December 23, day before christmas

Wakes up after having slept very badly at 7am and still has pain throughout the body. Today it is Christmas Eve and I am still sick and it does not feel good.
I stepped down to the reception to get some breakfast and then I went to Komtar’s shopping center. Previously seen they have a pharmacy there. Must find painkillers.
Many shops in the shopping center are closed but fortunately not the pharmacy,  I find fever pills and painkillers.

Christmas EveToday I wake up much better, my pills seems to be working,  and after breakfast I decide to search for a restaurant serving some christmas  eve dinner.

Few blocks from my hotel I found a restaurant corresponding to my wish so I stepped in and booked a table for the evening.

My christmas eve restaurant

Shortly after 7pm I enter the restaurant, already quite a lot of people and the staff are busy serving everyone.
A young girl from the staff hands me the menu, and it looks like this.

The starter was salmon, followed by a buffet main course with chicken, beef, fish, and roasted potatoes.
For dessert, there was some sort of ice cream with a creamy filling over a soft brown cake served in a glass cup

Probably not a menu that most Swedes would recognize, but I’m in Malaysia now, so I have to adapt to where I am.

The restaurant also had live music performed by two sisters, the “First Sisters,” who played a mix of classical and modern music on the violin and banjo.

The Christmas dinner was really “delicious,” though it probably would have tasted even better if I had been fully healthy.

Around 10:30 PM, I headed back to the hotel, crawled into bed, and tucked myself under the thin brown blanket.

See Yah Later
// P-G, The Global Cyclist

Five days to Christmans eve and I still covered by Dengue fever but it feels like it’s about to let go so if I keep calm, I’ll HOPFULLY be fine SOON…!

In the afternoon I decided to head to Komtar shopping center where the Komtar Tower is also located. It’s 15 minutes walk from my hotel residence. Komtar Tower, the sixth tallest building in Malaysia, 232 m.

Komtar Tower, the tallest building in Penang.

This part of George Town is a huge shoppingcentra, Prangin Mall and popular by tourist. Lots of small shops, cafe´s, bar and restaurants. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, probably it doesn’t exist

December 4

On the morning of December 4th, I check out from the Night Hotel , but I told  them I´ll return within a few days and  cycle northwest on the island. At the northern tip of the island, in the town of Teluk Bahang, lies the gateway to Penang National Park.

It’s a rainforest area with many lovely, serene coves, and the beach I plan to visit and camp at is called Monkey Beach. As the name suggests, it’s also a hangout spot for monkeys, specifically macaques.

I pack my bike with the essentials, leave a few kilos of gear behind at my hotel, and then pedal down towards the harbor. From there, it’s just a matter of following the coastline northward.

After cycling a few kilometers, I find myself back in the more exclusive parts of George Town, with high-rises, skyscrapers, and luxurious apartments overlooking the Strait of Malacca. Naturally, there are exclusive shops, expensive hotels, and restaurants here. Many of the tourists arriving on the large cruise ships that anchor in George Town come to this area. Not really my scene, given my budget.

The road winds pleasantly, perfect for cycling, and the sea is just a stone’s throw to my right. I could probably stop at any cove along the way and simply enjoy the view. There are a few bathers around, but not many.

Winding road and nice beaches

Jelutong, Pina, Pulau Pinang, and Batu Ferringhi are just some of the resort areas along the way. The hotels are countless, as are the homestays and guesthouses. This area is also popular among foreigners who invest in summer homes and apartments.

The local population here lives off tourists and beachgoers; there isn’t much in the way of manufacturing.

Eventually, I arrive at Teluk Bahang, the town that hosts the national park and its rainforest area. It’s also a established  fishing village.

Marine harbor for fishing and tourist boats

Entrance to Teluk Bahang Forest Reserve, recognised by UNESCO.

Before you can enter the national park, you must register and you do this in a Visitor Center. They want to know their name, nationality, passport number, mobile phone number, which you can enter in a ledger.

The official says that the hiking trail to Monekey Beach is closed due to landslides so that I have to take a boat from a nearby beach after about halfway the way.

Of course, I am not allowed to bring the bike and it has actually not been practically possible even though the trail is quite landscaped. I have to lock the bike inside some gates and inside an area that belongs to the national park’s administrative part.

I bring a backpack with food and liquid, camera, a bag with tent and equipment and then I start hiking into the rainforest. The first half a km of the trail was paved, then some parts with stone slabs, wooden and steel footbridges, but mostly trodden path.

Mostley trodden trail,. lianas and slippery roots

After hour and a half I reached the beach the officer told me to wait by. Above the beach several buildnings and they belongs to a costal and marine center, CEMACS

This beach and the pier the park official told me to wait by

Center for Marine and Costal Service studies, CEMACS

While waiting for the boat I sat down outside on a bench at a long boat jetty or pier, took out some soda and a sandwich and continued waiting.

At this jetty I ate some sandwich and drank soda while waiting for the boat.

The beach around is also a pleasure, which a lonely couple also thinks because they lie down and just relax.

I give up on the boat and continue to walk first along the beach and then into the rainforest again. It gets denser and denser and I almost have to crawl down on my knees to get under all the fallen trees and branches.

Now I also see that there are red-and-white seat bands that tell me that the path is closed. Mostly the bands are on the ground so there are probably many more than me who have passed on foot, the warning of more landslides is believed.

Half way rest

Thousand of ants narching in rows

After  my short rest I continue my hiking and eventually I come to a sign that told me I’m on the right track and now only have one km left to my goal, Monkey Bech.

My goal for this day, Moneky Beach or Teluk Duyung

Just before half past two I come out through reindeer forest and see the bay. A long beach with chalky white sand, turquoise sea and green forest around. Already 50-75 people has taken possession of the beach, some of them sunbathe, others bathe in the sea and few sit at one of the small bars under the shadows of the trees. They have some funny names, Lazy Pirates and Lazy Boys but none of them was exclusive.

I put my stuff on a free table and sit down, I order a beer at the Lazy Boys bar and lie down on a recliner and enjoy, just check out the surroundnings. After a little while I feelt like I’m ”fading away”
Why the bay is called Monkey Beach I soon became aware, several monkeys were jumping around me and above me in the trees.  Signs warn me to keep my things within sight or they will be stolen by the monkeys, so it wasen´t hard to guess why the beach eas named Monkey Beach!

There were a number of them running around the tables and bars.

After I drunk my beer I head down to the beach and into a warm and salty ocean, so loveeeeeeeeely. 

The very beach

Later I found a place to pitch up my tent., 25 meters from the shore and on a small rise of sand. I know from experience that the rain almost always starts in the afternoons, so it was a good idea for that now.

Just behind my tent site was another small bar, they call me to join them. A couple from Hungary have already joined, and they are not sober, neither is the bar owner, but friendly

In the trees around his makeshift bar and home hang a bunch of colored plastic tags with names and info on them and the bar owner also wants me to write one, which I did.
Notice tree

.Just before 6 pm the sky turned into a dark grey colour shape and all beachguests preparing for heavy downpour. I´ve already done that.

Before rain or..?

Behind my tent a huge, abandoned bungalow, maybe some recident for former landowner?y

When the darks falls I already has crawled into my tent and prepareed for the night’s sleep. So far, no rain has come. I’m listening to some SR radio  podds that I downloaded because there isn’t a single WiFi connection here.

I wake up a few times during late evening and at midnight I need to go out to pee. I open the tent canvas and think it looks a little weird but I don’t have any glasses on so I don’t know what it is. Once they are on my nose, I see to my horror that the waterline is only two, three dm from the tent canvas and the waves seems to get bigger and bigger. It’s the tide, and it’s rising fast

It is a matter of quickly taking everything out loose and carrying it away to the small cabins that are available and putting them on one of the tables. Then back and pick up all the tent pegs and now I’m happy that I have a self–standing dome tent.

Carry the tent away towards the tables but first have to pass a small stream, when I arrived in the afternoon it was barely a dm deep, now it gets water up to the hip. I hold the tent hard and high because I have no desire to get water into the tent and I also succeed. 30 minutes later I’m lying dry in the tent and falls asleep quickly.

Tomorrow I turn back to Teluk Bahang and a short cyclingtour back to George Town

See Yeah Later
// P-G, The Global Cyclist 1719

Today I will visit Penang Hill, or The Habitat, 833 m.a.s.l. Looking forward to it.

I ate my my breakfast then I step 500 meters down to the harbor and busterminal. Bus 204 will take me to the funicukar entrance.

After 45 minutes bus ride through small villages and alleys it stops just outside the entrance.

The large entrance hall is jam-packed with people and I had to wait 45 minutes in a

in a winding line before I could buy my ticket.

The cashier asked me…
– Fast or Normal lane?
– ???. I replied normal lane
– 30 Ringgit

more then hour and a half waiting before I sat down in the cabin

On my ticket is a batch number, No. 17. Above the gate to the cable car, a digital sign shows which batch number is allowed to pass through the gate.
After my batch number shows 13.03, so I have about 30 minutes to buy coffee or a soft drink.

Just before 1pm I stand in line again, waiting, waiting but nothing happens. It is 14:00 before we are let through the gate to the cable car.

Here a new queue awaits and a 20-minute wait, then another queue before we get to sit in the funicular’s cabin or carriage.

Now I understand what was meant by ”Fast and Normal”
”Through Fast Lane, visitors are able to opt for a shorter waiting time and avoid the long queues”

Funicualr up to The Habitat.

The track up Up to to Penag Hill is about 2 km and max steepness 52,9 %. I promise you it was steep and it took about 10 minutes.

Signs all over tells you what You can expect to find and how to navigate around. Up here also shops selling souvenirs, cafe, coffee bars and it’s very expensive.

Of course, I want to go to the rainforest part that they call The Habitat and to Curtis Crest, a 360 degree and 100 m long oval bridge made of metal that is above the treetops.
They are located about 1 km away from the entrance to the Penang Hill summit itself and you can travel with a jeep or TukTuk like vehicle.

The jeep stopped short before The Habit cafe and shop. Here you need to buy a ticket if you want to visit the rainforest area. In the café I  bought a Tiger beer which I thought I deserved after all this waiting in line. Double price then down town.

The reinforest park trail is approximately 1.6 km long and most of ther tracks are paved with non-slip  concrete. Also few bridges, 30-40 meters above the ground, one of the is Langur Way Canopy Walk.

Langur Way Canopy Walk ibridge s a 230 metre double span ribbon canopy bridge. It enables visitors
to close to the canopy suspended more then 40 metres above the forest reserve

The Habitat offers a 1.6 km long Nature Trail for visitors to explore the rainforest park. It´s well maintained and secure.

Curtis Crest, The Treetop Walk is the highest 360-degree viewing platform in PenangThe Treetop Walk is the highest 360-degree viewing platform in Penang. It provides visitors a spectacular view of the island, and on clear days, Langkawi can also be seen in the distance.
Walk around the platform and marvel at the beauty of nature before you. You get there via a number of stairs and I counted the steps to 120. It’s called the TreeTop Walk at Curtis Crest

The weather today was cloudy so it was’nt possible to see isle Langkawi from here. After my visit here I then took the steps down towards the paths and The Habitat Cafe and find some fancy orchids after the hike. That I’m in a rainforest is not hard to see.

Green, green and denst rainforest

In the park lots of flowers and orchids.Best time for this is beterrn april and may

Sound of monkeys and other mammals could be heard but not seen. They were too shy for that.

Panorama view over George Town from Penag Hill

I get back to the Café and take a look at the inflated prices of everything before I take a jeep back towards The Habitat entrance area and the railway down.

The bars up here should be avoided because the prices are not cheap compared to the bars down town. When I arrive at the funicular railway I got a minor shock

If the queue down there was long, this one even worse. 100 meters long and two may be three queues and I have a only ”normal” ticket so it will probably be to stand at least two hours.
At the ticket counter at the very front, I tell a lie about my plane leaving at 8 o’clock, so I need to go first.

The ticket seller believes my ”emergency lie” and responds by saying..

 – an upgrade ticket to ”Fast” cost 20 and you pay down below
 – OK!
 – Please give me your card, she says in a firm voice through the door

I hand over the card and get a ticket that says ”upgrade” and which must be shown to the ticket inspector down there.

I still have to stand in line for about 45 minutes before I can board and sit at the front for the sake of the view. It is without a doubt steep. Less than a year ago, this area was hit by a tropical storm and tore away most of it, but you don’t see much of that today.

When I come down, you have to pass about the same gates as when entering the subways in Stockholm and put the card down in a legible slot for that gate to open. A
An inspector sees that I try to put the receipt with the barcode instead and asks me to stand aside. ^^

A chromed gate is right in front of me and not locked so I just turn the handle down and walk out towards the exit and the Rapid Panang bus. 20

I have now saved Ringgit in this dishonest and sneaky way, but I did not want to stand and wait until everyone had passed.

Before I’m back at the hostel, I buy Evening Dinner in another fast food restaurant and take it with me

See Yeah Later
// P–G The Global Cyclist

Two nights and days I’ve been walking around in my neighborhood. My experience George Town so far as cozy and idyllic with a mix of liveliness, especially in the evenings it is lively without being cantankerous. Down here, too, they are preparing for Christmas. Christmas ornaments are often seen, as are Christmas trees. George town is  a mix of SouthEast Asia, India and China.

While I walking about I popped in to a tourist agency to ask for and about  Penag Hill and how to get there. Earlier I’ve seen some brochure and advertising for the place.

– Take Bus 204 from ferryboat pier

 – Departure every 20 minutes and the coast is 2 Ringgit.

 – The bus stops close to the entrance to funicular railway up to Penang Hill

I also get a brochure, The Habitat. that dscibes me what they offer me up there. Then back up town with small steps.

One thing I have thought about when I have been in these southeastern countries and that is that you almost never see that anything is handicap adapted – It can be easy to be disabled down here. High thresholds and curbs everywhere. Maybe that’s why I almost never see anyone in a wheelchair outside. Quite sad.

My dinner I bought at a fast food stand few blocks from my hotel. I got everything in a plastic bag wrapped with newspaper .

It is very cheap, 8-9 Ringgit, about 17-19 SEK, less than 2 € and it taste lovely

See Yeah tomorrow from The Habit at Pingang Hill

// P-G, The Global Cyclist 1719