In my opinion Malaysia is the country in South East Asia that is most like Australia. I’ve heard more Australian accents here than I care to. Both countries drive on the same side of the road, and there are many more cars than motorbikes here. And that multicultural thing. Yes. But if you take a moment to look up, things are not as they seem.

That Tiger in your hand may have been bought for a Sydney price, you may be hearing a thick Aussie accent ordering Lack-sa, but you are far away from all the comforts of home. Happily. But here you can order milo with your meal, fo’ real.

English is prevalent, gum is allowed and we recognise some food from home, satay anyone? But look around and realise that you are somewhere very different, somewhere with non-existant OH&S rules.

Beautiful Islamic architecture dominates KL, domes, stars and towers, well maintained and intricately decorated. Read more about it here. I love the way that it looks, but feel a little uncomfortable when government building could be mistaken for places of worship.

Look up, wipe the sweat from your eyes and it is obvious that you aren’t in Australia anymore. Happily.

I know that this is in no way correct but in my mind Penang island is divided into three sections. North East is Georgetown, a city filled with delicious food, with tourists but balanced out by locals going about their business. North West-ish is Batu Ferringhi, a beautiful beach lined with resorts, a rich tourist enclave with tourist attractions and food to match. Then there is the rest.

Previously I’ve just stuck to Georgetown and ‘the rest’, time to check out Batu Ferringhi, no? I caught local city bus to the end, then walked to the Butterfly farm. The bus, complete with free WiFi I’m not joking, followed the windy road past the beach fronting Shangri-La, Parkroyal, Hard Rock Hotel (I know, right) and Hydro Majestic, the view was mostly of the car parks of these fancy hotels and westerners walking hand-in-hand experiencing some local colour.

That was enough of Resort-town for me. Though I would have loved to stop at the beautiful, famous Floating Mosque, nothing else here really interests me. Further on, I visit the Penang Butterfly Farm and the Tropical Spice Garden.

The butterflies were plentiful and beautiful, the other visitors were plentiful, but ugly. Unfortunately I visit on the last day of the Malaysian school year, and instead of locking those kids up in a darkened room in front of one of the Terminator movies, they get an excursion to the butterfly farm. C’mon, think of the foreigners, Arnie was good enough for us!

Cat Gecko

I managed to shake of the hoards of primary school kids and hide in a near empty auditorium for the insect show. My favourite animals were the bearded dragon (image up top), and this cat gecko. This lizard might look like a regular speedy gecko but it moves slowly, like a cat stalking prey. This one was called Felix (Hi!).

I took so many photos of these butterflies, I even post-processed many more than you see here. The butterflies are just so beautiful.

Anyway, next stop was the Tropical Spice Garden. Yawn. It was very average. The best part was the gardener who kept calling me over and pulling snakes out for me to look at. I didn’t stay too long, just a quick stop at the beach across the way and a short wait for the bus, then I was back in air-conditioned, internet comfort and on my way to lunch.

Penang Butterfly Farm
Catch 101 bus from Jalan Penang 4RM, get off at almost the end, then walk 1km. Well signposted.
Entry 20RM, worth it. Go early.

Tropical Spice Garden.
101 bus
Entry 14RM, I wouldn’t bother.

Georgetown is a lovely food filled city on the beautiful island of Penang. Loved it back in January, but this time was even better I think. First of all, my room had a window - amazing for cheap Malaysian accomodation. You have no idea how much you miss sleeping in a room with a window until that luxury is yanked out of reach.

I think this was a hair-dressing salon, not sure why the Australian flag is flying

Secondly it was cooler this time. It started to drizzle on my first day there around breakfast-time (Steamed Kaya Bread at Toh Soon Cafe) which made walking around until lunchtime pleasant and cool. There were bursts of drizzle throughout my entire stay, I think I even may have gotten cold at one point and no, I wasn’t on a freezing air-conditioned bus at the time.

The new majestic seems to be falling down.

Thirdly, I did more exploring. The temperature drop made wandering pleasant and was much more conducive to eating.

Mosque at dusk

And eat I did. I flew to Penang late at night, and almost as soon as I entered the airport in Kuching I got hungry. I woke up ravenous, and had multiple breakfasts, each one more delicious than the last.

My hostel may not have wireless in the rooms, but there is a guy here who used to be a science teacher in Byron. He is walking around with a fundamental foods bag. Furthermore, he can’t remember my name or who I am from one day to the next. Hilarious. I’m in Hanoi now, but were I in Penang it would be time for a stand-up cendol break - more on that later.

What to do in Kuching when your appetite is still AWOL? Yeah you guessed it, visit more tourist attractions. I don’t have enough time to go to Bako National Park and I’ve still not seen a real life pitcher plant, so one overcast morning I hop a local bus out to the Kuching Pitcher Plant and Orchid garden.

As I write this I’m sitting in Kuala Lumpur, watching So You Think You can Dance and avoiding packing for my flight tomorrow. Yeah, I’m leaving Malaysia tomorrow and I’m a bit sad about it, but excited about the adventure to come (and happy that I finally know how I’m going to get into Mums house when I arrive in Hanoi tomorrow afternoon - I won’t have to sit, lonesome on my bags and wait for her to finish work, hooray!).

Stop. Rewind to last week and my little outing. Well, I love travelling by local bus, cool wind, cheap price and this time I even got a seat and only a few strange looks from locals. It is a little like being the master of your own destiny, especially when you’re alone and you have no idea where it is that you’re supposed to get off.

… so, pitcher plants hey? Yep, uh huh. The little ones at this garden aren’t really that impressive after you’ve seen a hundred or so of them. And lemme tell you, after I visited this garden I saw pitcher plants everywhere I went, by the side of the road, in markets. The basic concept is that they trap prey in these liquid filled traps and they’re pretty too.

Oh and there were a few orchids (Ella, I’ve got some more orchid pictures heading your way). And mosquitos as well. There were also really delicious crisp pancakes filled with gula melaka and peanuts at the bus stop, as well as piles of young children running around. School let out just as I started to wait for the bus. Cars parked in the middle of the street, air-conditioning still pumping, drivers disappearing. Kids running around, eating snacks, dumping their bags in piles and yelling. Cars pull up, kids jump in and they weave their way out of the carpark road. Parents razz kids that aren’t theirs, groups get into orange school busses, tiny kids dart across the road and in 15 minutes the road is clear, no children to be seen.

Great, on SYTYCD now is the Vienniese Waltz aka the most boring dance ever. Looks like I have to try to pack. Wish me luck!

Kuching Pitcher Plant and Orchid Park
Get there from the bus station near the mosque, I took bus 6A to Padawan (10 mile) and it cost 3RM. Entry was 10RM. Bring insect repellant.

In an effort to get out of my Kuching funk, I do that tourist thing. There are a bunch of different tours available, river cruises, trips to Bako National Park and something that seemed a little more approachable - Orangutans. A 40 minute mini-van trip out of town, it feels good to be on the move again even if it is only down the road to sticky beak on Orangutan feeding time.

The alpha male, Ritchie, sits like a king on the feeding platform, reining over the banquet. He moves around slowly, when his crimped, shining back is turned the other hungry apes creep stealthily in and steal a coconut then quickly scamper away, up a tree to eat in safety.

Different groups of Orangutans swing in and out of the viewing area, eating and playing though always steering clear of King Ritchie.

There must be an Australian working here at Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre naming the Orangutans. I saw Murray, Rose, Roxanne, Barbara and of course Ritchie. Oh by the way Lela, you seem to have dropped back a few evolutionary steps since I last saw you.

Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Kuching.