I woke up yesterday in Melaka, 2-3 hours south of KL. ‘Historic Melaka’ is a mix of the various colonial rules that have fought for control over the town over hundreds of years. The end result was a charming, colourful town, dotted with Portugese forts, Dutch churches with British renovations, Chinese temples and Indian cuisine.
A cool place to wander around and sample local foods by the quiet river, but Melaka was not very lively, and most bars were inexplicably closed during night time.
I left at lunchtime. 2 taxis, 2 buses and a train later, and I had arrived in Georgetown, a bustling city on the island of Penang in the country’s far north, at 10:30 at night. Unshowered, tired, hungry and thirsty, I checked into the first hostel I found, a dive called the Banana Hostel (chosen for it’s cool name), with strange demountable cell-like cubicles for rooms.
I didn’t like it, but settled for it. My crankiness gets exponentially higher with my hunger, so I quickly slurped a noodle soup on the side of the road and went to bed.
The next day I woke up and the streets were sunny, filled with markets and people. I felt much better. I found a new hotel and as i’m writing, am eyeing off a motorbike rental to take me to the beach.
I should have taken my time, Melaka to Penang in 2 days, not 1. Lesson learned. There’s no rush, too many buses and trains should be avoided!
Its only early days but im imagining how fun and pleasant youre time there has already been. Keep up the blog mate
-R