Penang and onto Indonesia

Jungle trail

Turtle Beach Penang

Another very fast border crossing in Malaysia meant we were soon on the train to Butterworth and Penang Island where we arrived very tired after two days of pretty continuous travel. The reason for choosing Penang is that it has an Indonesian consulate which is requires less paperwork before it will issue a Visa. We applied on the Friday, and collected the Visa on Tuesday afternoon - an excellent service. Georgetown on Penang is an old colonial era trading port and a World Heritage site, but one which has not been overly smartened up and has gained its status for the remarkable mix of cultures and temples in a very small area. The streets are still networks of small two storey, relatively shabby buildings, but which are all true working places, with individual businesses operating ranging from workshops and mechanics, through small stores to specialists in wholesale of hardware, food, etc. etc. An amazing mix.


Resting Flying Lemur

There are also several clear quarters including a very vibrant Indian sector with many gaudy Hindu shrines and temples, an Arab sector with mosques, a Chinese sector as well as many European colonial buildings. So you find a mosque just around the corner from a Buddhist temple which has a Hindu shrine across the road and a Christian church further along. The west of the island is a national park and is covered in rainforest with some trails leading to white sandy beaches. One is a nesting ground for turtles and there is a turtle research station which collects the eggs and moves them to a protected area to hatch. During the six days we used the excellent bus service to get to and from the consulate, and also to get to the national park where we walked both the main trails.
The other feature of Penang is the excellence of the food. Not only is it of a very high standard it is very varied, featuring dishes from all the communities represented in its makeup. A vibrant place with lots to see and some lovely street art surprises around street corners.


Little India - Penang

Street Art

Leaving Penang we headed straight to Surabaya in Indonesia to meet the container with the cars. the ship having arrived on the Thursday we were unable to get a customs inspection until the following Monday, and will not get the cars back until tomorrow (Wednesday). They have now cleared customs, and are each in one piece, so that's a relief. A week is Surabaya is a long time so we headed to the local island of Madura just across the water which is another world. We were the only white faces we saw during the weekend and we attracted lots of welcoming calls of Hello Mister. One evening a local English teacher asked us to have dinner at his house so we could talk to his students, some of whom had only been studying English for a few weeks. It made for an interesting evening. Many of the students who were in their 20's had not been off the island (which is connected to Surabaya, 50kms away by a road bridge). With no particular attractions we took a Bemo along the coast to a small strip of sand then walked the 7kms back to town. Once we have our vehicle we plan  to head north to Sumatra.

Live Street Art

 

Penang Street business