Category Archives: Malaysia

Asian adventure day 44. Georgetown day 12.

23 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Malaysia, Musings, Photography, Travel

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Shit – 12 days already? OK, if it wasn’t for my injury I might not have stayed so long. On the other hand – I’m in no rush to leave. I love it here and it’s the one place where – if I had another life – I’d consider moving to. Funnily enough Charlotte and Adi expressed the same sentiment because you can get everything here – and you’re not too far from the Thai border -hence the daily minibuses. Only now there’s a fly in that ointment. The Thai Government have decided you can only make two stamped at the border crossings a calender year. After that you need to apply for a (free) visa at a Thai embassy – which will take up a whole day of your time and a page in your passport. This doesn’t apply if you fly. It’s purely about land crossings. Let’s not even get into ‘green’ options – although I’m considering mine.

Therefore I’ve decided to stay longer in Malaysia and spend time thinking about where I go next. After all, there’s so much to see and do here and Georgetown’s the perfect place for people -watching. I’ve been taking pictures today which do exactly that. I love wandering the streets so here’s a couple of todays pictures.

I walked through Downing St earlier. Remember when you used to be able to do that in the UK? Admittedly, is wasn’t full of tw*ts in those days…

Having been here for a while I’ve started to get to know some people. Not foreigners – I had a very depressing experience sharing a table in an Indian curry house tonight, when my enforced English companion (no other table was free) started banging on about ‘illegal’ immigrants taking people’s jobs in the UK. I was too mellow to rip him a new arsehole on that one, especially when he admitted he just drifted around Asia. But that’s a lot of Brits for you. Neither history nor immigration laws are their forte. It’s frustrating and the fact these xenophobes can’t put 2 and 2 together makes me want to scream.

It’s late and I won’t start telling the story of the chap in the bechak (tricycle) tonight as he deserves more. Instead, here’s a cuddly cat picture. Malaysians love their pets and also look after strays, You’ll always see pellet food and water being left out in strategic places. But in this case – this pudding thinks it owns the shop-house it lives in by the simple expedient of blocking the narrow doorway.

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Thank you!

Asian adventure day 43. Georgetown day 11.

22 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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I’d planned to write a long blog about Georgetown today, but there’s been one problem. I’ve spent too much time exploring it and now it’s late. I’ve been wandering the streets since this morning and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It’s such a fascinating place, full of life and with so much to see and experience. I’ve always loved the town and today’s reminded me why. I took off this morning with no particular plan or destination in mind. I was literally getting lost, getting to a crossroads and then suddenly deciding to go left or right, just to see where I ended up. I’ve no guidebook to tell me where I ‘must’ go so I’m unconstrained. Half the fun is not being told where to go and discovering things.

Georgetown in such a vibrant, artistic place I was bound to fund street-art everywhere and the old town’s an UNESCO world heritage site, so there’s plenty of old temples and shrines to find, but I’m fascinated by the everyday architectural styles and the way the old Chinese shophouses developed. There’s such a mish-mash of architecture here it’s brilliant. Then there’s the shantys. Places that have no style as they’re organic, being put together out of whatever the occupant could find. I will do a long blog about the place as I’ve been taking photographs and collecting material all day, but for now, here’s a few pictures to show what I’ve been up to.

One of the classic pieces of street art that appears on T-shirts and bags. This is in Lebuh Ah Quee, only a few minutes walk from where I’m staying. Street-art is everywhere and a lot of it is very inventive.
A lot of the buildings here carry their date on which they were built, which is incredibly useful for gauging the age and development of the town. This is a 1940 version of a Chinese shop-house. I wonder if the occupants had any idea what was coming the next year?

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One of the many delights of Malaysia is the way so many people work open to passers-by. This man’s a Chinese calligrapher and carver who was sat outside his shop. Deep in concentration, he didn’t even see me.
Believe it or not, this is was passes for parking in Georgetown. This is Lebuh Chulia, one of the main arteries and bus routes, but abandoning your car like this whilst you go to a shop is OK, apparently. To the right you can see one of the many local ‘Wombles’. People who eke out a living by collecting and recycling plastic, cardboard and cans they collect off the streets.
Who needs a car when you can fit all this on a scooter? Georgetown’s a photographer’s paradise. All you have to do is stand on a street corner and wait…

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Thank you!

Asian adventure day 42. Georgetown day 10.

21 Tuesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Politics, Travel

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After the all my exertions (and steps walked) yesterday, today’s been a day for relaxing. The good news for me is that my back seems to be in full recovery mode so the pain I felt a few days ago is really subsiding. It hasn’t gone completely by any means, but I now feel confident about planning my future travels. To be honest, I’m quite content here in Georgetown, there’s so much to see and do, but it is the most expensive place in Malaysia (food, accommodation etc) – even the country’s capital – Kuala Lumpur, is cheaper. But this place is special, which is why I’ll probably stay a few more days. The only question now is which way to go. North back into Thailand or stay in Malaysia. Yesterday, Nick pointed out something I wasn’t aware of. You can only make two land crossings into Thailand in any calender year. This is to clamp down on the famous ‘visa runs’ that supplied a lot of traffic from Thailand to Georgetown and back. It’s fine if you fly in (which I don’t want to do) and you can get a Thai visa that will allow you another crossing. It’s free, but you have to spend a day at a Thai embassy applying for one and said visa takes up a whole page in your passport.

I’ve not been up to much today other than editing pictures from the past few weeks whilst taking a daily wander to explore the area. The film crew who’ve been occupying the East part of Jalan Muntri have taken over more side streets as their filming expands, which has led to a bit of a diversion for me and the locals, but there’s plenty of other options. As it’s only Tuesday the place is somewhat quieter as the weekenders aren’t here.

When I was strolling back from getting something to eat I bumped into a group I helped last night as they’d got hopelessly lost but whom I was able to help with directions. Tonight we stopped for a chat. They were a Kiwi and a Singaporean Sikh, along with their Asian wives/girlfriends. Whilst the girlfriends found a bar the three of us got talking about travel – and politics from our own regional perspectives. The Sikh chap (I only know of his background because he told me) is what Indian friends have told me is known as a ‘cut’ – in that he has no beard, long hair or turban, but still identifies as Sikh. The conversation was really interesting – as was he – and it would have been very tempting to continue it in a bar but I’m trying to be good. So now I’m at home typing this!

To pique your interest in Asia here’s a couple more pictures from Georgetown.

We’re getting thunderstorms and rain showers very often right now. Yesterday I saw this localised shower sweep across parts of Georgetown from Butterworth.
I’m going to miss my morning alarm-clocks provided by the local Mosque. Admittedly, this one isn’t *that* local, but it is just down the road. This is the Kapitan Keling Mosque whom the nearby main street takes its name from.

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Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 41. Georgetown day 9.

20 Monday Feb 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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This won’t be a huge blog. Not because nothing’s been going on, rather the opposite! I didn’t get back to my hotel until late because I’ve been over to the mainland to meet up with a friend, Nicholas Lim. Nick is from Singapore but he’s travelling back from Bangkok. He’s broken his rail journey at Butterworth for the day before heading the rest of the way to Singapore by train tomorrow. As he knew I was in the area he contacted me and we arranged to see each other. I caught the ferry over to Butterworth where the pair of us enjoyed exploring part of the local rail network. The Northern sector of Malaysian railways is heavy with freight as well as a pretty intensive local passenger service. From February 18th that’s been strengthened by an extra three 3-car trains transferred North from KL that previously operated the suspended Skypark service. I can understand why. I travelled on it once and I was the only passenger. In contrast, the trains around Butterworth are busy, especially the ones to Padang Besar which often have six-car SCS sets working them.

We nipped out to Bukit Tengah the first station out of Butterworth which is where the new loco depot is located. On the platform we bumped into two local rail enthusiasts, both in their teens. Nick translated a question for me and I found out there’s 34 people in their local group which I found interesting, as it’s clear rail enthusiasm isn’t just a UK thing, nor is it confined to older ages.

We moved on to the next station, Bukit Mertajam to inspect the old steam locomotive plinthed outside the station. I remember it being outside the lovely old Butterworth station and wondered where it went. The years haven’t been kind to it. It needs some serious restoration (especially on the tender) otherwise in a few more years it’ll be a pile of rust.

As the Penang ferries are so infrequent now that was the limit of our travels. We headed back to Butterworth and caught the 18:00 ferry to Penang as Nick was keen to show me what he considered one of the best Nasi Kandar restaurants on the island. We boarded the free shuttle bus from near the ferry terminal to the Komtar centre and walked from there. I have to admit, Nick was right, this place is so popular you have to queue to get in – and I can see why, the combination of spices in the curry sauces was excellent and the staff are liberal with the mixtures. I had chicken and squid, both of which were delicious.

After eating we stopped off for a shared bottle of beer at a street restaurant which turned into an interesting experience as whilst we were sitting outside on the pavement the police turned up in a wagon and confiscated all the outside tables bar the one we were sitting at! The officers of the law had decided some infringement had taken place, so that was it!

I left Nick at the Komtar tower to get his bus back to the ferry terminal and catch the last ferry (21:00, what a travesty of a service) whilst I walked home. I’ll detail more of the trip tomorrow, but for now, here’s a few pictures.

One of the Chinese built 29xxx series freight loco’s which were bought in a palm oil swap many years ago. Known as ‘Dalians’ (after where they were built) they’re not as reliable as the ‘Blue Tigers’ but recent work has helped many of them return to traffic after being stored. This one’s returning light after having brought an intermodal service to the North container terminal.
The new shopping centre built over Butterworth’s bus station provides an excellent vantage point from its rooftop car park. Here’s looking back across a ship in the oil terminal at Butterworth to Swettenham Pier on Penang and a huge cruise ship which is getting ready to set sail. Two more from Singapore are due in tomorrow, which might make for some interesting pictures. In the background to the shot are some of the many residential skyscrapers that have sprung up like weeds in past 10 years – and there’s many more to follow…
Two of the redundant Penang ferries left rusting at Butterworth. Hiding behind them is one of their temporary sissy replacements.
The huge ramps to the Butterworth ferry terminal that used to be rammed with cars. Now all they see is the occasional scooter.
Also left rusting is former Malaysian railways ‘Pacific’ No 564.25 which was moved from Butterworth to a place outside Bukit Mertajam station.
Wearing Skypark livery but with all branding removed (at least on the outside) set 33 sits at Butterworth before working a local service to Padang Rengas.
Nicholas enjoying a plate of Nasi Kandar. It’s a mix of chicken, boiled eggs, veg and rice with lashings of different curry sauces.

Tomorrow I’ll be back to pottering around Georgetown whilst trying to catch up on editing todays pictures, so expect an earlier blog – or two.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 40. Georgetown day 8.

19 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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I’m back to being on my lonesome as Charlotte and Adi left this morning to head to KL. I’m sure they’ll have a great adventure on the rest of their trip but now it’s time for me to refocus and decide what I do next. My back’s gradually healing and I’m not in the same pain I was a week ago, but time’s ticking and I need to think about my next moves. That’s a decision for the morrow I think. As I’m flying solo again I had a lazy morning in order to rest my back, then went for a wander with the camera. It may be Sunday here but Georgetown’s still busy with visitors – many of whom are local to Malaysia. I’ve been fascinated to see how much indigenous tourism there is now, which suggests that the Malaysian economy and people’s disposable incomes are doing rather well. Many of the new bars around Lebuh Chulia aren’t catering for foreigners, they’re catering for Malaysians. Obviously, the Moslem Malays don’t drink, but the Chinese and Indian communities do – and they make up a large part of these bars clientele.

However, not all glistens with gold. Whilst there’s undoubtedly a lot of money here Malaysia’s no different in the fact the wealth is unevenly distributed. I passed a brand-new Bentley the other day. Shortly after I saw an old Chinese woman (whom I recognise from past trips) doing her usual rounds on her cycle cargo carrier to pick up old cans, cardboard and glass to make a few Ringgit from recycling. In the past she did this with her husband, but now she’s solo. I wonder what happened to him?

Earlier I went for a wander with no particular aim in mind other than to explore new streets. When I got to a crossroads I turned in the opposite direction to normal, which meant I ended up in Lebuh Armenian. (Armenian St) which is packed with shops selling anything from artistic items relating to the famed street-art to craft beers and baklava. This is why I love Georgetown. It’s a place full of artists – and surprises. I can see I’m going to have to make room in my suitcase for some items…

When your life’s your business and it’s shared with the family, is it really work?
Asian food? No. But it’s hard to resist sweets like Baklava sometimes and they chime with the sweet tooth in this part of the world. Just don’t ask about diabetes rates in Asia…

After returning home and having showered I then had a video-call with Dawn. We may be thousands of miles apart but it’s something I’m determined to do – just to have some quality time together. Afterwards I nipped out for something to eat and ended up in Lebuh Carnarvon as the sky was looking very threatening with a massive build-up of thunderous looking cloud. I chose a stall selling duck noodle soup which I’d never eaten at before. The food was great and the bickering between the two guys that ran it added another level of entertainment entirely!

It was worth eating here purely for the banter and comedy value.

Now, as I type this from the comfort of my Lodge I can hear the rain bucketing down. I’d thought about a couple of days on a beach at Batu Ferringhi, but the weather forecast might not play ball. Still, it could be an interesting time to be out with the camera…

Thunderous skies over Lebuh Chulia.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 39. Georgetown day 7.

18 Saturday Feb 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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My back is gradually recovering which meant I was more than happy (and able) join Charlotte and Adi on their last Penang outing before they head down to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. The three of us had a quick breakfast of chicken curry and rice in ‘Line Clear’ before catching the 101 bus out to the Spice Garden which is on the coast road West of Batu Ferrenghi. There was only one slight problem. The bus was already packed when we embarked, so we ended up standing – and the guy behind the wheel drove it like he’d stolen it! You’d think he was a frustrated fighter pilot by the way he threw that thing around! The coast road is very winding in parts which is hardly ideal when someone’s driving in that manner. The result of which was that Charlotte became a little green around the gills and we had to disembark 3/4 of the way to allow her to reset her horizon, It wasn’t a problem, we just waited for the next bus as they’re every 10 minutes and arrived at the Spice Gardens a little later. After all, it’s not as if we were on a schedule or tour.

The gardens were really interesting and the staff lovely. The first thing they do once you’ve paid is offer to smother you in mosquito spray as these places are a haven for the little buggers. One of the women behind the counter very diplomatically asked Charlotte (who paid) if I qualified for a discounted ticket as I suspect she assumed I was Charlottes’ Farther! (a polite way of saying – is he an old bugger and get pensioners rates?). This provided us with some amusement later when Charlotte told me. Truth be told, I’m in the same age bracket as her mother so the honest answer would be yes, even though her Dad’s my elder brother.

Family amusements aside we really enjoyed the Spice Gardens which was created out of a former rubber plantation back in 2003. It’s a restful place stocked with a fantastic variety of native trees and plants complete with a pond and meandering stream. Now’s probably not the best time of year to visit as many plants aren’t flowering. Also, some sections (like the café and cookery school) remain closed due to Covid. Even so, there’s lots of interest including the poisonous plants section which is a bit of an eye-opener as so many of the plants that can kill can also heal – in the right doses – and that’s the skill…

On leaving the garden we took a short break on the attractive little beach opposite before catching the bus back, this time with a well-behaved driver.

Not a bad bit of beach. I may have a day out here next week…

For our final evening together we’d thought about trying Nonya food but it’s the weekend and many restaurants are booked up as the place is teeming with local tourists who’re outnumbering Europeans by huge margins. Instead, Charlotte and Adi suggested going back to the Pork noodle soup stall we ate at the other night as they’d enjoyed it that much – and so we did. Only this time we ordered the large bowls which cost just over 7 Ringgit (£1.40) each. They were gorgeous! Street food is hard to beat and it’s no wonder this place often has people queuing for a table.

This is streetfood, not nouvelle cuisine. It’s flavors and ingredients that matter, not presentation.

Tomorrow I’m back to travelling solo. It’s been lovely having the company but now that my back’s slowly getting better I want to get out with the camera more. Plus, I may have a Singaporean friend paying me a flying visit on the 20th…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 38. Georgetown day 6

17 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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It’s been another lazy day here in Georgetown, mainly because my back is giving me gyp coupled with the fact It kept me awake last night so I ended up having a late night and slept in today as a consequence. There’s not a lot I can do about the muscle problem I have other than rest it and let time do the healing. Still, I’d always intended staying here for a while, so it’s no big deal. I’m still getting out and about to explore, it’s just my range is rather limited and I’m only carrying part of my camera kit at any one time. The main thing is that I’m fit for wherever I decide to go to next. In the meantime, I’ve plenty to keep me occupied with work, the odd bit of sightseeing and socialising with the ‘young ‘uns’ – although I haven’t seen them today as we’ve all been doing our own things. We’ll make up for that tomorrow as we’re off to the spice garden together.

Despite the inevitable changes that occur to a place when you’ve known it for so long I’m still really enjoying being in Georgetown. To me it feels like another home. When Charlotte and Adi leave on Sunday I’m going to spend more time wandering around with the camera, documenting the place. I wish I’d taken more photo’s of streetlife in the past, but when I was here in 1992 and 98 film was expensive and I was a budget backpacker being careful what I shot, so I’m going to make up for that now whilst I can as there’s still some terrific street scenes to be seen and the place will continue to change.

One of the changes I’ve noticed today is the demise of the bookshops on Lebuh Chulia. There used to be several, some combined with moneychangers. They sold a vast selection of second-hand books – especially guide books that travellers would buy/sell. I remember doing it myself. Flogging the Lonely Planet guides you no longer needed in exchange for the next country you were headed for. Technology has made them redundant. The days of a rucsac full of books (and cassette tapes, and film canisters) are long done. Digitalisation has killed it. Now smartphones, tablets and laptops are king. Nowadays my bags are full of cables and chargers and all my batteries are rechargeable. At least the bookshops lasted longer than another short-lived technological change. Internet cafes. The one thing that does survive – with reduced trade – are the money changers. Now I think of it, there’s something else that’s disappeared. Places offering international phone calls, something else killed by the internet and smartphones.

The world moves on. There used to be several bookshop/travel agents like this on Lebuh Chulia, now there are none. Who carries books anymore? Even travel tickets are bought online although some local travel agents do still survive, offering local packages or minibuses across the border to Thailand. The ‘visa run’ is still alive and well.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 37. Georgetown day 5.

16 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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I’ve had a relaxed day here in Georgetown, mainly because I’m resting my weary (and bruised) muscles. The rest of me’s fine and rather chafing at the inconvenience but hey ho. On the plus side, I’ve enjoyed the downtime, got a fair bit of picture editing done and just enjoyed being here without any pressure. I’ve still got out and about to explore the area and get a few pictures as well as enjoy some lovely food.

I left the ‘young uns’ to their own devices today until this evening when the three of us met up to enjoy some gorgeous pork and noodle soup from a street vendor set back from Lebuh Chulia. We’ve been eating lots of different foods whilst we’ve been here, mostly swapping between Indian and Malaysian although we hadn’t really ventured into Chinese, so tonight we put that right. It’s a very busy little stall and I’ll add some pictures tomorrow.

Afterwards our trio retreated to the Chulia Heritage hotel to sit and talk about family and stuff, reminiscing about the past. I’m almost twice my niece’s age which means we have very different memories of the Bigland family history. Poor Adi got a bit left out as the two of us played jigsaw with our common heritage but he coped really well! It’s not something I do very often as I rarely see my remaining siblings which makes being out here with my niece and her husband such a lovely experience. Hopefully, my injury will be more rested tomorrow and I can explore further and spend more time with the two of them before they head off to Kuala Lumpur and Bali.

In the meantime, here’s a couple of today’s pictures.

Lebuh Chulia may slowly be changing but there’s still wonderful places like this bric a brac/antique shop to explore. I loved the racks on the counter to the right which were full of old photographs. Most seemed to be from family albums form the 1960s-70s. Talk about looking back in time. I couldn’t help wondering who the people were and what happened to them,
There’s joss sticks – and there’s joss sticks! These massive and decorative ones were being offered up at the Goddess of Mercy Buddhist temple on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling earlier today.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 36. Georgetown day 4.

15 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Art, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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Tonight’s blog won’t be a long one as I’ve other things to do, such as continue to wade through editing loads more pictures to get onto my Zenfolio website. It’s a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, as soon as you’ve finished one batch it’s time to start on the new ones you’ve just taken. The latest batch of Malaysian travel pictures can be found here.

Today’s been a relatively easy one here in Georgetown, apart from the fact I’ve picked up an injury which is quite literally a pain in the arse (stop sniggering at the back!). It happened just before I left Thailand. My camera backpack isn’t exactly light, anything but, it’s in double figures when it comes to kilos and when temperatures are in the very high 30’s you don’t fancy wearing it over both shoulders and with a belly-strap. That may well have been my undoing – in more ways than one. I suspect I’ve bruised my gluteus maximus or medius (the muscles in your backside) which I did over 25 years ago with my old Billingham camera bags. It’s why I switched to backpacks. The problem is the pain makes it uncomfortable to sit or bend forwards – hardly the ideal thing when you’re travelling. Actually, the sitting isn’t a problem. It’s getting up afterwards! Typically, it would happen when I’ve left Thailand, a country chock-a-block with people offering massages!

I’m hoping a several days where I’m not carrying the camera bag – just individual bits of kit – will allow it to rest, but these things can take time and I’m not getting any younger. Still, it was always my intention to settle here for a while in one of my ‘happy places’, it just might be for a bit longer than I thought! It’s not an issue as I had no plans after here other than nipping back into Thailand for a while. My main ambition was to meet up with my niece and her husband and that’s been achieved. They’re both loving Georgetown and will be here until Sunday, so no problem.

Today I moved hotels and returned to another old haunt, the Star Lodge in Jalan Muntri. Many of the old backpacker establishments have closed as the gentrification of the area continues and travellers go more upmarket. Covid’s had a huge impact of course, but so’s the fact many younger people are more ‘flashpackers’ than backpackers. The Star’s clientele is almost exclusively older travellers like me who’ve been doing this stuff for years. Folk who don’t mind simple accommodation but quite enjoy a common area where you can sit together and talk rather than just stare at your smartphone.

In the next few days I’ll write an entire blog about the changes I’m seeing in Georgetown and the travelling scene in the 30-odd years I’ve been coming here. One of today’s projects was to look at old photos I’ve taken of buildings and street-scenes and try to capture the same shot in 2023 to show the difference.

Right now it’s time to leave you with a couple of pictures for your delectation.

Two of the older bars on Lebuh Chulia. The Hong Kong bar on the left has been going forever, but styles are changing. I remember passing it 1992 when it was rammed with American sailors as ‘the fleet was in’. Geopolitics has changed since then (as has the size of the British navy, another bar stalwart) so such visits are rare and the bar doesn’t appeal to a younger generation who’re packing the newly opened establishments in Love Lane and further down Chulia. The ‘Mona Liza’ was an old haunt of mine. Its street facing wicker chairs were ideal for sitting and sipping a beer with camera in hand whilst watching out for photographic opportunities. It was also a favourite of the local expat community, but it too seems quiet now. I wonder if they’ll both still be here in a few years time?
One of the many clever steel rod arts features that scatter the world heritage site of old Georgetown. They’re metalwork cartoons that tell the story of the area with history and humour. They’ve been commissioned by the local municipality and started appearing in 2010. There’s actually a map you can get that allows you to see where they all are. I got one for Charlotte and now she’s ticking them off with enthusiasm! There’s currently 52, all designed by some excellent Malaysian artists/cartoonists.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 35. Georgetown day 3

14 Tuesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Food and drink, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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This won’t be a long blog, but it will contain a few different pictures. This morning the three of us took the bus out West to the butterfly farm. It’s an easy journey as the 101 bus to Teluk Bahang leaves from almost across the road from our hotel. Plus, they run roughly every 10 mins. The journey was really interesting for several different reasons. I’ve not made it for over 20 years. Georgetown’s changed a helluva lot, but also because Charlotte got talking to a local man on the bus who gave a lot of valuable insights. My first impression was how much the skyline’s changed. When I first came to Georgetown in 1992 there was only one ‘skyscraper’ – the Komtar Tower. Now they’re springing up like mushrooms. Some of them are rather attractive. Others have all the aesthetics of a road accident! A number are there purely to provide residences for foreigners, European (especially English), Chinese – and Russian. But then Georgetown’s rather an attractive place to have a second or primary home as there’s no shortage of medical services and – generally – things are cheap here. That said, there’s a burgeoning Malaysian middle-class with money to spare and shops that will sell you all the expensive goods that you require to show off that income!

Whilst the bus journey was an interesting insight into the human condition the butterfly farm was a fascinating place to observe the insect world. Since I last visited the farm’s moved site and vastly expanded, it’s just as much an education centre as a refuge for butterflies. It’s not cheap to get in but it’s well worth it just to be with so many beautiful creatures and learn more about them. Here’s a few examples. I haven’t had time to research the names of all the critters we saw, so any help from you, dear reader – would be much appreciated!

Here’s a fantastic example of camouflage. When this particular butterfly is feeding it folds its wings and looks like a leaf. But the next picture shows what happens when it opens its wings in flight. The colours are absolutely stunning! It looks like the inside of an Abalone shell.

You can find many more butterfly shots in my Malaysia gallery if you follow this link.

I could have stayed there all day with the camera but as we’d been up early and left without breakfast we decided a few hours was enough and headed back to Georgetown on the bus, passing through the popular beach resort of Batu Ferringhi once again. The town means Foreigners (Ferringhi) rock (Batu) and sci-fi fans will recognise the name as it was nicked to describe a race of jug-eared aliens in ‘Star Trek’.

The return bus was packed and took ages as it stopped everywhere. By the time we got home we were all famished so headed straight to a local Chinese-run eaterie to hoover up whatever food they had left, which was mostly rice with chicken or fish. Even so, it was delicious! Afterwards we all retreated to the hotel. I needed time to edit pictures and design a personalised Valentine’s card for Dawn so it would be in her inbox first thing (the beauty of an 8 hour time difference and Photoshop!).

The evening was very much in the same vein. Charlotte and Adi had the evening to themselves (who wants to play Gooseberry on Valentines day?) whilst I quickly nipped out to Little India for a vegetarian thali before resuming my editing.

A banana leaf vegetarian Thali. Yours for less than £2.

It’s now 23:00 and I’m listening to a thunderstorm unleashing torrents of rain upon us – which it’s been doing for the past 20 minutes.

Tomorrow I move hotels to another old haunt. More about that when it happens. In the meantime, here’s a couple more pictures from today.

Oh, here’s a food stall on Lebuh Chulia that’s been going for many years, although the food may stick in the craw of the football fans of other teams!

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!