Sunday 8 July
We had a long day of travelling ahead of us, 4.5 hours to the Malaysian border and another 3.5 hours to George Town plus a few stops on the way. A mini-van picked us up at 7am and we had an interesting drive through Southern Thailand. Rubber trees and palm oil seem to be the main crops. Houses are reasonably substantial and there didn’t seem to be the poverty we saw in Bangkok.
Ordering lunch was an interesting experience. We were at a food court and luckily there was some English on the menu boards so we had an idea of what we were ordering but the staff didn't speak English. Pointing, nodding and smiling did
the trick and we both got our meals without any surprises.
When we were a couple of kilometres from the Thai/Malaysian border both sides of the road became lined with stalls and there was a steady stream of people. Apparently goods are cheaper on the Thai side so people cross the border to shop. We walked across the border with our luggage and were stamped out of Thailand and into Malaysia without a baggage check. Our friend from Columbia wasn’t with us as the only way he could get into Malaysia was to fly in via an international airport. He had to fly from Krabi to Kuala Lumpur then to Penang to rejoin our group. It seems unfair the he had to go to this expense just because he comes from a country that has a drug trafficking reputation.
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| Stalls at the border |
On the Malaysian side we had a different van and neither the driver or the van were up to the Thai standard. The van didn’t have room for all the luggage in the back so some was on the back seats. Also the seat backrests only had one position that being partially reclining! The drivers driving wasn’t all that great and when he nearly rear ended a vehicle he was following we all independently decided he wouldn’t be getting a tip today. The houses on the Malaysian side of the border looked quite substantial and some were quite western looking. We saw a few rice fields as well as rubber and palm plantations.
After arriving at George Town there was just time for a shower and quick settle in before going out for dinner. We walked to an Indian restaurant that was some distance from our hotel, but we were all happy for some exercise after a day of sitting. On the way it started to rain and for a start we could shelter under verandas but eventually we walked down the road in the rain. It was very warm and we soon dried out once the rain stopped. We ended up walking down the road as here, like we found elsewhere, the footpaths weren't continuous and were often at different levels. In front of one building you might have a nice tiled footpath but then you would have to step down to street level before stepping up in front of the next building. The gutters were huge, big enough to swallow a person; sometimes these were covered and sometimes open so we were careful.
The restaurant was a very unpretentious place with no walls on the footpath side. It was extremely busy with tables being filled as soon as they were vacated. The food was delicious and the meal and drink for Al and I cost about NZD14. There was no sign of rain as we enjoyed the sights while walking back to the hotel.
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| Street vendor |
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| Street vendor |
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This street doesn't look busy but generally they were.
Crossing with the locals was a good way to get across |
Monday 9 July
This morning we had a 4 hour guided mini-van tour around George Town. Many of the buildings we passed had an old English colonial look as George Town was the first British Colony in Malaysia. It was founded in 1786 and became a base for trading with the Malay states. Penang became an independent state of Malaysia in 1957. We visited the Fort Cornwallis, constructed c 1810, but today only the fort walls, cell block, chapel and some canons remain. The chapel was built in 1799 and is the earliest roofed structure from the colonial area surviving in Penang. British control over Penang led great growth both in the size and the diversity of Penang's population. In addition to small numbers of European settlers immigrants came from Siam and Burma India and China. With this diversity of cultures you see churches, mosques, and Buddhist and Hindu temples close to each other.
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| City Hall |
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| Cornwallis cannon |
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| Chapel at Fort Cornwallis |
Our visit to the clan jetties was fascinating. Clan Jetties are unique Chinese settlements, homes built on wooden or concrete stilts along the wooden pier that extends to the sea or Penang Channel. Homes stand in a row on one or both sides of a wooden walkway about a couple meters wide. The jetties have been in existence since the 19th century and 6 of the original 7 remain. The residents of each clan jetty are descendants of Chinese immigrants and historically each jetty was controlled by a different clan. We visited the Chew jetty and walked between the houses passing close by the residents doorsteps. I guess they are used to tourists wandering by but as we walked so close to their homes at times I felt we were invading their space. We also visited a nearby Taoist temple where our guide explained how kau cim sticks (Chinese fortune telling sticks) were used.
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| Clan jetty (Chew Jetty) |
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| Passing by the front gate |
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