It’s a bus ride kinda day, which is to say boring until I got to Butterworth. That’s the bus station on the land side of Penang. I got to take a ferry. Yay!

Most of the action, so to speak, is on Penang Island. It’s been a British colony, a Dutch colony, probably Portuguese at some point too. The streets are in a grid which makes walking easy. So many fantastic decrepit old buildings. 

An old fort stands at one corner of the historic area. Because it’s been and continues to be a busy trading port, most of the world’s major religions are represented by many mosques and temples. On the walk from the ferry terminal,  I passed three buddhist temples, two mosques, a Presbyterian church,  and two hindu temples. Cool.

The city bus system is in great shape for tourists. Getting around will be easy.

Becase its SO touristy, food prices are higher, but oh well. This won’t be the week where I eat fancy.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the area. On the far side of the island, a war museum/fort is rarely seen by tourists. There is a botanical garden of course.

Im off to sleep. Goodnight!

My only plan for the day was to see the National Museum.  It’s pretty good. The special exhibition put things over the top. I’ll try to see an actual shadow puppet show now. In Penang I bet that can happen.

I spent some time wandering around a shopping mall. Never underestimate the power of air conditioning. It kept me there for an hour. 

For the rest of the day I was satisfied to sit and read. When that got old, I watched, finally, the last Harry Potter movie. I prefer the book’s ending.

Dinner, then another movie to zone out.

Im grabbing a bus to Penang tomorrow.  There’s a bit of UNESCO Word Heritage there, and I might stay for the Malaysian New Year.

Im off to bed. Goodnight!

Mary 

My energy level today was low. I may be getting sick😣

Saw a few sights on a morning walk, before sending some postcards and calling my parents. I watched some movies.  The hostel has all my favorites on a hard drive. Im sure that none of them are stolen off the internet lol.

It cooled off to 77 degrees! Heaven!!! Dinner was good Indian food. Was it the best? Idk, but I liked it. The buffet scene is strong here. It’s kinda confusing. I just ended up grabbing a plate and ate, and after a bit a gentleman totals a bill and hands it to me. You dont really know what the total will be, but its never a lot. Its great actually bc you eat what you get, a little or a lot. Most people don’t get but a snack.

Well that’s all. I’ll sleep in tomorrow and hope that my head feels better.

Take care!

Well, I didn’t get up early enough to figure out the guided tour. Also, I walked the wrong way. Also, I couldn’t find the visitor center.

The park was really peaceful. There’s no garbage and folks everywhere doing maintenence.  Many separate flower and plant areas. I missed the orchid garden, but I’ll go back?

On the way back to my neighborhood, the Textile Museum and its air conditioning beckoned me inside.

The Museum was neat. A well curated collection of fabrics from around Southeast Asia, and a separate room of fancy ceremonial accessories like gold jewelry and headdresses.

For lunch I found a buffet type restaurant that was fun to figure out. The food was good. It’s nice to know where I can find something cheap to eat close to home that has lots of vegetables.

Again, I had had enough sightseeing by 3. So I just napped.

It rained, so I got some dinner at a shopping mall. The price was right, but the food was only ok. Ill do street food from now on. The park cancelled the music performance, so that was the end of my day.

I figured out how to watch the tv, and the hostel has Back to the Future on disc. A nice way to relax before bed.  

Goodnight everyone