First impressions of Malaysia were very favourable. It's incredibly green with trees and grass lining the sides of the road. It seems well organised and unhurried. They even have the three-pronged plugs like at home and cars drive on the left. No elaborate Buddhist temples or ostentatious gold statues lining the sides of the road here.
It was dark as we hit the outskirts of Georgetown. We crossed the longest bridge in SE Asia, though it was difficult to see in the dark. Finally reaching our hotel we checked in and took a quick walk to get our bearings and grab some food. I had the first of many curries while in Malaysia, a delicious local buffet, a mix of Indian and Malay flavours.
Next day we woke to torrential rain that had been pouring for much of the night. We only had a day in Georgetown so wanted to make the most of it. Donning waterproofs we headed out to do a walk of the city taking in some of the main heritage sights, including beautiful old colonial buildings and houses like the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, temples and the waterfront including Fort Cornwallis. As the rain stopped, the heat kicked in. The humidity was stifling as wandered through the back streets, each turn throwing up another fascinating sight, past old Chinese merchant houses, through Little India with the food stalls and shops selling saris and traditional Indian dress, Bollywood DVDs and cheap religious statues made of plastic gold. Past mosques and small Buddhist shrines outside the shuttered houses. It was a delicious assault on the senses.
Street art around the city told the history of Georgetown including Love Lane which was formerly the place where rich men kept their mistresses. Now, apparently, you're more likely to get mugged in Love Lane after dark. A little known fact is that Jimmy Choo is from Georgetown!
At the end of the heritage walk some of our group drifted back towards Little India while we went on to the Chocolate Mansion. We sampled many types of chocolate including with chilli, blueberry and even Durian fruit. We also sampled some delicious iced honey lemon tea before deciding to get more in the cafe.
We drifted back to the hotel, walking slowly and sweating profusely. Of all the places we had travelled to we had never experienced heat and humidity like we did in Georgetown. It was incredibly oppressive. Undeterred, once we'd changed shoes and had a quick freshen up we headed back out to Little India to a vegetarian restaurant for a late lunch - another curry - and refreshing fruit juice. Then we retraced our steps from earlier in the day wandering around the side streets. I bought a sari, in readiness for a Muslim wedding in August. Then, finally being worn down by the heat, we went back to the hotel to rest up before heading out for dinner that night. We went to a street food market where I had my third curry in 24 hours, a disappointing vegetable biryani, and we were entertained by a man in a Stetson singing Michael Jackson songs and playing keyboards.
Friday night in Georgetown and we were in the mood to party so headed down to the main thoroughfare where the bars are located, most of them frequented by tourists. As a largely Muslim country with strict laws on alcohol, it was also expensive, though still favourable compared to prices at home. We were enticed into an outdoor bar by the people drumming up business, with the promise of cheap alcohol. The guys opted to share a beer tower whilst the girls shared a cocktail tower of tequila sunrise. Several glasses later, the karaoke urge rippled through the group. We were told we'd have to buy beer in order to sign up to sing. Deciding to save our money, we launched into some impromptu singing in the bar. As the drink flowed we became increasingly raucous and increasingly tuneless, with our grasp of some of the lyrics negligible. We massacred a few songs that night. We moved on to a reggae style bar but the spell was broken. The atmosphere was gone. We finished our drinks and wandered back to the hotel. Tomorrow we were headed into the countryside to the Cameron Highlands.
Having no preconceptions of what to expect of Malaysia, Georgetown had shown what a fascinating country it is. It's a melting pot of races and cultures. Chinese, Indian, Malay live happily alongside each other. There are dashes of European influence too, remnants of former Portuguese and British colonialism. There are Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, Islamic mosques sitting alongside Christian churches. People co-exist without conflict. As countries go it's an example of multi-culturalism at its best and Georgetown is a wonderful exponent of it. Malaysia had surprised me and I was keen to see more.