Penang, Malaysia, Pt. 2: Street Art is the Cutest

As I've been lying low and attempting to avoid cancerous fumes, I've managed to cobble together a rough schedule of the next couple months' travel schedule! This is productivity at its finest. Some of the dates are still fairly tentative, but the latest has been posted to the "Where Am I?" section on left-hand side of the site.  Check it out!  And come join me. And disregard that my trip "around the world" has become more of a "haphazard zig-zagging to random places."  I just want to do all the things. 

Anyhow, last day in Penang!  I decided (in lieu of my planned fabulous island getaway that was FOILED) to join my friend Kat in Bali the next day instead - just trading one beach for another.

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• Given my last-minute extended my stay in Penang, the hostel made me move rooms - which means new hostel friends!  Two of my new hostel roomies and I ventured out for lunch - afterwards, I convinced them to come hunt down Penang's street art with me. 
• Penang's street art scene initially started with a city festival where artists were invited to come paint scenes - it only grew from there, with artists from all over coming to Penang over the years to leave their mark as well.  The day before, I had procured a map with about 20 of Penang's most well-known street art scenes and their locations, and had planned to hunt them all down.  It turned out to be super fun, like a scavenger hunt with no ending prize (marketing is my calling). Some of the art was surprisingly difficult to find, even with a map: i.e. tucked in alleyways, inside shops, etc. We definitely cheated and had to ask locals a couple times.

This is probably the most famous one in Penang. My favorite is that this artist used a lot of real props - the bicycle is real and is set into the concrete itself. 

Same artist; the chair and coffee cup are real too

This painting was inside a cafe - it's a portrait done by the artist of the cafe owner, who we got to pose with the painting of himself (see the resemblance??).  I have a feeling this was not the first time the man had been asked to pose with the painting; he was a seasoned pro at it.

New hostel friends Vi (Australia) and Sven (Germany). Note that I refused to let go of my street art map

I clearly play basketball given how natural I look in this photo

Another dedication to the sister. This one was not one of the famous ones on my street art map, but I found it just for you anyway

THIS PIECE WAS MY FAVORITE. REAL (immobile) SWINGS. Sven and I are also maybe trying to recreate the kids.

• There was an entire block just dedicated to cats!!!

GIANT CAT. This one covered an entire warehouse wall.

Um. So cute. 

This man would not move out of the way so I could take a photo, SO FINE BE IN THE PHOTO

• And now I will stop boring you all with photos of street art. Believe it or not, I have more but exercised restraint and didn't post all of them.  Favorite activity ever.

Meal of the Day:

Oh you know, just a snapshot of all the delicious food I've been eating.  As my LP says, Penang is a "foodie paradise."

Roast chicken in oyster sauce

Food on banana leaves that you eat with your hands. First, worst date spot ever - I was a hot mess afterwards. Second, this was the spiciest meal I've ever had in my entire life.

Street noodles. These were SO DELISH. There were like 20 little add-ons to the noodles; including Chinese sausages and deep-fried crunchies and mushrooms and tiny pickled veggies and bok choy and wontons, etc.

STREET HOTPOT. GENIUS. You basically choose any skewers you want and cook them in the communal broth (shown at bottom), then dip them in an array of sauces and nom away. Everyone hovers near the stand munching. It's the cutest.

One of a million fresh fruit juice stands. I am on watermelon juice overload.

Bye, Malaysia! I really liked you and forgive you for the haze (which is Indonesia's fault, really) - how ironic is it that the fires in Indonesia are affecting Malaysia so badly, but Indonesia itself is just sitting there, all chilling and un-impacted. Which is why I'm headed there next, obviously.  And now off to Baliiiiiii! 

Penang, Malaysia, Pt. 1: The HAAAAAZE. And The People You Meet.

So, this haze situation.....

This has been the color of the sky multiple days in a row. Where is the sun? Is the sun up? It's a mystery.

The haze is currently out of control.  I've been learning so much more about it because it's a huge deal right now.  To get more in-depth (in addition to what I've touched on before) - every year, people in Indonesia illegally burn their forests to clear them for agriculture.  And not only does this have terrible effects on the environment, but the resulting smoke and haze pollutes the air and drifts up to Singapore, Guam and Malaysia.  This year, for some reason, has been especially bad. A lot of these fires have burned totally out of control and the Indonesian government doesn't have the means to deal with it.  In fact, this has been the worst air-quality, high-haze year since the 90's.  There have been multiple school closures in parts of Malaysia, and the amount of greenhouse gases in the air exceed the entire output of the U.S.

This means being outside is like breathing in a fog of thick, cancerous smog.  You can't see very far. It's been days since I've seen the sun because the haze is so thick, and none of Malaysia's gorgeous islands are accessible because it's all smoke and haze - it's impacted every traveler I've talked to in some way.

Looking out onto the ocean. Thumbs down.

Including me.  I had initially had grand plans of going out to the Perhentian Islands next - these gorgeous, totally remote islands off the east coast of Malaysia.  They're so remote that the electricity shuts off for certain periods, and much of the islands are totally unspoilt (though tourism is growing).

The Perhentian Islands. Are you dying?!!? I'm dying.

Anyways, here I was, happily about to book my plane ticket to the islands - and thank god I was yammering away about my plans, because my hostel roomie goes "WAIT STOP."  Apparently the islands are closed. Not only will they likely be covered in haze and will therefore look nothing like the photo above, but the dive shops all closed early this year. Cries.  Time to rearrange the plans (perfect when you have nothing booked!).

But anyhow, back to present day.  Circling back around to the haze, I've spent the past couple days lying low in the adorable city of Penang, in the super Northwest of Malaysia.  

What It's All About:

Penang is a large island and the largest city is called Georgetown - it's a city on the coast mixed with tons of British influence, multiple ethnic contributions, and a funky vibe.  It's known for being a foodie paradise - it has a delicious variety of both restaurants and street eats, and a crazy blend of old-world and new (historic British buildings sit next to big tall modern ones, etc.).

Hi Penang. You're cute.

There's also beaches on the island - not Malaysia's best, but pretty enough. But let's not talk about that in the haze.

Cliffnotes of the Day (the past 3, anyhow):

• Kat and I went our separate ways from the Cameron Highlands - she headed off to Bali, while I took a 5-hour bus up North to Penang.
• Upon arrival in Penang, I checked into my hostel and met a new hostel roomie, Joanna - from Canada, but living in Thailand.  She was headed out to Penang's closest beach, Batu Ferringhi, so I tagged along.  We took the world's coldest public bus for the 30-minute ride.

Ferringhi Beach, which was surprisingly empty. Maybe due to the cancer in the air.

Look! There's a mini horse on the left.  We chilled on the beach and read books (I read the Tibet Lonely Planet cover-to-cover like a book, having discovered it in my hostel's book collection, and now I want to go to Tibet)

• Went to the Night Market nearby after the beach, eating street food and strolling around on an ice-cream hunt.

Topping off the night with bags of watermelon juice (FAVE)

• Next day, I took myself on the Lonely Planet's suggested historical walking tour of Penang.  It was actually lovely!  I did a bunch of things I normally wouldn't - went to the National Museum, toured a baller Pernakan mansion (the ethnic group derived from Chinese/Malay intermarriage), walked through Little India (henna! Henna everywhere!), and visited a bunch of temples while snacking on coconuts/popsicles/watermelon/anything I could find off street stands.

The very British colonial looking Town Hall. There was a huge British contingent in Penang (all the streets have super Brit-sounding names, like Scott St.) until WWII, when they all fled.

Little India 

The super-baller Pernakan mansion. With mother-of-pearl inlaid everything 

This was the super-baller bridal suite, which I obvi thought was most appropriate to take a photo with...?

This is the impressive Kongsi Temple - there's also a huge Chinese population/influence in Penang. When they used to arrive, they'd form clans, or tight communities, and all the clans were rivals and would try to one-up the others by building increasingly more impressive temples. Very West-Side Story.

Some of these buildings are old. Very old.

I liked this door and was feeling artsy. This is the color everything should be in life.

More architecture I love

The very-happening Armenian Street

And a mosque! Cultures everywhere.

Moment of the Day #1:

At the beach with Joanna on Day 1, we were approached by another girl (whose name I did not catch; major fail) - she was from Ukraine but had recently left due to the war. She had impulsively moved to China, working as a dancer (a job she randomly found online - she was a professional in Ukraine).  She joined us for the rest of the beach day and the night market later.  Joanna pointed out how great the moment was - all of us solo female travelers, all from around the world, with totally different stories. But all sharing a meal of street food at a small town in Penang, Malaysia.

Moment of the Day #2:

I was wandering around the Pernakan Mansion and had entered a particularly desolate wing of the museum. A security guard was standing there looking very bored, and he struck up a conversation with me. It turns out he was from Nepal, and was in Malaysia working to send money home to support his mother and his sisters (who were in school).  He seemed to be dying to talk to someone; anyone. In the span of 30 minutes, I learned:

• His name is Shiva
• He sacrificed going to school to work in order to allow his sisters to attend university
• He doesn't have a single day off of work during the week and it's really hard for him being alone and having a million thoughts running through his head all the time
• He's in Malaysia on contract for 8 months, after which he might go to Dubai for work. He hasn't been back to Nepal to see his family in years, which makes his mother cry daily.
• He tries to strike up conversations sometimes with the museum guests because he hates how alone he is at work - but the worst part is the people who are rude back to him or ignore him. He had some particular stories about Singaporeans being incredibly mean when he tried to talk to them, or complaining to management and getting him in trouble. This makes him sad.

In that span of time, Shiva and I shared and discussed the universality of the unconditional love of mothers, how marriage doesn't solve your problems, and how money doesn't mean anything without good health or the ability to enjoy it. 

He told me that me being kind to him was such a bright spot in his day, and was a reset in his mood for the rest of the week. He liked believing there were kind people out there. And then he made me friend him on Facebook.  I walked away with him profusely thanking me for taking the time to talk to him.  It was so great - how this 50-something Nepalese security guard so far from home, and me, from completely different backgrounds, could have such an engaging, great conversation about life and its lessons. Ugh, traveling is the best.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia: HIGH QUALITEA

I seriously can't stop using tea puns. I kind of apologize to everyone (mainly those who may follow me on Insta), but not really.

Anyhow, I'm in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia! It's a beautiful, jungle-y, cool respite from the rest of Malaysia (which is basically an oven most of the time).

What It's All About:

The Cameron Highlands are a hill-filled mountainous region a couple hours north of Kuala Lumpur. The area includes several small cities (we are staying in Tanah Rata), and is best known for its picturesque hilly scenery, tea plantations, trekking, nature, and farms (my favorite of which is the strawberry farms! Strawberries everywhere!)

Cameron Highlands tea plantation - over 3,600 acres!

It is gorgeous, peaceful, and cool here (I'm actually wearing pants today! PANTS) , and to be honest, it doesn't feel like we're in Malaysia anymore.

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• Arrived to Tanah Rata in the early evening by bus, and promptly went exploring.

Bus from Malacca to KL, then KL to Tanah Rata

Our gorgeous hotel, Hotel Arundina

Squeee how gorgeous and jungle-y is this room!?

• Kat and I started off the next day by doing a tour of the Cameron Highlands' highlights. Our stops included a butterfly farm, a bee/honey farm, a tea plantation, a flower farm, a strawberry farm (FAVORITE), a local market, and a temple.

Here we are at the butterfly farm, and as proof, there is a butterfly in the photo

The butterfly farm also had insects. Here is a terrifying-looking beetle. The farm also had bunnies and turtles and hedgehogs, random.

• Stop #2; the bee farm!

Next up, the bee/honey farm. This farm had 2 types of honey - one was normal and from normal bees, and the other was from a sting-less bee found in the highlands that produces much darker and very different-tasting honey. Am I allowed to say that the local stingless bee honey tasted....super Asian? Like it had this sour Asian taste to it.

• Stop #3, the tea plantation!  This plantation was started by a British businessman in 1929 (is this why "Cameron Highlands" sounds so British!?), it's 3,600 acres, and they produce about 820K cups of tea per day.  Do we think I could marry into this family?

The tea plantations were absolutely breathtaking. But the leaves tasted like plant. Not that Kat tried to bite one or anything.

• Stop 4, the flower/rose farm!  

Malaysian flowers are incredibly beautiful, exotic, and totally crazy looking

And the hibiscus were the size of our heads!

• Stop #5, the strawberry farm! 

I love strawberries so much that I look slightly crazed

And you can pick as many strawberries as you want!

Kat and I maybe went a little overboard with the strawberry hoard

And then we had delicious strawberry milkshakes, the deliciousness of which was only slightly tempered by the gallons of sugar I saw the man pour into them

• Stop #6, the local market!  Seriously, these people will sell any goods with a strawberry printed on it.

The local market

Proof that you throw a strawberry on something, and I will want to buy it

Last stop was a Chinese temple. Meh.

• Back at the hotel, Kat and I took our new strawberry hoard out to the hotel's rainforest-y garden and drank tea, ate strawberries, and journaled/read/internet-ed.  

Everything here is so peacefulllllll

Meal of the Day:

One of the more well-known kinds of food concepts in the highlands is hotpot - or as they call it here, steamboat.  In case you're not familiar with hotpot, it's one of my fave things ever in Chinese cuisine - you have a giant pot filled with broth over a mini stove, and then you get trays of veggies, meats, fish, noodles (really, whatever you want) to cook in the broth. After they've cooked through, you can dunk them in sauce, and voila! Deliciousness.

We may or may not have eaten steamboat for dinner both nights. 

Our steampot! There were two broth flavors - Tom Yum (spicy) and regular chicken broth. Also, I ate a raw egg and I hope I don't die. Also, I think this entire meal was under $5/person.

The first night, we discovered a local cake cafe, where I took down a slice of strawberry cake (so light! so fluffy!) and a pot of strawberry tea.   So we maybe repeated the exact same thing on night #2 as well.

Seriously, the world's most delicious slice of strawberry cake ever

Strawberry cake and tea.  I could eat in theme for the rest of my life.