We spent a full two months in Penang in 2018 (Georgetown the capital to be precise), including a driving weekend to the mainland to visit Ipoh and the tea highlands. Simply put, we loved Penang. There is an incredible cultural mix with ethnic Malay, Straits-Chinese, mainland Chinese, Indian and international (i.e. non-Malay which make up a significant minority of 9%). Similarly, the religious side is similarly split between Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Chinese Folk religion. The only thing more eclectic seems to be the food, where you can find all the above plus substantial amounts of Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese etc. etc. etc. So for anyone that knows us, we were in food heaven.
One unexpected discovery was how much the Malaysians love cats! (In the areas we visited anyway.) There were cats everywhere and the Malaysians we met and made friends with confirmed this infatuation. Add this to our regular attendance at the Penang Turf Club to ride and help train two handsome boys owned by a new-found-friend, a visit to a butterfly farm, and to a local dog agility club (chaired by the same horsey friend) ........altogether means we have a LOT of animal photographs.
So please enjoy! Click here for the gallery:
(Once open, tap F11 for full screen, then just use your arrow keys or the mouse to move forward.)
~ Vientiene
P.S. For any photography enthusiasts or professionals reading: I use a Panasonic G5 (micro four-thirds), a 20mm f1.7 pancake and 42.5mm f1.7 portrait lens (that's a 40mm 1.7 FF and 85mm 1.7 FF equivalent respectively). Previously, from 2013-2017, I mostly used a 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens and a 45-200mm f4-5.6 OIS (FF equivalent 28-84mm and 90-400mm respectively). It was in early 2017 when I replaced the kit lens with the much faster 20mm prime, and due to weight and size I left the telescopic behind with friends in Penang in 2018 when I added the oh-so-small portrait lens with its razor thin depth of field. Such a great travel camera kit - the best camera (and lens!) is the one you have with you!