george town
I had a spot of bother trying to get a bus ticket to George Town in Hat Yai. It confused me as to why few people knew what I was on about. But then it dawned on me that most people call in Penang. Strictly speaking that is the name of the Island of which George Town is the capital. It lies a short distance of the north east coast of Malaysia. But since George Town was a colonial creation, many people ignore the colonial name or so it seems.
This island was once an important hub of the British Empire. The Malaysian assets were known as the Straits Settlements and at the time included Singapore too. It served both naval and commerical purposes. Uninhabited prior to arrival of Captain Flight he soon enticed Indian (mostly muslim) and Chinese migration along with Malays from the mainland. They, of course, underpinned the comforable and haughty lifes of the white master. The result is a unique colonial creation. It retains a lot of charm with old European buildings set aside Chinese style housing and Indian mosques.
After one night in a dodgy hotel I managed to find a five star hotel at a mere $65 per night. This is considerably above my normal budget but the views over the bay were exeptional so we kicked back in style. Which was just as well as rain was a frequent companion for our four days. Also given that the place is relatively small, the tourist sights can be quickly ticked off. I had hoped to see more of the island but no one would rent me a motorbike without a license. Like Thailand, I hoped they would accept my passport but no, so we confined ourself to George Town.
My first impressions of Malaysia were that it is a clean and organised country. It is multi-cultural with a significant Indian and Chinese minority. The Chinese dominate the business envirnoment. I must say that I'm not that fond of their cuisine which is unusual as I eat most things. And the beer is too pricey! That said it was pleasant to be able to speak in English with the locals.
But one thing had me clenching my fists. Everywhere myself and Kanya walked, the local male Indians would stop in their tracks and, completely insensitive to Kanya's obvious irritation, would stare at her lechoursly and pointedly. Occasionally I erupted and stuck my face within inches of theirs and asked if there was a problem. They would quickly scurry off only for us to experience the same thing a few feet down the road. It drove Kanya mad. Just for clarity sake, Kanya does not dress in a manner that would attract wolf whistles! They do not give the same treatment to theri veiled ladies....
And another thing to be aware of if you visit George Town is that the ATM's are dreadful. Be guaranteed that if you find one that is out of service then don't bother looking for another one as every other ATM in the town will be out of use too. It's a conspiracy. On one occasion all 15 ATM's were offline!
But George Town is a nice place to while away a couple of days.
This island was once an important hub of the British Empire. The Malaysian assets were known as the Straits Settlements and at the time included Singapore too. It served both naval and commerical purposes. Uninhabited prior to arrival of Captain Flight he soon enticed Indian (mostly muslim) and Chinese migration along with Malays from the mainland. They, of course, underpinned the comforable and haughty lifes of the white master. The result is a unique colonial creation. It retains a lot of charm with old European buildings set aside Chinese style housing and Indian mosques.
After one night in a dodgy hotel I managed to find a five star hotel at a mere $65 per night. This is considerably above my normal budget but the views over the bay were exeptional so we kicked back in style. Which was just as well as rain was a frequent companion for our four days. Also given that the place is relatively small, the tourist sights can be quickly ticked off. I had hoped to see more of the island but no one would rent me a motorbike without a license. Like Thailand, I hoped they would accept my passport but no, so we confined ourself to George Town.
My first impressions of Malaysia were that it is a clean and organised country. It is multi-cultural with a significant Indian and Chinese minority. The Chinese dominate the business envirnoment. I must say that I'm not that fond of their cuisine which is unusual as I eat most things. And the beer is too pricey! That said it was pleasant to be able to speak in English with the locals.
But one thing had me clenching my fists. Everywhere myself and Kanya walked, the local male Indians would stop in their tracks and, completely insensitive to Kanya's obvious irritation, would stare at her lechoursly and pointedly. Occasionally I erupted and stuck my face within inches of theirs and asked if there was a problem. They would quickly scurry off only for us to experience the same thing a few feet down the road. It drove Kanya mad. Just for clarity sake, Kanya does not dress in a manner that would attract wolf whistles! They do not give the same treatment to theri veiled ladies....
And another thing to be aware of if you visit George Town is that the ATM's are dreadful. Be guaranteed that if you find one that is out of service then don't bother looking for another one as every other ATM in the town will be out of use too. It's a conspiracy. On one occasion all 15 ATM's were offline!
But George Town is a nice place to while away a couple of days.
posted by Ciarán at 5:29 a.m.
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