Nov 20-23
Hi All,
We left Penang on Wednesday, Nov 23 for the 59nm run to Langkawi at 7:00am. A good run……seas <1′, winds 5-10kt mainly from the South but we did have one squall to the west that kicked up some wind/seas and we turned on the stabbies. But what was concerning were the stationary bamboo fish traps. We had not seen these since Indonesia. These are very flimsy…..just poles stuck in 80′ of water……no platforms, no lights……nothing metal so no radar target….yikes. No problem in the daylight but yikes, if you were doing this at night.
We arrived outside Kuah Langkawi at the Royal Langkawi Yacht club around 2:15pm……not too bad of a run…….59nm in 7.25 hrs, 8.1 kt avg…..unfortunately like Penang no room at the marina due to the Sail Regatta…..ugh!!! It’s a very wide open bay and wow, lot’s of boats anchored…..maybe 75-100……maybe 20-30 ferry boats of all kinds/sizes……some being used, some just mothballed. Same with the sailboats………we can’t seem to find any boats we know as a lot of the cruising boats seem unattended???
So, to wrap up Penang:
George Town: Oh what a delight…..but once again we ran out of time…..we gave ourselves 2 full days but we really needed another 2-4 days. Oh well…..we will allocate more time when we return next year. Plus we will try to time our visit with one of the many festivals held here…..that would be special for sure.
So what all did we do: The first day we spent in the World Heritage Historical section of George Town. “George Town is the colorful, multicultural capital of the Malaysian island of Penang. Once an important Straits of Malacca trading hub, the city is known for its British colonial buildings, Chinese shophouses and mosques. Beyond the old town, George Town is a modern city with skyscrapers and shopping malls. Verdant Penang Hill, with hiking and a funicular railway, overlooks it all.”
Established by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786, George Town was one of the first British settlements in South-East Asia. Together with Singapore and Malacca, George Town was governed under the Straits Settlements, which later became a British crown colony in 1867. It was subjugated by the Empire of Japan during World War II, before being recaptured by the British at war’s end. Shortly before Malaya attained independence from the British Empire in 1957, George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II, the first in the country’s modern history. In 2015, Penang Island, on which George Town is located, also obtained city status.
Due to the intermingling of the various ethnicities and religions that arrived on its shores during its heyday as a British entrepôt, George Town acquired a large assortment of colonial and Asian eclectic architectural styles, which led to its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. It also gained a reputation as Malaysia’s gastronomic capital, due to its unique and ubiquitous street food. Moreover, the city hosts intangible cultural heritage, such as that of the Peranakan (formerly known as the Straits Chinese), a hybrid ethnicity which has left its mark on Penang’s architecture and cuisine.
Additionally, George Town is Malaysia’s most vital medical tourism hub, receiving approximately half of Malaysia’s medical tourists, many from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Singapore.
As the Dutch East India Company had dominated the Far East spice trade by controlling the East Indies, the British East India Company requested Captain Francis Light to establish trade relations in the Malay Peninsula. Faced with Dutch dominance in the region and a growing French threat, the Company sought control of Penang Island as a Royal Navy repair base and a trading post between China and the Indian subcontinent. Light subsequently landed on Penang Island on 17 July 1786. Later, Fort Cornwallis was erected at the spot where Light first set foot. For Light, Penang Island was a “convenient magazine for trade”, and served as a strategic location to check Dutch and French territorial gains in South-east Asia.”
There is an heritage waking trail that we followed. We first went to the Penang National Museum…..this is a rather small museum but full of the history of Penang, especially the British colonization and the start of George Town.
From there we walked along the trail, seeing the waterfront and the WW1 memorial and then Fort Cornwallis. This fort was named after the same General who surrendered to George Washington in 1781 in Yorktown which led to the wars end ……Cornwallis was the Governor General in this area when the fort was built in 1786…..not sure if this posting was a reward or a punishment for him:)))
From there we went to the Peranakan Mansion Museum…..oh wow, this was built by the Chinese Captain, Chung Keng Kwee in the late 1800’s The Captain became one of the richest Chinaman, all due to tin mining and many mafia style activities. We learned about this Captain when we were at the Han Chin Pet Soo museum with Andy and Sue in Ipoh. It really is fascinating to see the amount of wealth these few individuals acquired during the tin mining days as well as from the “secret societies” …aka mafia style gangs.
After that…..well, we were worn out……I forgot to mention how hot is right now……still very cloudy and lot’s of thunderstorms but many days are in the 90’s with the heat index above 100 deg F…yikes. Anyway, we were tired and hungry and ducked into this local restaurant……hmmm, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose……we lost on this one……Kathy’s noodles were like top roman and my soup tasted like dirty shoes……ugh…..and Penang is supposed to have some of the best food in Malaysia…..well, not at this restaurant:(((
The next day we started by going up the cable car to Penang Hill. Our cab driver named Devi agreed to be a tour guide for the day at a very cheap rate of USD6.5/hr……whoa!!! She was a native but her parents came from India. When we started out in the am it was partly cloudy but by the time we got to the top riding up on a very steep cable car it was mostly cloudy….darn……on a clear day there would have been some gorgeous views from this 2700′ hill. But, we did see another Indian temple and a mosque.
From there we went to the Kek Lok Si Temple…..the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia…..now this was a huge WOW…..”Built since the year 1891 is one of the largest and finest temples complexes in Southeast Asia. With millions of magnificent images of Buddha and hundreds of beautiful meaningful carvings, sculptures and murals in the interior and exterior of the temple halls, pagodas and archways, Kek Lok Si Temple is not just a center for Chinese culture and Buddha teaching, but also an unique heritage treasures that have Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, in temple architecture and daily activities of worshipers.”
After that we decided to see the Botanical Gardens…..just ok……nothing too impressive and then we were talked into by Devi to see the Bee Gallery….yes, we succumbed to this tourist trap and lived to regret it.
So that’s it….besides having great meals at the restaurants by the marina…..an Irish Pub…..cold beer and a roast beef special…yummers…..and an Italian restaurant with the best Ceasar salad in a very long time and a pretty good oven fired pizza.
But as I said, we need another 2-4 days…….many of the gang related mansions, Chinatown known for their street food and art, some of the local trade/craft shops, seeing the Kok Lok temple all lit up at night…….and the list goes on….so much to see so little time!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!
PS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all our American friends and family!!!!
PSS: Since seeing too many of those stationary bamboo fish traps and we hear Thai fisherman like to “pair” and troll a a net between them, we have decided NOT to attempt an overnight passage. So, we will be leaving Saturday, Nov 26 to do a long day run up the Thailand coastline and anchor somewhere for the night. We will then go the next day the rest of the way to Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket arriving late afternoonSunday, November 27….it will be a run of about 160nm.
PSSS: Pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Penang
