September exploring - 2013

Time has flown since we last wrote our blog, but it feels like we've been pretty busy over the last month. We're both getting settled into our jobs and starting to develop a bit of a routine - haven't got used to the 5am starts on a monday morning yet though! We're trying to make the most of all the weekends to explore Penang and some of surrounding Malaysia.

One of the first weekends after getting the car we did a bit of trip around the island with a couple of new friends, Suzanne and Jen. Much of it is very quiet and undeveloped which is nice, and quite different from Tanjung Bungah and the surrounding areas where we live. We found a lovely Thai restaurant with wonderful seafood, right on the beach.

We also went trekking in the national park which, although only a 20 minute drive away, feels quite off the beaten track. The route we took included a canopy walkway - fun but not for those with vertigo! Also some quieter beaches away from all the tourists.

Georgetown celebrated the mid-autumn, or moon cake festival with lots of dancing and tasty moon cakes. It was great to see a bit more of old Georgetown and experience a traditional festival. Here is one of the Chinese temples in  Georgetown and some dancers getting ready to perform. 

Penang watersports centre hires out kayaks for next to nothing so we spent a very enjoyable sunday afternoon kayaking along the coast to a little cafe on the beach. Great fun... sure we'll be doing it again soon!









 Perhaps the highlight so far has been a weekend trip to the island of Pangkor. It's a popular holiday destination for locals but very few westerners go there so it feels a bit more like the real Malaysia. It was a rather tiring drive down the coast on a friday evening and having inevitably missed the last ferry of the day we spent an unexpectedly pleasant evening in the port of Lumut before heading to Pangkor the following morning. It's a really pretty, unspoilt island and great for a relaxing weekend with beach, sunshine, fantastic food and some exciting wildlife.

 These are some pictures from a tiny island we visited by speedboat to do some snorkelling and sunbathing.

Wild hornbills

We were very excited to see wild hornbills clustered around for 'feeding time' by a local man who brings them bananas which they will eat out of your hand! Also loved the fresh fish which they cook to order for you on the barbecue. Overall, a great trip, even if the only thing for breakfast was spicy noodles!

Very excited to get our nine boxes from the UK after 6 weeks on a boat. Our flat feels more like a home now it has more of our things in it. Only one week left of this half term, can't believe it!

Next trip is Sumatra over half term which sounds quite a challenge as far as transport is concerned but sure it'll be worth it...