So our next stop was to Penang (an island off the northwest coast of Malaysia) in the city of Georgetown. We had read about Georgetown in Lonely Planet and decided to make a stop there. It is a former English colony (which you probably could have guessed) that is now controlled by the Chinese government (like everything else). The area is supposed to attract a wide variety of expat travelers and backpackers to the food, nightlife and atmosphere. We figured why not because it was along the way to Langkawi – our ultimate destination – and we needed to catch a ferry out of Georgetown eventually. We had planned for several nights in Georgetown, but as you know, our flexibility landed us in lovely Singapore a bit longer than expected so we were only going to be able to enjoy Georgetown for two nights and one day.
Georgetown had a great feel to it – quant, comfortable but an energetic island/beach town. The people in Penang were just as friendly as on the mainland and our hostel was incredible. To this point we had stayed in two different hostels, each better than the last, and this one took the cake. It was called the Ryokan Chic, and chic is probably the best way to describe it. It was adorable, and although Lonely Planet did not recommend this hostel, we went for it anyway because Anna fell in love with it online (side note: I am going to rewrite Lonely Planet one day because just about everything in that book is ass backwards!) It was by far the cleanest hostel I have every stayed in. Again, shoes were not allowed to be worn, it was co-ed dorm bunk rooms with co-ed bathrooms that used all pure rain water. There was a comfy lounge with beanbags and ipads (that was a first) for everyone to use.
Well anyway, we arrived in Georgetown late on Sunday (Christmas day) and our only mission for the night was food! A guy from the hostel suggesting a place called Red Garden for some local cuisine, and my, my, it was delicious. It is difficult to explain but it is a really large open area of tables and a stage, and surrounded by booths similar to Malayan street food. You are supposed to walk around and order food and tell them your table number, then they make it, and bring it to your table for you. Since we really had no idea about a lot of local dishes, we each wondered around and ordered a couple different things to try. Well it ended up being amazing! We got about 6 different dishes – chicken rice, clay pot, noodles, eggs, veggies, etc. It was so good that we returned the next night for dinner again to try a bunch more dishes.
The next day, we spent the entire afternoon just walking around and exploring Georgetown. It was a great city and there were tons to see. The buildings all had a lot of character, and similar to Singapore, the city was divided into a variety of cultural areas… there was little India and China town then areas that were more reggae style, European and New England areas. We went to the old English Fort from when the English settlers took over Penang, went to the beach, drank some local juice from a bag that I bought from the street, then ended up at a reggae bar for some drinks. The day was absolutely beautiful, but so incredibly hot and humid. We kept having to stop and by cold water, sit in the shade and apply sun block and wipe the sweat from our bodies. Anna and I both broke out in a heat rash and I was pretty sure I was going to die of heat exhaustion!
(walking around the city, you get a little taste of everything)
We really enjoyed the Reggae bar. It was owned by this little old Asian man who was hysterical. When we showed up and told him that we were American, he ran and put on his shirt with an American flag. Then he played all of the music we wanted to listen to and danced on the outdoor patio the entire time we were there! He was hysterical! Than night, we headed back to Red Garden for round two of local food, and yet again were not disappointed! It was just as awesome as the night before, and we became even more adventurous with our food selection.
That night, we packed up and prepared to leave the next morning for Langkawi… the ultimate destination :]
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