The next day we got up and set off to explore Georgetown. Georegtown is Penang's main city and is actually a World heritage site so there was plenty for us to see and experience- even if walking around was difficult when there are no pavements and Malaysians drive like lunatics! Penang is a true representation of Malaysia's melting pot of cultures and religions. This is particularly shown through the Street of Harmony where all 4 religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism worship alongside each other in compete harmony and have done since the 18th Century. This was a very beautiful and reassuring thing to see especially with so much tension and war, some of which is centered around religion, happening around the world. That evening we headed to a part of Penang called Gurney where we had heard the street food was especially good and oh my we certainly were not disappointed! Gurney hawker food stalls are a sea of delicious Malay and Chinese food packed with locals and tourists eating day and night, if you are ever in Penang you must go and try everything!!
On Friday we ventured up Penang Hill. We picked possibly the worst day ever to do this as the haze was super bad which did ruin our views and made it harder to breathe up there. Nevertheless we still took the train- more like roller coaster- up and looked around. I even got some henna done on my back up there by the nicest Indian couple! However there was yet another incident with a monkey at the top which ended in me running as fast as I could in the opposite direction! It was very beautiful up there and I would recommend visiting, it was just a shame our views of Georgetown were not as good as they could've been!
The last few days in Penang were spent exploring Georgetown as we looked around museums, parks and ate plenty of tasty food. We were also in yet another transport incident when the taxi we were in didn't look when turning out and smashed into an oncoming car, resulting in the taxis bumper falling off- we definitely didn't have much luck this holiday! Everyone was completely fine though and we were just rushed into another taxi and taken to wherever it was we were going.
One of my favourite things about Penang was the street art. Every street you turned onto had a different painting or metal sculpture giving the city a really interesting vibe. During our time in Penang we met up with some more volunteers and went out for a few drinks. We went to a great place called canteen which was fun and had a great band playing.
After 5 days in Penang we hopped on a 20 minute flight to Langkawi. Langkawi has a very different feel to Penang- it is a tropical paradise, a nice relaxing change to the hustle and bustle of Georgetown. Langkawi is extremely beautiful with bright turquoise seas and white sandy beaches. We spent most of our time there sunning ourselves and relaxing- We even went to a Thai spa one day.
The best part was getting together with all the other volunteers, who we hadn't seen for about a month, and finding out how they are getting on and how their projects are. The nightlife in Langkawi was not too bad, however we did end up in the same places every night! The best night there was spent swimming in the sea during a silent lightning storm- something so magical it will stay with me forever.
However the partying did go too far one night and ended up in me going to hospital after I stupidly fell in a water feature! It was dark and I just didn't see it so I fell and cut my foot pretty deep. I thought it was fine and just wanted to carry on but after everyone around me, including a doctor, told me to go to hospital I ended up with 6 stitches in my foot. The next day when I was at the pharmacy picking up my painkillers I asked them to clean it up a bit and put a new bandage on it. This was not the nicest experience as my foot was extremely painful and when I stood up I could not have felt worse. It took me two steps out of the door before I passed out. The thing I remember waking up to is a crowd of Asians freaking out around me- apparently they were more shocked than anyone! I had no idea where I was and physically couldn't walk. I was put in a wheelchair and taken for some tests- couldn't have picked a better place than a clinic to pass out in to be honest:') After the tests I found out that my blood sugar levels were extremely low. This combined with the pain in my foot caused me to pass out. However after a lemon ice tea and some Oreos I felt soooo much better. I can't thank the girls (Sophie, Hollie, Catherine and Emily) enough for looking after me so well and feeding me McDonald's in my time of need hahaha! My foot is still sore and I am still on painkillers but I feel a whole lot better now- I just need to remember to look out for water features!!
Just passed out- still smiling!
Our journey home was a task and took us a total of 32 hours! When we got off the ferry in kuala perils we found out that the bus we were planning to get directly to mersing was completely full, as was the later one. So we waited for 3 hours for a bus to KL where we were told there would definitely be a bus. The bus to KL took 7 hours and we arrived there at 5 am. We then went to buy a ticket to Mersing and all 6 buses up to 5pm were completely full. So our only option was to wait in KL bus station for 12 hours- which was especially fun when you have a swollen foot with 6 stitches in it. The haze in KL was so bad we couldn't even leave the bus station- I'm surprised I never lost my marbles by the end of it. We finally arrived back in Mersing at 11pm- 12 hours later than we should have been. It's safe to say I was certainly thankful for my own little bed last night.
Nonetheless I still had an amazing time in Penang and Langkawi, with some fabulous people, just chilling, eating, partying, swimming in the sea and duty free shopping! It was so nice to experience a different part of Malaysia and I can't wait to go back to these beautiful islands one day.
Lovely to see you in non traditional dress! More like the Louisa we know! 😘
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