Weisser family blog

The hostel in Georgetown was the first accommodation with breakfast included. Thus there were no experiments this morning with food. After that we explored the town again and went to a local craft’s market. For lunch we met with Chan. As there were quite some peanuts around we decided to go for the fried oysters one more time. Then Chan drove with us to a Thai Buddhist temple with a huge lying Buddha right in the middle.

After that we went to a hidden shop to get some of the local specialities such as white coffee. From there on we went to the snake’s temple. In the temple the snakes are lying and moving everywhere. But it is not really dangerous as the teeth of the venomous snakes have been extracted and additionally they were dazed by the fragrance of josssticks.

In the afternoon we started with our way back to KL. This meant taking the ferry to the mainland, buying some fresh fruits at the roadside and then sitting in the car for four hours before watching rugby back in Kuala Lumpur.

As most of the times we started our day with a breakfast at one of the food places at the road. Then we walked around Georgetown to see some of the old colonial buildings. The most impressive is the Eastern & Oriental Hotel. We even walked inside and in the inside you get the feeling as if time has stopped for a couple of decades.

After that the real tour started with our guide Chan We started in the old religious corner of Georgetown and prayed in the Chinese temple, passed by a Hindu temple and finally visited the mosque. Another interesting part of the city came afterwards.

In the city a lot of people are of Chinese origin. And in the beginning as they started to come over to Malaysia they took some of their culture over and build richly decorated meeting houses for their family. We had the chance to have a look in one of the clan houses (Khoo Kongsi) and it is really impressive how much art and culture can be put together in one single house.

We continued with another original building and went to Fort Cornwallis which was the first British settlement in Penang. In the Fort the showed an exhibition on the settlement.

And now as we were hungry again we went to one of the hawkers at the road and tasted one of the strangest dishes we had in Malaysia. The food was called Penang laksa and is a mackerel soup with mint and lemon grass. Interesting taste but one bowl was enough.

We now continued to the Buddhist Kek Lok Si Temple. The temple is probably one the best known sights in Georgetown. Form the top we had an impressive view over Penang and took even more photos of the parts of the temple (turtle’s pool, bronze statue, …)

In the evening we had a snack at Chan’s girlfriend’s place and made our way to a mall and to another hawker’s center for fried oysters. Before going back to our hostel we went to the night market where we bargained for local art.

After another delicious breakfast (hot Indian Curry) we headed for the batik company. There we got a short briefing of one of the workers and then we started to do our own batik. Good fun and impressive results!

After that we made our way to Kuala Lumpur. There we picked up Alex for dinner and then went back to their dorms. There we met Faisal (Alex flatmate at the Railway Campus) and were able to catch a glimpse at their common rooms. The students at the dorms are not allowed to have visitors in their rooms. In the evening we drove to another shopping mall to get coffee and some fresh fruits. At the mall we met Chan (a friend of Alex) and he gave us a lift to Penang.

We had an early start this morning as we went back to the mainland at 8am. From the ferry station with the taxi to Jerteh and then we drove on to Kuantan in the bus.

In Kuantan we had delicious Indian food (Roti Chanai) and visited some of Alex’ childhood places. So he took us to the harbor where he used to fish and took a look at the beach. After that Alex had to go back to KL to see his professor. After dinner Daniel took us to the batik factory and we had a coffee in town.

This morning we had to wake up early for the adventures to come. In order to be prepared for our day we had an exiting breakfast consisting of bread, tuna and honey. After that we went to the beach for a snorkeling trip. As there were not too many interested it was just us four on the boat.

The first stop was at Coral Bay. There we saw really nice and colorful corals and interesting fish in all sizes. Following this on was the Turtle Point where we were able to follow a huge turtle for a couple of meters. It is impressive how fast this really big turtle (longer than 1m) moves in the water.

The third stop was Shark Bay. Apart from some smaller fish we saw two bigger sharks swimming underneath us. After this exciting meeting we stopped at the fisher village for fish and chips. After that we went to the fish feeding point. Our guide took bread with him on the boat and during this stop we used the bread for feeding the fish. But they were not always able to distinguish bread and other things in the water. Nice feeling when they try to eat you. For our last stop we chose a nice beach with finest sand. There we did just some snorkeling in the shallow water but had also some time to relax in the sun.

After the trip we went back to our place took some showers and Alex went fishing with some of the local guys. For dinner we had BBQ at the same place as the day before. After the dinner we had to run back in heavy rain and thunderstorm. The wet season has arrived at the East Coast.

After the fast ride in the bus we arrived at 6 in the morning at Jerteh. From there we took a cab to Kuala Besut where we had to wait for the jet boat. The waiting was longer than expected as the boat had some problems with the engine. On the boat is was pretty crowded and the ride was wet as well. We left the boat at Long Beach where we had to pay another 2 Ringgit for the transportation to the beach. On the island we had a look for rooms and decided to go for the luxury moonlight chalet with air con.

In the afternoon we went for a swim and enjoyed the sun and the nice views. In the afternoon the search for peanut free food began again and we ended up with fresh fish and later on we had a drink in one of the numerous bars directly at the beach.

This morning we had a hard time finding suitable breakfast as there were peanuts all over. But at the third place it was safe and we had some yum food. After that we went to a local batik factory where we got an appointment for “draw-your-own-batik”. Then back to town again; there we went to the cinema and watched Ratatouille. The movie was really good but the most interesting part about it, was the fact that we watch it in English with Malay and Chinese subtitles. Still in town we bought bus tickets for the night bus to Kota Bahru. Daphne got herself a ticket to KL as sh had to attend classes at university the next day.

Before returning to Alex’ place we went to one of his favorite places during his childhood and enjoyed the warm sea and the lovely beach. On our way we met some monkey as well. Later at his place his mother had already prepared dinner and we got fresh crabs. Just the day before we had seen the crabs alive walking around in the laundry basket. Then Birgit had a nap while we went out for coffee before our departure with the night bus at 1am.

Nothing to spectacular for today. We packed our things, bought more vegetables and sat into the car. Apart from a short stop at a waterfall we drove all day long and in the evening we arrived at Alex’ home where we met his sister and mother and we got a delicious meal as well.

After our nice breakfast (sardines with onions) we went straight to the strawberry farm. There we enjoyed some real fresh strawberries and got more fore the whole day. After that we headed for Cactus Valley. This is a plantation with thousands of cacti. There we saw some of the most impressive examples of the Malaysian national plant (Hibiscus). And we got some cheap food and lots of smiles in exchange for Euro coins.

After that we continued with the next strawberry farm where they also grew heaps of salad. And they sold it there in a mug as salad drink. Tastes interesting but nothing I would consider a favorite drink. The tea after that directly at the tea plantation was definitely better. We continued our nature-tour with a short visit to some honey bees.

Then our way led us to the next tea plantation and tea company. BOH is the largest tea company in Malaysia. But even with being the biggest in Malaysia it is not big enough to fulfill even the national demand and thus you rarely will see it somewhere outside the country. At the company we got a guided tour and we were able to buy some souvenirs.

So almost time for dinner. We went to the market to get some vegetables almost straight from the field. And I was extremely impressed by Alex’ negotiating skills as he managed to get four bags of vegetables for a really good price. From there we drove to the night market in town for some starters. After that we used most of our fresh vegetables for cooking steamboat before watching Bundesliga (Bremen vs. Stuttgart).

This morning the alarm clock was replaced by a horde of monkeys running on the roof. After that we cleaned up the glass house. Early in the morning Alex, Daniel and Daphne already left for school so we had the whole house for ourselves. So we used the spare time for a short hike into the jungle and relaxed afterwards in the swimming pool and with writing postcards.

In the afternoon our “guides” returned again and we moved on to Cameron Highlands. The ride was quite impressive as the roads to the number one growing area for fruits and vegetables in Malaysia are quite winy and hilly. Thanks to Daniel’s mother we were able to spent the nights in one of the many police houses spread all over the country.