Rob and Anna's travel adventure

PENANG, MALAYSIA

Anna's entry:
It feels good to be back to Georgetown (Penang), Malaysia!  Having been here a number of times, we have gotten to know both locals and a few ex-pats.  We always stay in the same super low-key place run by two Chinese twin brothers, who greet their visitors shirtless (it is very hot and humid here); then we indulge ourselves in the finger-leaking tasty local foods like tandoori, dosa, paratha, tea tarik, and the staple of Penang street stalls - chandal.  So, sometimes it it feels like a mini-reunion - we walk into our favourite eateries, and local cooks shout "welcome back, it's been a couple of years, right?".  This time we have been introduced by an expat to a new Chinese vegetarian restaurant, that serves an amazing food.  Over all, if you would like to find good cheap food, (almost) never consult any guide books - walk around, see where the locals eat, and if you see a big crowd or a long queue, it is likely the one to try.
I also must add, that before arriving to Penang, we had to make a stop-over and arrange our transport in Hat Yai (Thailand).  We stayed in our usual hotel, frequented by Western backpackers (unfortunately - meaning noise and smoke), but this time we also saw two Muslim gentlemen (father and son) who we greeted in their language, you know the usual "Salam Aleikum", to which they happily answered with huge smiles on their face.  Other Westerners observing our interaction seemed a little shocked - apparently, having a couple of traditionally dressed Muslim guys made them feel slightly uncomfortable to say the least.  Come on - it is the deep South Thailand, what do you expect?  Anyway, the Muslim gentlemen were so happy to interact with us, that they insisted we would be invited for some tea and treats in their room, and one of them ran to buy us some Pepsi and Sprite so we would feel at home as well - so sweet and thoughtful.  They spoke limited English, but we understood that they were visiting from Pakistan, and for one of them (the older guy, father) it was his very first international travel trip, and that they loved Malaysia for climate, food, etc., and Thailand was nice as well.  They also cordially invited us to visit their family if some day we were ever to travel in Pakistan.  So, that was nice.
Going back to Penang...  We have been here quite a few times, so it is more difficult to find new places of some "tourist" interest, we did however.  On the way to the airport, there is a Chinese Snake Temple.  Numerous snakes are hanging around the alter, walls, door frames, candles, trees, etc.  There are several theories why the snakes seem so sub-dude and (mostly) harmless - as long as you don't touch them.  One of the theories is possibly because they feel somewhat "doped" by all the incense burning in the temple; in any case, it was unusual to be surrounded by these creatures.   In one of the temple rooms, I  was checking out the ornaments and was walking backwards (luckily slowly), and almost bumped into a tree.  Not a big deal, right?  Well, when I turned around, I realized that there was a snake hanging around on the branch, just above my head...  Oyyyyy..... 

There are quite a few pleasant places to spend your time in Penang, and after we come back from Indonesia, we will do just that.




BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA

We have arrived in Banda Aceh, the capital of Sumatra, Indonesia.  It is quite interesting to see the re-built city after the devastating tsunami which occurred on December 26, 2004.  The new paved roads, buildings, harbourfront, parks, stores bear little tragic evidence of the entirely erased city with loss of more than 165,000 lives.  However, there are several points within the city which were preserved just the way they were found after tsunami.  One of the most striking images was a large boat on top of a private residence.  The boat had been carried by the tsunami waves for miles through streets, buildings, homes before it got deposited on the roof of someone's house.  Local people we'd spoken with either were directly affected by tsunami or knew someone who was affected.  We even heard a beautiful story about a dolphin saving a life of a young boy when tsunami hit.  Post-tsunami, a large amount of donations from all over the world and numerous volunteers have completely re-built today's city. 

We spent several days in Banda Aceh exploring the city by walking.  We stayed at a hotel by the river and purchased some breakfast food from a local supermarket (food stalls are usually available in the evening time only).  At night, we would go to the night market where a group of young men cooked a delicious satay served with spicy peanut sauce, rice and soup.  Apparently, their food stall was especially known, as one of our meals was attended by a local mayor who introduced himself to us, and welcomed us to Aceh.

We gathered enough information on the logistics and public boat schedule to take us to Pulau Weh - the island we came for in Sumatra.  The plan is to spend about a month there to explore the marine life and the reefs.  Pulau Weh was also ground zero for Tsunami, so there is a special significance there as well.





We spent hours snorkeling, and indulging ourselves in making acquaintance with numerous marine species.  The first moment I stepped into the waters upon arrival, I felt like I was reading a marine biology book.  The fish variety was excellent, and despite the tsunami damage from 2004, the coral was recovering in many places.  The landscape underwater was quite unique - the intense tsunami wave from 2004 put the coral masses on their side creating an almost surreal seascape.  The sea-turtles were frequently nibbling on parts of the damaged coral taking big bites by their strong jaws.  On any given day while snorkeling we could observe numerous sightings of the following - lionfish, razorfish, cuttlefish (was quite interesting to observe their mating rituals), unicorn fish, crocodile needle fish, butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish, clownfish, parrotfish, tuna, trumpet fish, squid, octopus, lobsters, puffer fish, stone fish, large morray eels, blue-spotted stingrays, turtles, and occasional banded sea-snakes and small shrimp.  And, this is not the entire list!  I must say that we probably spent the most of time in the water of all people there, but how could you not?  One of the most interesting creatures were the octopi.  Their amazing ability to change colour and camouflage themselves to match perfectly the surrounding colours was phenomenal.  We also observed one of them hunting, and using their clever tentacles while searching around the coral.  Sometimes the octopus would be harassed by an unhappy fish, so the octopus would form a boxer fist out of it's tentacle and swing it at the fish.  It was amazing to observe the underwater kingdom, and throughout the days to be recognized by a few fish families and be accepted.  On occasion, the fish would seek our protection when the larger predator would show up all of a sudden, and then the entire family, seemed like hundreds of fish members, would slowly waltz in circles around us over and over again, providing the calmest feeling you can imagine.  What saddens me though is the fact that our marine environment faces the very real threat.  Pollution, over-fishing, greed, profit, and over-consumption unfortunately are winning.  I am quite realistic that it is likely that we see the beginning of the end, and in the next 20 years, the species described above might only be found in the books or old photos.  Think about that...

We also made a special connection with a local lady who would cook fresh communal meals every night.  Overall, Pulau Weh was an excellent value.  The ocean-front accommodation (wooden bungalow with a balcony and a hammock) and food in the village (supplemented with some treats from the "mainland") ran about $15-17 per night for two people.  Unfortunately, the island did have a resident rat, which would try to enter your bungalow no matter what obstacles you would erect.  We had a first-hand experience with the rat attempting to break-through the wooden barrier Rob fixed up, and "demanding" to enter into our bungalow for a good hour (at midnight).  It also managed to walk in circles over the vertical walls, so I used to call it a psycho-rat.  We had a kitten hanging around our balcony, but that just didn't seem like a scary deterrent...

After almost a month on the island, it was time to return back to Banda Aceh, and then back to Malaysia.  While waiting for the public ferry in Sabang, I stopped by a local eatery and had a cup of freshly brewed Sumatra coffee.  And, while sipping it, I realized how peaceful it felt to be on Pulau Weh; the island definitely made it to the top-favourite-stops list.








Back to PENANG, MALAYSIA

The return from Pulau Weh was pleasant, and it felt good to be back in a familiar city that we've gotten to know so well.  As always, we stayed at the same inexpensive Chinese hotel ran by twin "shirtless" brothers, and as always we indulged in the super-tasty Penang food.  We spent some time wondering in botanical gardens, various city neighborhoods, visited an accessible National park and famous temples, people-watched, did some practical shopping, and basically lived our normal life in a foreign city.