π Hidden gems remaining: 9
You have just stepped onto the touristic island, connected to the mainland by a 13-km-long bridge. Alternatively, pick a ferry (no cars) to avoid afternoon traffic.
Mostly known for vast street art, the Penang island also contains a national park with a lovely hike by the seaside. This was my most international destination in this country, intensified by the fact I slept in a foreigner-only hostel. Food choices are plenty (but they are too highly adapted to tourist tastes for my taste). But the food I cooked at the cooking class returned the joy of tasty asian food :)
After infinite curves and many anti-motion-sickness food supplements, our white van dropped me off at the Chulia Street β the main street for accommodations, close to the heart of the downtown. My hostel was just a short walk in the rain away.
This is the first and foremost thing to do. Get to know your hostel buddies and join them on an adventure! Some hostels offer daily activities. But you can just be hungry and visit Red Garden food court. There, you'll find more than 20 different food providers, competing for your attention. Try and eat and finish with mango sticky rice.
At the venue, artists perform live music and other types of performances, depending on the day of the week. Thrusday evenings are reserved for drag queens, but before that, the Singapore's famous director
Singapore's famous director! His coat is almost as sprinkly as Erik's!
With a discount for students, you can enter the hiking national park. Find co-hikers to share a Grab. It is a lovely hike β have you ever been in a jungle, surrounded by a mix of tropical sounds and sounds of water waves hitting the shore?
If you are early enough, you'll catch the turtle reserve. There, you'll find turtles in large plastic pools, so that they have enough food to eat.
On your way, beware of spiky branches! Although they might seem like a great handle or something to put away with your hands, you might want to rethink your decision.
It starts at a beach.
Monkeys during lunch. They prefer tree leaves over tourists.
It ends at a beach.
According to some government websites of some countries, any symbols with a possible resemblance of LGBTQI+ are said to be considered illegal. On our way back along the beach, a monsoon rain started, creating a beautiful rainbow.
There was a treasure at both ends: beautiful nature!
George Town has always attracted street art enthusiasts. As this became part of their culture, it is listed as UNESCO heritage. Ask your host for street locations β or just walk around that area on your own; be sure to always look around and not miss anything! Recreate the photos all the tourists take! Or stand out from the crowd and take something completely unique.
The dinosaur is trying to eat me! π¦
Ka-tchaw!
Too big to swing.
Clothes, shirts, skirts, nails, vintage cameras, souveniers, vinyl plates, postcards, postmarks, food and drinks are sold at the market. There's a stage in the middle, so live performances are common to attract more potential customers. Most sellers are cash-only, but if you have the Malaysian QR-code wallet, you can use that instead.
Galleries are part of the market, you can buy them.
Live musicians, playing saxophone.
The market.
As my journey was approaching its end, this was my last chance to become a cook and get to know the local way of cooking. After a lot of searching, I finally found an ata who taught me the foundation of Malaysian cuisine.
Rendang is the celebrating dish of Malaysia. If you just look at the ingredients and the end product, it might remind you of Indian curry. But rendang is no curry! The main difference is in the cooking step: instead of mixing all together, you have to add ingredients in the right sequence. And because this is Malaysia and everything has to be more, each ingredient has redundancy. This means you add pairs of ingredients together.
Sambal is the vegeta of Malaysia β a chilli-containing paste you add practically into every other dish. You can prepare a large amount of it and save it in the fridge for up to a month. Just like your grandma's vegeta jar. To use it, gently sautΓ© it on some oil in a hot wok, and your dish will be flavourful.
Cooking rice in rice cooker.
Nasi Lemak!
The only good noodles in George Town.