Penang, Malaysia – January 20

giant ship about to back into us

Hot (as usual) but not too sticky

Today is our first step off of the boat in Penang, Malaysia. We are off by 9:00 am so the weather is quite lovely for the first 5 seconds!!

Considering how warm it is again, the bus we are on for the morning is like a freezer. I am NOT complaining, however…I’d say it is the coldest bus we’ve ever been on. At times I’d consider the AC WIND! Again… the last thing I’d ever do is complain about AC, but wow!

fresh tea in the jungle

spice garden tour guide

Our first stop today is to a botanical garden. This is a tranquil spot where many locals and tourists come in the morning for exercise. We take a stroll through the jungle where our guide describes different plants and flowers. For most of the time we walk along a stream of fresh water. We are told there are monkeys and finally see 2 at the very end of our visit.

canon ball tree - very cool

Next, we drive along a winding ocean-side highway on the way to our second stop fo the morning - the Tropical Spice Garden, this spot has a living collection of more than 500 species of local and introduced plants with an emphasis on tropical herbs and spices. Again this place like the botanical garden is extremely lush, I suppose everywhere here is lush! Along the way the guide shows us many plants that we are familiar with their dried form – cinnamon for example.

jungle

Once we return to the boat, we have lunch and spend a leisurely afternoon on our balcony.

Tonight is the ship’s block party – when everyone heads out into the hall outside their room with an empty wine glass. Wine and snacks are served while everyone meets their neighbors. We met our neighbors, 2 doctors from London.