We decided to take advantage of the American holiday to travel to Penang for the weekend. (Tobi gets all American and Malaysian holidays off) We plan to do things on American holidays because on Malaysian holidays travel and accommodations are sometimes difficult. So, on Saturday morning we cranked up our GPS, loaded the CRV, and headed up the E1 highway. It's about a 4 hour drive, so similar to driving from SLC to St. George. The scenery is a little different however. Lots of green. Oil Palm plantations and rubber trees and just plain jungle, north through Ipoh and then west to the coast. Across the causeway and bridge to beautiful Penang. You may remember that we traveled to Phuket, Thailand back in September and I think we both liked Penang better.
We stayed at the old, historic Eastern and Oriental Hotel, established in 1885 by the Sarkies brothers. It has hosted such luminaries as Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham. It started out as two separate hotels, hence the unusual double name. We had a very nice suite with top level service.
We went on several long walks, visited the Cheong Fatt Tse Mansion, had some superb outdoor meals while watching the evening darken, spent some relaxing time by the pool, and met some interesting people. The E&O has been a destination for Brits on "holiday" for over a hundred years and it still is. We met a couple from England who come to the E&O every year in January and spend 3 months there. As you may not recall from your history lessons, Malaya was administered by the British for about 150 years until 1958, when it was granted its independence.
The weekend was over before we knew it but we had a very nice drive back home on Monday and we are back into our regular routine.
Scott and Tobi
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