Golden Beach Resort Batu Feringgi Penang Wednesday 31st August, 2016

Today we had a quiet day around the hotel before we start exploring the Penang area tomorrow.

Went for a walk along the beach.

Parachuting behind boats

Coming into land.

Had a couple of swims in the pool. Bit disappointed as I expected to swim in the sea which I prefer but with all water sports going on in front of the hotel its just far too busy with boats. The sea goes down very steeply so you get a few dumpers coming in.

Bev, PT has just worked out that you are about 214 Miles as the crow flies from where we are. Do you want to drop over for a coffee. haha. For those that don't know, Bev is in Thailand.
This arvo we had a quick shower of rain come over which lowered the humidity and temperature which was great. Could sit in the room or on the deck with the ranch sliders wide open and no air con on; very pleasant. First time since we have been in Malaysia we have been able to do this. The rain only lasted about half hour.
6.00pm the music around the pools kicks in giving the resort that evening atmosphere. Just nice on the balcony listening and watching the swimmers still in the pools. Better temperature at this time of day
Last night at midnight we were all woken with  massive fireworks going on extremely loud, lots of smoke around the hotel. Went on for some time. Stopped then started up again. Lots of people were on their balconies looking puzzled as we couldn't see anything but smoke. I was ready to run but PT who was still in bed just said shut the door you will let mossies in... We forgot to ask this morning what was going on. Hope it doesn't happen again tonight.

Dinner time.

Ten satays each half chicken and half beef.

Pork ribs

Sweet potato rolls

We shared the above plates all up our total meal cost  $7.00 each. Bit up market from last night at $4.00 each..

I found this photo on line. This is what we hit a few days ago when it was running across

 the road. It was hard to explain in my blog. I found this picture which explains it better. Solid things made a real thump of a noise. But came from under the car still running to the other side of the road.

Jen show this to Cody thought that he would be interested as he likes playing with the little ones at home. Bet he would run if he saw one of these.

George Town to Batu Feringgi Beach, Penang, Malaysia, Tuesday 30th August, 2016

PENANG ISLAND  which is located on the Northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca where the capital city George Town is located. It is connected to the mainland by the Penang Bridge which is 13,5 Kilometres long. While modern it does retaining its tradition of old world charm with its well preserved heritage buildings which led to George Town being accorded a listing as a Unesco World Cultural Heritage Site recently.The easy going lifestyle on Penang is a result of many different cultures, religion and food. The street food stalls are a popular place to eat.The fascinating culture is complemented by golden beaches. One would have to  search far and wide to find an island with so many natural attractions. A paradise that offers something for everyone Penang is a thriving tourist destination.

This is the 13.5 bridge  we crossed over yesterday which joins the Island of Penang to the main land. There is a second crossing o the south a little but in view of the fog today, it is out of sight.

The Wembley--A St Giles Hotel, George Town Penang. The cleanest hotel we have stayed in.

Enjoyed our one night at Gorge Town nice comfortable hotel especially been in a premium room makes all the difference with all the extra benefits.

We had a late check out at 1.00pm so spent some time in the morning walking around Little India. The cleanest Little India we have seen.

Above and below are the sites as we walked around Little India.

These are some little daycare/kindy kids out with their carers. I wanted to take the photo looking at the front of them but thought that the teachers might not approve so I had to look back and take it quickly.

We were passing this six story shopping centre mall and started looking at suitcases. Ours were really past their used by date. Having trouble with the zips and handles. We left the old ones in the hotel with their permission. I was sad to leave the old bags behind as we have had them a long time and had done us well on many trips.

Finally arrived at our next stop  at Batu Feringgi Beach still on the Island of Penang. It was supposed to take us about twenty mins from were we were but with all the traffic it was an hour and fifteen.

Front entrance to the golden sands Resort.

Really nice hotel we are on the 6th out of 7 floors. Really nice position room looking straight out to sea. The roll away bed was in the room so I asked for it to be taken away as it took up too much room. Don't know why they put it there. The room was much better without it made it feel big. It is a good size room and very comfortable.

Good size bathroom. The two basins came in handy as soon as we arrived filled them both and did the washing. Made it much faster with two basins. 

View from our balcony. The complex is a half circle shape which gives all the rooms a sea view. We are lucky that we look straight out and not from the side.

The beach looking both ways.

PT having a chat to one of the men in charge of the parachute rides.

Lots of action on the beach parachutes rides being pulled by boats, jet skies huge swimming pool with lots of kids play area in the pool slides, water pistol fights etc etc 

This was a great one for the kids . They are having water fights with the pistols although you can't really see this. To the left under the arches are continuous water spray to run through. At the top of the picture you can see a big bucket with water going into it which slowly fills up and when full tips the water out over the kids that are playing underneath when they least expect it. Lots of screams and laughter.

There is another fun pool for the kids with slides going into it but my photo was too dark so will re take it tomorrow.

Ron this one is for you...

When the sun went down there was some relief from the heat and humidity but when we went for a walk to check out the street stalls that come alive  once the sun goes down. All sorts of stalls but we were especially interested in the street food stalls which are very popular and so cheap. PT and I had one of these Murtabaks each. Then went to another stall and had an pancake. PT pineapple me banana all up cost RM 24  NZ$8.00 that's $4.00 each for a meal. The place was called Long Bay Cafe where they have one big open area to sit at tables with all the food stalls around. There are so many different stall so a lot of variety for our six nights. Why would you eat in the Hotel at RM75  NZ$25 each for a buffet. Very cheap eating at these road stalls. Most food is made fresh to order not all made earlier and kept warm.

Bulem Rainforest Resort to Penang Malaysia 29th August,2016

BELUM RAINFOREST
 Belum Rainforest is a pristine, unspoilt forest located at the northern part of the Perak state in Malaysia. Relatively unknown, Belum is actually one of the oldest rainforests in the world, possibly older than the Amazon and the Congo. It is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including 14 of the world's most threatened mammals (including elephants); 300 bird species, including 10 species of hornbills and 3,000 species of flowering plants, including 3 species of Rafflesia - the world's largest flower.

                                  In the heart of this forest lies the man-made Temenggor Lake.


Map courtesy of Cuti.my

In the 1970's, Temenggor Dam was built to generate hydroelectric power, resulting in the creation of Temenggor Lake, the second largest lake in Peninsular Malaysia. The flooding of this man-made Temenggor Lake created many islands out of what were once hilltops. One of the islands is Pulau Banding, where we were staying.

We left Belum Rainforest Resort today although we were booked in until tomorrow The story goes like this. We arrived early afternoon, Sunday, the sun was shining and all looked OK. We expected it to be a little different due to its position. Had dinner then went to the lobby to book a lake cruise the next day (today) But they said too late as you have to book all water activities by 7.00pm. It was now 7.30pm. We said but you should have told us all that when we checked in. The whole purpose to come to the lakes was to do this. Anyway earlier in the afternoon we had really noisy neighbours in the room next to us. Kids running up and down the corridor screaming and yelling, then in their room doing the same. We thought that we would mention it to the lobby incase it went on all night and wanted to know what to do if it did. We said we can put up with so much but not late at night. It also had an adjoining door in the room which I think made the noise louder. Anyway we put up with it and by about 11.pm it stopped. By this time it was hard to get to sleep. Then at six am it all started again.

We had had enough with this and not being able to do the lake cruise so went down and checked out this morning.

I rang the Hotel in  Batu Ferringhi Penang where we were .booked for six nights and asked if we could book in a day earlier but no they were all booked out. We decided to book one night in George town, so off we went. Another great day to drive through the other half of the forest/and the hills with some great views such a contrast to the East Coast.

The Belum Rainforest Resort.

The view from one of the dining rooms

PT walking down to the boat ramp wher you catch the cruise boat. Individual houses on the right are the most expensive accommodation very private and looking over the lake

.

The cruise boats. I think that the one we would have gone on was one of the little ones. I think that they go out on the lake for about six hours so big day but it is a big lake to explore. They take you to an island and give you lunch as well. Would have been fun but that history now.

View from above the swimming pool

A close up view across the lake.

Walking back up from the ramp you look up to the next level down accommodation from the individuals units opposite them. These ones also get lake views.

This is the lobby area. The resort is build on a side of a hill so quite steep climbing up to our unit. These buggies are used to take new arrivals to their units if they don't have cars.
We noticed that the temperature has dropped a little now we are in the hills but still hot. Comfortable temperature at night when you are walking around.

This is the hill that we had to climb to our unit and then it didn't get a sea view.

The grounds are beautiful and all lush and tropical. After all it is in a Rain forest.

This is a back path running through the greenery outside our back ranch slider.

Looking back to our room.

They told us if you drive along the forrest road at night you might be lucky and see an elephant on the roads. Thy are inclined to come out at nights and can be seen crossing the roads. We werent prepared to take the chance!!!!!

As we were leaving this morning  at about 11.00am this was the view of the lake in front of the resort. This is only a small section of the lake. The hotel is across the lake on the very left of the photo.

We were now on our way to Penang on the west coast joined to the mainland by a very long bridge. We stop at one of many roadside stalls where people are cooking different food and we brought a half chicken which had been cooking over a BBQ. RM9  (NZ3)  

The chap chopped it up and we stood round his stall and had a chat. All good fun mixing in with the locals.

This is the centre of the long bridge we crossed getting over to Penang Island.

WE have now arrived in George town for one night at the Wembley, A St Giles Hotel, We are on the 29th floor and this is a view from our room. We decided to go for a better room but at the time didn't realise we had booked into a premier club room. Which as you probably know you get all the special treatment . Private lounge for free drinks and nibbles which is more like a full meal the food is so good so that was dinner for the evening. I should also include that we met up with John. He is a Singaporean who lives in Christchurch. He gave us a few tips of what to see on the island. Very knowledgeable aged 56 and is a structural engineer by trade but now semi retired. He made mention that the history in this area, Georgetown, is quite unique which we have been reading about this morning. He also pointed out the best places to eat in this area as opposed to the more touristy areas where we are heading today as in the typical street vendors. The blog being a little late today as we had a few drinks last evening, the first in like 2 weeks!!!  We also have breakfast in this lounge this morning, much quieter than the main dining room. 

This is on the 30th floor premium lounge and the floor above, a helipad. When we went in for drinks last night PT said to the girls how do I arrange for my personal helicopter to come and pick me up Lots of giggling!!!

.  

This is a view from the outside area on the  11th floor A real mixture of old and the big high risers. Talk about Penang more tomorrow.

Outside pool on the eleven floor. I had a swim there yesterday.

Looking down from  the eleventh floor over little India

Might have a walk around little India tomorrow  morning before we leave. We have a late check out until 1.00pm as our drive tomorrow to our six night stay put is only 20mins away.

We are now looking forward to our six day stay at the Golden Sands resort by Shangri- La at Batu Ferringhi  NW of the Island only 20 mins away.

Forgot to mention over the last week the the AB's / Oz games where in the local paper. Even pictures.

Didn't think that anyone would have heard of them.