Red and Yellow – these two colors dominated everything on the ground against the vast blue sky. The rooftops, the crown of the pagoda, the lights, the decorations – all bathed in yellow. The Chinese lanterns hanging everywhere – all a brilliant red. It was mesmerizing. I was standing at the stunning Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang, Malaysia, with my wife, taking it all in. This trip was unlike any other I had taken – it was my first trip with my wife. A new phase, a new way of traveling, and a new perspective on choosing destinations. It was more than just exploring a place; it was also about learning more about each other along the way.
Prologue
Plan
I got married this January and I was looking for some options for a trip with my wife, Heena. Initially, based on a suggestion from my dad, I thought of going to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, off the coast of India. I had almost finalized the hotels, before I decided an international trip might be better. I looked towards the south east Asian countries and Malaysia seemed the best choice. It was budget friendly, had plenty of halal food, had UNESCO World Heritage sites, had beaches and there was a direct flight from Hyderabad. The plan was for a short, 4 day trip as I did not have enough time for a longer trip. I had originally planned for a 6 week visit to India for my marriage but had to cut it short to 4.5 weeks after my leave plan was declined. So, in the limited time, a 4 day trip seemed the most plausible one. I initially considered going to Melaka because of its rich history and connection to Malacca straits. However, on the playful advice of my siblings, that I set aside my love of history -at least for this first trip with my wife – I decided to drop it and instead choose Penang Island, which besides having history also has beaches and other attractions.
Preparation
This trip was different from all my other trips for two reasons. First, most important one, was that I was travelling with my wife, Heena for the first time. I had to be mindful of her likes and dislikes. Two, I did not have much time to prepare as I was too busy with the wedding preparation. But I still managed to get some homework done. I read the usual Wikitravel and Wikipedia articles plus the Lonely Planet book on Malaysia. To familiarize myself with Malaysia’s history I read “A Short History of Malaysia” by Virginia Matheson Hooker. As for packing and gear it was all routine stuff. As I was not doing any major adventure related activities except parasailing I did not pack any of my related gear.
Day 1
Our journey started from Hyderabad at around 12 am in the night when we boarded an Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur. The flight duration was 4 hours and we reached around 7 30am in the morning. From here the plan was to take some rest, go visit the Petronas Twin Towers in the afternoon and in the evening take a flight to Georgetown in Penang. I kept it simple the first day so as not to tire Heena, who, since she hadn’t travelled as much as I did, is not used to the rigors of travel. The Kuala Lumpur airport exit has tons of shops which makes it look like a mall more and airport less. We checked in at a hotel here which was very convenient.
After a refreshing sleep, we booked a taxi through the handy Grab app for Petronas Twin Towers. I had installed the Grab app before coming to Malaysia and it proved to be super handy. Its easy to use and I had a great experience throughout my stay in Malaysia. This car ride gave us the first glimpse of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. My first reaction was that Malaysia looks like an advanced version of India, with greater cleanliness and better traffic sense. The roads were neat, the traffic disciplined and the buildings, nice. As we got closer to the heart of the city, I could see the Petronas twin towers darting into view now and then, playing hide and seek among other buildings and structures. The closer we got, the taller the towers got. Finally, the driver dropped us off at the base of the towers. It was a bright and sunny day. We strolled around taking in the view of the massive buildings. The bottom portion reminded me of Qutub Minar in New Delhi, which I later found out was indeed an inspiration. Standing at almost 452 meters, with 88 storeys, these towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1996 to 2004. It’s structural system is based on a design that was invented by Bangladeshi-American architect Fazlur Rahman Khan. Its architectural style is Post modern Islamic Architecture. After walking around and taking some pics, we stopped at a nice Shawarma place nearby for lunch.
After we had our lunch we took another Grab taxi and headed back to the airport to catch our evening flight to Penang. After checking out of our hotel, we made our way to the domestic departures side of the KL airport. The check in process here was total chaos. I had to self check in and it took me a while to figure it out after lots of running around. I was worried about the bag drop but thankfully all went correctly and we walked over to our gate. We boarded the flight at around 5 30pm and reached Penang International Airport around 6 30 pm. Here we booked another grab taxi and headed to our hotel in Teluk Bahang. The hotel, Angsana Teluk Bahang was magnificent with an imposing reception. The deco behind the desk reminded me of Lovecraft’s creatures. After check in there was nothing else to do but to have dinner. Our room was on the 11th floor and faced the ocean, offering stunning views of the sea. After dinner we opened the doors of the balcony and let the warm tropical wind blow over into the room carrying with it the sound of the waves as they crashed over the beach below. It was blissful.
Day 2
On Day 2, we woke up quite leisurely as there wasn’t much planned for today. I had only two things planned, one was a parasailing experience and the other was a surprise candle light dinner which I hadn’t told Heena about.
After I reached out to the parasailing operator, Ferringhi Sports, they gave me a time and a place for pickup. Taking a grab taxi we soon reached the pickup point, which was a McDonalds. Since we were 30 minutes early, we used this time to have a quick brunch here. Soon I spotted the person from Ferringhi Sports who introduced himself. We then followed him to the base point near the sea from where the activity starts. We were given our gear, including straps, which we wore and after signing the liability release form, we were asked to sit for a while. To pass the time, I tried to strike up a conversation with the person, whose name I forget now, but he didn’t know much English. He was Tamil which is all that I could gather. Soon, a boat arrived and we found ourselves hurtling over the water as the crew took us out into the sea. After putting up enough distance between the boat and the shore, the crew instructed us it was time. One of the crew was from Bangladesh who spoke to me in Hindi. He gave some basic instructions which was basically nothing but hold on and do nothing. As Heena and I were harnessed into the parachute they started to unravel the rope, while the boat picked up speed. Step by step the distance between the boat and ourselves grew longer as did our elevation from the sea. Soon we reached the maximum point and we were soaring in the blue sky. The boat, racing on the water pulling us, looked very small from up in the air. The surroundings were beautiful. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. I asked Heena, who was doing her first adventure activity, how she was feeling. She mentioned, quite relaxed, that she was enjoying the ride. This reassured me and we both just got quiet and enjoyed the views. We flew like this for a few minutes before the crew started reeling us in. Withing minutes we were back back on the boat, thrilled and with adrenaline pumping. Our plan was to visit Monkey beach next, which is where the crew dropped us after a short boat ride.
On Monkey Beach, there was nothing much to do but stroll and sit at the small outdoor cafe. The beach was stunning with blue waters and blue skies in the background. We did a bit of walking and snacking before the one of the crew informed us that there were reports of weather deteriorating and it would be good to head back. I was not sure how much truth there was in that statement but we had not much to do here so we agreed and started on out return boat ride. Instead of Teluk Bahang from where we started, they dropped us off on the beach right near our hotel.
Once back in the hotel room, I only told Heena that we will be having lunch in the restaurant downstairs. Soon we headed over the restaurant and I spotted a person, to whom I mentioned, out of earshot of Heena, that I have a Candle light dinner reservation. He turned out to be the Manager who told me that we would have to wait a bit as the staff had intentionally delayed setting up the table as the table was outside and it was quite windy. After an hour, our table was ready and Heena was pleasantly surprised to the see the table and the arrangements. The rest of the dinner and the evening went smoothly and we both had a great time.
Day 3
Day 3 was going to be our most busy day. It was to be split in 2 halves as we had to check out from our current hotel at 12pm and had to check in at another hotel in Georgetown. I planned this way so that we could enjoy both, a seaside resort as well as a heritage hotel in Georgetown.
Our first stop for the day was the stunning Kek Lok Si Temple. We took a grab taxi to the temple which is situated in a suburb called Ayer Itam, at the foot of a mountain hill. The taxi dropped us off at the base from where we got our first look at it. Rising above the surroundings it looked magnificent. The multi storied pagoda with its bright yellow crown stood out against the blue sky. It is a massive complex. We started walking towards the temple. As it was still relatively early in the day, there weren’t many people. We walked for a bit following signs till we reached the Penang Hill Funicular Train Station, where a station attendant rudely told us that the train was closed for maintenance. I was surprised by the rudeness but since there was nothing I could do about it we just walked away. We decided to take the stairs to the top.
Soon we arrived at the main entrance. The first pic of this post shows this point. The pagoda side was closed so we wandered off to the other structure and looked around. Inside were massive Buddhist statues. It reminded me of the Buddhist temples I visited during my multiday hike in Bhutan many years ago. The whole temple was covered by bright red balloons which looked beautiful. It was one of the most beautiful structures I have seen. We wrapped up our visit soon and made our way back to the point where our taxi had dropped us. Here we did some shopping in the little shops around and then took a snacks break in a nearby eatery. After the much needed break we went back to our hotel to check out.
At around 12 pm we checked out of the hotel and kept our bags in the storage for pickup later. Then we took a taxi to Kalan Makan Lidiana, a popular restaurant nearby. I wanted to try local foods where locals had them and not some fancy restaurants. So this seemed a good spot. It was pretty crowded and seemed like there were many office goers there on their lunch break. I was just looking around trying to figure out what the system was there when a kind old man, figuring out that we were tourists, guided me in broken English that it was like a buffet where you just stand in a line and pick up your food items, then bill it and then find a table to sit down. We followed his instructions and soon picked up our food. This was the famous Nasi Campur. I asked the guy at the counter if they had Nasi Lemak, which is something that I wanted to try, but he told me that, that is something that they only have for breakfast. I was disappointed but there was nothing I could do. Thankfully we found two empty spots on a long table with other people. We sat down and had our food. It was delicious. After the lunch we had some nice coffee. Here coffee is sometimes just called Nescafe.
After the nice lunch, we wanted to check out the Floating Mosque on the other side of the road. It was drizzling a bit now but we strolled on nevertheless. The floating mosque presents a soothing picture of calm. The mosque technically does not float on the water but is situated on stilts. During high tide it looks like its floating.
From here we took a taxi back to Angsana, took out our bags from the hold, said our goodbyes to the amazing staff there and took a taxi to our next hotel, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion also called the Blue Mansion because of its indigo-blue outer walls. It was built by Cheong Fatt Tze, who was a Chinese Industrialist (sometimes referred to as “the Rockefeller of China”). Located in Georgetown it is now a heritage building. As we were walking towards the entrance we were warmly greeted by a lady who escorted us inside and towards the reception desk. Here she checked us in and then another person guided us to our room. The interiors here were stunning. The mansion has 38 rooms, 5 beautiful courtyards and more than 200+ windows. It has mostly Chinese architectural style with European elements.
Our room was spacious, with a high ceiling and stone floors. It had that charm that only old buildings have. After relaxing for a bit, we decided to take a quick tour in one of the free shuttles that run around Georgetown. I love public transport and this was a great opportunity to cover many places in a short time. We walked for a bit around the hotel before we found the bus stop from where to boarded the free shuttle. After a short wait, one arrived and soon we were off on our small free tour. We passed by many landmarks including Campbell street Mall, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Kapitan Keling Mosque, St. George’s Anglican Church, Penang Town Hall and many others.
One place which was unique and I wanted to check out were the Clan Jetties so we got down at the nearest stop to it. Clan jetties are coastal settlements built by Chinese immigrants to Penang during the 19th century. There are seven jetties in existence now and each belongs to a specific clan. Because of their unique nature and the fact that residents still live there, makes it a form of living heritage tourism. We explored three jetties including Lim Jetty, Ong Jetty and Chew Jetty. We walked on the boardwalks, which forms the main path through the jetties, while looking at the houses lined along the path, built on the stilts on the water. Of the three, Chew Jetty was the biggest, had the most tourists and shops. We explored here for a bit, did some shopping and took many pics. It started drizzling for a while but that didn’t stop us. If anything, it made the whole experience even better. At one point while we were walking, a mother and her child approached from the opposite direction, likely on their way home from school, when the little kid dropped his toy. I picked it up, caught up with them and handed it back to the mother. It made me happy to be a part of a normal day of a local resident.
Late evening, we wrapped up our busy day with dinner at a restaurant called Sup Hameed, which was pretty close to our hotel. We had Nasi Kandar and Roti Chanai both of which was very similar to Indian dishes.
Day 4
Our last day in Malaysia, we had nothing much planned for the day except the train journey to Kuala Lumpur. After waking up leisurely, we had a nice breakfast in the stunning central courtyard of the hotel and also checked out the small in house Museum.
We checked out of the hotel around 11 30am and took a taxi to the Butterworth railway station from where our KTM train was set to depart at 1pm. The taxi dropped us off near the entrance to the station. As this was my first time boarding a train in Malaysia I was not familiar with the process; would it be like India where you just walk over to the departing train’s platform which are usually open to public or do you wait in a common area and then are allowed to go to the platform after someone checks your ticket, like the process is in Canada/USA. After a bit of looking around, I figured out it was the latter. We dragged our luggage to the waiting area where a crowd was already gathered. Around 15 to 30 mins before the scheduled departure time of the train a staff member opened the gate and started checking tickets and letting people onto the platform. Our seat was in the very first coach in the Executive section. As we walked along the platform, the shiny yellow colored train was on the track, with its doors open for the passengers. When we reached our coach, I took a few minutes to first take pics of the front of the train. KTM is the main operator of trains in Malaysia and they are fully govt owned. The train was a Chinese made Class 93 type with maximum speed of 180 km/h. Malaysian trains run on 1000mm track which is meter gauge. We boarded the train and after keeping out luggage on the racks, sat on our comfortable chairs. It was pretty spacious and we also had a screen attached to the chair for ordering food and for other services.
The train started on the dot and soon we were speeding past the Malaysian countryside at 100+ kmph speeds. The scenery reminded me of Indian train journeys. Picturesque small towns and villages were interspersed among lush green trees and fields. I noticed every town had a south Indian style temple in it which was surprising for me. I knew Malaysia has significant Tamil population but to see so many temples was surprising. After an hour of our journey I used the tablet attached to the seat to order a coffee for myself but after sometime a staff came by and informed me that coffee would be served as part of the ticket and I don’t have to order and pay for it separately, which was nice. After a couple of hours we were given our lunch. We had selected Ayam Biryani while booking our tickets and that is what we were given. It was decent. It came along with a snack box and some coffee later. Overall, the food was great. While passing through the stations on the way I was on the lookout for any heritage or grand building and there were none until we reached Kuala Lumpur’s railway station which was beautiful. Our last stop was the KL Sentral stop where we got off. This railway station was huge and modern. A far cry from the railway stations of India.
We booked another grab taxi, our final one in Malaysia, to take us to the Airport. On the way we had a minor scare when it started raining heavily with strong winds but we arrived on time at the airport. After checking in, we walked over to our gate where we had nothing else to do but wait. This side of the Kuala Lumpur felt so small and claustrophobic that it annoyed me. Before boarding we grabbed some amazing fried chicken at the Burger King outlet. We landed in Hyderabad midnight and were home by 1. And so ended Heena’s and my first-ever trip as husband and wife.