Day 52 - National Park Hike and Turtle Beach

After breakfast this morning, I jumped on a city bus and headed to the northwest corner of Penang Island to hike through the national park.

The forest was similar to that of Sumatra: dense and full of animals.

I reached the beach on the far side of the park by 1pm. The nickname for this spot is Turtle Beach, because there are about 80 turtles that nest here, and a hatchery that protects the eggs and young turtles until they are ready to be released.

I hung out for about an hour, but saw very dark clouds in the horizon. I didn't want to have to hike hours in the rain, so I booked it back through the jungle. It started raining while I was waiting for the bus, so I made it in the nick of time.
It was late afternoon by the time I got back to the guesthouse. I got cleaned up, and headed back out to take advantage of my last night in this awesome city.

Indian was on the menu tonight. I opted for a sit down restaurant instead of the hawkers tonight. The live band and highly rated restaurant sounded like a great way to end my foodie adventure here in Georgetown.

Day 51 - Palau Payar Marine Park

While walking Georgetown yesterday, I booked a day trip out to the uninhabited island of Palau Payar to do some snorkeling.
The boat ride out was couple hours long, but unlike the ferries in Thailand, they had a movie screen, which helped time pass tremendously.
I'm traveling with my own gear, so I was the very first person in the water surrounding that island today, while the other day trippers were still getting geared up. That was great, because I was able to get a glimpse of some of the more skittish fish before the crowd scattered them, and I also had the beach to myself for awhile, which was nice. (The boat parks at a docking platform out away from shore and the coral reef to prevent damage, so to get to the island you have to swim about 100 meters or so.)

I began seeing one black tip shark, after another, which was really exciting.

After a full day in the water, I was starving. I got back to Georgetown and immediately hit up the hawkers on Chulia Street.

Dinner was a wonton, bok choy, and noodle soup, and a few kabobs.

For dessert, Ais Kacang. Probably the weirdest combination of flavors and textures. It's shaved ice with rose syrup, topped with sweetened red and black beans, creamed corn, these jelly/jello chunks, chewier gummy chunks, ice cream, and nuts. I'm not sure if I loved it, or hated it, to be honest. I ate the whole thing, but after each bite I was trying to decide what I thought of it. Lol
Tomorrow, I'll take the bus and cruise around the island.

Day 50 - Malaysia!!! Georgetown: A Foodie and Art Lover's Paradise

I enjoyed my nice room until checkout at noon. I was anxious to see the city, but also wanted to take advantage of my room while I had it.

I am absolutely in LOVE with Penang Island and Georgetown.

There are hawkers (what they call their food cart vendors here) on every corner, and down alleys spread across the heart of the city, you can find the most amazing art on the crumbling walls of the colonial heritage buildings. This part of the city has been added to the Unesco World Heritage List, and for good reason. It's just awesome. So much history, art, culture, and food from countries around the world, all clustered in this area.

 

 

 

The food.... The glorious food.... The eastern Asian and Indian influence is VERY strong here, so those are two types of foods readily found on almost every corner. Many places or stands are open 24 hours a day, so you can really just eat yourself silly, if you pace it out right. ;)

The stand below is probably my favorite so far. All the skewers have a color painted on the end, which relates to the price. It's kind of like a street fondue. You are handed a plate, and then you go to town picking your skewers, many of which were definitely too weird for me (tongue, mini hearts of some animal, black rotten looking eggs), but some were just too good. You dip them in the boiling broth to warm, and then enjoy with the satay sauce, or spicy chili sauce. When you are done, you hand them your sticks and they quickly add them up so you can pay.

Another meal: Red curry fish head, with mint. Sounds odd, but OMG.... So good.

The rickshaw drivers all decorate their carts with flowers and other various accesories. Just one more beautiful, cultural delight to feast your eyes on in Georgetown. (And they don't hassle you!!)

I haven't seen a single kitschy tourist/souvenir shop yet, either, just artisans, bakery's, antique shops, etc. I really am in heaven!!!

I'm exhausted from miles of walking (or actually more like running around) taking everything in. It's a very easy area to navigate, and there are actually walking maps to all the art and areas of interest - again, so organized and awesome!

I have so many more photos I want to share, but I can't upload them all on this guesthouse's internet connection. :/

More to follow tomorrow!!

 

Day 49 - Jungle Trekking Day 2

Last night was the first time I've ever had to worry about tigers while attempting to sleep. That was interesting. Lol

We are so far up in the highland jungle, that it would be extremely rare to see one, according to the guide. They normally hang around where the have more maneuverability, down in the subtropical area on the other side of these hills. Still, the thought of them being out there, with even the slightest chance of them coming near camp, was a little weird! The orangutans still sleep elevated for this reason, we were told.

I never fully dried off from the river and only had a sheet last night, so I was pretty cold. As soon as the sun came up, it felt as though the temperature rose 20 degrees. It's amazing the temperature fluctuation, but I guess I was near the river, so that makes a difference. I was up and wandering around the area surrounding the campsite early, while waiting for breakfast.

After we ate, we swam a bit more while waiting for the guides to clean and pack up camp. We then made our way up the river for our second trek day.

First animal sighting of the day was a 4 foot Water Monitor Lizard. I had no idea they could be this large!!! My first thought was that it was a Komodo Dragon. They definitely look prehistoric, so I'm a little more convinced that I am, in fact, in Jurrasic Park. ;)

A little further up the river we came apon a large group of Macaque Monkeys swimming in the river and playing in a big tree. So funny.

We continued on to a swimming hole, where the river was deeper and the guides had set up a target on the other side to throw rocks at. A little friendly competition and more time to cool off in the river was just awesome.

About 6 hours into our day, and at least a hundred more monkeys, crazy birds, lizards, snakes, and turtles, and it was time to head back to Bukit Lawang. We weren't going to be hiking though. :)

Our guides inflated inner tubes and tied them together to form a raft. We put all our packs in giant plastic bags, and took off down the river.

Sooooo fun! Some areas were tame, and in others, we'd be dropping over small waterfalls and navigating some small rapids.

As we neared town, we started seeing locals from Bukit Lawang and surrounding villages who all flock to the river on Sundays.

It warmed my heart how happy and friendly they were, when we passed by. It was clear by they reactions, that they don't see all that many outsiders, but they were so open and congenial. It wasn't just children, but full families playing and enjoying the water. They struck me as being so carefree. I wonder if we'd all be as happy with the small things if we led simpler lives....

As soon as we arrived back to the village, I ran back to the guesthouse I was staying at before the trek, and asked the owner if she could arrange transport to the airport for that night. I hadn't booked a flight yet, but knew there was a late one that I could probably make if I left immediately.

My driver arrived and frantically drove the entire 4 hours from the village to the airport. He was an older guy, and soooo sweet. I don't think he understood that I was just TRYING to catch the flight, and not actually going to miss a flight I had booked. He left out a big, exaggerated sigh and started clapping when he got me to the airport in time. Ha!

At the ticket counter, I booked the ticket and she said "you are VIP" - or maybe it was a question.... Not really sure. I just said okay, and she slapped a priority tag on my pack, and had a man escort me through exit immigration (I actually stood off to the side and he took my passport and handled everything), and then escorted me to the elite lounge with a full buffet dinner, drinks, desserts, etc. I hung out there until he came and walked me to my seat on the plane.

I HAVE NO IDEA why any of that occurred, but it was pretty nice, and I am still laughing about it now!!!

My first impression of Georgetown, Malaysia is fantastic.

Customs was a breeze, they have body heat sensors when you arrive that notify you if you have a fever, you tell a taxi stand what hotel you are going to and they tell you the set price and you pay at a counter and give the driver your ticket (no haggling or being ripped off)... It's clean and organized. They really have it together here! I also remember seeing a ton of "Visit Malaysia" commercials in the US recently, now that I think about it. It looks like they are really making a push to be a modern and highly desired destination.

I booked a $60 (ugh!) hotel room for the first night, because I was getting in so late. I selected this one because it was a large, recognized hotel, and I wanted to avoid any fiasco with finding it in the middle of the night. Plus, it's been several days since I've had a good nights sleep and a shower, so I splurged a little for the security of knowing I'll have a comfy bed and nice bathroom tonight. The rest of the time here, I'll be in a guesthouse/inn, with a no-window single bed room, with shared bathroom.

Can't wait to see Georgetown in the light of day tomorrow, and indulge in all the yummy things this foodie paradise has to offer!!!

 

Day 48 - Jungle Trekking

I'm writing this blog post tonight, from one of the most amazing places I've ever been.  It's so wild and expansive - I feel like I'm on the set of Jurrasic Park or Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed and had a bad attitude for a good part of the morning. Because of the language barrier, I was signed up for the 2 day trek instead of the 3 day, which doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but it changed the whole route and doesn't go as deep as I had wanted into the jungle.
As soon as I realized the mistake, I tried to switch treks. Even though it's high season, there are not enough people for the tour to depart that frequently (They need a group of at least 4). So, I would have to wait in this tiny village that has no bar or real restaurants (they are literally the villagers personal kitchens, with a few chairs and tables for patrons), and no real bathrooms (it's more like a squatty potty, where you use a bucket of water to force the waste down), it's extremely Muslim with prayer/chants being broadcast over village loud speakers several times a day, in a guesthouse that doesn't provide any bedding, towels, or toilet paper.... I'm feeling bad even while typing this, because I sound like an entitled American.
Basically, it's a fantastic place to experience, but not for an indefinite period of time whilst awaiting enough people to do the longer trek. I'm nearing the end of my trip, and I would just feel too antsy here with nothing to do.
So, back to the trek that I'm on... I'm so grateful that I'm here and able to even get a small glimpse of Sumatra. I never thought I'd come here - it was not in my original gameplan, but I've been blown away by all the animals, amazing untouched jungle, and gracious, happy people (aside from my taxi driver in Medan!).

We left the village in a group of 6 (a German couple, 3 Brit guys, and myself) with 2 guides, this morning at 8 with just a small pack each. All of our food and supplies would be carried by porters. The trek began through a private rubber tree plantation, which was very neat to see. The majority of rubber for tires, condoms, etc comes from here and surrounding areas, and it is gathered so simply. They literally cut away a small strip of bark, and attach a leaf to the tree. The rubber sap runs down and drips off the leaf into a coconut shell at the base of the tree. The rubber is then sold right from the shells to processors who clean and strain it and then send off to rubber factories.

Not even 20 minutes in, we saw the first group of monkeys. He called them Thomas Monkeys, but I'm pretty sure that is not the official name. ;) They were not interested the least bit in our fruit offering, and our guide Eddie said these are pretty skittish normally. When they climbed away to avoid their human gawkers, we trekked on and found some playful Black Gibbons.

Another half our down the trail, and we started seeing orangutan nests in the trees. They were close!
Our guide started chuffing (making calls to alert them of our presence), and listening for the cracking of branches. Sure enough, a momma and her baby were in a tree just off the trail. It was so neat to watch the way they interacted with each other, and how the mother broke the upper branches of the tree to build a nest for nap time.

An hour or so down the trail, and Eddie got pretty excited and took us off trail a bit. Our scout, who runs around off trail looking for animals for us, had spotted some baboons. A couple of them were curious about the bananas that Eddie threw there way, so they came close enough to get some great shots.

Ten minutes further, and we spotted some white-handed red gibbons. They weren't interested in us, or the fruit, so we kept moving.
We stopped to indulge in some fruit ourselves, in attempts to get some energy back. We were all completely soaked from head to toe in sweat, as it's extremely hot and humid, and with all the ups and downs from mountain to mountain, we were losing energy quickly. The break and fruit was just what we needed. Bananas, jungle fruit (which I think is what we call dragon fruit), passion fruit (my new obsession) and something similar to an orange, but with a milder, more exotic flavor.

After the break, we came upon a larger group of orangutan. This group was curious, and one came all the way down to within arms distance. It was so exhilarating to be able to watch these creatures (that share 96% of the same DNA as us) interact in their natural habitat, not at a zoo or sanctuary. It's odd how human-like they act, the mother getting mad at her child when it was nap time and pulling him down from swinging in the branches, the way they use different items as tools, etc.

We spent a bit watching the orangutan interact, and then made our way to our lunch spot. Lunch was the traditional Nasi Goreng wrapped in a palm leaf, that I've eaten 100 times on the trip so far. It's basically like a fried rice but with a slightly different flavor than the one we typically have in the States, and it's served with a fried over easy egg on top, with a slice of cucumber and tomato, and shrimp chips on the side. All is nicely packaged tight in a banana palm leaf, and secured with rubber bands. This is the closest thing to fast food that the Indonesians have. There haven't been any street carts for the most part; at least not as many as some of the other countries I've visited, but vendors do walk around carrying baskets (often on their heads) of these little pouches of Nasi Goreng. It's pretty tasty, and does a good job of filling you up for very little money.

After lunch, we were greeted by some "funky monkeys" as eddie referred to them. They not only act quite comical, but they look funny too, with a mohawk hairdo. They were too quick for my camera apparently, because all the pics came out blurry. :/
The trek got steeper and harder the further into the jungle we got, and we were all feeling pretty lethargic. Luckily, it was late afternoon and we were nearing our camp on the river. We could smell the fire, so we knew the porters had made it and would have water boiled for us from the river. It was such a hot day, that we all depleted our supply by mid-afternoon. :/

Camp was very simple, but so cool. We jumped in the river first thing, to cool off and clean up. The jungle was muddy in areas, and we were climbing up and down the steep terrain grabbing rocks or vines and occasionally slipping, so we were all pretty dirty. The river felt fantastic, and was crystal clear to the bottom.

After the swim session, we built a second fire to dry off, and we sat on a tarp and had tea and a surprisingly great dinner that had been prepared for us. Jokes, stories, card games and herb came after dinner, which seems to be the trend on any kind of overnight excursion in all the countries I've visited.
Crashing out now, and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring!

Day 47 - Bukit Lawang

It's a new day, and I wake up to more confusion and frustration. The "included breakfast" at my hotel is toast and Tang - I haven't eaten in almost 24 hours. The person at the front desk has no idea how I can get to Bukit Lawang, or maybe doesn't realize what I'm asking. AND... there is no wifi even though my reservation said there would be, so I can't figure out transportation online. In the light of day, my hotel is in a commercial/industrial zone, just off a busy 6 lane street. I decide to walk to try and figure things out.

There is nothing in English, no restaurants, or stores, and still not another traveler in sight, so I'm losing hope at this point. I see a very tall building several blocks away towards the financial district, and head for it. It ends up being a JW Marriott!!! I have a nice (expensive) breakfast and then talk with the concierge (who speaks pretty good English) about booking transportation to the village of Bukit Lawang, where my jungle trek would depart from. It's several hours away at the edge of the national forest, and only accessed by narrow, winding bumpy roads, so as expected, it was pricey for the hotel to arrange transport. At this point, I was desperate to get there and paid for the luxury of a private, air conditioned minivan. Everywhere I've been up until this point, has had tour assistance, buses, etc readily available, or you could be pointed in the right direction, and that's why I didn't plan ahead. I've booked everything on the spot in most cases, whether it be a ferry ride, long haul bus, day trip or tour... I just assumed I could do the same here, which obviously was not the case.

All that aside, I was on my way and so excited for the trek. The ride to the village was great as well. You can get such a great taste of a region even by just passing through and seeing people in their everyday activities.

About 2 hours and 45 minutes later I was in Bukit Lawang. There are no hotels here, just guesthouses, and I was dropped at one that was "recommended" by my driver. (He just knew them and got a cut for dropping me there. Lol)

It's VERY simple here. Below are a couple views of the village from my vantage point at the guesthouse.

 

Monkeys rule the place. They are everywhere!!!! I could safely say they have an infestation. Running up the steps, taking bags out of the trash and inspecting them (as seen below), getting up on the tables in the common area and trying to get in my backpack... I was cracking up at how comical they are. When you yell at them, they actually yell back and frown at you. Hilarious.

I walked the length of the village in less than 5 minutes, grabbed a bite to eat, and spent the rest of the evening getting my pack prepared for the trek that will begin at 8am tomorrow.