Malaysia Part Three: The Island of Penang

Penang, also known as the Pearl of the Orient, is a beautiful place. 

Georgetown, the largest city is a blend of Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures, each with their own religion, food and history.   
Outside of the main city the island is home to small beach communities, first class resorts, and a beautiful national park.

During our days in Georgetown we went for walks around Chinatown, Little India, downtown and along the sea.

 

We continued to eat delicious Indian, Chinese, and Malaysian specialties.

 I even learned to how to make satay :)


And we finally tried durian.   

{Video to come}
 
Our review: a mix of onion, garlic and creamy fruit.  
Basically: Ewww.
Although it's known as the "king of fruit," durian is so strong and potent that it's not allowed in airports, train stations and many hotels in Southeast Asia.  
We prefer the delicious "queen of fruit" for sure.

A friendly fellow traveler we'd met in Indonesia turned out to be from Malaysia and was kind enough to show us around the city's less touristy markets and coffee shops.

We spent a sweaty day at Penang's National Park where our sweet new friend led us on a hike through the jungle and out to a pretty beach.

There we saw the biggest ants ever and wild monkeys in the trees including this one, eating durian (impressive enough) with only his feet.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but he was a hand-less monkey.

  As we left the area we’d been hiking in we noticed a sign blocking off the path we had just come from.  It stated that that part of the park was closed as it was being investigated for disease.

Whoops. 

Don't worry... I'm happy to report that we still seem to be disease-free and loving life in Thailand!

Malaysia Part Two: Cooling off in the Highlands

Sawasdee (hello) from Chiang Mai!

We are loving this city and its gorgeous old temples and cute cafes.  

Tomorrow is the King's birthday in Thailand and we feel so lucky that we're here to partake in the festivities.

We are putting the finishing touches on our plans in Thailand for the next few weeks before we arrive home on the second of January!

It is certain we are spending Christmas here and we could not be more excited to get back to the beach :)

For now back to our time in Malaysia:

*****

As soon as I read about the Cameron Highlands last spring I was convinced we couldn't miss it.  Mystic mountains, cozy guesthouses, and tea farms with homemade pastries and fresh brewed tea?  I was sold.

 We booked a hotel in the small town of Tanah Rata and made the five hour bus ride from busy Kuala Lumpur into the peaceful Highlands.

The first thing we noticed upon arrival: 1) it was cold 2) it was rainy.  

Freezing in my shorts, I later realized it was above 60 degrees. 

 {Don't ask me how I'm going to handle going back to a cold and wet Portland because I don't know.}

We strolled from the bus station to our guesthouse, admiring the old hotels, quaint tea shops and pretty natural scenery. 

When we got to the road our guesthouse was on however, we noticed a slight problem. The recent rain had completely flooded the street leading to the place we'd booked.  

Luckily another guesthouse with the same owner offered us their nearby place to drop our things as we explored the city (and waited for the flood water to be pumped out of the way).  

When the road still wasn't cleared later that night we ended up bargaining for a (better) room at the second guesthouse.  

We dried out around a bonfire and traded travel stories with other guests.

*****

Over the next two days we stuffed ourselves with delicious Indian food.  

We couldn't get enough!  

Tandoori chicken, cheese naan (how have I never had that before?) and our new favorites: sweet roti canai and savory tosai.

We also tried Chinese "Steamboat," a selection of veggies, seafood and noodles cooked in fiery tom yum and chicken broths on our tabletop.  Like all the local food we ate in Malaysia, it was amazing!

But we did more than just eat.

One day we took a scenic hike to the nearest tea plantation where we had fresh mint tea and scones with strawberry and cream.

We also tried the cutest dessert place for fresh mango sorbet with fruit, ice, jelly and cornflakes.  Sounds strange, tasted delicious.

Ok, so maybe all we did was eat....

It was hard to say goodbye to the sweet little mountain town, but we adored Penang, our last stop in Malaysia.  More on that trip later this week!

Malaysia Part One: The Streets of Kuala Lumpur

 Hello from Sukothai.

We made it into Thailand last night and spent a truly beautiful day here in the country's ancient capital.  Tomorrow we are heading north for some time in Chiang Mai and we could not be more excited!  It's hard to believe that we've been traveling for two months already and that we're on the last leg of our trip.  One month to go!

Now here's an update on our time in Malaysia.

********

We took the latest bus we could from Singapore into Malaysia in an effort to save time and money on accommodation.  It departed at midnight and was advertised to take six to seven hours, meaning we'd arrive early the next morning.   

Oh, we arrived early.   

There we were dropped off at 4 am in Kuala Lumpur's main square, exhausted and disoriented from lack of sleep.  We watched as department store associates scrambled around to set up enormous Christmas trees and life-size nutracker statues and contemplated our next move.  We decided to make our way to the hotel we’d booked and see if they’d let us check in early.   

Ten hours early. 
  
One long wait, too much money for early check-in and a refreshing nap later we awoke and set out to explore.

First things first, a traditional Malaysian breakfast of toast sandwiches with sweet butter and coconut jam, soft boiled eggs (neither of us was a fan of these) and creamy coffee.

We walked through the markets of Little India and the busy streets of Chinatown where we tried to the local soup, laksa.  We didn't try controversial durian.

We strolled through the beautiful downtown and through the lovely Lake Gardens.

Then spent an evening atop the Menara Tower looking out on the KL skyline and its famous towers.

The Batu Caves made for a nice day trip. 

 Quite a few stairs (272 to be exact) later we made it to the cave.

Some monkey friends kept us entertained along the way.  Even more waited at the top.

 

In honor of Thanksgiving we enjoyed a dinner consisting of too much food and too much beer.  

{After all, we are still Americans.  :)}

We chose various skewers and had them cooked up and accompanied by sweet and spicy peanut chili sauce. 

Missing Malaysia and its delicious food already!

Thankful, Grateful

So it's a holiday and I'm feeling sentimental. 

It didn't really feel like Thanksgiving when we woke up this morning.  

Could have had something to do with the fact that it was 90 degrees, sunny, and so humid that my hair was a frizzball before we even left our hotel.  Dare I say I am getting tired of warm weather and am ready to put on my Ugg boots and a sweater?  I am sure that two days of Portland rain will cure me of this.  

Speaking of.... 

This is the third Thanksgiving in a row that we haven't been home in Oregon.  Again this year we'll be missing the drive from Portland to Eugene, the appetizers and first dinner with Ryan's family, followed by wine and dinner #2 with mine.  

There won't be pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce or turkey.  We won't be catching up with relatives, watching football on TV or shedding fall boots and scarves at the front door on the way into a bustling house.  This year is even different than the last, or the one before where we've celebrated at "home" in two Busan apartments.

Ok so now I'm tearing up.  It's hard to be away from home, especially during the holidays.

We're sad that we're away from home this Thanksgiving, but we're also thankful.  

So thankful.   
Thankful for the family who love and support us always, for the friends who make time to stay in touch with us from across the world, for the health, the love, and the adventures and opportunities that we have in our lives.

Please eat lots for us today and enjoy the time with your family and/or friends and don't take it for granted.
 

Happy Thanksgiving from our little family to yours.