Malaysia Recap Of Latest Kuala Lumpur And Penang Visit

I do enjoy my visits to Malaysia as always. I’ve spent lots of time in Kuala Lumpur visiting all of the important sites and enjoying some of Southeast Asia’s best food. This trip was no exception. KL is for the most part one of the easier cities to get around with a MRT/LRT train system that for the most part serves all the areas a tourist or visitor would need. There are exceptions but gone are the days of getting frustrated trying to find a taxi driver that refuses to use their meter-Grab has solved that issue. One thing I’ve noticed in recent years are the abundant choices of Middle Eastern food, particularily in the Bukit Bintang shopping district. I visited Daab, a Persian restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful fish kebob dinner as I watched the downpour of an average evening during the rainy season. This was my first visit to Penang an the Unesco World Heritage city of George Town. I’ve visited many cities across Southeast Asia with their own old street or neighborhood, made up of old shop houses but I’ve never seen as many in one place as in George Town. In fact, George Town has the most pre-WWII buidlings in all of Southeast Asia. It truly is a jewel, the only thing missing is everyday life. It appears to be more a living museum then a place for normal life in Malaysia, hence the importance of the beautiful street art by Earnest Zacharevic. A reminder of what life was one like on these historic and remarkable streets. Of course Penang more than ever is known as a food destination and the street food capital of Malaysia. High quality street food and hawker centers/coffee shops are everywhere. If you’re a Westerner all of it is easily accessible with a population that is mostly fluent in English it’s very easy to ask about the food that’s being served and to request if say you’d prefer not to have chicken, pork, or seafood/fish in your order. Although I found there weren’t as many adventure day trips available as there are in East Malaysia, (Borneo), there are some interesting hikes, and other spots to visit on the island. You would probably need to book a tour or rent your own transporation should you want to get out of the George Town area to explore Penang Island further. Thanks so much for listening.