Perhentians and Penang

Thailand. We made it but our blog has not. Before arriving in Thailand we visited the Perhentian Islands and Georgetown on Penang Island.

The Perhentian Islands

Claire here.

The Perhentian Islands was another one of the places I had heard about and really wanted to see. White sand beaches fringed by coral reefs and aqua blue water. Slight hills covered in tropical jungle. Palau Perhentian Kecil was pretty much everything one looks for in an island paradise. A lot of lying on the beach was in order after all the jungle trekking Eli had suckered me into in the Taman Negara national park. No leeches here!

Free Wifi at our resort meant we were checking the news over breakfast each day which meant we heard the news about the Christchurch earthquake on the 22nd. It was very surreal sitting in paradise surrounded by strangers reading about the devastation. If anything going into this trip I thought it would be you guys reading about a disaster in some far flung corner of the world and worrying about us not the other way around. Home seemed very far away.

As a diversion from all that lying on the beach we took a snorkelling trip. We saw some pretty fish but overall the trip was a bit of a dud. There were no turtles to be seen and I was too chicken to look for sharks at Shark Point.

After five nights and feeling well beached we headed off to the mainland and onwards to our next destination: Georgetown.

Penang Island

Eli here.

Georgetown is the capital of Penang state and sits on the east coast of Penang Island off the northern west coast of the Malay Peninsula. We stayed two nights before heading to Hat Yai in southern Thailand.

Formally a key British trading port in the Straights of Melacca, Georgetown is a World Heritage City—and every bit the charmer, much like Melacca. Indian merchants and Chinese business people line the streets selling silk dresses and shirts, gold jewellery and watches, spices, fruit, money changing, and Bollywood music. Some taxi drivers offer helpful advice while others do not. And a Thai consulate giving away free 60 day tourist visas. It had all we needed.

Our first day started early after arriving from Kota Bharu on an overnight bus. Tired, we taxied to Chinatown and found a delightfully overheated and unventilated hostel with hot water, towels, and a smoky corridor.

After sleeping a bit we headed for the Thai consulate for a spot of visa shopping. New Zealand nationals are allowed 15 days in Thailand without a visa if arriving by land or boat and 30 days if arriving by air. Neither option gave us enough days so we needed a visa. Ordinarily a 60 day tourist visa costs US$25. But to boost tourism, the Thai government is giving away free tourist visas if sought before 31 March 2011. We were in luck!

The visa process was simple. Turn up in the morning to file the paperwork and then return in the afternoon to collect your passport with enclosed visa. This gave us about five hours to explore the city on foot.

Using the free hop-on-hop-off bus, we made it the wharf to see the old Chinese jetties and start our walking tour. Still in use today, the jetties jut out from the shoreline and support houses, shops, and storage buildings. Small boats moor and old Chinese men wheel trolleys with sacks of goods as if they were in their twenties. Historically each jetty was kept—and named—by a single family. But today life on the wharf is as much about tourism as anything else. The novelty was ours.

Next we did the colonial building circuit: the Victoria memorial clock tower, Fort Cornwallis, Town Hall, City Hall, the Supreme Court, St George’s church, Penang museum, Cathedral of the Assumption, and Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. Hot and sweaty, we were ready for a cool drink before heading back to the Thai consulate. Dinner was curry and chapatti in Little India.

Our second day was more adventurous. We bussed out of Georgetown to a tropical fruit farm laden with over 200 varieties of fruit from mangoes and dragon fruit to macadamias and lycees. Set on the side of a hill, the farm exports fruit products and offers tours—which we accepted.

Our tour group consisted of three Arab couples, two Chinese girls, us kiwis and an animated Chinese guide who describe the intricate health benefits of each fruit using both Arabic and English. When our guide did converse in Chinese it was only to yell at the Chinese girls who failed to stop picking fruit.

The tour ended with an all you can eat fruit buffet. Fresh, ripe, and varied, the fruit hit the spot; it only took four rounds at the buffet before I was full—which even surprised me.

Miscalculated the bus timetable for our return trip we did. Waiting two hours for the next bus, Claire read while I threw stones at plants and power poles. At one stage I even tried hitching, but was thrown aback when an apparent ride wanted to charge us more than a taxi.

Then, out of the blue, a nice Australian couple from Brisbane stoped to pick us up; I didn’t even have my thumb out! The gentleman was ex Australian military and had been posted to and then left Penang Island over 20 years ago. They returned for a holiday before heading to Thailand for their son’s wedding. We were grateful for the ride and enjoyed learning about how the island had changed over the 20 years.

That night we ate Indian, again, before our trip into Thailand the next day by ferry to Butterworth and then minivan to Hat Yai.

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Well, that brings us to Thailand. Our next post will explore Hat Yai and Ko Lipe.

Love to all,

xxxx