Southeast Asia - Week of August 5: Malaysia Week 5/India Week 1

Welcome to transition week! I'm wrapping up my 30 days in Malaysia on Friday, August 11 and flying to Chennai, India. We left last week's update with my landing in Penang and scurrying across the road from my hotel so I can enjoy hummus with naan bread. Still thinking about how delicious that meal was!

Please note that India requires Canadian tourists to have a visa to enter the country. The application process is completed online with a cost of $25 USD. Be prepared to list the countries you have visited in the last ten years along with providing detailed contact information for a Indian citizen living in the country. 

I included Chennai, India on my itinerary because I thought it would be amazing if I could see where my good friend Praveena went to university and perhaps meet her parents. Chennai is a short four hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. I will be visiting Praveena's parents in her village (Nagarthangal village) on Wednesday, August 16.

This week's travel summary: 

Malaysia (domestic); Penang to Kuala Lumpur - train (returned to KL by train)
International Flights: Kuala Lumpur to Chennai

Penang Revisited

Dark Chocolate Heaven

I decided that I would take the train from Penang to Kuala Lumpur for my upcoming trip on Tuesday. Taking the train meant I needed to get a taxi ride to the Georgetown ferry station (Swettenham Pier Ferry Terminal) for a free 10 minute ferry ride to Penang Sentral station where the bus and train terminal were located. My Sunday mission was to visit the ferry terminal to familiarize myself with the logistics and learn more about locating the train station once I get across. I have this underlying need to know travel logistics, where possible, as I get very uncomfortable (and agitated) when I am in airports and terminals and there is uncertainty about what to do and where to go. I'm much better with managing this 'stress' these days, just like to avoid the stress where possible.

My recon trip to the Pier started with taking the hotel shuttle bus to their sister hotel in Georgetown. The terminal was a short 2 km walk from the hotel. So, there I was walking to the terminal when I discovered a local chocolate store. The discovery was quite by accident as I had walked past the store on my mission when I retraced my steps to a sign I guess I had noticed and failed to register the significance immediately.

And there I was, once again, in chocolate heaven. What a most wonderful shopping experience. The woman giving the thumbs up in the photo below was the best salesperson ever. She offered (suggested) different samples to help guide my purchase. All chocolate is halal for those who have this dietary requirement. I mentioned that I buy extra chocolate as I like to give chocolate as a gift to people I meet who catch my attention and I want to thank. My comment led my salesperson to recommend buying a small package of six different chocolates that had Thank You on the packaging. What a great find!

Meet the best salesperson ever!

100 gm of flavoured dark chocolate (52% dark)

Thank you package; Chocolate bar and mini-chocolate
bar with sea salt (my all-time favourite!) 
Should have bought more sea salt bars - ugh!

Penang Hill

Monday's adventure was going to a much promoted tourist destination - Penang Hill. There are a couple draws for this destination - the funicular that takes you up to the hilltop and the view from the top. I hopped the afternoon shuttle and walked about 6 km to the Hill. Unfortunately, the day was somewhat overcast which interfered with a clear view of the mainland (see photos below). The funicular ride was incredible. Basically, the cars went straight uphill. We sure trust engineers and maintenance people to be vigilant in doing their jobs, don'w we?

Start of journey

If you look between these people's shoulders
you may see the funicular track going straight up!

View from hilltop looking west toward mainland

Georgetown view

Georgetown view

Funicular cars

Funicular - front end

Meals

Dinner

I discovered a couple street hawkers for dinners. Thank you Google Maps and all those people who complete reviews. I'm happy to report I now am more vigilant to complete reviews to share my experiences. 

Jenny's restaurant - Char Kway Toew

Chicken Mee Hoon

Coconut Rice

Desert Roti - banana, egg and chocolate sauce

Where dinner was served - across road from hotel

Same restaurant - notice the McDonald's sign

Some kind of soup - unable to remember name
I do remember inadvertently eating very hot
green chilis...

Breakfast

Yes, David is the consummate fine diner. Here's where I had breakfast - roti canai with eggs (x2) and coffee with milk. Total cost - 8 RM (about $2.50 Cdn).

Roti Canai with egg and dipping sauce - delicious

Kuala Lumpur Revisited

I successfully navigated the taxi ride with Grab and rode the ferry to Penang Sentral. I learned from my Grab driver that the ferry people had just launched a brand new ferry on the previous day. It so happened my driver had taken the new ferry the previous day as well. He updated me on the logistics (bikes get on the ferry first) and dropped me off at the right location. What a gift to have his experience. We also had an interesting conversation about his background, experience working as a sales manager for a local tech company managing eight stores until the pandemic hit. He is now looking at establishing a shoe store for tourists in the ferry terminal. His girlfriend has a clothing store in the same place. He has also learned that all his sales experience is only welcome when his girlfriend asks for his advice. Any unsolicited advice from him is a recipe for relationship issues.

I recommend taking the train if you are traveling between KL and Penang. The ride is about 4 hours long, leaves from KL Sentral in KL and the Butterworth station in Penang Sentral. I paid about $23; the bus trip was about $14 and takes 5+ hours. The train is modern, comfortable and convenient. 

In my wisdom, I decided to alight the train at the Kuala Lumpur Station - one station before the KL Sentral. My rationale was this station was closer to my hotel (I was returning to Traders Hotel) so the taxi cost was less. My recommendation is get off at KL Sentral. I was unable to get a Grab car in the pouring rain. The station is very inconvenient, especially given the inclement weather. 

That said, I ended up having another fascinating travel experience. As I was walking to the Grab car pick-up place, a woman who I had seen on the train approached me inquiring about my suitcase dimensions. She was planning to travel to Rome and take a cruise ship to Florida later in the year. I explained I was unaware of the suitcase size as the airlines only seemed to care about the weight. The conversation outcome is I now have a new Malaysian WhatsApp contact (Ginny Wong). Ginny grew up in the Mississauga  area, went to U of T at Erindale campus, loved shopping at the Hudson's Bay, and was planning to visit Canada in December to celebrate Christmas with family. She had returned to KL to be with her aging father. Over the next couple days, Ginny shared some tourist info through WhatsApp. She also offered to pick me up on Thursday afternoon so she could take me to places where locals go. I graciously declined. I'm adverse to get into a stranger's vehicle in a foreign country. I left the situation with us connecting in December when she is in Canada.

My last twin towers photo

Malaysian Airlines business lounge -
Treated myself to business class for flight to Chennai

My two new books
I will learn how to rotate photos for next update - sorry

You will notice a lack of photos for my last three days in KL. As I mentioned I stayed at Traders Hotel so it would be convenient and familiar. I was very blessed to gain access to the Traders Club Lounge. I went to the 32nd floor to thank Oliver who had provided a number of important travel tips including taking the train. Oliver invited me to take advantage of the Club privileges while I was at the hotel. He also added complimentary breakfast in the Club to my reservation. Remember the dark chocolate gifts I like to share. I gave Oliver a 75% dark chocolate bar and I gave two of his colleagues (Farisa and Evelien) the Thank You chocolate packages. I had met Farisa and Evelien in my first stay. They were so kind and helpful in both stays. Oliver and I exchanged contact info. Oliver is from Kota Kinabalu area on Borneo - a destination I'm looking to return to. 

I did a couple new activities in my KL stay. 

1. I went to a bookstore and bought two books written by Malaysian authors. The 1912 book was written up in a Malaysian Airlines magazine. The Ghost Bride book I bought in error. I purchased the bookmark as I was advised I would get a 20% discount on the book purchase. In the end, I got the book and bookmark for the price of the book.
2. I saw the latest Mission Impossible movie in a cinema. Great movie to see on the big screen if you like these Tom Cruise series of movies. Lots of action, great special effects, stunts, humour and fabulous scenery. Movie ticket was about $5 Cdn and a large Coke Zero with a large popcorn was about $6. Popcorn comes in two flavours - salted and caramel coated. Yes, you can have the two types mixed together in the same package. 

Chennai, India

My decision to have the Park Hyatt organize my airport pick-up was a fortuitous decision. India is serviced by Uber and I was a little uneasy about using Uber in India - at the airport as my introduction to the service. 

I had two hotel staff greet me at the airport. The driver and Mathan - my new best friend. I shared my initial priority of getting a SIM card with Mathan as we were driving to the hotel. I discovered, with Mathan's help, getting an Indian SIM card is somewhat challenging. I would need to wait two or three days to have my identity validated prior to activating the SIM card which is troublesome given I am in the country for only six days. I was able to get immediate activation in Sri Lanka, Philippines and Malaysia. Mathan's solution - he would purchase the SIM card under his name for immediate activation, give the card to me to use and I would return the card prior to my departure on Thursday. Godsend! Travel experience has reinforced having a local card is so important and economical. Hunting for wifi when you need help is troublesome. Peace of mind is important. We also stopped at an ATM on the way to the hotel so I could have local currency (and repay Mathan). 

Park Hyatt

Wow! What an amazing hotel! Looking to be the best hotel experience to date. Every staff member is geared to help guests have the best experience ever. Mathan's assistance with the SIM card is one example of the service experience. The breakfast experience is another example. The hostess greeted me, guided me to a table, ensured I was comfortable and then asked me for my room number. Incredible service experience. My gosh, I am more than a room number. The staff member serving my table guided me through the breakfast menu - highlighting what was available in the buffet and on the menu (all included in the cost). Every staff member was going to ensure I had the best experience ever. 

I also wanted to revise my reservations because I had changed my travel plans. My original plans was to stay at the Hyatt for three nights, travel south to Pondicherry for one night (about three hours distance) and return to the Hyatt for the last two nights before my UK flight on Thursday am. I decided I would organize a day trip if I could stay the full visit at the Hyatt. The front desk staff were so helpful. I get to stay in my same room for the six nights - over two reservations. The last three nights will be at a lower cost as I apparently booked a different type of room. The front desk manager said I can just stay in the same room at the lower cost. 

More about how Mathan has helped find organize a day trip to Pondicherry with car and driver for me on Monday, August 14. 

Guindy National Park

On Saturday I had two missions:

1. Secure a Starbucks mug (Been There Series) for my younger brother Jim
• Mission accomplished
2. Visit Guindy National Park - very close to hotel. Guindy National Park is a 2.70 km2 (1.04 sq. mi) protected area within Tamil Nadu and is one of the few national parks located within a city.
• Discovered park is closed

Now we both know the Tamil Nadu state symbols

My coconut water vendor - flex straw included
He also cut the coconut open and scooped the flesh
so I could easily enjoy the flesh. Another first!

Park Hyatt Hotel Pool

Infinity pool on the ninth floor - view of Chennai in background. I am getting more comfortable with swimming near the pool's edge. I've made good progress on addressing the fear I experienced in the Cinnamon Red infinity pool in Colombo. 

Meals

I had the best butter chicken and naan bread on Saturday night at the Seven Spices restaurant across the street from the hotel. The breakfast menu on the right is what is available in addition to the delicious breakfast buffet. My plan is to work through the Indian Specialities listed. My server, Kipa, has been super helpful in understanding the choices before I make my order. 

Next Week

Well, the Southeast Asian adventure is ending on Thursday morning next week. My Etihad flight to London Heathrow departs Chennai at 4:20 am, connecting through Abu Dhabi, landing at Heathrow at 15:10 local time. My mission is to get from Heathrow to Waterloo Station to get on the 18:35 train to Weymouth (ticket is bought). My hosts, Barrie and Elizabeth, have provided detailed travel instructions. It's up to me for flawless execution. Fingers crossed. Big engagement party next Saturday evening (Aug 19). Exciting times ahead!!!