After our final night in Trang, we drove south to the Malaysian border at Bukit Kayu Hitam. A fairly straightforward land border crossing, a scan of all our luggage and a 90 day tourist visa granted – though I will only be here for a week.

We continued to George Town in Penang and arrived in the late afternoon. After settling into the hotel, we had a brief orientation walk before heading to a hawker centre for some Malaysian street food and a beer.

The next day started with a journey out to Kek Lok Si temple in the hillside above George Town. Afterwards we headed to the old town and saw the town and city halls (very British style) as well as a clan jetty and some street art on Armenian Street.

It was very humid on this day. After finding lunch in some air conditioning, a few of us then set out on a street art tour of the old town. There is so much street art here, some are on the main streets, some in little, narrow alleys and despite it being lunar New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t too busy.

We headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon and had some dinner across the road. The restaurant was pretty busy as a number of places were closed for lunar new year. We ended the night on the rooftop of the hotel as fireworks were going off in celebration of the year of the horse.

I really enjoyed George Town, the old town had a lovely vibe to it and I’d definitely recommend you come here if you’re visiting Malaysia.

The next day was a travel day to Kuala Lumpur. Back in 2004 as a shy and naive 19 year old, I had 2 nights in KL (as the locals call it) on my way to a working holiday in New Zealand. I stayed in a hotel on Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang and was so scared I did not leave the hotel room. Thankfully my confidence has improved in the intervening 20 or so years…

Our hotel was on the edge of Chinatown. We arrived mid afternoon and headed to the Central Market for a late lunch. We were also lucky enough to see a lion dance which is traditional to see being performed in the streets at lunar new year. We then headed to the Petronas Towers and then took the Bukit Bintang walkway, an air conditioned walkway between the towers and a large mall about a kilometre away in Bukit Bintang.

In the evening I managed to meet an old university friend for a coffee and cake, and to try and catch up on the 18 or so years since we last saw each other! One of the things I love about travel is meeting up with friends from around the world and although we met at university rather than travelling, without my current travels I’m not sure when we would have seen each other in person again.

We had a free day in KL the next day. Most of the group started the day with an early morning trip to Batu Caves. Going early (we were there by sunrise at 7.30am) meant we missed the crowds and the heat, and most of the monkeys which roam in this area. It’s a bit of a climb up the nearly 400 colourful steps, and at the top is a cave containing a Hindu temple.

We were back at the hotel for a late breakfast and afterwards some of us meandered around the sights in Chinatown, which was all decorated with red lanterns for new year.

I had booked to go up the Petronas Towers in the afternoon, something I’d intended to do 22 years ago so was very pleased to finally get there on this trip. I find these towers to be so very elegant and it was cool to be on the sky bridge which, fun fact, is not actually connected to the 2 towers! It is constructed to sway in the wind and so the bridge can move slightly in and out of both towers. Some excellent views to be had from the skybridge and the viewing platform.

The next day we were off to our final stop in Malaysia, Melaka, also sometimes written as Malacca. Like George Town, Melaka is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I found it more crowded the George Town (maybe because of the timing of the new year holidays), but there’s lots of pretty buildings and more street art to be seen.

We had 2 nights in Melaka and on our full day we started with a trishaw tour (like a rickshaw but with 3 wheels). We saw a number of sights in the old town including the Christian churches, mosques and Chinese temple.

After a lovely lunch along the river, my roommate and I meandered the streets in the afternoon, had a McFlurry and headed to some air conditioning in the hotel before our final evening in Malaysia. A group of dinner followed by drinks at a bar along the riverfront.

This trip in Malaysia was focused on the cities rather than the natural scenery. I enjoyed the sights and art in George Town and Melaka and it was so great to meet up with my old friend in KL, as well as finally getting to the Petronas Towers.

Next up, 24 hours in Singapore before onwards to Jakarta…