as Penang and the rest of Malaysia. It's got a bit more grit than Singapore (not very hard) but like its southernly neighbor there's not much to do here besides eat and walk around in massive malls. This is not a bad thing, but as I've found out, there's only so much one person can eat each day, and with only a day and a half to explore the many cuisines on offer, trying to eat your way across town is kind of a pointless exercise. So Kuala Lumpur has been kindda boring, but I didn't really have high expectations and now I'm ready to move on to Hong Kong, which promises to be a good time. I'll be staying with Dipti, my roommate from Oakland, and her husband, so it'll be nice to see them again. I'll upload some pictures from my week in Malaysia when I get to Hong Kong and hopefully post a few more times while I'm there. 53 days down, 10 to go. Alright, Enjoy the 4th and see (most of) you soon!