Originally, we’d wanted to go to Malaysia, but didn’t think we’d have time. So when booking our flight out of Thailand, we were pleased to find that tickets to Penang (an island on the Northwest corner of the country, bordering Thailand) were cheaper than flying directly to Singapore. So, here we are! And so far, we are very pleased with this turn of events.

Our flight out of Thailand was graciously unremarkable. We arrived in Penang earlier than most of our flights (11AM) and were whisked from the airport by our first female Uber driver, listening to a Malaysian radio station based out of Malacca (like Milaca!) in southern Malaysia.

Our first impressions of this place so far: 1) everyone seems to speak remarkably good English 2) it’s a very multicultural place with a larger Muslim population than we’ve seen to date 3) its beautiful 4) it’s hot and humid 5) it’s like a mashup of Hoi An (UNESCO world heritage site / historic) and Los Angeles (metropolitan, business-oriented). Granted, we’ve only been in a small area thus far.

We are staying at a place called “Rope Walk Guesthouse” – initially I’d thought perhaps there was some gimmicky rope bridge within the facility, but apparently this was a part of the city that once was home to places that made rope. So, there you go.

I am a little bit giddy at the amount of options of things to do here. Our guesthouse provided us with a map that not only helps orient us to the city, but also lays out it’s rich public art scene. Apparently, when they designated this area (Georgetown) a UNESCO site, the city was challenged with how to tell the story of the history of this place. It was decided to do it through art and they commissioned a number of cartoonists to create metal sculptures on different walls around the city telling the story (often in a humorous way) of different neighborhoods and streets (this is how I found out about “Rope Walk”). They also have a bunch of larger than life murals that I hope to visit too.

After orienting ourselves a bit on the map, we set off to explore the street art and grab some lunch. Ray’d found a place he wanted to try online, but being unable to locate it, we stopped instead at a storefront where a bunch of locals were seated. They had a plethora of green, red, and brown vats of meats and sauces out front and a menu (not in English) on the wall. Ray asked them to direct us and they graciously did so, telling us they’d give us a plate of rice and we could load it up with scoops of the different curries and meats. The only one we were clued into was an delicious spiced beef called Rendang that, according to the restaurateur, is famous in Pedang, Indonesia. We also had three other fabulous items, but I’m not sure what they were! All for a whopping $6 for both of us.

While I’d wanted to explore the street art some more, I was simply overheated, so we retreated to our air conditioned room (it seems in Penang, folks mix AC and open windows much more than at home – our room doesn’t have glass in the window, just shutters). During our break, it started to rain and I couldn’t resist taking a nap. I woke up to a heavy downpour which soon cleared up.

By this time it was dark, so we decided to go get some dinner and entertainment (Ray did a bunch of research while I napped). We went to a place called The Canteen which has nightly live music and cheap(ish) food. Drinking is generally looked down on in Malaysia, so the drinks cost more than the food. The musician this evening was a talented young local guy (I assume) who played acoustic covers. He accepted requests and we were surprised to find he didn’t know any of the eight or so options we suggested, his wheelhouse seeming to reside in 2000’s pop. Regardless, we enjoyed our sweet potato fries and beers in the company of Australians, locals, and others.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow as we are spoiled for choice here, even if the weather doesn’t shape up!