A return to Malaysia was a must for Troy, as he fell in love with the food last time we were here, particularly because he felt this was one of the only countries in southeast Asia that would make it spicy enough for him. As well, last year we only visited the Malaysian side of Borneo, and the city of Kuala Lumpur, so there is still much of peninsular Malaysia to be explored.

Penang (pronounced more like, "Pee-nang", and not so much like the yummy Thai "panang" curry) is an island just off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, and is home to the culturally rich city of George Town. The oldest colonised city in the country established by the British is a fabulous place to lose yourself in for several days, taking time to slowly explore the very photogenic streets. But it's not just the traditional British influenced architecture that stands out - this city is an amazing blend of mosques, churches, temples, Chinese tea houses, Indian roti shops, an historical Armenian street just to name a few; it is just such a beautiful blending and preserving of cultural identities. We were fortunate enough to be in George Town for their annual cultural festival that was a bit like our hometown of Brampton's, "Carabram". Stations were set up around the Old Town for people to explore instruments, traditions, art, and food, and it really was one of the warmest, most engaging festivals we have ever been to. Clare even volunteered to try her hand at the traditional bamboo dance from Borneo, and managed to come away with her ankles unscathed having dodged the clacking bamboo sticks. Troy found some more dumplings he had been missing since Taiwan, and made it his mission to try as many different food stalls as possible over our 5 day visit, as Penang is world famous for its street food.

George Town is home to some fun and impressive street art, and we took on a bit of a scavenger hunt trying to find all of the murals that were listed on our map. Some of it has been created in a way that is intended to be interactive; 3D objects are often protruding from the walls such as bicycle seats or benches for the viewer to insert themselves into the art, and of course this made for some fun photo opportunities. George Town is also home to some slightly odd tourist attractions that seem like they belong more on Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, things like: an upside down museum, ghost museum, 3D chocolate museum, ice cafe, glow in the dark museum, just to name a few. Suppose it it keeps the kids entertained while the adults are busy gorging themselves on street food? And we took one day trip out of the city to Penang Hill - a hill station with an incredibly fast and steep funicular that zooms you up to the top for some great views of Penang Island, and Malaysian mainland in the distance. Once at the top there are some scenic trails through the rainforested area that are so quiet and serene, it is hard to believe just how close you still are in proximity to the city of George Town. We spotted a black giant squirrel (actual name, not our description) which is huge and fuzzy, running along the tree branches, and a long-tailed macaque, which we actually have not seen in quite awhile - for several months at a time last year these monkeys were a regular part of our sightseeing days. Nice to see you again, macaque! True to form, we watched this one extract a pouch of curry paste from a garbage bag on the road, and then proceed to take it up into the tree to tear into (hope it has a tough tummy).