Baby, It’s HOT Outside

Well, actually, it’s not that hot anymore as we’re in the highlands, in a real backpacker lodge (read: dump) with wifi internet (finally!) but more on that later.

After leaving Thailand, we spent nearly a week in the city of Georgetown on the island of Penang off the west coast of Malaysia. After spending one night in a cheap and disgusting guesthouse, we upgraded to a comfortable budget hotel, with everything we needed (a/c, clean bathroom) for still under $20 per night. And, the food in Georgetown didn’t disappoint (me, at least). With a Malay, Indian, and Chinese population, and tons of street stalls and food courts, there were plenty of delicious options, and I tried all I could. Matthias liked the Chinese selections – stir-fried veggies and noodle soups – while I went gaga over the roti, samosas, and curries. I’m not sure why spicy food and hot weather seem to go so well together, but I guess since you’re sweating anyway…

Georgetown was a nice city, but also had good transit links to nearby beaches and parks. We loved the Penang National Park, where we hiked along the coast through the rainforest and saw some cool wildlife, including varans (big lizards), monkeys and an eagle. Matthias got into trouble with one of the monkeys who didn’t seem to want to let us pass (bared his teeth and semi-charged at Matthias – not that I saw much of this as I was running away!) But my hero grabbed a big stick and made a lot of noise to shoo the aggressor away, and then dragged me reluctantly along the path. Fortunately, this was on our way out of the park; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have gone much further! We also went up to Penang Hill (800 meters) where it was a bit cooler, and to the Botanical Garden where we were able to find some shady spots. Georgetown and environs were really very nice, but would have been nicer if it wasn’t so damn hot and humid. It was like being in NYC on one of those torturously hot weeks in August, but admittedly, it did get cooler at night (unlike in NY.)

Today we left Georgetown for Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands, about 1,500 meters above sea level. It is MUCH cooler here (lovely!) and there are supposed to be some great hiking trails through the jungle. There are also tea plantations and strawberry farms aplenty. Should be enough to fill the week before we have to be in Kuala Lumpur. Now that I’ve updated the blog and uploaded photos (new Malaysia album and more added to the Thailand album, including beach photos, Stu) we can concentrate on finding a nicer hotel – with or without wifi.