Lovely Georgetown ❤️

Day 39

After five days on the beautiful island of Langkawi, we packed up our backpacks and continued our journey by ferry to the city of Georgetown in Penang.

Across the sea, we saw our destination in the distance after about three hours. A huge skyline decorates the coast of the old city, and we were looking forward to city life after so much island life.

From the pier, we took a taxi to the hotel and quickly realized that this is no ordinary city. Anyone who thinks Zurich is multicultural should see this. We have never seen so many different cultures in such a small space. Almost door to door, towering Buddhist temples of all kinds, mosques, and Christian places of worship soar to the sky. It is a place of harmony in the midst of chaotic city life because, despite the diversity of its residents, coexistence works. Everyone is accepted as they are.

Street food is ubiquitous in the streets, whether in Chinatown or Little India, there is simmering, stewing, and boiling at every corner, making it a little paradise.

Unfortunately, Penang was affected by floods and heavy rainfall before our arrival, so the majority of coastal attractions were inaccessible. This limited us a bit, but it did not dampen our joy and sense of adventure.

After exploring the area around the hotel on the first day, we bought tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus the following day to explore the vastness of the city.

We marveled at the various places of worship, relaxed while strolling in the monkey-filled botanical garden, and shopped at one of the oversized malls

One of the highlights of the tour was certainly the world's largest bronze statue, nestled between Buddhist temples on a mountain. Like a small village in the middle of the city, we climbed several stairs and small drawbridges to reach the station of the funicular railway, which took us to the plateau of the mountain. A magical place was revealed to us. Small wooden houses, surrounded by massive stone statues of the Chinese zodiac signs (we are a horse and a dragon), adorned the enchanting landscape. The bronze statue, surrounded by stone columns finely decorated with carvings, took our breath away. We enjoyed the magnificent panoramic view of the city before making our way back. Very, very tired, we went to sleep that night.

In the following days, we strolled through unfamiliar streets and admired the famous street art of the city. Huge paintings that covered the stone facades of the houses and smaller hidden art pieces that we could only find thanks to a map. A real adventure!

Our last evening was spent at the Red Inn Food Garden, a beer garden in the Chinese style where you can eat everything imaginable. Accompanied by Asian pop music and good Tiger beer, we enjoyed our last dinner in this crazy but brilliant city...

Lars

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