Catching Up: Georgetown 3 (almost caught up!)

Photo Link (Again): https://photos.app.goo.gl/k3KCYztdsfq4idnx9

The nice thing about coming back to a spot you know is you know what you *don’t* have to see again. It’s good that this was the case, as I came down with a crummy illness almost immediately after arriving in town. Myself and a small group of friends from the Highlands did a few things together - the “natural pools” being one such thing - but I was quickly out of order. I ended up resting and trying to recover from some respiratory illness that everyone in the Rope Walk Hostel came down with. I ended up staying several days in a private room at the Moon Tree Hotel which was fantastic (if pricier than I’d prefer, but, hey, health). My friends (both from Koh Lanta and the Cameron Highlands) all went their separate ways and I saw two new things before quitting the island: the jetty at the end of Armenian Street and the Blue Mansion (which I’d walked by dozens of times but never went in for whatever reason). On the 25th of January I got on a ferry (speed boat) to the island of Langkawi.

Catching Up: Georgetown (take two!)

Photo Link (Again): https://photos.app.goo.gl/k3KCYztdsfq4idnx9

I was glad to be back in Georgetown and, to hear RC tell it, it’s his favorite city we hit as well. I hesitate to repeat what I said last time (without looking it up), but there’s a ton to do, everything is walkable, and the local “expensive” things to do are still dirt cheap. We stayed at Le Dream Boutique Hotel and ended up watching the New Year’s fireworks from the rooftop, looking up at KOMTAR Tower.

As one does, we wandered around the streets of Georgetown (I found a delicious Thai place that I’ve since been back to!) and generally were tourists. We went to the actual top of KOMTAR (I had previously only gone to the cheaper *almost* top level) and we took the cable car up Penang Hill (oh, I should upload those videos).

Traveler’s Hiccup: I forgot to set aside independent days, so by this point RC and I were a little on edge, having spent nearly two weeks within fifty feet of one another. I was also feeling generally stressed, for whatever reason. One of our days we split up and just didn’t see one another for almost a full day - something we should have done after the first week.

RC changed his flight and left from Georgetown (he had accidentally scheduled a 2am flight from KL, so it made sense to change it and skip the bus ride back to KL) and I got on a bus back to Kuala Lumpur.

By George! It's Georgetown

Atop the KOMTAR Tower

Well, this certainly isn't being posted a month after the fact...

If you recall from the last installment, I endured an absolutely confusing bus ride getting to Georgetown (including an open-air installment pictured below). That being said, I arrived safely and in one piece at the hostel I picked out the day before (despite a trek down a dim alley that dropped straight into a sewer ditch).

After check-in, I hit the ATM and got myself some ringgits, then proceeded to grab a little dinner at an open-air cafeteria that had a live musical show on for some reason. I forget what I ate, but it was really tasty, which is the basic theme of Malaysia so far.