A month in Malaysia

Colonial era building in George Town

Little India in George Town

Chew Jetty 19th Century Chinese water front village

Making a wish during the Chinese NY orange festival

Tradition Hindu building

Penang Malaysia-ethnic diversity
We flew back to Yangon and then Bangkok en route to Malaysia. First stop was Georgetown, another UNESCO heritage site for its mix of colonial, Chinese and Hindu buildings, not to mention the mosques. With so many cultures in a small city it has become renowned for its excellent cuisine. Oh, the delicious curry!!!! We arrived at the end of Chinese New Year celebrations and the beginning of a Hindu festival so there were lots of parades, dance displays, etc. We took the train up Penang Hill and hiked down the steep path from the top to the botanical gardens, seeing lots of monkeys along the way.



Langkawi- A holiday within our travels
We flew to the island of Langkawi, which has some of the best beaches in the area. Meant to stay 4 days but it turned into 8! We met people who’d rented a car so joined them to explore more of the island. We took the gondola up to the highest point from where there’s a skybridge to the next peak. Great views but somewhat freaky as it was windy! Enjoyed a lazy time with walks along the beach, great sunsets and new friends.

I can't stand the crowds!

A perfect sunset

Looking toward our beach in the upper left

One of the best beaches in Lankawi

The main beach in front of  our guesthouse

Cameron Highlands-Strawberries and Tea plantations
Next we all travelled to the Cameron Highlands on the mainland. There steep hillsides are terraced to grow fruit and veggies, often in hydroponic greenhouses, and it’s also famous for its tea plantations. It’s really beautiful, and a welcome respite from the heat and humidity of the coast, although it rained heavily for part of every day. And did we mention possibly the best strawberries we’ve ever tasted??!! They are so famous the town is full of strawberry themed souvenirs. Anyone for huge strawberry shaped hats, strawberries on fluffy slippers, T shirts, keyrings, you name it!!! You can tour the tea plantations and factory and learn all about tea production. Sadly the local brand is not available in Canada, except chez Vanderbeck until our supply runs out!!!

Strawberries to die for!

All veg's grown above ground

One of the major Tea plantations

Every mtn side is cultivated

Tea growing on the hillsides

Batu Ferringhi- The beach area of Penang
We returned to Penang via bus and ferry and went to the main beach area, Batu Ferringhi, about an hour’s bus ride outside Georgetown. It’s popular with tourists from the Arabic Gulf States and we were surprised to find more women on the beach in burkhas than bathing suits. (There were western tourists but they tended to stay in the very expensive resorts with pools.) Even more surprising was seeing the burkha clad women going parasailing and jetskiing! Actually it turned out that being fully covered when swimming was a good idea as we were there when they had an influx of jellyfish. We weren’t stung but it certainly discouraged more than a quick dip to cool off, especially as the water was too churned up to see them. We also explored the nearby national park from where Mike managed a hike around the coastline to a lovely beach from where we were able to hire a boat to take us back.

Parachuting in a full Burka

Monkey Beach - A 90 minute hike thru the local national park

Our own little  bit of paradise

Monkey Beach