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Hi, guys!

I just got back from a trip to Penang, an island off the northwest coast of Malaysia. It’s supposed to be famous for the beautiful beaches and the historic Georgetown, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stayed at a really nice resort on Batu Ferringhi, but frankly, the beach was disappointing. (I guess after seeing some of the Philippines’ best beaches, my standards have become really high. Haha!) But that didn’t stop me from having a great time. As I’ve learned on this trip, it’s not just the beauty of a place that makes or breaks a trip. There are other factors as well, such as…

1. Surprising Discoveries
When my friends and I were walking around Georgetown, we happened to pass by The Chocolate Boutique. It wasn’t part of our itinerary, but as soon as I saw the sign, I knew I had to go inside! The store had about 90 different varieties of chocolate (dark, milk, white, sweet, spicy, with fruits, with nuts, with green tea, etc) and coffee. The best part? Free tastes of everything! I was in chocolate heaven!

That’s me and my friend Maida with our baskets full of goodies. We had such a hard time deciding which chocolates to buy. I wanted a bit of everything!

2. The Food
An important part of any trip is having a taste of the local cuisine. I must have gained another five pounds on this trip because the food was really good!

Here is our spread of Indian food at a restaurant called Jewel of the North. I never really appreciated Indian food before, but I became a big fan after this meal!

This was at a hawker center on Gurney Drive where we tried some popular Malaysian food like the laksa, char kway teow, and nasi lemak. As you can see, we were too busy eating to notice the camera! Haha!

3. The Company
I had such a blast hanging out with my girls—Bong from Malaysia, Susan from Singapore, and Maida from the Philippines. (Our friends Neuy from Thailand and Wina from Indonesia were supposed to come too but they backed out due to work reasons.) It’s been awhile since I last saw them so on our last night together, we barely slept a wink because we talked for hours trying to catch up about everything!

Here we are by the 13.5 km Penang Bridge, which connects the island to the mainland. (There’s actually an international marathon there this weekend. If I had known, I would have joined! Haha!)

Here we are with our Pinoy friend Arlene (the guy in the middle) who works in Penang. He treated us to snacks and drinks at David Brown’s, a restaurant on Penang Hill, with a great view of the city. He also drove us around and served as our tour guide for the day—one of the perks of having a friend in a foreign country!

So that’s it for my Penang trip. I can’t wait for our next reunion! I’m sure we’ll have fun, no matter where we’ll be.

Missing Malaysia,
Angel