We spent relaxing days on the small Coconut Island! To enjoy the last days with Gerlinde, we treated ourselves to something that is actually above our planned budget - all the more we enjoy our pool (!) villa (!), which the three of us inhabit. And indeed, we have the luxury of having our own small pool right outside the front door - wonderful! Before we leave the house and after we return to the house, we usually jump in quickly! With the heat, it's also a welcome refreshment! The days on Coconut Island pass very relaxed, by the pool, having fun on the water slide, and enjoying culinary delights in the resort's restaurants. We have to accept that drinks and food here are three times as expensive as in the rest of Thailand - but for that, we have a small private beach and the resort is very cozy. We also make a short trip to Phuket City and are positively surprised, because it is not kitschy-touristy-annoying, but really beautiful in the small historic city center of Phuket City (there are only 3 streets that look like it, but that's enough). Here we see beautiful, colorful, small colonial-style houses, some even with studios and art galleries inside. And for the first time in Asia: Street art. Since we are still interested in seeing a beach on the Andaman Sea, i.e. the west side of the island of Phuket, we take a local bus: fateful decision...at first we wait 30 minutes until the bus is full enough to leave...and then we experience a very slow and exhausting trip to Karon Beach (again a little more than one hour of travel time). We not only underestimated the distances, but also the evening traffic on Phuket. And then we arrive at the beach, only to find it off-putting because: too many people, banana boats and jet skis, and parasailing, i.e. tourists hanging from a (loud) boat. Scenically, it's beautiful water and fine white sand - but there's no atmosphere. And this is not even the main beach of Phuket. What we learn: If you want to have a good time at the beach on or around the island of Phuket, it is worth spending a bit more money. After celebrating Gerlinde's birthday and saying goodbye at the hotel pier (such a great experience for all of us!), we continue on to Malaysia.
We fly to the island of Penang to visit the city of Georgetown. Although we arrive late at night, we notice that the cityscape here is completely different, as we pass numerous high-rise buildings that all seem to be residential buildings. And then we turn 1-2 times and already arrive at our hotel, which is located in the UNESCO-protected old town area and is also an old colonial building. The owner expects us and tells us a lot about noise in the room in the morning...she recommends earplugs. But: our room is nice and the noise is absolutely minimal. We have read a lot of good things about the city of Georgetown, for example, great street food, interesting street art, beautiful colonial buildings. But the more time we spend in the city, the more disappointed we are somehow. The highlights of the city are mainly the murals on the streets, but tourists also queue up to have their photos taken in front of them. We see some beautiful pictures, but also many that are not artistically valuable, and we don't quite understand the hype. On the other hand, we really like Little India. A few streets where Bollywood music actually blares from speakers, many Indian or Indian-origin people are on the go, sari shops, and above all: Indian restaurants. Oh yes, we will definitely indulge here! It is interesting that many cultures coexist here: Malays, Indians, and many, many Chinese. There are places where a church, mosque, and Hindu temple peacefully stand next to each other, and the coexistence here seems to be good too. Unfortunately, Georgetown doesn't offer us much and is not very remarkable. Maybe we were here at the wrong time, because we just missed one of the city's most important Hindu festivals. Be that as it may: we are now even more looking forward to our next destination: Sumatra! Back to the Jungle!
