K had spent two years living in Penang, Malaysia while his father was serving in the Royal Australian Air Force. He had always wanted to go back to revisit his memories and places of his childhood so we decided we would use this holiday to reminisce and a chance for K to share some of his history with Ka.
Compared to Europe it was a nice quick 8 hour flight to Malaysia. We spent the first 3 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city.
Kuala Lumpur
Our hotel in Kuala Lumpur - the Melia - in the modern part of town and the new monorail system which stopped right outside our hotel door.
The Petronas Twin Towers, for a while the tallest building in the world and a striking landmark of KL.
The skybridge connecting the two Petronas Towers 170 metres above street level. You have to wait for ages to line up for tickets to travel up to the top, but it is well worth the wait. The view is spectacular and the story about how the towers were built is fascinating.
Petaling Street - the famous market street of KL. You can buy anything here from fake name brand shoes, clothes, DVDs, CDs and 'something special for you and your lady tonight sir!'- don't know how we would get that back through Australian customs.
The colonial part of town and the fountain in front of Malaysia's Supreme Court building.
Kuala Lumpur was a beautiful city although the weather was extremely humid and hot. We were constantly going from shop to shop while on our walking tours to fill up on bottled water to avoid becoming dehydrated.
After 3 days of sightseeing we took a plane for an hour flight to the island of Penang and catch up where K used to live.
Flying to Penang and looking down at the new road bridge which connects Penang to the mainland.
Penang
Where we stayed on Penang - Shangri-La's Golden Sands Resort at Batu Feringgi.
Lounging around the pool, all you have to do is raise the flag to get service!
The northern beach of Penang which backed right up to our resort.
Travelling around Georgetown, the capital of Penang, by traditional rickshaw transport.
The temples of Penang
Penang is a fine example of religious diversity and how different religions can get along. On the one street you can find a Mosque, a Hindu temple and a Buddist temple all within seeing distance of each other yet happily co-existing.
The Kek Lok Si temple just near Penang Hill. This is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia.
The Temple of ten thousand Buddhas one part of the Kek Lok Si complex..
The Hainan Temple in Georgetown's China Town.
The 33m long reclining Buddha at the Temple of the Reclining Buddah (What else would it be called!?)
The lavishly decorated Hindu temple on the top of Penang Hill.
K on his old street from his RAAF days and outside his house of two years.
As Penang was so small we hired a car and driver and went for a round island tour making stops at some interesting places such as the Batik factory (where Ka had to buy something just for the sake of it) and eating fresh mango at Tropical Fruit Farm.
Sunset on the beach outside our resort.
The night markets on Jalan Batu Feringgi. They stretch for a couple of kilometres and are on each night. You can buy many things but we just stocked up on the locally copied DVD's.
The local food court where you can sample the local dishes for a tenth of the price they charge in the hotels - and it is safe to eat. The same goes for the beer, 14 bucks for a glass at the resort as apposed to 7 bucks for a nice big bottle in the markets. They might have been a little off though as after 12 I was feeling a bit sick!
Catching our plane at KL airport for our flight back to OZ.
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