My Last Day in Asia March 30 in KL

I missed the National Museum last time so I decided to start with that. It was almost 11AM by the time I got over there. It was quite good as museums go depicting 4 periods in the Malay history.

I liked that they had reconstructions like this one, films, and things it was easy to interact with without a lot of reading.

Out in the park behind they have what they are calling the first palace. Definitely a humble beginning in two rooms.

The bedroom.

The kitchen.

I opted not to go to the National Mosque but I tried to get a picture of it from the bus.

This building was right beside my LRT terminal. It looks like a mosque but it is actually a garment factory.

Back in Chinatown, my guesthouse area, I decided to walk around. I found a beautiful Hindu Temple.

And also a Chinese Temple.

A couple of young men are putting out some incense here.

A walk through Chinatown.

Still in Chinatown.

And this is my guesthouse, not the red building on the right but only the second floor of the yellow one. The door in between the two is our door. The buildings are super long but have no windows at all except for the front and back which only light the common areas. It is quite a nice place though with air conditioning and all. I think it was 32 degrees here today.

KL is not a bad city but it is harder to get around in than some. I even found Bangkok easier.

Well, that was my last day in Asia. What a great journey it has been.

Tonight I pack and prepare to face 13 degrees tomorrow in Paris.

I leave at 9AM for a seven hour flight so I won't accomplish much else except to find my guesthouse.

Back to Kuala Lumpur March 29

I was having such a leisurely morning today that I was nearly late for my plane. It was just fortunate that they are not so strict with boarding deadlines in the small airports. I left Penang just before noon and arrived in KL airport less than an hour later. The airport is far from the city, an hours drive on the bus. It took longer than the flight. I am in Suzie's guesthouse in Chinatown and it is really nice. I got settled and turned on my computer and it just snapped off again. I tried many times and it kept doing that so I got the location of the computer guys and off I went. Of course, it was just around the corner from where I stayed last time I was here. This store had every kind of electronics you can think of and more. Six floors in a building twice the size of the Bay. Take a look!

All electronics. Here are the escalators.

I found the Acer repair guy and by the way Acer is very popular over here. He turned on my computer and it went on normally. Well, that was good.

Then I went down to second floor which is all phones and talked to somebody about international calling.

I paid 85 ringettes (less than $30.00 US) for a basic phone which takes Sim cards.

Then I got a Sim card for 35 ringettes which is supposed to be international so I just keep reloading it at 7-11.

They say it will work in Europe. I can hardly wait to find out.

No monthly charges. How can this be?

I had to take the LRT and the mono rail to get there but it wasn't very far. A view from the LRT platform as I got back.

Here you can see a couple of food stands near the train station.

Back at the guesthouse and kind of tired. It is already 9:30 and I think I will make it an early night. Tomorrow there is a museum I didn't get to see last time that I think I will do in the morning and then just hang around Chinatown in the afternoon. When my laundry comes back I need to resort my bags with cool weather clothes on top for my Paris stop.

Georgetown City March 28

Today was rather uneventful and lazy. I didn't feel like making the effort to see anything major so I decided to go to the shopping area of town. I walked past this Chinese looking temple ..... wait .... is that a parking meter? I haven't seen one of those in a while and here they are in downtown Georgetown.

Then I passed this building with speakers all around. It doesn't look like a mosque but I bet they have something to do with the Islam services.

The city is spacious and pleasant.

Kids clothing of every hue. I am getting used to the colorful clothing. It seems to go with the sun.

I came across Sam the importer right next to the kids store and he had a wonderful, lined, black, Chinese style wool jacket for a very lovely price and now it is mine. Paris, here we come! A sun dress and a wool jacket should do the trick.

I was only half way to the shopping center at this point and I decided to go anyway. It is huge and meandering with lots of small street shops all around on the streets. I managed to spend most of the afternoon there.

This old building was across the street from the shopping center.

This is a sky bridge joining all corners of a major intersection to the mall access.

The Komtar building is the tallest on Penang and it houses the state government and business hub as well as being connected to the mall of the same name.

A shot from the sky bridge. This street looks happy and healthy.

Here are a group of old buildings which could use a face lift.

Right next door they have all been improved already.

So, that was my day.

I had lunch while I was out and came home and tried to arrange my packs to accommodate all the new stuff. I can't use the new back-pak because I am limited to one bag and a carry on as Air Asia is a discount airline. I should be OK though for weight as well as size.

My big pak has a zippered extension which I have been careful not to use so I will have it for heading home if needed.

I have bought some things which I have just left along the way when I have no longer needed them. My blue plastic kettle that cost me $4.00 was a blessing even though I was likely drinking plastic chemicals from the water. That kettle gets to stop here.

Tomorrow my flight to KL is at noon. Just an hour flight but by the time I get to my guesthouse and get settled the day will be nearly done.

Kuah Town on Langkawi Island March 27

Today I am taking the ferry to Kuah on Langkawi Island because the whole town is supposed to have duty-free shopping. I walked over to the Georgetown jetty as the sun was thinking about coming up. I discovered the light was amazing for some pictures of the town.

Morning begins to dawn on the clock tower near the jetty.

Here is Fort Cornwallis, a star shaped fort established by the British. There are many amazing buildings here from the British era.

Here I am boarding the ferry.

It is called Super Fast Ferry not just fast ferry and is shaped like a bullet. If that wasn't enough to scare me there was also a storm in progress.

I was in the lower level and I had a row of four leather seats to myself. Once we got underway there was too much water spraying out from the boat to see anything out the window so I decided to have a nap. I woke up when we hit a wave that nearly dumped me on the floor. All around me people were vomiting and I could tell that if I lifted my head I would be joining them so I stayed where I was.

Throughout the whole trip I was planning an alternative for the trip back like a bus on the mainland or a plane.

We arrived at Kuah jetty safe and sound and I had five hours to see what bargains I could find.

The town was clean, modern and very green but I was shopping not looking around so I didn't take many pictures.

They had lots of these red brick bridges around.

Here they used a natural out cropping of rock as a gateway to a park.

One view at the harbour.

One view at sea.

The weather was calmer in the afternoon and I came back on the ferry.

I managed to find a new day-trip back-pak. I seem to go through a lot of them so I now have a tough one made by Caterpillar, the tractor people.

I was looking for a black cardigan that would allow me to turn some of my beach wear into street wear in Paris. No luck of course as the sizes here are very tiny.

I also got a spare battery for my camera and some gravol for the trip home. I took it but I wouldn't have needed to.

Tomorrow I am just poking around in Georgetown and preparing for my flight to KL tomorrow. I have only two days left in Asia.

Georgetown, Penang March 26

It has been raining morning and evening here every day and today was no exception. The rain broke about 10:00 this morning and I took the opportunity to grab the local bus to travel to Georgetown. It was a long ride around and around in the city but eventually I was delivered almost to my door.

I am staying in a dorm room in a UNESCO Heritage building. It is really an amazing place called the Old Penang Guesthouse. The main floor is cement and very old ceramic or cement tile. The ceilings are lofty and the stairways long. I am here for three nights.

The building is very long. This is the corridor on my floor.

Original shutters opening to the main floor below. The floor upstairs is the original planks.

It was after 1:00 when I arrived and I booked a ferry trip to Langkawi for tomorrow and then went walking around the neighbourhood making sure I could actually locate the ferry terminal on foot tomorrow and looking for a meal.

I just got nicely going and it started to pour buckets. I had my raincoat on and an umbrella and was still soaked to the knees. The water is warm and I was wearing my plastic sandals so no worries. It rained most of the afternoon only giving the big dumps every now and then. It feels good to have rain here as I have not had that much so far on the trip.

This city is known for having restaurants of every type of cuisine. They were not in the area I was walking in though so I finally got a nice loaf of bread and some cheese and went back to the guesthouse to eat.

Georgetown is also known for the lovely British architecture which is being restored and maintained, lots of UNESCO buildings.

Tomorrow I am hoping for sun in the afternoon to enjoy Langkawi Island.

Another fantastic unplanned day. March 25

I got up this morning and packed up for a day of exploring but I no sooner started and it started to rain. I ducked into this little restaurant a half a block away. I sat on this deck by the ocean and waited for it to blow over.

I marveled at how the clouds, sky and water could all be the same colour.

I headed for the bus stop, picking up a new umbrella along the way. Out on the main street I passed the Mosque which is directly behind my guest house. I am glad I don't live beside one because all the praying, chanting and preaching over loud speakers is rather annoying.


Then I took the bus to the end of the line which is where they said I would find a small fishing village, Pulau Penang.

The first thing I did was to walk out on the pier to look at the boats. This is a big government owned pier and they were just bring in the morning catch.

They take the fish away with a motorbike with a side car on it. I had to laugh when I saw the guys on the boats, none of them had their pants on. The guy in this picture just came up off the boat and the rest had come from shore. Maybe that is why I was the only woman out there.

The wharf was right next door to the National park entrance so I went to check that out and booked a boat tour around the outside of the park. The wharf on the left belongs to the park and the rickety one on the right is privately owned by the fishermen.

Here you see the view from the sea and the National Park office.

This is my driver and guide for my private tour.

We are heading out of the bay which is called Teluk Bahong Bay and passing by the fish farms and floating chalets. The fish they produce are for local restaurants.

I am guessing these might be the chalets? There isn't anything else out here.

The first beach we look at has a long pier too and it is the home of the University of Marine and Coastal Studies. We didn't go on land there.

This is a fishing charter with tourists.

We landed at Kerachert Beach first. It is around the far side of the park. There is a Meromic Lake there and this is the inlet for it.

The lake is almost dry right now but at times it can be up to 9 feet deep. As they explained it to me a meromic lake is one which is filled by the sea under certain conditions where the winds are strong and as it blows the water up the channel it raises a ridge of sand which prevents the water from leaving. Fresh water enters the lake from rain and eventually the winds cause the sand to be washed away and the lake drains again. There are only 19 such lakes in the world.

It was possible to walk here if you wanted to spend a couple of hours in the forest, which I didn't. I did meet someone who had walked coming over this bridge though.

Also on this beach is a hatchery and sanctuary for green sea turtles. The only ones there were these babies. They keep them safe for a while and then release them.

Next we stopped at monkey beach. There were quite a few monkeys hanging around very interested in a BBQ some people were having.

There was a bit of a rustic campsite here. It is possible to get a permit to camp in the park.

This beach was lovely. Pretty safe right now but some seasons there are jelly fish which sting.

A lily blooming on the beach.

Back in the boat now we are watching some monitor lizards on the rocks. We also stopped and watched some young golden eagles fishing.

Once back on land I took a look around in the sleepy little fishing village.

I could see this building from out on the water. It is newer than I thought but is stained black from the moisture.

I took the bus again, towards thedirection of the guesthouse but got off at the Tropical Spice Garden along the way. Finally, some different flowers!

These ones I had seen in Thailand. I think they are a type of orchid which grows on vines. They were hanging down in the entrance way.

Wow!

They call this one cat's whiskers.

I was pleased to see the source plants of some of my essential oils like Ylang-ylang. They also had Patchouli, my favourite.

They had two stet of amazing doors.

This was a log which was washed onto the beach in the 2004 Tsunami and they made it into a memorial for those who lost their lives.

A succulent Gesneriad.

Heliconia.

An amazing water lily.

A tree swing with a safety net below.



No name on this one.

As I was working my way to the end in the park I came across these people. The park is planning to set up a series of cooking classes using their own Herbs and spices and this Indian woman was giving a trial class in Indian cusine. She asked me to join them and I did. She made curry, rice, masala and salad.

Then we ate it. It was good, but one dish was too hot for me. This one actually, the Masala. It was enough to serve as my supper though.

Tomorrow I leave here and move to Georgetown, the only city on Penang. I will be there for three nights.