Philippine Travel Notes

Still in Malaysia, let us say goodbye to Penang Island and head to Langkawi Island, even if briefly! There are many ways to cross between these two islands, but I opted to fly in the interest of time! The distance (I'm estimating) is roughly similar to flying from Cebu to Bacolod, and of course it is also a domestic flight, since both islands belong to northern Malaysia, over the historic Straits of Malacca! For those not familiar, just FYI, these areas I'm talking about are already near the border with Thailand, i.e., the islands north of Langkawi are already part of Satun, Thailand. And mind you, if you look to the map's left edge , that is the northern-most part of Indonesia, Banda Aceh. Tsunami 2004, remember? Anyway, I did check all transport options from Penang to Langkawi: 1) By boat (fastcraft actually), this takes about 3 hours at almost a thousand pesos; 2) Ferry/Bus/Ferry Combination takes some 7 hours (adventure!) for a cost of 600 to 700 pesoses; and 3) ...

Sunsets are fun and fantastic in Penang, but not as crowded as other beach resorts in Asia. The fun rides get more active during these hours. Even more bustling than in the mornings! Maybe just like we did, visitors return to their resorts by sunset, after roaming the heritage city center! The parasails and the jetskis are so irresistible, you will blame yourself if you don't ride on one! The rides persist until it gets dark! They double as good accents when photographing the sunset! We loved the purplish hues.., but our phone cameras could only do so much to capture the colors.., Then the restaurants and bars light up, enticing everyone for sumptuous dinners and good music.., I love this relative tranquility at Batu Ferringhi Beach.

Let's go up the hills! This is another 'must-see' attraction in Penang. It's actually a group of hills in the middle of the island, collectively called via a singular ' Penang Hill '. But its Malay name is ' Bukit Bendera ' not 'Bukit Pinang'. Why is the 'Malay name' not a translation of its 'English name' or vice-versa? Ah eh.., it is probably just a matter of choice, where the choice got semi-permanently stuck to the residents' tongues! Amusing! It happened like this.., British colonizers liked these hills because of the breezy cool weather compared to Georgetown town center's humid hot clime. So, they built rest-houses, residences, even offices up there. One prominent build was the house of the governor of Penang. Being a government edifice, it must have the Brit flag waving up there. So they built a flagstaff (flagpole) for that, eventually calling the area " Flagstaff Hill ". Flagstaff Hill.., the hi...