Penang

On our second day in Penang, the Dodgess and I decided that we were properly spoiled when it came to holidays. We were walking around the centre of Penang, which is reasonably attractive, and probably very interesting if you are into Asian religions. The trouble is, as city centres go, it simply isn’t as interesting as Vienna, or Paris, or New York. We went up Penang Hill, which on a clear day would offer beautiful views over Penang. For us, it was a little foggy, and anyway, the views wouldn’t beat that over Paris from the Eiffel tower, or Central Park from Rockerfeller Centre, or Boston from the Prudential Tower.

The hotel is Penang was ok – well, apart from giving us two small beds, rather than one big one, but we’ve stayed in better in lots of places. The food was pretty similar to Singapore – perhaps exciting if you’re not living in Singapore, but living there, again, we’ve had better.

And yet, there is a reason that we left saying that we’d definitely go back. It all happens between 6pm and 8pm. The most magical sunsets imaginable. It takes quite a lot for the Dodgess and I to stop, but this stopped us, as we sat in awe of the sun setting over the sea on the north shore. The next day, we weren’t sat on the beach, but the colours were just as awesome as we strolled out for dinner.

We may not go back – we can probably find such a sunset elsewhere – but we did enjoy our break.

Penang was in the middle of June, a month in which almost everyone I met said I’d joined the Jet Set. Well, frankly, I’m glad that in July I’m not in that set anymore. It probably can be glamorous, but for me, the 12 flights in 5 weeks, with 5 trips overseas and 14 nights in hotels really was not. For now, my work in Vietnam is on hold awaiting decisions from others, which means that I’m massively busy in Singapore. Being busy is, I can confirm, better than being empty at work. But it is VERY tiring!