Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Oct 22 -23 Pulau Penang, Malaysia: Tropical Fruit Farm, Pooling, Georgetown

Today is the day when Jonna and Reija had back to Bangkok. Their classes were due to start on Monday so they would be on time to settle in. With no classes now it's up in the air what Jonna will end up doing. Staying in Bangkok or fleeing the floods. Reija is due in the South of Thailand soon anyway, so just to survive in Bangkok for a few nights.

Waking up in a Suite is nice. Being greeted by a lavish breakfast buffet nicer. We chitchat, pack, discuss plans and walk along the beach until it's time for the two to head to the airport. Two our surprise we meet two more exchange students from Bangkok University in the Lobby, flying back with the same flight. Asia just seems too small to handle all of us. The coincidence to end up in the same place at the same time... in the same Hotel!

Laura and I see them off and spend some quality time on the beach. I am planning to meet my friends from FH Kufstein later and since Laura isn't feeling that much better yet she decides to stay and rest. The journey to meet my friends is one for the books. It would be quite close but I never expected such bad traffic on an island. The 25 minutes distance takes about an hour and a half to be covered. I get on a bus in front of the Hotel – 2 R only to the City Center, Komtar, including free Wi-Fi and chilling AC. At Komtar I need to switch to another bus to get to Gelugor, where they are staying, close to the University Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang. A local lady takes me under her wing and makes sure I get on the right bus and get out at the right stop. How wonderfully nice. She also tells me a bit about the island and to watch my back for Philippino pickpockets. No matter where you go, it always seems to be the foreigners that steal from tourists. I finally get their and Martin is nice enough to pick me up from the bus stop. Altogether six starving people have been waiting for me to go to dinner. I feel bad that it took so long to get here and all of us are starving but hey, what are you to do, stuck in traffic. The restaurant of choice is a Chinese a few minutes walk from their home. Food is good but unspectacular but we do catch up a lot on travel tips, Malaysia vs. Thailand, Germany and Austria. What's same, what's different. What kind of classes do we have, what are the particulars about the Malays, what about the Thais. What's going on with the floods and what I am planning to do, or not do over the next weeks. I give plenty of travel tips for Thailand and Cambodia, since some of them are heading that way sooner or later. I also find out that they have fewer classes to take at USM but they are more work intensive than in Thailand and more is expected of them. Malay students are also hard to work with in group work so some things are same, some are quite different. The coming in late and having not much respect for the teachers seems to be similar too as are the freezing cold classrooms.

There is so much more to discuss so we move the chatting to Sabine, Juliane and Henrick's apartment to talk over a few beers, 15 stories high with fantastic views over the island and Penang bridge. Nice apartment, spacious, cozy and very, very affordable. I would have loved something like that in Bangkok. I miss the kitchen most of all. This feels more like a home compared to my barren Bangkok room. More talking and talking and the time flies by. Since buses stopped running they call a student Taxi, called so as they charge more reasonable prices for students and the ride home does not cost me an arm and a leg as it otherwise may have. Nice to talk 'Austrian' again and catch up with people from 'home'. It also makes me relax that they offered that I could stay with them for a while, instead of going back to Bangkok, and figuring out my next move. And to keep the Oktoberfest on mind that's happening on the weekend and Deepawali, the Indian festival of lights, during the week that I would miss if I head out on Tuesday....

After a great breakfast buffet we set out for the Tropical Fruit Farm which is hidden somewhere in the mountainous (well I would call them hilly) terrain of Penang. Since we are told a Taxi is only about 20 Ringgit to get there we decide to do that and then just take the bus back. Welcome to Asia, things are always different than they seem. The Taxidriver quotes us 50 R (about 12 €) to go to the Tropical Fruit Farm. We haggle down to 45 and since there's not so much other choice we just take the drive. It is quite far and very scenic. Past all the luxury hotels of Batu Feringgi, the Shangri-La and Hard Rock Hotel and many beautiful high rises. There are cliffs and from big to small beaches everything around. Scenic views abound.

The drive goes up and up and up till we are about 200m (I am guessing) above sea level. Through levels of palm trees and past the gigantic water reservoir of the island. Now we are in kind of a jungle and it's beautiful. The Tropical Fruit Farm is further up the hill and once the entrance is paid (adult 28 Ringgit, Students – only with official International Students ID card – 24 R) another shuttle bus goes farther up the mountains and our expert guide Saw starts explaining us about all the various fruits they have. Most of the fruits I have already eaten but there are quite a few that I have never even heard of. There is the Magic Fruit, 3 kinds of dragonfruit, 20 something kind of bananas, pineapples, figs, guavas, durian, starfruit, jackfruit, many kinds of apples and many other kinds most of which I forgot the name of. But with every fruit our guide had a story to tell which was so interesting I could have listened for hours. The only thing that made me wish the tour was over where the mosquitoes and damn did they bite. They appeared out of nowhere, I didn't even know there were mosquitoes until I had a few bites already. Nasty suckers! This time I wasn't prepared with any repellant and had to suffer full time and do my very best not to scratch non-stop.

But the tour fortunately/ unfortunately did come to an end and with the ticket you get to choose one fruit smoothie and have your go at a fruit buffet. Since I had tried all the fruits at the fruit buffet and smoothie stand already the guide suggested to go for a different concoction of pineapple with nutmeg and plum paste. I think the plum taste was what made it so horrible. I could not finish the Smoothie. Yikes! The fruits were plentiful but only what was in season at the time so I had tried them all already, unfortunately nothing new there to challenge my tastebuds.

Another bus brought us back down again and lucky enough we just enquired that we had two minutes left to make a run for the only bus that comes here and apparently runs only every two hours. That's what I call luck. So we hustle and catch the 501 bus to the last stop where we can switch to a 101 that takes us straight back to the hotel. 2 R each bus makes for the two 8 R instead of 45. Not a bad deal at all.

It's chilling at the pool (and travel researching for me) for now until we get ready to start discovering Georgetown. I am almost a Pro with the busses now (you have to be at those taxi prices) and take one straight to the Jetty (ferry) terminal to start our sightseeing tour from there. Or so we though. It starts pouring rain. My goal was to check on ferries to Indonesia but even after walking 15 minutes in the pouring rain to the ferry agencies all are closed. No information today. F.... Another 15 min back and a bus to Komtar, where the main bus terminal is and a lot of shopping malls which protect from the rain. I quickly saw the clocktower and the Fort but no real sightseeing got done in Georgetown today. The first mall we get too is full with cheap stuff. Bags and Shirts for 10 R (2.5 €) but all in Asian sizes. No shopping for me today.

And since I have practically decided to keep traveling the 5 additional weeks I can't buy anything anyway since I have to carry it all on my back.

An unexciting Malaysian dish of Hor Fun (I had much better already) in the food court, some fantastic Kaya (Malaysian coconut jam) balls and little shopping for Laura later we hop on another bus back to catch up on all Bangkok related news.

There's currently no water in the supermarket, but plenty of juices and booze. The markets are also running low on perishables such as milk and yogurt as the delivery trucks are not coming through. Plenty of No-Haves in all restaurants, even more than usual. But otherwise business as usual in Bangkok center. No water in sight, even Chatuchak weekend market was operating as normal. I am grateful for the on sight updates as the news media is portraying catastrophe in all of Bangkok. Yes it is horrible and I feel extremely sad for the people affected but I think that the panic the media creates through hyping it up ever more makes it just so much worse. I hope that everyone is and remains safe and keep waiting for updates how my 'hometown' fares during this very difficult time. I can consider myself lucky to be far away at the moment.

Langkawi to Penang

Oct 18 – 21 Langkawi to Penang

Let's get out of here. Cockroaches were crawling ON the bed in the night, bugs and lizards everywhere. This place could be nice under different circumstances but I can't wait to get out. Packing it up, we are lucky to get our money back from the reception for the remaining nights. Breakfast is actually good but that can't cover up for the other 'experiences' we've had.

We order a Taxi to take us to the main beach and after telling the Taxi driver what we are looking for (we want a Hotel, we've had enough of Bungalows for right now) he stops at Aseania Beach. The rooms are clean and spacious, we can stay above the ground floor and they have no less than three pools. We can also negotiate a discount on the room rate, so are really happy to stay here. The next nights are not bugfree but that's ok so bad, as long as I don't have to share my bed with them.

We spent the rest of the day chilling at the poolS and head for the beach in the evening.

I was hoping to go diving on Langkawi too but I have not seen one reputable dive shop or any equipment anywhere. They sell dive trips but it seems sketchy to me. It will just have to wait for another time I guess. Since there are a few things to see on the island, most of which don't entice us though, we book an island hopping trip, half day, for tomorrow morning for 25 R only.

The Hotel is roughly 15 minutes walk away from the main beach of Langkawi. And what a beach it is, around 3km long. Sand, with plan trees and azure waters. All bungalows and restaurants are behind the tree line so you have an unobstructed view of the entire beach as far as you can see.

We choose one of the first restaurants we find for dinner. And chances as always are 50/50. Two of us like our food, the other two... not so much. And once again, it is a dry restaurant, no alcohol served here. And I was so craving for a beer. We stop at a fancy looking restaurant where we have desserts, or in my case, liquid dessert ;-)

Coming to the Hotel we hear the shocking news. Our University is closing down for an additional 5 weeks due to the floods in Bangkok. F I V E weeks! What the hell. This is crazy. Initially I think it's a joke, but the news are everywhere and fellow students on Facebook talk about nothing else. So another five weeks. While Reija and Laura call their boyfriends, who are due to visit them soon, I consult the Lonely Planet whether to stay or to go. I kept saying that if I had more time I would just continue straight from Penang to Sumatra since it's really close. Am I gonna keep that up? It's gonna be a hard toss up between staying and going over the next few days. For hours on end there's phone calls with home, chatting with people that are in Bangkok right now and just a general confusion on what to do next. Jonna and Reija are scheduled to fly back on Saturday, which is supposedly a bad flood day in Bangkok. Laura and me have a flight back on Tuesday. Will I take it?

Reports from Bangkok tell us that in our area there is no water to be seen yet. Only sandbags everywhere to hold the water out should it arrive. The supermarkets are completely out of drinking water, dry foods are getting short. As of now there's still plenty of Sodas and alcohol to be bought. All perishables like milk and yoghurt are running short. The supply trucks are simply not coming through anymore. Is there anything but curiosity that would lead me back to Bangkok?

The next morning I get unlucky and twist my ankle quite badly on the way to breakfast. No island hopping for me today. No refund given though. Walking is just way too painful. After spending some time with a good book, the girls are back already from the island hopping. Happy to hear that I haven't missed much, unhappy to hear that it wasn't too great for them. There was a 5 minute eagle feeding where you could try and take pictures but the eagles were just too fast. A stop at an island to see the Pregnant Maiden Lake, which the girls skipped out on as there were really aggressive monkeys. Freshwater lakes are something special in this area, not so much in Finnland, so why risk – another – monkey attack. Last stop was a beach, which was really nice but the stop to short. It's pooltime for the girls and I slowly, slowly, slowly join them. Each step hurts and one employee recommends getting a special massage that will help ease the pain. Since the poolside beers did not help with the pain I opt for the massage while the girls run to dinner to escape my painful screams. The Lady was good, but damn did it hurt. My ankle turned all blue, black and purple and the swelling was even more.

Magically the next day it already felt much, much better. So going through all the pain was almost worth it. The masseuse forbid me to drink coffee or tea but mentioned alcohol was perfectly fine. Nice therapy. We chill at the pool again and by the time we get ready it's already too late to go up with the Langkawi cable car. The ride there would simply take too long to leave so late. I console my pain and disappointment with Milka chocolate from the duty free shop. Yummy!

After walking the entire stretch of beach we settle for a fantastic (yet pricy) restaurant for dinner and get to enjoy good food along with a marvelous sunset. We walk back to the road through the luxurious resort. These pools are even bigger than ours and according to the resort map they have a few lakes in between. It's too dark to see in detail but it just sounds really impressive. To make a mental note, the resort is called Meritus Pelangi Beach, and if I am ever in these necks of the woods again with the proper change....

Yesterday the ladies had found an Agency that told them it would be cheaper to get a ferry from Langkawi to the mainland and then a bus from there to Georgetown on Penang. It takes only an hour longer at half the price. I doubt that it's so easy, but if it is, then why not try. In search of that Agency we pass by but tonight another girl is there. Seems like the trip is not so easy after all. Taking a taxi to the ferry, ferry to the mainland. Taxi to the bus terminal, bus to Butterworth which is the port town from where you can get to Penang, another taxi to the ferry terminal, ferry to Georgetown and then a Taxi to the Hotel. I am very glad we stick to the original plan of just taking the straight ferry from Langkawi to Penang. It only leaves twice a day with the first one heading out at 2.30pm. We stop at some more shops on the way home for souvenirs and stuff and start packing for tomorrow.

Morning is as usual relaxed at the pool with a Taxi pick-up at 1pm to go to the Ferry terminal. Tickets are easily bough at 60 R (~15 € each). Now we just wait around to leave. Uneventful ride with plenty of uncontrolled children making it nearly impossible to relax. On Penang they scan the luggage as on airports. Why I wonder, we just traveled within Malaysia, but Langkawi is a duty-free island with plenty of cheap booze, a third of the prize than in Malaysia, so it does make sense.

There's plenty of Taxi drivers outside all shouting for our attention and since it is an island, they all overcharge. What to do, no idea where the Hotel is or how to get there. We negotiate hard and end at an reasonable price for 4 people. The Hotel makes a very good first impression, hopefully it lifes up to it. And yeaaaaah! Welcome to Naza Talyya Penang, you've been upgraded to a Suite. That's what I like to hear. Instead of two double rooms a big suite for the four of us. It's so comfy and cozy inside – and such a bad weather outside – that we decide just to stay in, chill and order Room Service. If you got a Suite, you got to use it too. Besides we are all tired from staying up half night talking to family and friends about the Bangkok floods and the extended vacation.

There are five other students from FH Kufstein studying in Penang, so I do get in touch with them to see what they are up to. There plan is party tonight, since I am kind of tired we'll all stay in and I take a raincheck on the party. Laura is also starting to feel slightly sick, so hope that gets better soon.

Chilling in KL, On to Langkawi

Oct 14-17, Kuala Lumpur; KL to Langkawi

As we fled Singapore's prices early we have many days in Kuala Lumpur so the next few days are gonna be about relaxing, strolling around, taking Malaysia in.

We are moving Hotels today so relax in the first one until noon and then try to find a Taxi to take us across town. Not so easy but it's Asia, just be patient and you'll find a way. The Hotel Rae is close to Jalan Bintang, the major shopping area in KL. Our friends that have just been here recommended a cheap mall – some really complicated name - to go to so that's where we are headed.

Once again shops are 'Same, Same' as in most of Asia. No surprises here. Shoes are till maximum size 40 and small cut. No shopping for me anyways. What I do discover are Kaya Balls. Kaya is a Malaysian Coconut Jelly and is put between dough and baked right there. Uuuuh and so delicious. And with 10 Balls for 2-3 R (less than 1 €) really cheap too. Reminds me of the tiny pancakes the lady in NY's Chinatown made for 1 $.

Strolling through one mall after the other we run into a Cure Breast Cancer Flash Mobs. A bunch of Indonesian Ladies are grooving in their pink T-Shirts in front of one of the Malls. To the side the shoot gigantic Pink soapy ribbons in the air to be seen far and wide.

The Mall itself is once again more luxurious with expensive labels. They do have a nice food court though a bookshop where I stock up for onward travel and a movie theatre next door where we'll spend the evening watching Mila Kounis and Justin Timberlake going at it. Never thought a J.T. Movie could actually be enjoyable but it was.

Next day is spent a bit sightseeing again. I've read that there is a bus going from Chinatown directly to the Batu Caves outside of Kuala Lumpur, which are a famous Hindu pilgrimage site and the biggest Hindu statue in the world (?). After walking 20 minutes to Chinatown and searching for the bus stop for another 20 minutes and asking numerous people each one sending us in a different direction we decide to just take the easy way and get a cab. Negotiating brings the price to 20 R which would have been similar to the metered fare.

At Batu Caves you get through a gigantic main gate, past a huge Hindu goddess and up 273 steps until you are in the caves. Beware of the monkey though! They are cheeky, plentiful and dart through the air with an incredible speed. That's the scary part walking up. Trying to avoid the monkey and the idiots feeding them. The caves itself are a spectacular sight too. Big limestone caves with Hindu signage and temples and shrines everywhere.

There is another Cave, called the Dark Cave which you can walk through on a guided tour. But prices are steep and you would have to wait until they have enough people to conduct the tour.

Back to the city we are determined to take a bus this time. People point us to the 'bus stop' which is a spot next to the road with no signage and nothing. Surprisingly though the bus does show up and stop there as well. The trip back takes longer but is way cheaper and more interesting watching all different people get on and get off. We alight near Central Market again and I get some souvenirs there and at Pedaling Street. This looks very different during the day. Many shops haven't even set up yet and you can watch them carrying and rolling their goods in the set up for the much bigger night market there.

I visit another Hindu Temple nearby (Same, Same) and we meet in the Hotel to get pretty for the concert tonight at the Twin Towers.

Early start to have enough time to take pictures of the Twin Towers at night time. Since there is no time for a proper dinner we sit down for street food in our dresses. Quite a sight to behold. The Twin Towers look amazing it's hard to focus on anything else. The concert hall is very much like the ones you see in New York or anywhere else. The music is great too and my Finnish friends just love it since they know the songs. Especially Finlandia moves them. I enjoyed the Sibelius concert too but was surprised that it took only an hour and a half. I am used to classical concerts going on for much longer. This gives us time to go for cocktails in an Irish Pub near our Hotel where I get the best Apple Mojito I've had so far. Hands down!

The next days are mainly spent with sleeping, shopping and eating. For some sightseeing we are trying to find Lake Titiwangsa which has a recreational area. Despite our best efforts in finding it, all people send us in the wrong direction and we end up near a mosquito laden river, it starts raining and the mood is down since we've been walking around not finding what we're looking for. I need an Apple Mojito to relax.

Last day in Kuala Lumpur is spent getting my nails done and eating. And then a loooong interesting Taxi drive to the airport. The driver himself is South African Malaysian from Indian decent. He tells us all stories of where his whole family is around the world and how horrible he thinks India is. It's dirty and disgusting and Indians are just dirty people. Interesting viewpoint. The drive to the airport is about 90km. Luckily there's not too much traffic.

Laura, who is meeting us for the last week of vacation in Langkawi and Penang, is delayed. Her flight had to detour from KL to Penang because of rain and is now waiting to fly KL so she can catch the onward flight to Langkawi with us. Luckily she makes it and the four of us take off to Paradise island Langkawi.

Except... our Hotel is not paradise-like at all. We are greeted by cockroaches on the bed, with plenty of other bugs around which makes for a sleepless night for us. First order for tomorrow. Check out of Langkawi Green Village Resort and find another place to stay.

Pics to follow....