A few years ago, British comedian Dave Gorman did a very funny television show called ‘Modern Life is Goodish. He argued that things were neither good nor bad, just goodish.  That’s my experience of Malaysia.  In the bracket of interesting, enjoyable, glad I came, but I’m probably not coming back, that kind of goodish!   In a world where social media reels will tell you that everything is amazing and life is fabulous, I’m not sold on Malaysia.  Everything is good-ish.  Or maybe I will come back for Malacca or some of the islands??

You see, I find experience of traveling really does allow you to judge a country in a few days.  When I say judge, that means in my opinion, what this country is like for me.  I knew within hours that South Korea was going to be great, for me.  My first experiences in Kuala Lumpur included a musical water fountains show at Pretronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur which had me questioning Malaysia for me.

Malaysia is a melting pot.  It attracts over 25 million tourists a year. There is plenty to do and see.  A diverse south east Asian country mixed with Malay, China and Indian cultures.  It was interesting country to step into.

A Dark Horse

I read about a British Pub in Kuala Lumpur called the ‘Dark Horse’. A dark horse in England is someone who is an underdog who finds success.  I thought is was a brilliant name for a pub. They sold Stella on draught, so I was all in.  In an unsurprising twist of fate, it was good-ish, both in food and atmosphere.  They did have English Championship football on the TV, so some things were better than good-ish:)

The Kuala Lumpur Metro is very good to get to places, there are several metro lines getting you around the all parts of the city easily.  I went out and through KL Sentral more times than I care to remember, as this central hub had six metro lines that sent you in all sorts of directions.  The cost was always less than $1. Right near my hotel was the Dang Wangi station that served as the starting point to most of my days, somehow, it was a name that was both hard to forget and hard to remember!

A Morning to Batu Caves

I set our early to Batu Caves, with a mix of jet lag and wanting to get ahead of the crowds.  Batu Caves is a famous limestone hill complex 8 miles outside Kuala Lumpur that features Hindu temples and Shrines.  It’s eye catching with its 272 colorful steps and they are a steep challenge to navigate up.  Apart from the steepness of the climb there are monkeys in all directions.  Batu Caves is a site to see and experience.  There is an impressive 140 foot tall golden statue that greets you at the entrance to Batu Caves.  I say this only from photos I saw ahead of time because presently it is under going reconstruction and was not visible on the day.  Batu Caves was good-ish too.

I headed back to central Kuala Lumpur to wander around some more.  Chinatown was great, particularly the area of Kwai Chai Hong.  Colorful stalls, narrow alleyways, historic buildings and a mix of tourists and locals.

I found my way to Bukit Bitang in my quest to find if Malaysia was in fact better or worse than good-ish.  As lunch time came around I found myself at Halab Gate.  I had absolutely no knowledge of this restaurant until I turned up outside.  The restaurant sales pitch is ‘where tradition meets flavor’ for authentic Middle Eastern cuisine.  I ordered the beef shawarma, but I think they must of thought I was eating for three…there was so much food.  It was all good though…and I took some shawarma with me for snacks later! Halab Gate joined the never ending list of good-ish.

The SIZE of the Schwarma at Halab Gate

My last stop off for the afternoon was the beautiful Perdana Botanical Gardens.  In the heart of Kuala Lumpur sits the 91-hectare pleasure that is these wonderful gardens which provided a very pleasant stroll on a sunny afternoon.  Quite a great find to have in the center of the city. This broke the mold of goodish and was very much in the excellent category. Oh be joyful.

Late afternoon I headed back to the hotel, and by chance, just in time as the heavens opened with an afternoon thunderstorm.  I was thankful I had found my way back to the hotel just in time.

A few hours later the rain abated, just, and I head out to see a few more places on my Kuala Lumpier visiting list.  The River of Life, Merdeka Square and the Saloma Bridge.  The River of Life and Saloma Bridge are really a night time visit, so this was the perfect time to swing by and see how excellent the views are from here.

Penang

Penang came with a great recommendation.  You can get there a few different ways from Kuala Lumpur, its 200 miles.  There are car, train and bus options but I opted to fly.  An early morning 1 hour flight got me to Penang before 9am with a full day to explore.  With a bit of pre-trip investigation I had mapped out a route that would have me get a Grab Taxi to Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang Hill and then into George Town.

The day didn’t start well. I was due to leave the hotel soon after 5am to connect with the trusty Metro and then off to the airport. However, there was an early morning thunderstorm going on, so these few minutes walk to the Metro was going to be a one minute run. At 5.30am I made a run for it to Dang Wangi Metro Station. I got there drenched. Only to learn that on the weekends the Metro doesn’t start running until 6am. I had checked, but was aware things changed on weekends. No matter, I was in bang on six and off on the first train to connect to the airport. A short flight and onwards to Penang.

Grab taxi service is similar to Uber and works great.  My driver took me to Kek Lok Si and from there I could walk across to Penang Hill.  Kek Lok Si is the largest Chinese Buddhist Temple in the country and it’s the center of Buddism in the region.  I spent of couple of hours exploring the stunning pagodas, sacred statues and panoramic views.

I then took some back streets on a 20-minute walk to Penang Hill.  This is a hill resort that you reach by cable car.  The problem was it was Saturday, and it was manic.  Amongst the throngs of people I found my way to a queue to buy a ticket.  Buying a ticket never happened.  There was a 2-hour wait.  With my limited time in Penang this was one tourist attraction I was just going to have to miss.  It might be good, good-ish or brilliant, but I guess I will never know.

I ambled back toward Kek Lok Si in search of a Grab taxi to get me the 7km to George Town.

As I pressed ‘search for a ride’ on Grab I found myself being stared at by someone not 6 feet away from me.  It turned out he was a Grab driver and was awaiting for his next fare.  I accepted gratefully and within moments we were on the 19 minute drive to George Town.  When I say 19 minutes, it was probably a little more as we got stuck in traffic along the way. I heard great things about George Town, so I was excited to see what lies in store.

George Town really reminded me of Antigua in Guatemala that I visited a few short years ago. I thought they were so similar that they might be twinned towns. They are not, but do share the same colonial architecture and a rich history. The day was sunny and warm which meant the walk around George Town, and in particularly Armenian Street was great.

I have to say the Street Art around every corner in George Town is excellent. It was the best aspect of the place. I do love street art, and whilst it was not quite up on the Valparaiso Street Art level in Chile, it was really great and the highlight of the visit here.

I expected Penang to be a small quiet small fishing town. I’m not sure where I got that line of thinking, but it is a built up, mega busy, traffic congested vibrant town. I wasn’t quite sure to be happy or sad with what I found, but it was just not what I expected. I went to the Rainbow Skywalk at The Top venue in Penang. When I say Top venue, I don’t mean top as in the best, I just mean the TOP venue, that’s what they call it. Yes, confusing I know. This 68th story skyscraper was exactly the opposite of what I thought I would find in Penang. Out of interest, I went to the top and was amazed with how much Penang is built up. I saw a cruise ship stationed in the distance, and that told a whole new story. If there is a cruise ship in town it’s going to be busy and it’s not going to be fun! That’s my general extensive experience.

I will add a short footnote to the Rainbow Skywalk because I have not seen this before…check out the link, and you will see the usual personal photos they take of you so that you remember your day and experience. The problem is, they have you put on the most ridiculous footwear covering, and then take photos of you with these hideous blue things in full view. I’m sure there must be a reason for it, but I’ve not seen it before and hope to not see it again. I’m guessing their photo sales are near zero!.

I found a few nice small street foods to try as I head back to the center of George Town for one last stroll around before picking up one more Grab taxi and back to the airport for the short flight jaunt back to Kuala Lumpur.

In the vein of never to oversell and under deliver, Penang was batting the Malaysia average, it was Good-ish. Well there’s a surprise 🙂