Penang 2, Me 1

Long-term readers of this blog know Penang and I have a bit of a history. I'd first visited in January 2011, and loved Georgetown and the wider island for it's history and food. I had a great trip.

Then I'd gone back in 2016, and that one ended badly (I mean, two weeks in hospital badly).

So, the big question for me, when I was going to be passing down the west coast of peninsular Malaysia again in late 2019 was, do I chance it again or not?

Of course I chance it.

So, I spent my days wandering the old town, admiring the old shophouses and visiting the clan houses.

I checked out a bunch of temples, and hiked around Penang Hill.

I marvelled at how much more crowded Georgetown had become in the 9 years since I first visited.

I ate great food in night markets.

And breakfasted like a king in kopitiams.

Then I got cocky and ate falafel and salad in a tourist-oriented cafe, and spent the next 24 hours stuck in bed with food poisoning, because the gods are cruel sometimes.

(Incidentally, this was the first and only incident of food poisoning on this trip, and I've been travelling for more than 6 months).

Penang, I love you, but I ain't chancing a 4th visit.