I am currently staying in Georgetown, Penang. It is commercial center of Penang and has a large ethnic Chinese population. There are also quite a few Indians and the city even has a “Little India”. I just finished reading Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Triple J radio host, Sarah Macdonald, which has made me really want to go and check out India.
I like Malaysia so far, except that most of the cheap hotels I have seen so far only have shared bathrooms. This is the first country I have been to on this trip where this is the norm, rather than the exception. Nothing worse if you have had a few beers (or an Indian curry) and have to walk around in the night trying to remember where the bathroom is.
I just booked a guesthouse in Langkawi tonight. Langkawi is only about a 2-3 hour ferry ride from here, so I couldn’t resist.
Here are some pictures from my walk today.
Carpenter’s guild – where carpenters come to prey. The temple was built around late 1800s and is on a street called “Love Lane”.
Little India
Tonight’s dinner. Delicious, but I might be regretting it later. Served on a banana leaf which is not only more environmentally friendly than plastic plates, it saves on the washing up.
A friend was telling me about that Holy Cow book and I almost bought it yesterday but opted for a Philippines guidebook instead. I’ll probably pick it up once I’m finished reading Shantaram which will probably take a lifetime given its size and the fact I only ever read on the train.
Holy Cow interesting and funny without being too heavy. Shantaram is a great book, but does take a while to get through. Did you know about my shantaram website: http://www.shantaram-movie.com It is now sitting on page 1 for shantaram searches. Not making much money now, but could be big next year when the movie comes out.