We just returned from Malaysia today so I wanted to quickly give you my first impression of George Town. Driving for long distances and sitting on my rear end made me really tired! Who would have thought that would be the case?!
I admit, I had never heard of George Town, Penang in Malaysia until a month ago when a friend told us it would be a good place to go get a new tourist visa to extend our time here in Thailand. I didn’t do any research on it before leaving for our trip. I know, I know, I am a horrible travel planner lately. But one thing that having neglected to do research avails to, is having everything about a new destination be a complete surprise. Luckily for me the surprises have been good ones so far. I guess I will start looking into information on the places we are planning to visit when the surprises start being not so good.
My first impressions of George Town, Penang were unique in that it was the first time that we had crossed a border by driving ourselves. Penang is about two hours by car from the Thailand-Malaysian border and it was fascinating to see the countryside change from Thailand to Malaysia. And see the city of George Town from a different perspective that we normally would have if we were flying or even taking a train or bus. We had complete control of how, when, and where we went. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
Driving into George Town instead of flying into it, gave us the opportunity to cross the 5th longest bridge in Southeast Asia. It also gave us the pleasure of getting lost a couple of times due to George Town’s one way streets (with so few u-turn areas).The city was clean and busy. The towering skyscrapers all seemed to be condos or hotels. The homes in between the towers were normal looking well-kept homes, often surrounding a hawker center or a couple of restaurants. I was shocked when we would drive through what appeared to be a suburban type neighborhood, only to happen upon a row of restaurants right in the middle of them. What convenience!
The people were wonderful everywhere we went in George Town, so helpful and kind. It was delightful. Overall, George Town was a great success and such fun. I have so much more to write, but must sign off for now as my own bed is calling my name. I will be writing more posts about our trip in the next week or so. Make sure to subscribe or follow us to get the whole scoop on our time in Malaysia!
Have you ever heard of George Town, Penang in Malaysia? Have you been there? Would you want to go? Leave a comment and let’s talk (in the morning when I have had my tea, haha).
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