Monday 21 October 2013

This tour is about to get underway. Tomorrow’s departure from Don Meuang Airport (FD3104) is at 1010 hours arriving in Hat Yai at 1125 hours. There then follows at trip across the border at Sadao with options by van or bus. Hopefully arrival in Penang will be early evening where accommodation is already booked. Apart from that there is no fixed itinerary except that the stay in Malaysia has to be for a minimum of 5 days to comply with Thai visa restrictions. Most likely the stay will be for 1 week taking in Langkawi Island as I move closer back to Thailand. The second week will be spent in Satun and Trang Provinces with a return from Trang Airport on 4 November.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Heading for Don Meuang……….Now three weeks into my stay in the Far East I’m about to depart for the main 2 week tour to Northwest Malaysia and South Thailand. I’m awake before 6am and coffee and croissant will suffice this morning as I prepare for departure. At 7.15am I’m ready and contact the call centre for a taxi which turns out to be a good option as a route is found around the north of Don Meuang Airport avoiding congestion along Ramitra Road. By 8.30am I’m in the airport. The check-in is effortless as with only hand luggage I’m able to avoid the bag drop and use the automated check-in service. As I head for the gate I’m thankful for good weather which is a big improvement on last week when I cancelled some trips. Don Meuang, of course, used to be the main international airport before Suvarnabhumi opened but even so now still handles international flights to destinations within the region attracting carriers such as Air Asia and Nok Air. In fact it has plans to expand and certainly competitive for Bangkok’s 2nd airport offering a most comfortable experience. So far so good.
Air Asia……….Air Asia’s flight FD3104 gets underway about 15 minutes late and makes its way out across the Gulf of Thailand and down the peninsula. There is partial cloud but there is enough visibility to observe the coastline and the island of Koh Samui and even as far as the Andaman coastline on the opposite side of the peninsula. In no time the airbus A320-200 is making its decent towards Hat Yai International Airport arriving just 10 minutes late.
On to Hat Yai……..I’m out of the airport in no time and confronted by the inevitable taxi drivers looking for business yet I already know that the songtheaw pick-up is the best option. These are available on the main road outside the airport reached by a short walk across the car park. I’m charged 30 baht (I’m sure the local rate is 20 baht) but well happy with this. It’s 12 kilometres at least into the city. On the way the songtheaw passes the bus station but on this occasion I don’t need a bus. Despite my dislike of minivans, I know that these will take me right into Penang city dropping me off at my designated hotel. It’s just a question of finding one. I know that the ticket office is near the train station and as my transport enters the inner city of Hat Yai it crosses the railway line with the station to the right. The songtheaw, however, bares to the left and terminates. Here there is no obvious transport other that motorbike taxis but I’m told to head off down the street opposite. Sure enough after a 10 minute walk I see the train station to my right. The minivan must be near and so it is, opposite the Aloha Hotel. By now it’s after 12.30pm and it seems I’ve just missed a departure. The next one won’t be till 3pm. This will put me in Penang quite late especially considering Malaysian time is 1 hour ahead. But there is a silver lining. At least I have a target to aim at, plenty of time for lunch and, totally unexpectedly, time to call at the railway station which turns out to be reasonably productive. I head back to the ticket office to wait for the van.
Departure for Penang……….I give my destination to the office clerk who assures me that the driver knows his way around Penang. Just a little after 3pm the van arrives. I am presently surprised that this version will accommodate just 11 passengers (10 will actually travel) which is much less than the 15 on most services in Thailand. Extra space is provided for luggage and there is more leg room. Soon after departure for the border I get some sleep. The border post at Sadao is not new to me but the last time I made a crossing here was 14 years ago. The formalities on the Thai side are normal; giving in the departure card but I am told that the Malaysian border controls include capturing biometric information. Well, that facility does exist apparently but is not in use on this occasion. Baggage must be checked through a scanner but overall the formalities are straightforward.
The minivan is soon on its way as I notice a sign ‘Welcome to Malaysia’ but nobody told the weather which looks threatening. It has been cloudy since leaving Hat Yai but now it started to spot with rain. Within 15 minutes a tropical storm was raging. As the van heads south, low lying land is submerged in water for miles on end. Nevertheless progress is good due to a well maintained dual carriageway financed by tolls. The rain eases and then stops. As signs to Georgetown appear, the roads are now dry and I am able to count down the kilometres. Dusk has fallen accelerated by the bad weather but as I pick up signs to the Butterworth turn I know we are close. Penang Island is reached by a long road bridge and crossing here at night reveals the spectacular Georgetown skyline lit up in the gloom. The journey is nearly at an end but first there are the busy streets of Georgetown to negotiate and passengers to drop off. I will get a nighttime tour of the city as I wait my turn but not for the first time on a tour I find myself at the end of the queue.
Grand Inn Hotel……….As the van heads into Jalan MacAlister there is some confusion as I arrive opposite the Grand Inn. For some reason I wrote down ‘Grand Hotel’ and to confuse matters they have another sign which reads Grand Inn Hotel but thankfully this is the right place. It’s been a long day and it’s now about 8.30pm local time. The room is comfortable enough but without a fridge. Complimentary tea and coffee is available. They supply a flask to obtain hot water from a dispenser in the corridor. Still it’s at the top of my limit for what I care to pay on tour. There is another issue. Glancing around I appear to be a way out of city centre bringing back memories of pre-booked accommodation in Cambodia earlier in the year. The lobby staff tell me it’s a 15 minute walk to the nearest food mall but the evening is cool and I’m eager to try the local cuisine which has a good reputation.
Food for thought……….It doesn’t seem too far and I find myself at Sin Kim Sun Coffee Centre and head inside where an interesting array of food vendors keen to do business compete surrounding a central seating area. This is typical Malay. It offers the customer a wide choice and quite frankly the food freshly cooked for you heaving with spices in blazing hot pans is a wonder in itself: The taste simply magical. Just as magical is the price. This really balances out my budget for the day. One thing I need to mention is that this outlet sells halal food. It means that there is no pork on the menu standard to Muslim culture. It is also means no alcohol but they don’t object to non Muslims participating. However conscious of this I find competition next door: This time from the Chinese. They are happy to sell a number of brands, the two most familiar in Europe are Carlsberg and surprisingly Guinness. The later is tempting but pricy at 15 ringgit for a large bottle (ice cold of course). A number of customers have selected the half pint and it’s not until I read the label that I understand why! 6.8%, now that’s what I call a Guinness. Well the fact that I’m publishing this proves I made it back OK.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Chasing wild geese……….I wake up to a hot coffee and snack left over from yesterday but there is just one thing on my mind. I am aware that I have only booked for one night at Grand Inn and have to secure another night, at least, here. Rather than extend this booking I decide to check out alternatives: Something cheaper or closer to the city perhaps. This notion will lead me on a wild goose chase and practically waste a morning. The only options I find are either more expensive or fully booked. I don’t need the Ritz but neither do I need some backpacker’s room with shared facilities. I make my way sheepishly back to Grand Inn having covered a couple of miles on foot. At Grand Inn the room is available but it will cost me more. Why? It’s because I get a discount through booking online. Ok I say. So I will sign in online and get the discount. Yes that’s acceptable they say, so I logon. Problem is the system says the hotel is fully booked. Unable to proceed further I pay the extra. OK it’s only 5 Ringgit. While writing up these notes I do get one bit of good news off the TV. Chelsea have just stuffed Shalke 04 so that’s a real lift!
Street Art……….It’s time really to see what Penang has to offer so I hop on a city bus to see where it takes me. The inbound bus 101, I know, heads for the Jetty but when it arrives it’s packed full. The only consolation is that it’s very small change. Wishing only to have lunch first I get off in Kontar. I had walked it in the morning. Now in a side street I find a Thai style restaurant but still struggle with the names of dishes in the local language. Fortunately they almost always taste wonderful. From here I head further into the city into Chinatown finding myself in Jalan Penang. Now, without realising it, I stumble across Georgetown’s ‘street art’ which has popped up all over the city since the Georgetown Festival of 2012. They consist of unique wrought-iron caricatures with anecdotal descriptions of the streets that they adorn. There is even a map listing 52 sites. How many will you find? A kind lady suggests I use the shuttle bus which does a circuit around the city for free. Good advice! It helps me find my way to the Esplanade.
Past conflicts..........From the bus stop outside St Georges Church it’s just 5 minute walk. Here you get a good view across the bay to the mainland and this area is certainly not without historical significance. I come here principally to get a timeline on the history of the island and there is no better place to start from than Fort Conwallis the landing point for the island’s founder, Francis Light but before that there are other clues to the island’s past. To the left near the waterfront is the old City Hall, now under restoration. Then on the waterfront are several reminders of recent 20th century conflict. A 1914-1918 war memorial stands proudly on a pedestal.Curiously it is surrounded by an iron rail and locked: Protecting it from what, I ask? Beside it is a Malaysian war veterans’ association memorial stone reminding us that conflict continued here well into the second half of the century. Along the waterfront to the left is another of Penang’s food courts but before that is a simple iron post marked ‘German Heritage Trail’. An information board explains the significance of this site at a pointer to in incident which took place at the start of WW1 when the German cruiser SMS Emden was in dock after a raid on Penang. This is covered in more detail later. Finally along the waterfront to the right of the esplanade is Fort Cornwallis itself. It is well worth a visit for a minimal entrance fee and I spent a good hour here. The significance of this location and the first landing here of Francis Light in 1786 has to be given a chapter of its own.
More lost time……….It’s getting late in the afternoon and I need to head back. There is a bus terminal near the Jetty where the service 101 terminates. It’s another walk although I could have waited for the shuttle bus. I instinctively enquire about my return to Grand Inn but the driver is hesitant about me using this service. He’s right to be. Grand Inn is on a one-way street which is fine for inbound traffic. Outbound is a different matter. He drops me off along a parallel road but quite honestly I missed several opportunities to get off the bus and save time. The extra walk was not what I wanted after my morning’s excursion and I still need to go out again for dinner.
Hong Kong Tea Garden……….As mentioned the previous evening I had a Guinness in a Chinese food court. This evening is a repeat except that I took my evening meal here too; fish sweet and sour. I’d done plenty of walking today. But to sum up I managed to keep well within my budget by eating local food and using local transport and followed an important heritage trail as well.

Thursday 24 October 2013

More questions, more choices.......... Today should be easier as I get more familiar with how things work here. Importantly I need to tick a few boxes to ensure I’ve done justice to this visit to Penang. My guide book lists a number of ‘must see’ venues but it’s unlikely I’ll get top score. There isn’t going to be an early start today either. I’ve overslept due to the busy day yesterday and no doubt still affected by the lost hour. In addition my attention concentrates on plans for tomorrow when I intend to travel to Langkawi. The hotel has a booking service but this only includes the speed-boat option island to island. I want to evaluate the option to return to the mainland, travel further up the coast and take a much shorter ferry crossing. It’s ticking on into late morning and I jump onto the 101 bus heading for Komtar bus station. Not surprisingly I find myself at the jetty so have to jump onto the shuttle bus to take me to Komtar. Here I make enquiries regarding road transport to the mainland. I get a surprise! There isn’t any despite a map shower a 704 service. It doesn’t take too much reasoning to make one wonder why on earth there is an extensive road bridge connecting Penang to the mainland but it does explain why most city buses terminate at the jetty. So to reach Butterworth and national transport links it is necessary to use the island ferry. From Butterworth there is still as least two further links before reaching the ferry port on the shorter route at Kuala Kedar or Kuala Peris. This option is starting to get complicated with no firm timetable. I’m warming to the ‘bird in the hand’ option and take the speed-boat directly from Penang. I figure that arriving at Langkawi Island well before lunch, the second of only two crossings/day departing at 8.30am, will provide extra options when looking for accommodation. While I mull all this over I consume an Indian curry near the bus station before heading back looking for the 204 bus that will set me up for the afternoon tour.
Penang Hill……….Penang Hill is the terminus for the 204. At the bus station a service bus is waiting and within minutes it departs. This will be my first excursion outside of Georgetown. Leaving the city, the hills beyond soon come into view as the bus makes its way picking up passengers on the way to Air Itam and Penang Hill beyond. It soon arrives at the base of the hill and the reason for this location appearing in the guide is the presence of the funicular railway which makes its way to the summit apparently offering spectacular views of the city. I say ‘apparently’ because I do not make the ascent. I’m ushered to the ticket office as if it’s a foregone conclusion that I wish to make the ascent but at 30 Ringgit I’m totally put off. I paid little more to make it here from Hat Yai and with the likelihood of taking the speedboat to Langkawi tomorrow this would put me well over budget. Labouring the point it cost just 2 Ringgit for entry to Fort Cornwallis yesterday which was of far more interest to me. However the afternoon won’t be wasted. Although I can wait for the bus I decide to walk back towards Air Itam.
Memorial to the Penang Chinese Transportation Volunteers.......The road runs for half a mile down to the main road where at the junction is a memorial to the Penang Chinese Transportation Volunteers and the Chinese war dead from the Sino-Japanese War. A 49-foot obelisk, a sculpture themed ‘Dauntless Warriors’ and a 60-foot long wall relief depicting the transportation volunteers moving the vehicles on the perilous Burma-China Road gives a reminder of the role the Chinese of Penang played in the conflict. There is no record of this in my guide but I am compelled to record it is a reminder of a tragic episode in history that the West knew little or cared little about at the time. Thankfully the authorities have provided an inscription in English without which it could not have been recorded here. Rather than produce a poor summary, I have reproduced it in full. Click here. As war memorials go, this one is impressive given the relatively small community it involves and should one dare to amplify this example onto a National level then the catastrophe is really beyond comprehension. I continue right looking down towards Air Itam, where beyond on the hillside is the most beautiful Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia.
Kek Lok Si Temple……….It’s a 15 minute walk to the base of the temple at Air Itam where passageway ascends to the base of the temple itself lined with souvenir stalls. This temple is beautifully sculptured, the main features being the seven-storey pagoda and bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin). I have to admit the views from Kek Lok Si Temple back towards Georgetown go some way to compensate for the lost opportunity at Penang Hill. By now most of the afternoon has passed by and it’s time to head back to Georgetown. I locate the bus stop in Air Itam and after a while a 203 service arrives which terminates at the jetty. I manage to get some advice. A local man also points out that the funicular is new. I still think it’s too expensive.
A taste of India..........The 203 duly arrives at the jetty in Georgetown and here my attention turns back to my plans for tomorrow. I head up into Jalan Chulia where I spotted a ticket agent. The ticket to Langkawi seems to have a fixed price. I make a booking as I’m running out of time then head further up into the city in search of a meal. Here I come across Little India, definitely on the tourist trail, which consists of a few streets totally dedicated to supplying Indian wares and food: I can’t resist the chicken tandoori. At least I’ve ticked another of the boxes as I head on up into Chinatown. As I discovered yesterday there is no easy route back to Grand Inn because of the one-way system and as I find my way back to Komtar I realize I’m about 20 minutes away by foot. OK here we go again. Incredibly I make it all the way back to Grand Inn on foot. It remains only to ask for a 6am call and that will be it. My stay in Penang is nearly over. I will sum up my stay at Grand Inn at some stage but I’m certainly not going to miss it as late arrivals at the hotel interrupt a restless night.