Penang, Malaysia

When booking my flight from Indonesia to Kathmandu I discovered that for no extra cost, I could stay in Malaysia for one week. I thought this would be a fun opportunity to have a new experience.

So, I flew into Kuala Lumpur from Bali on August 22nd. From KL I got straight on a bus to the island of Penang. Penang is famous as a food haven, so I thought it would be a wonderful (and admittedly, indulgent) place to go, as I love to eat.

I met with my Couchsurfing host, Jackqueline. Malaysia is very diverse; and the three major ethnic groups represented are Malays, Chinese and Indians. Jackqueline and her roommates are Chinese, and gave me insights on the Chinese perspective and culture. My first evening, they told me about Daisuye festival, which is for the "hungry ghosts" in Taoism.

Daisuye

For the Daisuye festival, from my understanding, many offerings are given to the hungry ghosts, who are stuck between realms as a result of an unexpected or unusual death. They offerings (maybe not the correct term to use, not sure) are collected and then burned, which transports them to the other realm. There were many offerings of food for the hungry ghosts.

The next morning Jackqueline took me to a breakfast place popular with Chinese people. We ate toast, half-boiled egg, and iced coffee. The toast was dipped in the egg. It was delicious, with familiar ingredients eaten in an unfamiliar way.

Chinese Breakfast

Since Jackqueline had to go to a training, she arranged for me to meet up with two other Couchsurfers, Fiena, a local Malay girl, and Hide (hee-day), a CSer from Japan. Fiena showed Hide and I many sights in Georgetown. Georgetown is the largest city in Penang and is a World Heritage Site. One thing Georgetown is famous for is religious sites.

Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple

Teochew Chinese Temple

Teochew Chinese Temple

Kapitan Keling Mosque

Chinese Temple

One of the most famous temples in Georgetown is Kek Lok Si, which is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. It was quite impressive, and massively large.

Kek Lok Si

Kek Lok Si

Kek Lok Si

Georgetown is also famous for street art.

And of course, food.

Mee Goreng - Fried Noodles

Fried Banana, Vegetables, Rice

But the best thing was sharing it with new friends...

Together with Fiena, an amazing tour guide!