Category Archives: Uncategorized

Now we’re sacked out at a fancy resort on Langkawi island. My standard of living has drastically increased during my parents’ visit.  The resort restaurant we ate at last night was really nice, but it feels strange to spend $30 … Continue reading →

There’s a giant semiconductor industrial park right next to the penang airport.  I took some photos out the airplane window.

We spent a few minutes in Fort Cornwallis, which was the base of operations for British trade.  Except, it wasn’t really the British, it was the EIC.  And, the more I learn about the EIC, the more I think I … Continue reading →

(That’s me posing in the middle of a fig tree.) The fruit farm was another photographic bust.  All the plants and trees look the same… except for this one:   Apparently that’s where dragonfruit comes from.  The cylinder under the … Continue reading →

(Stay tuned — more bug photos coming up.) This morning we hired a car to drive us around to a bunch of roadside attractions outside of town.  The spice garden is a botanical garden that features a bunch of herbs … Continue reading →

Penang island was a free port in the 50’s and 60’s, but then lost its free trade status. (At about the same time, Langkawi was designated a free port.  I don’t understand the politics of this at all.)  That means … Continue reading →

The main goal of the drive to Kuala Selangor was the fireflies on the Selangor river.  There’s a small boat-launch where tourists hire electric boats (or rowboats) to cruise around in the dark.  The fireflies only live on the mangrove … Continue reading →

I’m not sure why this was part of the tour, but at some point we stopped and rode a strange-looking jitney up a hill to look at some old European fortifications which overlook the straight.  The main draw of the … Continue reading →

So far, most of what I’ve seen of the countryside of peninsular Malaysia consists of palm-oil plantations.  Our tour-guide Saan’s father used to work as an engineer at an oil factory, so Saan is full of palm-related factoids. The trees … Continue reading →

Today we’re taking a long, slow, daytime train from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth, and then a ferry from Butterworth to Georgetown in Penang. This train is the slowest transport option along this route, and I’ve selected it so I can … Continue reading →