02.04 - Day 5 - George Town, Malaysia
Thursday 2nd April
George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Temperature Min 24, Max 32
9,709 steps
To explore a little before the crowds and before the heat, I borrow one of the hotels bikes at 6:45am (sunrise not till 7:15am stopping me going much earlier - there’s obviously no bike lights or indeed helmets) I meander through some of the old one lane streets bordered by thin ditches as gutters leading to classical two storey long terraced buildings.
I come across some of the murals Kate and I had found in 2014 when Sienna was a growing speck in Kate’s stomach. The shade holds the morning cool - though it's relative at 26 degrees. Very few people out and about except for some locals tucking into breakfast. Which is where I head next, back at the Citadines slowly joined by Seb then Kate and Sienna then Mema and Pawpaw.
Plenty of food on offer plus plates cooked to order, so too mixed juices. All somewhat of a world away from our 2024 travels. Sienna gently tucks into a stack of pancakes to regain some energy, Seb boiled eggs, Kate omelette, me roti canai. Mema and Pawpaw spot the bottles of sparkling wine and partake in a glass.
Rather than explore the Old Town in the heat we instead catch two Grabs to Entopia Butterfly Farm, 45 minutes away along the Northern coastline. The number of high rises and tall hotels continues to surprise - Penang is no sleepy backwater. Our taxi driver tells us it's common for retirees to move here for portions of the year.
In Entopia we pass first frogs, toads, spiders and, to Seb’s fascination, a pen of large scorpions. Out into the shady, tree and bush filled large enclosure we wend along surrounded by butterflies small and large, unique vibrant colours fluttering around.
Sienna persuades a few to rest for a moment or two, but Seb’s bright yellow Norwich City football shirt proves to be a magnet in one almost wet-in-the-air section. It's all a simple pleasure but it's well laid out, easy and enough butterflies to have your fill.
Occasional school groups wash over us, chatting away as they pour through. There are further exhibits indoors on the life cycle of butterflies including live collections of cocoons at varying stages.
Some massively zoomed in photos show the depth and intricacy of the butterfly’s patterns. One room offers the chance to make your own bookmark using silk which Sienna and Seb jump to. The cocoons are softened for three minutes in hot water before we all take turns effectively unspinning the cocoon - up to 900 meters long. (a single shirt might use two thousand cocoons). It's certainly labour intensive but Sienna and Seb’s white and gold silk is very soft.
A single six seater Grab brings us back to our hotel in the late afternoon. Like yesterday, the oversized breakfast means lunch was kind of skipped, so we take a 4pm meal at Bai Wei Xian - a dumplings place we’d spied yesterday.
The dumplings and Xiao Long Bao are very tasty, cheap too - 12 Xiao Long Bao, 6 steamed dumplings, 6 pan fried, 9 fried Xiao Long Bao, 2 pork and rice for 80RM or $5 each. It’s time to make use of the rooftop pool about 10m by 2m with one side a glass wall 4 inches thick.
It's great to cool off in, throw a ball and Seb and Sienna introduce Mema and Pawpaw to Marco Polo; a game playing tag but with the chaser having their eyes closed.
On returning to our rooms on the ground and first floor respectively we discover our Taipei to Hanoi flight has been moved 24 hours requiring us to find and book new flights whilst canceling the original - perhaps again one of the differences between this four countries in four weeks holiday versus our Southeast Asia two countries in 11 weeks in 2024. And/or the risk you run using VietJet Air.
When that's resolved we all walk out to the edge of the Old Town, powering Seb and Sienna with some mango smoothies as I roughly guide around some of the artworks and murals I'd found this morning.
