Woke up around 6 and decided to sleep until 7 or 7.30 and catch Lars before he left but then I woke up at 7.50 and it looked like he'd already gone to catch the boat. I got my stuff together and addressed the envelope and put the key in to send back to the Aree hostel. The man wasn't around to ask where the post office was so I left for the bus station to go to Penang hill. Got to a piece of street art and tried to take a photo but I didn't have my camera so I went back to get it. I got to the bus station (which is near a helipad) and the bus I needed was there and he let me on but then I didn't have any change so I had to get off. I went to a money changer who wouldn't give me change and then a shop and money changer who wouldn't let me buy a sweet for 50 cents with a 5 ringitt note before a happy mart let me buy a 70 cent chocolate. I'd missed another bus during this time, but turns out they are regular as the next was only a few minutes later.
The bus looked like it was going the wrong way but the map showed bus stops going to the foot of the hill so I stayed on and it did go there. There were some temples and a possible walk to a lake so I may be back to see those. There were lots of people queuing up for the cable car and I asked where to walk and got pointed in the direction but there were no signs so I started walking up a path that wasn't on the map. Turns out I wasn't quite on the right path but a woman in a car pointed me in the direction and I found the start of the stairs Lars had told me about. After that it was just up stairs going up near to the funicular and I made the midway station which had a nice garden. I think the cable car terminates and people have to change car there but for me it was just more steps up and I stopped for a rest and to wring the sweat out of my t-shirt. Got to the top and found a food place that looked good, but I looked around first and found the viewing areas before I went back for food and had a black pepper chicken fried rice which was nice and not spicy. After I decided to go back down a different path to the botanical gardens and I checked a map they had and I saw a viewing point and the top of Penang hill. Well there isn't much point in climbing a hill and then stopping just before the summit so I went that way. People were taking buggy rides while I walked and there was soon a viewpoint where the buggies would stop so people could take pictures. I carried on and saw a not great steep road to the right and the map said I was near the peak so I went up and there was someones house on what looked like the summit but I was pretty much at the top. As I wsgoing down I saw a large white metal structure which turned out to be a elevated circular walkway. So I went up and it looked fine but there was nobody around. It was perfectly safe as far as I can tell although with wire mesh floors it didn't really feel so. I went back down and saw a sign saying no entry to the area, oh well a bit late now. Headed back to the main tourist area and there was a hindu temple and a mosque. The hindu temple like most I've seen was spectacularly elaborate and mostly blue. Then I headed on to the botanical gardens which was by a 4 x 4 route which was basically a long steep winding road, not recommended. There was a waterfall on the map but no way to get there was shown so I continued down to the botanical gardens and there was a guy halfway up who looked exhausted but then he was climbng in the heat. There were monkeys as well and more in the gardens and I wandered round for a while. They had several houses for cacti, orchids, ferns etc but they were all closed to open at 2pm so I wandered on to the lily pond and back round and they were still closed at 2.15 and again later at 2.30 they were still closed and I read the notice again and it said open 9 to 12 and 2 to 4.30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and today was Wednesday so no luck. I headed out and went to a nearby temple which had quite a lot of steps up but it looked good on the pictures and to be fair it was pretty good although the whole temple area like the entrance wasn't complete yet and the temple was closed when I was there. Back down I carried on walking into town towards the Burmese temple I'd seen reviewed on tripadvisor and there was another temple nearby. Received a message from Agoda about the room key I had, seems that was the only way the guy at the hostel could contact me. The two temples were pretty good the Thai temple was more glitzy but the Burmese one had a pagoda to climb. There were quite a few tourists around and coaches parked in front. I left there and walked back to the hostel for a rest and booked a different hostel in Georgetown, Penang to try to get a more relaxing sleep. Then I went to get dinner and tried the Laksi, a local Penang dish which was too spicy. I also tried some prawn cakes at a different stall and they were really good and cheap as well. I left and went to a different internet cafe which was harder to get to but my phone would connect to the computer. Finished at 11.30 and went back to sleep at the hostel. Someone asked me to write more about the food I eat and post some pictures, but this day was too busy and photos make the load slower so I will add them onto a separate food page later.
0 Comments
I woke up 5.15 because of someone in my room but stayed in bed until 6.30 then got up and the Iranian had left already for an early flight. I went to train station to get ticket to Penang but they only sold them to padang besar (the border) I'd taken one years ago and it was fine all the way back then but they have changed it since.
So I went back to the hostel, got my things and checked the message I'd been receiving on my phone with the man at the hostel who was up already . Turns out I had run out of credit so they kept telling me to top up but the credit was supposed to have lasted longer. Anyway I went to the train station and realised that I didn't have a place booked in Penang. I could have gone back to the hostel but time was tight so I risked it at the station and was lucky there was some wifi there at a cafe. The train was at the platform and was pretty empty and comfortable a nice change from yesterday's minivan. I checked my pockets for the ticket and realised I still had the key from the hostel but I couldn't then leave the train so I'd try to post it which can be risky. The journey was really quick and an hour later we were at the border. Going through customs was ok they get people on a regular basis and the security would usher people to the right place. On the other side I needed a ticket to Butterworth but I didn't have any Malaysian money and I couldn't see any bank or exchange burea or a post office. I asked someone and he led me downstairs to a woman who did the currency exchange with a calculator. For 1,500 baht I got 176 Ringits, I later checked and it was worth 195 so she got 19 commission, could have been worse as I didn't know the rate at all. Then I bought my ticket for 12 Ringits and looked around the shop which mainly did food but it also had a sim card so I got one for 10 Ringits and added 10 to get 350mb for 1 week only which should be about long enough. Phone company is Onexox, but I later got an email from Agoda offering a free sim with digi only I would need to go to an airport to get it.The train was due sooner than I thought which was good as it was going to be ages but Malaysia is one hour ahead as my phone updated and so it was only 30 minutes aiting. The train was on time but nowhere near as comfortable as the Thai one. This was more like an underground train and it soon filled up. Got to Butterworth and it was not too late and the ferry was a short walk and climb up steps. It was also cheap to take the ferry and I didn't wait too long and then I sat down and a German was near me who turned out to be going to the same hostel but he'd been there before. We walked together and looked at maybe getting lunch but the place we looked at was expensive. At the hostel the owner spent some time going through the 3 maps they have and explaining where things are and which buses to take. Then the German (called Lars) and I went to get some dinner and tried some noodles from a street vendor for 4 Ringit. After that Lars wanted to go to buy his ferry ticket to Langkawi, an island I'd been told to see and as it was near to Hat Yai I should have gone their first but I didn't realise it was in Malaysia. On the way we went past a place called pokemon on the map which turned out to be a cafe in the middle of 3 pokestops. I loaded up the game and there were some rare pokemon there including a Charmander and a Rhyhorn. We got to the ferry place and Lars bought a return for 140 Ringit which is not so cheap (almost £30), but it is a 3 hour ride and he accepted the price as he said prices are generally fixed in Malaysia so you can't haggle or shop around like you should do in Thailand. We decided to walk north as he hadn't been there before and I was easy going. There was a a fort that was 10 Ringit entry and then a church were the lady there wanted to talk our ears off before we came to a museum of Penang so we went in and read the history of General Light, the people who moved there and the things they use. After that we walked to the beach that was just terrible and disused. We started heading back with a graveyard on the way and not much else. Got back to the hostel and arranged to meet at 7 for street food dinner. I had a shower and a little rest to try to get my back in better shape. Then we went and found an area with about 10 street food sellers including one which had a plate of noodles for just 2 ringit so I got some while Lars went to get some chicken before coming back and getting noodles as well. I decided to get something else which I think was bean curd. It was ok but there was just too much for me to eat. Then we went looking for somewhere to drink and most places were pretty expensive. One place offered 2 hours of all you can drink cocktails for 45 ringit which tempted me but we went to this reggae bar which had a 8 ringit can of beer and some girls who we could maybe talk to. So we sat down with our beers and the owner sat with us as well. The girls were from Denmark and worked in Koh Panang and someone there had told them to come to this bar here. They were getting free drinks which I thought was because they knew the guy and they had been there yesterday as well. A Portuguese girl joined us and Lars was between 2 girls but they were passing a puppy to each other and he didn't like dogs. More people joined us including 3 Antipodean girls who also got free drinks and a South African guy. We were on our 2nd beer and I asked the owner about the free drinks and he said not any more only until 9 before telling me what I wanted to know which was ladies get free drinks so when he asked me if I wanted another beer I said no and went soon after to check out some places including a karaoke bar I'd heard about. Lars stayed with another beer and I found a few ladyboys and strip clubs before the karaoke place which didn't look as dodgy as it had been described but the drinks were 20 ringits or 400 for a bottle of spirits which I thought might be ok if you are in a group but when I calculated its stilla lot. I made it back to reggae bar and Lars was still there but only the Portuguese girl was left and there were more guys there. He was busy so I went and shopped for an envelope (to return the key), a pack of cards and some water. Then I went to an internet cafe for an hour and at 11.30 when I went back everyone from earlier had left the bar and there were some Chinese drinking from a beer tower. I went back to the hostel and slept although not too well as the bed was small and there was traffic next to the room. If you look at the second photo below you can see the Malaysian Jeremy Corbyn sitting on the floor even though there are seats available. I got up early and went for a walk around the town as I hadn't really done that but decided to start along the river before I headed to the west of town where the land looked flooded on the map which interested me. I did some more pressups as I had some energy back and was getting pretty close to the end of the challenge.
There really wasn't much to see in that part of town and it looked quite new build with roads even being laid so maybe it had recently been reclaimed from swamp or something. Headed back with some more pressups on the way, I went to a temple which was connected to the one I'd been to yesterday but different. Back at the hostel I showered and got my stuff together and tried to do the last 2 sets of pressups quickly that way I could say I did 22 times 22 pressups in 22 hours, but my body wasn't up to it. The real problem was my stomach muscles which led to me doing some of the pressups with a bad posture and hurting my back. I used the hostel computer while waiting for my pickup until it was getting late and I got worried and went to check with the travel agency but she thought it was fine so I went back and a minivan did come. The van was pretty full and my suitcase is big so there was no real room instead I had to climb over some bags and squeeze in near the back while my suitcase took up a seat. There were some Malaysians next to me complaining that it was too cramped. We drove on for a bit and stopped and the Malaysians wanted to get off so I had to move out of their way. After that the driver moved my suitcase and some people around and we had a bit more space but I realised this wasn't a pickup it was the transport going all the way to Penang for some people. Another guy got in and I was squashed in one of the seats the Malaysians had had for about 2 hours to until we got to Trang whre we stopped for lunch. I got the food they had which was 2 choices of dishes (curries) with rice and I paid extra for an egg. We all got back on the bus and the new guy was insistant I sit in that same seat even though it wasn't my seat and he wasn't sitting in his seat (because he was in a Malaysians seat) so I got on and took up more space this time, but my back and my stomach hurt from all of the pressups. It was a bumpy road otherwise or I would have slept more. We arrived on time 4pm and I got the driver to stop and went to Aree hostel and the owner gave me a friendly welcome and a map and said where things were but that the reclining buddha was too far. I went up to the room and had top bunk above an Iranian who was in the room. I went out for walk and ignored the guys advice as he only really talked about places to eat and I planned to go to the reclining buddah but didn't know where it was and my sim stopped working. I saw there was a train station on the map so I went there and they had a sights to see map, so I marked a few places on my phone map using that. It wasn't too far to the buddha and I had to cross a bridge and then there were schoolkids everywher as school had justfinished and a shop had good looking chicken but I decided to go to the Buddha first. Further along there was a market with cheap langsart but again on to the temple first which had a few buildings. I was wandering around one for better picture angles when 4 or 5 dogs started barking and running to attack me but I stood my ground and scared them off before walking away. Then I heard what sounded like a dog attacking another dog and a yelp so I felt sorry for whichever dog that was but you have to look after yourself first, after all it is a dog eat dog world (bad joke for the day). The reclining buddha was pretty big but I couldn't get too close as the building as partly closed, so I left soon after and went tothe market and bought 1kg of langsart for 15 baht (40p). I headed back the same way but the chicken places had closed and the kids were all gone so I went back to town and headed east to a temple which was ok. I was tired but I kept going and went to a fountain whcih was switched off. Then I went into where the market was more expensive and I tried to find the food places the hostel owner recommended but I couldn't see them. I walked some more and got to a place marked on maps.me as having a skybar but as much as I asked around there wasn't one so I left and ended up getting a KFC dinner before heading back to the hostel and tried to decide how to get to Penang the next day, the hostel owner helped by giving me 3 options - public buses , minibus or train. The train only left once a day at a an early time though. I read a bit before going to sleep. I got up a bit late and was thinking of going to Railay beach which is a boat ride away but it looked like it would rain in the afternoon and I wanted to see the temple nearby so I went there first and it was a bit like the white temple at Chiang Rai but not as nice. I felt like some fruit so went to a supermarket which was really good and I picked up a watermelon and some bananas. I had to get my penknife and managed to cut the watermelon with no real problems but there was a lot and nobody around to give some to so it took a while to finish. I asked at reception about the boats and it was 150 baht each way to Railay and as it was already close to 11am I decided to not go and headed out to the river and walked along to a mangrove walkway which was on the map.
At first I thought it was just a concrete walkway for some buildings but it turned into a more scenic walk through a mangrove swamp for a fair distance. The trees are fairly unusual especially the roots and there were loads of crabs running around which I guess is why this place got the name it did. On my way back I thought about the 22 x 22 pressup challenge Nina had to do and decided to go for it so I did 22 pressups at 12.09 and then racked up quite a few more in succession every 3 or 4 minutes until I'd done about 8 and I was getting tired. By now I was close to the hostel and I had seen a beach near the river and thought about just sunbathing there but instead I decided to swim across the river and explore as it had looked quite nice in one part and would probably be deserted. I packed together sun cream, sunglasses, goggles, water and only wore my board shorts and plastic sandals. I had a bag and some string so the idea was to tie the bag with everything in to my foot and then swim across. First time I'd just started and the string came off my foot so I tied it more securely and then I was off. One of the locals started filming me and was probably thinking crazy foreigner and he was kind of right. If you ever are crazy enough to do something like this the advice I'd give is don't tie it to your foot, it made it really hard to swim especially when the bag filled with water and became more of a dead weight. The current was also strong so I slowly made my way across without at least any boats coming near me. Eventually I made it across a bit further downstream than I planned due to the current and the string wouldn't come off my foot so after getting tired of trying to untie it I just untied the bag and left the string there. Then I walked inland and the going was a bit rough at first but not too bad until I tried to cross a stream and sunk really deep into the mud so that I almost lost my footwear, after that my feet were all muddy and slippery which made it harder to walk and I really didn't like the mangrove swamp, if pushed I would rank it as my 2nd least favourite terrain to walk on only beating molten lava. I found a place with more trees and used branches to cross the stream but picked up another injury from a palm spike before crossing and then just finding more of the same terrain on the other side, I headed to the water and got back in to swim across to a sand island in the middle of the river which was a bit upstream. This time I tied 2 bags to my waist which was much easier to swim with but the current was still strong and it was only when it got shallow and I could walk that I made upstream progress. The sand looked ok but there were mud streams as well which were hard to cross and when it started raining I headed back doing a couple more pressup sets before I just became too exhausted and failed to do the 22 required. I headed back to the hosel and booked the bus to Hat Yai and had some food (at a different place as my regular was closed for the afternoon) before showering back at the hostel and theb I tried to rest but there were French people just sitting around in my room talking so I listened to music for an hour or so. After resting I did some more ACCA CPD (boring but I need to keep my qualification) on the computer in the hostel and then went out to grab some drinks (wine coolers and a cheers beer) and I went to the night market where the food was ok but it was slow moving through the crowds. They also had a fire entertainer. I went back to the hostel to get the free bbq but the queue was too long so instead I sat out drinking and kept going back for the bbq until eventually after 9pm I got the kebabs and then went to watch Arsenal beat Bournemouth. The two English guys who beat me at beer pong were there as well. After I hung out at the hostel bar playing giant jenga before the bar closed and everyone disappeared around 1am so I hit the hay. Got up around 7 and got some washing powder and my laundry from my suitcase and used a washing machine for 40 baht, did the morning stuff and rented a motorbike at 8am as we were going by bike. I went and had a pad thai for breakfast at a cheap but empty place which got pretty busy soon after so maybe people just wanted to eat where I do. Hung up my washing and we were ready to go at 8.30. There were 4 of us on 3 bikes and it didn't take too long to get to the Tiger temple which was near where the bus had stopped last night.
We took photos of the plaque announcing the 1,237 stairs we had to climb. I didn't find it too hard although I did sweat a lot in the heat and the others did ok as well. The top was shaded and had water to drink but wasn't very nice until we went up the stairs to the temple where we stayed a while taking pictures of the views. Got to know the guys names, there was Michael from Poland, George (or at least thats what it sounded like) from USA and Cinna from Switzerland. Went back down and George was hungry so we rode back into town and he was checking out a floating restaurant but it was too expensive for Michael so I suggested the place I'd had breakfast and we went there. Afterwards we decided to go to Ao Nang beach so I grabbed my now clean and dry swimwear and towel, George was getting his stuff and Michael had disappeared to a 7-11. I was ready after almost losing and finding the motorbike key and found Cinna about to get on a songthaw to Ao Nang. So I said I thought we were all going there and so she waited and George turned up but no Michael so I suggested they go to Ao Nang and I'd wait for Michael and then meet them at the hostel. So I waited on the computer but he never turned up so I left so that I wasn't too late as I didn't have anyones contact details. Drove pretty quick there but the lady at the hostel wasn't helpful and I wasn't sure if they were around or not. Got bored and went to the beach but I was worried about my stuff again especially after going in the water and finding it really shallow. So I went back to the bike and left some valuables, there was still no sign at the hostel. Then went back to the beach left my stuff where a security guy could see and went for a swim. The water was a bit choppy from the boats and wind and with it being so shallow it wasn't good but the view of the rocks which separate Railey from the rest of the area were good to look at. As I came out of the water I saw a guy walking down the beach spinning his frisbee. I gave hime a look, he gave me a do you want to look, I smiled, maybe nodded and we threw the frisbee around a bit. Turned out his name was Bailey, an American and he runs several hostels. I went to lie down but the clouds looked ominous so I headed back to avoid the rain and found George and Cinna who had been to the beach but not the hostel. It started pouring down so we sheltered before going to the hostel. When the rain let up we headed off back to Tiger cave as there was a loop with caves that we hadn't seen. George added me as a friend and it turns out his name was Josh (Joshua). The caves were cool and the area was a small round valley between cliffs with rainforest. It was getting dark so we headed out and it started raining again. The ride back in the rain was tough, Josh didn't want to ride in the dark and rain so we had to put up with rain which was pretty strong and blew in my face. Got back ok and dried off and refreshed before grabbing sone food and drink and chilling at the hostel. I found this really cheap beer which was 8% alcohol and tasted a bit like cider and since I hadn't eaten too much I started getting drunk. I grabbed a kebab after a guy from Middlesbrough got one and it looked ok especially as it was free at the hostel. Josh and I put our names down for beer pong but he later found a girl he would rather play with so I ended up teamed with a German called Niko and we were up against 2 English. I was hitting the occasional cup but Niko kept missing and our opponents were doing average and beating us when Niko got one but it was spinning in the rim of the cup so they could scoop it out which they tried but instead knocked over 3 other cups and we were ahead. We stayed slightly ahead until 2 cups left when we couldn't hit them and they caught up and got the last ones so we were out. I Stayed up until about 1am and then hit the hay. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |