Catching up in Penang

OK, so I'm now up in Penang after spending 2 days in Melaka, Malaysia. It rained most of the time, and we happened to be there on a holiday, so a lot of things were closed. We then went up to Kuala Lumpur, and had a jam-packed couple of days. The Petronas Towers were lovely outside and in, though the queue started awfully early to visit the sky bridge between them. We then moved on to the Cameron Highlands, which were a nice break from the horrible air quality in KL. We visited a tea plantation and got a little time in green space after being in big, dirty Asian cities for so long.

Unfortunately, my body seems to be fighting off some sort of cold/flu bug, and I've been feeling a bit lousy for a few days. I feel somewhat better today, though there are some lingering symptoms. I guess that's to be expected after living for a year in an essentially sterile environment.

We made it up to Penang (still in Malaysia) today, though the bus we expected to take us all the way out to the island didn't actually go further than the ferry terminal in Butterworth on the mainland. So, we caught a ferry and a taxi and made it to the hotel early in the afternoon. We're here tomorrow, and then that's all for Malaysia as we head up to Ao Nang in the Krabi province of Thailand.

Merlion mascot of Singpore:

Some little pedi-cabs at night in Melaka (sorry, it's not the best picture):

The Petronas Towers at night (from the KL telecom tower):

Tea plants on the BOH (Best of Highlands) Tea Plantation in the Cameron Highlands:

A pitcher plant in the jungles of the Cameron Highlands (about 6 inches long):