Malaysia
Georgetown & Johor Bahru

In January 2006 I went to Thailand and then spent a week heading south through mainland Malaysia toward Singapore, beginning with Georgetown in Penang, and then passing through Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru. I won't forget the buildings; Ariel won't forget the air conditioning. Here are some pictures of our trip.

 


Come to Malaysia for trishaws with flowers... Traffic jams at all hours... ...and outdoor bathrooms! Muslim girls sunning by the ocean edge. The Muslim and Chinese population seemed to get along, at least for the half-week we were there. We were there for Chinese New Year. Here, in a time-honored ancient ritual, tigers bless an Italian espresso café with good fortune. Georgetown's Victorian clock tower, which sits next to a giant, hollow, metal egg. And people say it's hard to warm up to modern architecture. Fort Cornwallis, built for administration and not defense. But there are several cannons, in case the British needed to 'administer' smackdowns. Komtar Mall, which is endless floors of goodies and enough pirated software to give Microsoft ulcers. And open late. Double arrrgh! China Street. A good name, because by lucky coincidence, the street is mostly made up of Chinese businesses and restaurants. I guess I would characterize the food as Indian with more fruit, similar to Balinese food, but with more curry. And <i>no</i> banana pancakes. Fort Cornwallis gunpowder room, on the edge of the fort. No smoking. Maha Temple detail, Georgetown. And I mean <i>detail</i>. It's immensely intricate. Financial district, Beach Street, on a Sunday, I think. It was a little eerie when the street was so quiet.. Georgetown trishaws, only too patiently waiting to take you somewhere.... RIGHT NOW. Alright, how about now? Okay, now? Now? It's hard to find things to do during Chinese New Year, but I liked Georgetown and Penang a lot. Anyplace with Guinness can't be too bad. The 19th century Cheong Fatt Tze mansion. Tze arrived from China as a poor boy and became 'the Rockefeller of the East' with his beautiful, traditional home. If you forget this, don't worry—the tour guide will tell you <i>maanny</i> times. Tze Mansion, Front side. One wonders how Tze had time to build more than a pup tent with eight wives.. "I think the column would look better over<i> there</i>.." Tze Mansion roof corners. Tze Mansion view near the top. Tze Mansion side door. Tze Mansion window. Tze Mansion carving work. We took a crappy overnight train from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur. Don't believe what the train website says. KL at 6:30 AM is, well, slightly dark, and we were a little too half-awake to appreciate it. We were trying to find a bus to take us to Singapore. My only impression was that KL is a <i>tall</i> city. Johor Bahru, Malaysia Southern Johor Bahru, which borders Singapore. 'JB' is a lot grittier than super-sanitized Singapore, but it felt more authentic. Late, when we were trying to sleep with Indian disco music blasting from the gardens, maybe we would have preferred a little less authenticity.. Airport at Johor Bahru. Small, but organized. It was a little like Kona, Hawaii's airport, but this one had walls. Ariel boarding. Walk right up onto the airplane. I miss doing that before airports turned into police states. Kuala Lumpur. Third world airport: clean, spacious, and efficient. US / Canada: dirty and disorganized. Got that? Back to Phuket on Air Asia. Unassigned seating and no food or drink. I was waiting for the passengers to be asked to elect a pilot!

 

 

 

 

This'll be the player
Chinese New Year, Georgetown (January 2006) 0:45
Georgetown Harbor (January 2006) 0:21
Noisy Night in Johor Bahru (January 2006) 0:39