PENANG -THE BLOGS BEGIN AGAIN!

PENANG

The Malaysiaair 737 touched down smoothly on the tarmac. I had arrived on the island of Penang, of the coast of North West Malaysia.

Over all it had been a good trip. Admittidly the departure from Auckland had been delayed 50 minutes so that the 0015 departure actually became 0110, while the departure from KL for Penang was also a little late leaving.

I found the flight from New Zealand to be comfortable no doubt a result of my weight loss but also to the extra space Malaysian Air has between their economy seats - 34 inches is an inch more than I have ever had on Air NZ economy. With a centre block of five seats the sides were only two seats per row. This was were I was seated with my asle seat and it was a pleasant trip. I was next to an young Thai woman heading home for a holiday. She is studying in Wellington.

I found that the in seat video screen was lacking in colour for movies athough I did manage to watch one from Sweden, one from Belguim and part of one from the UK. Meals were ok although the service lacked somewhat. Coffee was with the meal delivery and if you didn't know to ask then you missed out. As also was the wine. Choice of two – one white one red. No inflight attendants walking around offering water during the trip either. In fact they seemed a little understaffed.

So a high rating for seating space but an average for the rest. It will be interesting to compare the return flight later on.

At KL there was a sort airtrain ride between terminals which gave a quick link up between domestic and international. I went through a quick immigration check here and had no customs check when my bag came through at Penang – well only an incoming xray machine and that was it.

I spotted AirAsia and FireFlyz planes on thePenang tarmac.

I found the bus stop easily enough outside the terminal. However there was about a 30 minute wait for the bus but I was not alone. The bus trip was about 35 minutes into Georgetown and gave me a good look at the length of the island. Mostly or totally we traveled through urban areas and passed some very modern expensive looking appartment blocks and conduminiums. Also new high rise shopping malls. There were also some very high appartment blocks with a less expensive look.

I had to get off the bus at the Komtar, the central bus station as the bus was doing a different route to normal from then on. Actually I was on a 401E instead of just 401. But the driver pointed out the direction to go and said trun right up there and the next intersection turn left and you are in Carnarvon Street. I knew I had to wander along here to reach Love Lane where the guesthouse was located. It was all quite straight forward with the guesthouse being easy to find just a 100 or so mtres along the Lane.

Mind you walking along from the bus with a trolly bag was not difficult but the rough ground and constant going up and down from the high pavement to the road to pass obstructions and roadways did slow me down. One of the most common obstructions was motor scooters parked on the pedestrian way followed by tables and chairs and hawkers' food stalls. Welcome back to Asia.

The Old Penang Guesthouse is widely roccommended in the guidebooks and I can understand why.

It is in an old, historic in fact, pre-war building which has been restored to an atmospheric and pleasant experience. Another similar restoration is in the ajoining building. Entering the guesthouse and you are greeted by a reception desk and a long airy and cool foyer with high ceilings and fans rotating. The original mosaic tiles floor has been retained. There are cane chairs and tables spaced around and a small table with the breakfast requirements and coffee and tea pots. Above the dining area is a balcony with wooden shutters adding to the old cololonial abience.

Shoes are left at the foot of the old wodden stairway. My single room was an acceptable size with a comfortable bed and small bedside table and not much else. There was air conditioning but no window which I suspect is common with most of the rooms. The bathroom facilities for this floor were built out off the side of the building.

I noticed that the upstairs coridor floor boards where also the bownstairs ceiling. Through the tiny gaps between the boards you see down below. I guess this was part of the authenticity of the historic building.

From the upstairs the passage partly formed a balcony looking fown onto the dinning and lounge area. There were open wooden shutters along it but these were more for decoration I assumed than actually functional.

Everything seemed clean and tidy and there were always pleanty of staff around for the whole of my stay here. A note attached to the reception desk noted that the Guest House had been rated the second highest in Malaysia by Hostelworld for May 2011.

Time to go out and wander in the humid warmth. Quite managable I thought. I wandered along Love Lane and realised how many little guesthouses and backpacker hostels were in the street. Most were small shops converted with their lounge area being open right onto the street. Works fine in a tropical climate such as Penang's. I assumed that these had at some stage been the typical house shop, which is a feature of Penang

This is the old historic zone of the and consequently many of the buildings are showing the signs of age and decay. All very photogenic though. Oposite the Old Penang GH is a small school and a larger and noiser one is a bit further along the lane. I hope my students were never as noisy as the ones I hear each time I pass.

Turning right at the end of the Lane and I passed a Catholic Church and then the St George Anglican Church which is historic and recently restored.The restoration was completed esarly in 2011.

In front of the church is a columned rotundra with a domed roof which is the Co. Francis Light Memmorial – he was the key founding figure of Penang.In fact he planted the British flag and built the fort which still stands how be it reconstructed into a stronger more secure brick and stone structure. Light's original was mad out of local palm tree trunks.

This is an area of the old colonial admistration so many of the buildings are 19^th century style and everything is painted a fresh white. Where the paint has been on for a while and weathered then it looks very drab but the key buildings were all perfectly white and cool looking.

So I continued just wandering around getting an idea of the area and getting my bearings.

It is all quite fascinating with every street filled with little businesses trading in every possible

product. Lots of small cafes and none looking like NZ standards but you soon become used to them and head in for a coffee. All coffee here seems to be pre sugared and I have to tell them no milk which if I forget, proves to be condensed milk and adds to the sweetness.

I later learnt tht Penang coffee is unique. The beans are fried in butter and sugar rather than roasted which is what we normally expect. I did find an Italian espresso cafe with good tradional espresso but I found the bill included a 10% service charge plus a government tax. The end result though was only what I would pay for espresso in New Zealand.

My first impressions of Penang were totally positive. I knew I was going to enjoy my stay here.