somewheredownthecrazyriver

bus #101 from Georgetown west, along the north coast.  the road narrows and winds up and down, then through Batu Ferringhi (a beach resort town) and on, to the end of the line at Teluk Bahang (a small fishing town) and the entrance to Penang National Park.  got off there and walked the pier to see the fishing boats and their catch.  then some ‘chicken rice’  and ice lemon for lunch at the cafe, before heading into the park.  the trail is in the rainforest but stays close to the beach, up and down, lots of roots to clamber over and quite wet.  the views are lovely – white sand and blue sea, and the forest very dense.  so hot – swear i lost a kilo of water-weight – my face beet-red.  the forest was quiet – only a little birdsong and the sound of insects.  saw one large lizard swimming in the ocean, and a small one on the trail.  many tiny, transparent crabs scuttled across the sand, and many larger round holes perhaps made by larger crabs.  other walkers on the trail here and there – saturday today.  one hour along, turned and walked back along the trail to the park entrance and a roadside food shop.  they offered me a seat to wait for the bus.  and malay-style fish to try?  maybe next time.  too hot to be hungry.  drink only.  typically, they were keen to talk about anything – politics, the state of the world, food, fish, Penang, and of course – where you from?  how you like it here?  what do you think about . . . etc.  I have to say again – the people in Malaysia, so far, are just so friendly.  the ride back again through Batu Ferringhi.  miles of pretty beach but few in the water (jelly fish?).  lots of big hotels and large condo blocks and much new development underway.  there is a popular night market area – must return another day.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 18th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.