OK Malaysia! I'm still trying to get a feeling for what this place is, and it's really hard. Maybe I'm thinking too much about it. It's like a mix of Chinese, Indian, and ethnic Malay all mixed up. Surprisingly one group hasn't tried to kill the other yet, so right on Malaysia. But it also seems like the ethnic, Malay identity gets kind of buried, and what's left is "So China and India meet at a bar and decide to make a country..."


Yeah, I'm definitely thinking about this too much. So, what did I do today? I went around Georgetown on a walking tour. A self-guided one, with a map from the hostel. I got a latish start, around 10. That was so I could go get a SIM and find an ATM at the mall, as I had $2 to my name. Which, jeez Malaysia, you are the most ATM unfriendly place I have ever been. Cambodia had more ATMs than you do. How do you purchase things?

SIM and cash in tow, I set out to see 20 sights... after lunch. I was recommended to try chendul, a local favorite. It's more of a desert than a meal, noodles and sweet bean in coconut milk. Or, melted ice cream soup. It was...alright. Sorry Asia, I still can't get over beans being in desert. Beans go in chili. But it being more of a desert than a meal, I saw a sign for 卤面. That's "gravy noodles", and I ate something similar in Taiwan, except with rice. Anyway this was more like a noodle soup with a big chunk of pork. Mmm!

There are way too many sights in Georgetown to name all of them. They were mostly old temples, mosques, or churches. There was a museum, which for 1 Ringgit (30 cents) was a nice escape from the heat. I went to Fort Cornwallis, the "big attraction". There was a cruise ship docked at the harbor, and apparently they all went to see the fort. It was an old British people convention in there. It was 20 ringgit for foreigners, and 10 for Malays.

Which, break time. I used to be okay with this dual pricing scheme. I have reversed course and think it's bullshit, because it's everywheeeere. My ethnicity should not mandate the price of admission. Honestly it's 100% racist, and although I can see the idea behind it (locals pay taxes, we don't), I'm tired of it. Along with "camera fees". Yes, that also exists in Thailand. You can go see something, but if you wanna take a photo? Another 50 baht. Or just saying straight up "you can't take photos here". Fuck you, I paid to see it, photos are better than my memory.

OK that was a long rant. Anyway I gave them 10 ringgit, and said I was Malay. They laughed and in Chinese I said "No really, I am." They seemed confused or apathetic, but regardless, let me in. And ya know what, it was a ripoff even for 10 ringgit. A small field with a few old cannons and a few plaques in a run down bunker. It took 5 minutes to see everything. Urgh. Ah well.

After I stopped for dinner in Little India (mutton masala... Mmm) it started to thunder. Apparently it does that a lot here. I hurried back to the hostel and beat the torrential downpour by about 15 minutes. With no sign of the rain letting up, I stayed in and struck up a conversation with a roommate. She's in a multi level marketing scheme selling drugs that make people stop aging. So, you can bet I heard ALL about that. Big mistake.

But let's not stop this crazy train! She woke me up at 6am to say goodbye, which was... nice. But something much nicer is not waking me up at 6am. A few hours later, I went to take the bus out to the war museum. On the bus a guy next to me started up a conversation, friendly enough guy. He was in the Navy, and now is a sailor on a cargo ship. So he's seen a lot of the world, and had some interesting stories. And he told me he knows what happened to MH370. Just like saying "hello" was a mistake in the hostel, saying "What" was a one word mistake I instantly regretted. He launched into a 20 minute long story about a conspiracy involving the FBI, hacking planes with secret jets to get back at the Chinese, and hiding the plane and all the people in the Maldives, a country not much bigger than a jet. Oooookay then.

Eventually he got off, but I was going to the terminal. I was the only person on the bus, when another guy got on. Despite literally every other seat being available, he sat next to me. He tapped my shoulder, pointed to various things out the window, and spoke at length in a language I did not understand. At no point did I respond other than a slight nod, which apparently is enough to speak about god knows what continuously.

Malaysia. I'm not saying you're a country of psychopaths. But you're not doing a good job of convincing me otherwise.

I finally arrived at my destination, apparently "One of the top 10 most haunted places in Asia" per National Geographic. I didn't know National Geographic was an authority on the paranormal. They're barely an authority on geography. Anyway, this was a battleground during WWII, but was overtaken by a jungle and forgotten about since 2003. Apparently a lot of people died, and they hanged a Japanese general on the way out. So yeah, I guess a little haunted. It was more like a playground than a museum, a lot of old bunkers in the forest with a few exhibits on the way. I played with some hopefully dummy AA shells, and crawled through an escape tunnel and up 20 meters on ladder, thinking "Jeez, OSHA would LOVE this place."

It's not terribly big though, so a bit overpriced. Anyway, back to town for lunch, and another bus to Penang Hill. While nice, I also felt it was overpriced. Jeez, it's like a theme here. But it does have this cool train that goes to the top of the mountain at steep angle. A funicular train? Am I making that word up? One of those. Paige would love it. It is a cool, 5 minute ride though. I was planning on doing it one way up and hiking down, but after seeing the scale and angle we were ascending, I was like "Yeah that's not happening." But at the top, aside from the phenomenal view, there's not much there except expensive hotels and food. I did see a very impressive looking place in the distance and decided to go there instead.

A little off the beaten path, Kek Lok Si temple is not easy to get to. They're fixing the road out front, so I had to walk about 1km before what appeared to be a construction entrance. I went in anyway, and through all the scaffolding found a way in. Turns out it's just this really beautiful temple, and was the highlight of my trip in Penang. Also totally free, and with only 1 or 2 people there. The giant statue on top was closed for maintenance.  A shame, its, well, giant.

And that's it for Penang. Back to the hostel for a few beers, and probably the last beers I will have for a while. God they're expensive. Tomorrow morning, off to Ipoh!