Monsoon Rains
Trip Start
Feb 19, 2010
1
218
257
Trip End
Jan 31, 2012
George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Friday, August 26, 2011
Arrived at the airport a little before 12am. Rather than pay for a cab and look for somewhere to stay in the middle of the night I decided to spend the night in the airport. Seems I wasnt the only one. Found that a few locals had come in early in order (I assume) to catch a flight the following day.
Ended up getting a few hours sleep in the massage chairs located near the food court. While the chairs were comfy they had a large lump in them where the massage ball was. Had to sleep in just the right position in order for it to not stick into my back.
Had also hoped to use the laptop but found that the plugs in Malaysia are different to anywhere else I have been and that I didnt have an adaptor. As a result decided to hang around the airport a bit longer so that I could wait for a shop to open and hopefully find an adaptor in it. When Maccas open bought a burger to break one of the large notes I had from the ATM. Needed exact change for the bus and didnt feel like donating any extra cash. When the Emporium store finally did open I was lucky enough to find an adaptor.
Caught the bus from the airport which cost me less than a buck. Wasnt sure where it was going to drop me off but ended up managing to find my way to the hostel. Found that I am definately not in europe anymore and back in the third world.
Couldnt check in yet since the room wasnt ready so sat outside and watched the street while using my laptop. By the time I checked in it had started raining. Waited for a little while but found that while the heavy downpour it only turned into a drizzle that didnt seem like it was going to stop. Had hoped I would get some sun but it seems the monsoon was in full swing. Given
Sumatra was at around the same latitude wasnt holding out to much hope for a sunny Indonesia. Guess I have to go further south to find the sunshine.
After giving up on the rain stopping I popped on the raincout and went for a walk in the rain. Found a nice cafe just down the road and had some fish laksa for lunch. From here spent some time wandering down towards the sea and since it was raining made my way to the museum to get out of the rain. Small museum but some interesting stuff on the history of the town.
Spent an hour or two then just wandering around past the fort and the old colonial part of town. Given it hadnt stopped raining this whole time I decided to head back to the hostel. Along the way passed a street full of indian vendors selling food from stalls. Ended buying some roti for dinner as well as some of the jelly like sweets that were being sold there.
Kept wandering around a bit more and found an emporium (like cheap as chips) where I bought some DVDs onto which to burn photos and a new pair of thongs to replace the ones I had broken. From here headed back to the hostel.
Once back at the hostel didnt really do to much and of course it stopped raining not to long after I got back. Had the dorm room to myself. Guess the rain keeps people away though I didnt mind having a room tom myself for a night.
Day 2 - George Town, Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple
Slept in since I needed to catch up on some after the previous night in the airport. Once I did get up found that it was still cloudy but that it wasnt raining down as it had the day before. At least not yet.
Started out by heading to the cafe down the street to buy some local food for lunch and then headed towards the Komtar bus terminal where I planned to get a bus to Penang hill and make sure the bus to the airport left from here.
Ended up taking the long way with a number of detours as I wandered around the streets of the old town. Lots of mosques, buddist and hindu temples located in around the colonial building. At one point it did start to rain quite heavily but thankfully it was a passing downpour and I was lucky enough to be wandering around in a temple at the time so didnt get soaked.
Was wandering if I wanted to go up Penang hill in this weather so spent more time than planned wandering the town. At one point, wandered down a street that took me to the water. Found that I had wandered out into an area where the houses were on stilts above the water surrounding the island. Cant image what it must be like out here when a storm hits.
Another interesting stop along the way was down one of the back streets I wandered. Seems that a small outdoor chinese temple as well as a stage had been set up. Looked like performers were practising some sort of play as I walked by. Would have been interesting to have wandered back in the afternoon when I am assuming the performance would have been held. Kept walking and found a second roadside temple so am assumming it must have something to do with some festival.
Eventually made it to the bus station which had an arrival/departure board that showed the airport bus headed through the station. Had a short wait for the bus to Penang hill but in the end decided to get off ealier since the hill top was covered in cloud and I had little chance of seeing anything anyway.
The stop I ended jumping off was located near Kek Lok Si temple which is the largest buddist temple in Malaysia. While built in 1890 the temple, especially near the large statue of Kuan Yin, seemed to be under construction. Got to wander if the statues on the pillars are hand made or laser cut.
Walked up the road to the top of the temple complex through a bit of jungle. Seems like this area would be a nice place for a hike. At the top found a giant statue and had some nice views of the town and surrounding jungle. Also found a statue for each of the animals of the chinese new year.
Took the cable car down since I couldnt see any direct path to the lower parts of the temple.
Here I wandered through the main temple and up to the top of the pagoda for some more nice views.
Headed back down and just before heading out it started to pour down hard. Sat in the doorway of the temple waiting, hoping for it to stop which it eventually did. Headed back down the hill and after wandering down the street got the bus back to town. Found that this bus was going past the street with my hostel but waited an extra stop so that I could get something from the indian street food vendors.
Headed back to the hostel and was thinking of heading out for a bit that night but then it started to pour, and pour and pour. In the four or so hours before going to bed the rain didnt let up one bit. SO much for finding some sun. Given the weather here not to hopeful about the weather in Sumatra since teh island is at the same lattitude.
