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#penang

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Update! I got a room at a decent hotel at Gurney Drive. Although it's a tad annoying to be sorta "back" where I started, at least this time I got a seaview room and definite access to the beach (Gurney Park is right in front of the hotel). And a proper writing table, damnit. LOL

I really wanted to stay at a proper beach front hotel but I dreaded weekend crowd and the commute to the airport from places like Batu Feringghi and Tanjung Bungah. I never had an easy time each time I try to book a taxi. (Most cars avoid that place for a good reason lol.)

At Gurney, it's much easier. Closer to city and airpot. I did think of trying to get a room at Georgetown, but I realise I don't really want to be stuck in noisy Georgetown. (Most hotels in Georgetown have poor soundproofing and are too close to karaoke joints that blast music till midnight, even the fancy boutique places.)

Oh, good news: I got RM280 cashback from Agoda so I used that. woohoo

Previous post: hachyderm.io/@liztai/114282955

So I rented an Airbnb at a gorgeous location by the sea but I want to bail out early. The location is perfect and there's even a supermarket downstairs, but the apartment is pretty horrid!

It's my fault, really, I didn't read the reviews carefully and only realised the problems too late. I hoped for the best, hoping it won't be that bad. But it was lol.
Like the reviews said, the security refused to let me in, and if not for a kind old gentleman, I would've been stuck outside for goodness knows how long.

The mattress has already sunk in to the point that I can feel the springs dig into my back, so I ended up sleeping in the extra bed in the hall, but the mattress was hard too. My fussy neck hated the pillows, the travel pillow I bought was too hard ... the list goes on. And then, the final straw. Yesterday, all electrical sockets in the kitchen stopped working. The owner (or whatever company doing this) at least responded and told me to access the fuse box. Ugh.

But the most annoying thing was that there's no proper writing desk in the apartment, and this was supposed to be a vacation where I read, wrote and just did a lot of walking to think.

It's all due to my carelessness really, I didn't read the reviews carefully and was in a rush. AirBnbs are always a mixed bag, which is why I've moved on to booking hotels these days because I didn't want to bother with the inconsistent quality. But I took a chance because I wanted a cheaper vacation. Regret lol

Anyway I'm thinking of checking out early from this dump although there are two more days left to my stay. I had looked forward to this holiday and I'm super annoyed I can't write my heart out, read and enjoy the scenery in comfort.

What do you think? Leave or just salvage the situation?

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Am zweiten Tag in Penang ging es zuerst mit dem Linienbus aus Georgetown raus in eine Vorstadt – inklusive Verständigungsschwierigkeiten mit dem Busfahrer bezüglich Destination fürs Ticket.

Dort ist die Talstation der Bahn, mit der man auf die Hügel rund um die Stadt gelangen kann. Die Hügel tragen so klingende Namen wie "Bukit Bendera" (Flaggenmasthügel) oder "Strawberry Hill" (Erdbeerhügel), werden verwirrenderweise als Ganzes aber "Penang Hill" genannt als wäre es nur ein Hügel.

Dass dort oben Infrastruktur existiert, liegt an der Angst der Briten vor einem französischen Angriff in den napoleonischen Kriegen. Also rodete man die Spitze und baute einen Aussichtspunkt Richtung Meer im Norden.

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Am nächsten Tag ging es nach Georgetown auf der Insel Penang. Die Stadt ist bekannt für ihre Streetart, die ich natürlich auch gleich mal besichtigt und mit der Handykamera eingefangen habe.

Die Drahtinstallationen erzählen historische Begebnisse aus der Stadtgeschichte - im Bild hier die in der "Love Lane" wohnenden Geliebten der chinesischstämmigen verheirateten Handelsmänner.

Andere Streetart wird auch einfach zu Werbezwecken angebracht, siehe hier das Beispiel mit Mona Lisa.

Planning to travel downtown next week during Thaipussam, and it strikes me that the legendary, decades old, traffic congestion on that day can be completely avoided if we just banned cars for the day and flood the state of Penang with more buses. #Penang #buses