George Town

The final destination on the Malaysian leg of our trip was George Town, a UNESCO world heritage city only a short train ride and ferry crossing from Ipoh.

Reclining Buddha Temple

With temples seemingly around every corner, we were spoilt for choice and decided to begin our first full day with Wat Chaiyamangalaram, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Beautifully dressed in gold and surrounded by numerous well polished sculptures, this was an oasis of calm in the middle of the city. Across the road was another equally tranquil Burmese temple, where we learned a little more about the Buddhist culture from numerous paintings within.

UNESCO Area

We spent our afternoon strolling around the UNESCO area of town, marvelling at the various temples, murals, markets and performers. There was an overwhelming smell of incense around many of the temples and we couldn’t tell if this was the norm or if they were burning more than usual to mark the Chinese New Year.

As the afternoon went on, Mariya made it her objective to slowly and subtly herd an unassuming James towards a very specific coffee shop (Coffee On The Table), for reasons that the image beneath should explain.

Chew Jetty

Energised by our caffeine boost, we continued onwards to the famous Chew Jetty, which was lined with stalls and apparently some homes as well. We weren’t fully convinced by the structural integrity of the pier, but it was refreshing to be by the sea and none of the stalls fell into the water while we were there. Thankfully neither did we.

Art Lane

Towards the evening while in search of dinner, we stumbled upon an alleyway which was home to works from artists of all abilities. From adolescent tags and felt pen scribbles to wonderful murals and modern sculptures. Unfortunately our talents do not extend to painting, so the best we could do was enjoy the art.

That evening played host to a large Chinese New Year celebration, meaning that some of the streets were closed off to cars to make way for performers and revellers. There were no English translations but the performances spoke for themselves.

Penang Hill

We awoke sharpish the following morning to ascend the 800m Penang Hill before the heat of the day took hold. This was made much easier by taking the funicular! Once atop the hill, we took a walk around the forested area and came across some monkeys and some black giant squirrels native to the region. The squirrels were a bit too elusive for a good photo, but Google assures us they live in various parts of South East Asia so it won’t be our only chance to see them.

Kek Lok Si Temple

Back down the hill was Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist temple complex in Malaysia, which entertained us for the rest of the day. Built into the hillside towards the Western side of the island, the complex is spread across a 30 acre site. Highlights were a 7 story pagoda and a 120ft tall Kuan Yin (goddess of Mercy), surrounded by 100 human sized Kuan Yin statues overlooking the city. Interestingly, although this is the tallest Kuan Yin statue in the world, it’s height was actually restricted to prevent it casting a shadow on the Penang Mosque. Nice to see different religions being considerate of each other.

Our final experience of the day was tasting the ‘King of Fruits’, known more commonly as the Durian. Beneath a prickly shell, the edible part of the fruit had a texture like butter and an almost indescribable taste. It wasn’t bad, but difficult to compare to anything else we’ve ever eaten. From our research the durian is a superfood, however what was most noticeable was the pungent smell and lingering garlicky aftertaste. We didn’t quite get the appeal, but we could definitely see why the fruit was banned from public transport as well as most hotels. It took 2 showers and multiple hand washes to remove the durian’s musk from our fingers!

Hard to believe that the first week of our career break was almost up, but the next day it was time to say goodbye to Malaysia. With so many friendly locals and English speakers, Malaysia has been the perfect introduction to South East Asia – hopefully a good sign of the months to come.