- David Lazarus, 1986

From the Cameron Highlands we traveled North to Penang Island and the city of Georgetown. Established in 1786 by Sir Francis Light,  Georgetown is Malaysia's oldest colonial city and was once a major stopover for Brits plying the profitable China trade. At the time, Penang was particularly attractive because it was a duty-free port.  Today,  like the rest of Malaysia, the city is an ethnic mix of Malays, Chinese, and Indians and a popular stop over for backpackers despite the fact that the duty free days are long over. 

Penang is reached either by ferry of a long drive over an 8 kilometer causeway.  The bridge itself is pretty amazing and we figure it must be one of the longest that either of us has ever crossed. You may think it's funny that we mention the bridge as one of the unique attractions of this place, but it seemed that much of what we saw while in Penang was something we had experienced somewhere else in Malaysia or wasn't particularly noteworthy. There were the china town areas, the muslim areas, and the "Little India" -- all of which were colorful and wonderful to walk though, but nothing unlike what we saw in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Watching worshipers in the colorful hindu and chinese temples was still fascinating  and we did  admire the absolutely gigantic joss sticks that were being offered.

We had hoped to visit Penang Hill, but it was closed due to the rain and a damage cable for the funicular railway and we were denied entry to Fort Cornwallis because we had incorrect change. So, when the Penang museum actually let us in... we were relieved that it wasn't just our appearance/smell or something equally offensive about us that was preventing us from getting around.  And, as it turned out, the museum was well worth the 1 ringet ( about 25 cents US) entry fee. It highlights the history of the island and those who have lived there - taking into account the different cultures and how they have created an amazing tapestry of different languages, beliefs, and traditions into one successful and multicultural community.

As we prepare to leave Malaysia for Thailand, the major thing that stands out for us about this fascinating country is that although there is quite a significant amount of diversity they have somehow managed to make it work. This is, of course, just our observation traveling through over the course of 2 weeks... and certainly there are problems not easily seen on the surface but given what we saw we were impressed.

From here we will travel north to the town of Krabi in Thailand by minibus. In total, the trip is supposed to take around 8 hours.