Day 161. Songkhla - Georgetown. Penang Malaysia.
We have had a good day. The border process was straightforward, especially on the Malay side. Very well organised. We were through in well under an hour and set off on a perfect dual carriageway road.
The buildings in the foreground are part of the Clan jetties mentioned below. In the background is the bridge across to Penang.
These houses are built on stilts and are called the Clan jetties. They are a unique Chinese settlement and have been around since the 19th century. There are six villages in total and each village has its own clan and temple. They are still lived in today. You can walk along the jetties, there are food stalls and souvenir shops.
At the first town we came to we carried out the usual chores of getting money and SIM cards. Too easy. We even had lunch. The day was a warm one but moving along at a decent clip makes it bearable.
Before we knew it the traffic built up and we followed the signs to Georgetown. We crossed a very long and impressive bridge to the island of Penang.
It was very busy but not jammed and we arrived hot but not too bothered at our home for the next three nights, the Hotel Savv.
The nice receptionist showed us to our room on the top floor and said we have her favourite room.
We have beautiful views from one side towards the old town and out the other side we have views of the sea and the bridges.
The buildings in the foreground are part of the Clan jetties mentioned below. In the background is the bridge across to Penang.
The bed is soft, I’m not sure how we will cope.
First up was a swim in the pool.
We have left the Buddhist and Hindu worlds behind and are back in the Muslim world. In this Muslim world many but not all women have head scarves on. Some are quite colourful. From what we have seen so far women play a much more active role in everyday street life than in some other countries where they are not often seen out. There is very mixed culture here with a large population of Chinese Malay. It has a cosmopolitan feel.
We went for a wander in the environs of our hotel which is in the old town area. A mixture of architecture, Malay, Chinese, Temples and Mosques as well as colonial British.
These houses are built on stilts and are called the Clan jetties. They are a unique Chinese settlement and have been around since the 19th century. There are six villages in total and each village has its own clan and temple. They are still lived in today. You can walk along the jetties, there are food stalls and souvenir shops.
It is wonderful that this area has been preserved and is still a really cool trading area.
We found a really busy restaurant for dinner, it was very popular, we lined up for our turn to enter, the food was really good.
Another interesting place to explore! Safe travels when you move on, take care
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying it here. People are friendly, place is interesting, good bed!
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