Our 2 month visa in Indonesia has come to an end so we are off to our next port of call.
After a good night sleep in our smart hotel, we left early to catch the Airport Railink train, which is all shiney and new and runs to the airport just outside central Medan. It costs around 5x the price of the bus, but the traffic jams in Medan can be so bad .... you may arrive 2 hours later than you expected! From the hotel we caught a becak and it was around a 10 minute drive to the train station.
There were not many local restaurants open, as it is Ramadan but we did manage to grab some pizza for breakfast at the station! The Railink whisked us off and in 30 minutes we were at the airport.
The new airport was very efficient and quite quiet. We checked in, dropped our bags and had plenty of time to relax. Our flight with a Malaysian airline, Firefly, was super efficient too. The plane was boarded and took off exactly on time. It was a fairly strange experience flying on a propeller plane, as most big planes these days are jets. And, this budget flight even provided
free drinks and snacks.
We landed in Penang, Malaysia about an hour later. We collected our bags and caught the bus to Georgetown. In Georgetown we found a hotel, recommended by some people we had met and checked in. We then headed off to explore this UNESCO city.
First, we walked to the port as it was near our hotel. There we discovered a huge cruise ship in dock. We enquired where it was heading and were told nowhere. We asked again, "Which port does the ship go to after Penang?" A simailar answer ... The cruise ship sails out to sea, doesn't dock for the night but then sails back to Penang in the morning! Why, we wondered ... and then it suddenly dawned on us, it must be used purely for gambling?!?
We continued to Fort Cornwalis and its lighthouse before heading to a nearby hawker food court. However, it wasn't open because we were too early. It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to our hotel in Little India.
We spent our evening eating huge Indian thalis the traditional Indian way, with our hands and both getting in a right old mess!
After a good night sleep in our smart hotel, we left early to catch the Airport Railink train, which is all shiney and new and runs to the airport just outside central Medan. It costs around 5x the price of the bus, but the traffic jams in Medan can be so bad .... you may arrive 2 hours later than you expected! From the hotel we caught a becak and it was around a 10 minute drive to the train station.
There were not many local restaurants open, as it is Ramadan but we did manage to grab some pizza for breakfast at the station! The Railink whisked us off and in 30 minutes we were at the airport.
The new airport was very efficient and quite quiet. We checked in, dropped our bags and had plenty of time to relax. Our flight with a Malaysian airline, Firefly, was super efficient too. The plane was boarded and took off exactly on time. It was a fairly strange experience flying on a propeller plane, as most big planes these days are jets. And, this budget flight even provided
free drinks and snacks.
We landed in Penang, Malaysia about an hour later. We collected our bags and caught the bus to Georgetown. In Georgetown we found a hotel, recommended by some people we had met and checked in. We then headed off to explore this UNESCO city.
First, we walked to the port as it was near our hotel. There we discovered a huge cruise ship in dock. We enquired where it was heading and were told nowhere. We asked again, "Which port does the ship go to after Penang?" A simailar answer ... The cruise ship sails out to sea, doesn't dock for the night but then sails back to Penang in the morning! Why, we wondered ... and then it suddenly dawned on us, it must be used purely for gambling?!?
We continued to Fort Cornwalis and its lighthouse before heading to a nearby hawker food court. However, it wasn't open because we were too early. It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to our hotel in Little India.
We spent our evening eating huge Indian thalis the traditional Indian way, with our hands and both getting in a right old mess!
