Penang days 1-3

hmm, where to start...

firstly its really hot over here! just thought I would get that  off my chest. Its hotter and more humid that the hottest and most humid Brisbane summers day. And today was the worst, we walked around parts of the city of Georgetown with umbrellas to try and reduce the heat but we still nearly collapsed after an hour and had to retreat to an air conditioned bus.

When I say we I mean my new best friends! well actually I have already said goodbye to them. Mi Wa from Japan and Yin from Malaysia. They were staying in my dorm room when I staggered into the hostel absolutely shattered after a massive day in transit. Up at 4.30am, 8 hours on the plane, literally run from Kuala Lumpur international arrivals to check in at domestic for the next flight to Penang, arrive at 7pm, wait in the heat for a bus, sit on the bus for an hour, walk through the streets of Georgetown in the general direction of the hotel, arrive at 8pm, which is 10pm Penang time. Gee was I over it. Then I walk into the four bed dorm which was a 4m x 1.5m concrete box with no window, and I think, "what the heck am I doing?". I had a shower and crashed. Woke up the next morning to find two smiling faces. Yin says chirpily, "hi, I'm Yin and this is Mi Wa, we just met last night here in the dorm, want to hang out together today?" 

So there you go, it wasn't so bad after all. We had breaky and off we went to explore. All day walking, talking, sweating and seeing amazing things. Penang is just absolutely crumbling, full of old tall chinese terraces with beautiful timber shutters and arched patios that form the undercover footpath. The obligatory bikes and horn, the general cacaphony of noises and smells that tells you you have arrived in Asia. But boy does it take you away from the everyday. I have forgotten what I do for a living already and only think about Suki occasionally. Well okay, every time I see a scrawny street cat I think how lucky she is to have an owner like me.... ;)

I could go on about what I saw but this pretty much sums it up: colonial, British, Chinese, old,  broken, busy, lush, tropical, green, hot, sweaty, yummy, thirsty,  chicken, stingray, curry, chilli, rice, noodle, beans, jelly, kordial (yes that is how they spell it), buddhist, hindu, krishna, decoration, walking, architecture, temple, rainforest, water, fish, ferry, train, bus, plane.