Tag: Malaysia

Penang, Malaysia

Penang was the one port we decided to explore on our own. The ship docked right next to the island’s capital, George Town. Since it was just a short stroll into town we set off on our own. Our first challenge was to get past the dozens of taxi promoters offering to drive us around the area. Once we got out of the port area we thought we were safe, but we continued to run into hawkers for several blocks!

We found the town decorated with red everywhere in preparation for the coming celebration of the Chinese New Year. We just wandered wherever our fancy took us, which was fairly successful. We spent some time in the Little India area, wandered into a shop that made custom notebooks, and found a shop that sold fabrics, saris, and other clothing.

Pretty fancy entrance for a fabric store!

I promised to bring back Thai silk fabrics to my crafty friends at home, and really hit the jackpot here. They had silks and cottons in so many gorgeous colors I wanted to take them all home.

We ran across some of our fellow cruisers taking advantage of the local transportation option. After walking around in the extreme heat I was a little jealous, but not enough to climb aboard.

We finished our day with a walk around a park and along the waterfront. We also took a little time to view some of the buildings showing the influence of the colonial era.

I have to admit that there was much more to see in Penang, but the heat and humidity were beginning to make it hard to keep walking around. By the time we returned to the ship my friend and I were both ready for a cold drink and a shower!

Langkawi, Malaysia

Our second Malaysia port was Langkawi, where my friend and I took a ship’s excursion called the Geopark Day Cruise. I should note that I usually prefer to do my port visits on my own, but since I’ve never been to this area and don’t know the language or the challenges we might hit, we both preferred to take the ship tours for most of the ports. The last thing we wanted was to find ourselves unable to get back to the ship in time and stranded in the port.

Anyway, off we went on the Geopark Day Cruise. Now, with a title like that and the mention of dolphins and flying fish, we were expecting some commentary on the natural environment. Not so much. This was basically a booze cruise. It was fun, but certainly not what we expected. As soon as we left port the bar was open. On the way to the island where we were to have lunch, the crew put out a net behind the boat and allowed passengers to sit in the water and enjoy the view. I took one look and decided “NO.” I could just see myself struggling back up the net into the boat like a beached whale, needing the crew and passengers to drag me aboard. I just sipped my mango juice and enjoyed the view.

We stopped at a small island and were treated to a nice lunch at the edge of the jungle, with tables and chairs and wine. All the necessities of life. It put me in mind of the Jurassic Park movie where the family is having a fancy lunch on the beach and the young girl encounters some little dinosaurs. We saw no dinosaurs. But we DID see a bunch of wild boars! They smelled the barbecue and came around hoping for leftovers.

After lunch we were given time to enjoy the beach (having been advised beforehand to wear our swimsuits), and I went into the water with everyone else. I’d forgotten how much fun the ocean is to hang around in. I’d also forgotten how fast I burn, and how careful I should be about getting sunscreen everywhere. I did put on sunscreen, but I did it before I took off my shirt and ended up quite red on my shoulders.

My friend Judy and a couple of others we met on the tour were hanging around in the water, and they said they were getting a tingling feeling and wondered was it was. I felt nothing, but all three of them said they felt it. A little later the gentleman came over to us with a large leaf and something that looked like gel sitting in it. He had captured the creature; it turns out they were feeling the tentacles of a jellyfish. Apparently these aren’t terribly poisonous, but they did have enough of a sting to make my friends feel the tingling. Fortunately, it didn’t leave a mark!

Not many photos for the day, since this was mostly scenic cruising, and I didn’t want to take my phone ashore and get it wet. So you’ll have to settle for a quick shot of our cruise ship, barely visible between the islands.