Malaysia is country #19 in our travels! A new country for all four of us, which is extra exciting.
We're staying in Georgetown, the cultural hub of Penang. As of 2008, Georgetown belongs to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It's a melting pot of British colonial buildings and Muslim, Chinese & Indian communities. They seamlessly blend together and make for a really interesting cityscape.
Street Art
We loved wandering around the streets of Penang. It's dilapidated in many places, but that just adds to its character. The city is peppered with all kinds of neat street art - some murals and others iron sculptures - all of which help to educate folks on the rich history Pengang.
Jetties
Equally interesting where the "clan jetties", effectively Chinese floating villages. Each jetty is named after a different clan (family). The houses were built on stilts above the water and wooden walkways were built, to form these tight-knit communities. We visit five of the six, and each was slightly unique. Some had retail and restaurants; others were simply a matrix of small, connected homes.
Paige picked up some cute little purple & orange earrings at one of the jetty stalls. She doesn't have her ears pierced yet, so it's a bit premature. BUT, she has been asking regularly when she can get her ears pierced. My sister and I got ours pierced when we were 10 years old. That was always my line to Paige, but at one point earlier in our travels, I tripped over myself and said that she could maybe get them done right after our travels/before she starts 4th grade. She's an eager beaver! She really liked the earrings, and she aptly said that she wanted to have them to remember her travels, even though she can't wear them for a while :) Sadie wasn't interested in earrings; rather, she wanted a fidget spinner, so we caved on that.
Upside Down
I had read about the Upside Down Museum in another family's travel blog months ago. We had an hour or two to kill before our flight from Penang to Langkawi, so I took the girls there while Doug got a foot massage. It wasn't my cup of tea, but the girls loved it. It was a cool enough space, maze-like and cramped with "sets" depicting different scenes or rooms, everything from a kitchen, to a child's bedroom, to a fruit market. Workers were positioned at each "station" and directed us each where to stand and how to pose for optimal picture results. They'd then snap our photo and direct us towards the next set. Felt like cattle, but it delighted the girls (which was the point!) and made for some neat photos. Plus we beat the heat inside the air conditioned building, which was nice :)
All of this added up to a really nice experience in Penang . . . artsy & authentic, kind locals and tasty food.
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