Georgetown - Penang

We took a 30 minute flight from Langkawi to Penang Island. Arriving very late that night, we just went to bed. We stayed in an apartment at The Landmark by Katana in Georgetown for eight nights. The apartment was on the 17th floor with a great view. Despite being so high up, we could still hear a lot of street noises. There’s not much soundproofing in south east asian construction so you typically hear every noise from outside, which can be loud and a lot in a city like Georgetown (Taking soundproofing in construction seriously is certainly one thing we learned to appreciate about Switzerland). What’s noticeable is that many people in Penang tune their cars. As a result, you frequently hear loud cars or motorcycles, also throughout the night and even in the flat. During those days in Penang, we chilled out a lot, went to the gym belonging to the apartment complex (which we could use for free), took care of some admin stuff (real life is still happening), updated Find Penguins, and watched some Netflix. To get around in Penang, we mostly took the public bus. Usually the bus drivers were very friendly and helpful. On our first ride, the driver explained that we could only pay in cash and wouldn’t receive any change. Since we didn’t have the exact amount required, he then asked another passenger if she could change some money for us, but she couldn’t. Another passenger noticed this and came over to help us change money. How lovely!
Besides riding the bus in Penang we visited the city of Georgetown where we explored the streets and discovered all the amazing street art murals and some street food markets. Besides that, we spent some time at Batu Ferringhi (beach) taking a dip in the sea and also visiting the Floating Mosque “Masjid Terapung Tanjung Bunga”. Another special sightseeing we did in Penang was the Kek Lok Si Temple which is one of Southeast Asia's largest and most impressive Buddhist temples. It features a giant buddha statue which is covered by a giant dome-shaped roof standing on even more giant pillars.

Good cafés, restaurants:
- Meraki (nice and little café, but outside of George Town)
- Halzan (wonderful location with yummi food at Gurney Plaza)
- Mews Cafe (a place to try local Malaysian food like Laksa Lemak)
- Big Pantry (on the way to the Floating Mosque and the Batu Ferringhi Beach, good place for food)
- Chulia Street Hawker Food (nice street food place, try Curry Me)
- China House (cake place)
- Edo Itcho Island 88 (Japanese food, but out of George Town)
- D’Tandoor (delicious Indian food, but out of George Town)Read more