HIGH SPIRITS - Return to Penang, Malaysia

 ........here's our previous blog post, the last from the Balkans for a while..........

There seems to be a myth surrounding international travel during these times. It is presented as more difficult nowadays, with vaccine certificates, quarantining, PCR tests, tracing apps, masks and declaration or registration forms to contend with. Long haul travel has always been painful, especially for Sal. But on this particular journey, apart from the usual irritations of lack of sleep, turbulence and inconsiderate fellow passengers, the only real bother was the longer than usual check-in in Belgrade. We didn't have to present anything to staff apart from our ticket- no testing, no extra forms, no downloading apps. Most amazingly, we were not asked to wear a mask on any of the three flights we took, or inside any of the airport terminals. We were not expecting that! Arrival in Malaysia was equally straight forward, only being asked to scan our thumbs- exactly the same as pre-plandemic days.

We greatly deliberated over the decision to leave Europe and come back to South East Asia. On the one hand, we had come to love the Balkans, with it's huge advantages of great friends, fantastic fresh food, cheap and good quality booze and a population with a no bullshit attitude. Due to its ties with Russia, Serbia wasn't facing the same “dark winter” as the rest of Europe, but we could see the trajectory of higher prices for accommodation and food coming to the area. We didn't fancy another snowy winter, and when we saw Malaysia had dropped all it's entry requirements, the time seemed right to go for it and finally leave the Balkans.

Picturesque Floating Mosque, Tanjung Bungah, Penang

A firm favourite, samosa on street stall, Little India, Penang

The timing wasn't perfect, as Malaysia hadn't yet recovered from more than two years of closed businesses and lockdowns. Many locals still seemed apprehensive, and countless business had suffered. Some had only just recently opened and others had been closed down completely. The streets were noticeably quiet, not just from a lack of tourists, but the general population. It was difficult to be understanding with the high numbers of locals still wearing masks even though there was no mask mandate, and their politicians had been on TV telling them it was OK to take them off. Most challenging to see were the masks on little kids. Also, the businesses with barricades to the entrance of the shops seemed counterproductive to sales. But, as Rich said, no-one harassed us or the other non-mask wearers for not covering up, so we should tolerate their actions also. Despite all this, we were delighted to be back and felt upbeat and positive that things would continue to change here for the better as the town recovered further. After all, these rules had been ingrained into the people for nearly three years, and apparently it would take time for Malaysians to recover.

To say we were relieved to arrive in Penang was an understatement. Before we left Serbia, we'd made contact with the old favourite amongst long stay foreigners, the Hotel Noble. After being closed for more than two years, the perennial stalwart had opened two months previous to our arrival, and we were overjoyed to see it hadn't changed a bit. The only noticeable difference was the price, which had actually gone down since our last stay three years before (and was half the price of the cheapest places we had been staying in in Europe for the past couple of years). The minute we walked into our simple room, we immediately felt comfortable again. The bare basics- only two beds, minimal furniture, a shower (toilet was shared) and a ceiling fan was just what we had missed in the past few years. We are much happier in a cheap, modest room than the fancy rooms we had become used to in Europe.

Our street, Penang

Lovely simple room, Penang

Hotel Noble, still soldering on! 

Our old haunt, 75 Travellers Lodge, sad to see it closed

A two minute video of the Noble Hotel

The first couple of weeks were spend in a daze trying to get into some kind of sleep routine- difficult after so long in another time zone. Considering we had been in Europe for more than two years with completely different cultures, weather, people, attitudes, food and landscapes, we slipped back into Penang life pretty damned quickly! We have spent a great deal of our travelling life in this town, and although many things had changed in the three years since our last visit, enough was still familiar for us to feel at home. A few of our old favourite places to eat were gone, or changed, but most remained, and our first morning found us at dawn in Little India scoffing down roti canai with curry sauce accompanied by puja from the nearby Hindu temple. It was fantastic to be back!

Our favourite breakfast, roti canai, Penang

Talking up the business, Penang

Masses of colour, Little India, Penang

We had been dreading adjusting to the extremely humid weather, but as it happened, there was no problem adapting to the change. Rich joined the fabulously equipped (and extremely economically priced) gym down the road, and Sal was more than happy to walk and explore the streets everyday. There was always something to investigate in Penang! The wonderful ease in finding out information, getting around and generally communicating with people was a stark contrast to being in Europe. This is partly because most people, young and old, speak English, but also because people are genuinely friendly and helpful.

Street art in an alleyway, Penang

So many rickshaws, not many passengers, Penang

SO GOOD!!! Nasi kandar meal, Penang

Cautiously positive, we hoped things would continue as brilliantly as they had started, and very much looked forward to a long stay in Malaysia, and hopefully other places in South East Asia for the coming winter.

Buddha wallpaper, Penang

Classic Georgetown, Penang

Market vendor, Penang

......strange for us, but next up, a foodie blog about Penang's famous cuisine.........