Malaysia

28/05/2026

My Visa expires tomorrow and just to rub it in the new landlord just txt needing my new Visa. The original plan had been to ride Donkey to Ho Chi Minh and get the plane to Georgetown Malaysia. I had read the most popular destination for expats to live was Georgetown, so I wanted to kick my new motorbike travels through Malaysia and into Thailand from there.

But I was motorbike travelled out. 3 weeks on a bike everyday had been enough and I just wanted to stay in the one place for a while. I had been longing to get back to DaNang and just sit on a couch and do nothing. I also had this underlining feeling that I also didn't need to see any more country for now. I had seen the North, and I still had the South to explore. So why take off and see Malaysia? There simply was no need. Finally, I also had the feeling that I already had my bike and freedom, why go to a different country and spend even more money?

Grok once again told me horse shit and said I could apply for my Visa so that when I arrived in Malaysia I simply hoped on a plane back to Vietnam the same day. Thus, I booked a plane from DaNang to HCMC and then the plan was to take the original flight already booked. I hoped onto the tablet to book the return flight and it was impossible to find a cheap flight. In the process of doing this, and email popped up. It was Vietnam customs.

Customs said my application needed amending because I could not apply for a Visa into Vietnam while still being in Vietnam. Fuck me. This ment I would have to fly to Georgetown and then apply when there. I booked a flight to return in 9 days and also accommodation, and hoped this would be enough time.

I landed in HCMC from DaNang and had to get the shuttle to T2. Stepping outside I expected to be hit with a wall of heat, but the temperature was just right. Much more comfortable than what I had been dealing with over the last weak in DaNang. Check in and customs was straight forward, and now I just had to waste away 3 hours. Spotting Burger King a hamburger seemed in order. "$US18" he said. WTF, what happened to Vietnam prices? I missed the place already.

The 1.5 hour flight to Georgetown was uneventful, but as soon as I arrived in Panang, I didn't like it. It was old and felt dirty. They didn't have grab bike either.. but given the temperature her, that was probably a good thing. Car only. I grabbed a car and finding the pickup point was quite straight forward. It was nice having a driver who could speak English and we had a good chat about Panang as we drove along. The trip from the airport to my accommodation took about an hour. I instantly noticed how the place looked substantially more like shanty town, and roads were clogged with traffic. I hadn't encountered traffic jams for what seemed like ages. Now they were everywhere.

The driver couldn't find the hotel, and the street numbers were all over the place. It just added to my impression that this place was a shithole. In the end I told him, just stop and I will walk and find it. It took about 30 minutes of walking up and down the same street to find it - a single door with 87 on it. Unbelievable. You would think a sign would be appropriate!

Accommodation is marginal, but the bed is comfortable. It was basically the cheapest I could find,, and at $AUD30 a night I don't think that's cheap. It also isn't helped by the fact that the Govt put a mandatory 10% per night tourist tax on foreigners. Again adding to my impression of Georgetown.

Looking for a place to eat I came across a place called "Spitfire Penang". This is an Australian owned restaurant serving food you would find in Australia. It is absolutely excellent and I love the deycor inside. For anyone coming here this place is a must, and I've eaten here 5 odd times so far. It's just such an enjoyable comfort to have home food. Fish and Chips like I get in Moe or a souvlaki like you would find on Sydney Road Melbourne.

29/5/26 - 31/5/26

Georgetown is listed on Goole as the vibrant capital of Malaysia's Penang state, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its rich history, unique multicultural heritage, and world-class street food. It is celebrated as the food and cultural capital of Malaysia, seamlessly blending colonial British architecture, Chinese shophouses, mosques, and temples.

Ok then, lets explore. The first thing that hts you is the sun. OMG it burns straight through. No wonder people are walking around with umbrellas. Both Grok and the grab driver had told me the best way to explore Georgetown was on foot, so walking we went.

As I walk along the town basically consists of two themes - Drinking and Eating. Every second place is either a bar, a coffee shop, or a food place. And if they are none of them then they will be a convenance store. I quickly conclude which also fits the vibe here that if you were an expat that liked to eat food, drink all night, and wake up at 4pm to repeat the next day, then this town is the perfect place for you.

But I'm also changing. Yes I got sick of eating eggs & rice in the North of Vietnam, but I am completely over this foodee thing. Eating all the time is bad for you, and I'm actually starting to detest it. Just before leaving DaNang I went on the hunt for some new swimmers and a rashie. Both not the easiest thing for a guy of my size to find.

When I tried the shorts on, the biggest size they had was 38. I told her I'm a 44 or 42 minimum, but she insisted I try them on. I couldn't believe it, they fitted! I have already lost so much weight and I don't want it back. I think most of this is from not eating shit. Vietnam food is terribly bland, but the great thing about that is that it's more natural and healthy, and your western taste buds adapt. It doesn't have all the sugars, corn, wheat, and oils that the West drown their food in, and the longer you eat it, not only does it make you healthier, it starts tasting delicious.

I also refuse to be a piss head sitting in a bar all day. It's easy to walk past endless bars (especially near My Kye beach) and see the same white faces sitting at the bar googling the nearest women in a bikini. DaNang Facebook groups are full commentary about it and I'm not going to be that guy.

So with all this in mind, the vibe of Georgetown isn't working for me. That night I returned to the hotel where a fat woman is sitting on the couch and telling anyone who would listen how wonderful Georgetown was. I asked her "what did you do?" She said we went to this coffee shop, and then this cake shop. Then we had lunch at this restaurant and then we went to a bakery and then went to this place for coffee...

I responded, "so apart from eat food and then more food you didn't do anything?" "We went to a temple and immersed ourselves in the wonderful culture here." I looked at her and said "seriously, what foreigner gives a shit about temples?" She stood up all read faced and left.

01/06/2026

The main attraction of Georgetown appears to be the viewing platform known as the Top. I headed to it and found it is next to 1st Avenue Mall and at the base is ICT digital mall. I found both these places enjoyable as one thing Malaysians love is there IT technology. They had all the major brands and I was tempted to buy A Huawei laptop. I'm so over this Samsung S10 Tablet it's not funny. It was a huge mistake thinking I could replace the laptop with Android.

Walking around the Mall I passed a KFC and was so tempted to eat here, but I have been quite sick in the stomach today and I didn't want to make things worse. I'm not sure what has caused that but the risk wasn't worth it. I had been sus on the filtered water at the hotel because it wasn't bottled, so I took photos of each of the filters (5 of them) and asked Grok, but Grok said it was a first class setup and it should be safe.

To get to the top, you have to do the rainbow walk and travel to level 6. Here you will find a kids theme park and lots of people dancing to entertain the crowd. The line for the tickets was ridiculous and I contemplated pulling the pin. Then I noticed 2 self serve screens with only one person at it. I went over there, pressed English and bought a ticket to the sky deck, and the bridge walk. $AU31 seemed expensive but I thought I just have to do it.

Getting to the top was pretty easy but after standing in the line for 20 minutes to do the bridge walk, I left the queue. You had to put on a harness so they could clip you to a cable and for whatever reason it took so long in the end I couldn't be bothered. It all seemed over the top to me as they still had chain mesh on the side of the walk.

I went up to the Skydeck, bought a Sprite and sat there for a good hour taking in the vista. The usual photograph posing took place, which I always find amusing and totally mind baffling. One guy in particular fucked around for 15 minutes just to get the perfect shot. I felt like saying "it doesn't matter what you do mate, your still ugly" but I didn't.

On the way back I ate beef chicken and mutton skewers from the street hawkers at he famous Chulia Street Hawkers. The whole hawker thing was overrated and super annoying as cars still travel up and down the road inbetween vendors. I found a table and purchased a mandatory drink, but then some people came along a and sat down and refused to purchase a drink. I didn't know how I felt about that. Were they just smart or assholes?

After Chulia Street I headed to New World Park food court. Now this is impressive, all sorts of food here. I was too full to eat anything, but I will definately be back

02/06/2026 - 03/06/2026

WTF. My Visa needs amending again. This situation is really starting to piss me off. With the plane leaving on Saturday morning I need a Visa! The message said "all fields must be filled in". I went over the form again and all fields are filled in. However, I found a mistake where I had written "Rosebery East Road" in one section and "Roseberry East Road" in another. Hoping that was the problem, I fixed it and sent it of again. But now I basically have one day to get a response before I'm going to have to pay $US140 for an Agency to fix this up for me. It's seem way too risky to leave it to the last minute. And tell me this! How is it that a normal pleb applying through the evisa web site cost $US25 and takes 4 - 5 days to process, but pay an agency upto $US320 and you can have your Visa within an hour. If that doesn't sing pure corruption, I don't know what does. A 2 day emergency visa will end up costing me $US1650 ($AUD230) and I'm pretty certain I will be taking this route tonight. It all makes me so angry because if that is the case then what the fuck am I doing sitting in this shithole town for 9 days! waiting on Vietnam customs who take forever to respond?

I don't like anything about Georgetown. It has a drinking and eating vibe of lazy expats who spend all day filling themselves up. The town is Muslim so I cant find bacon for my eggs anywhere, and being Muslim it's conservative and totally boring. There are no massage joints with happy endings, or girly bars, or women with a bit of tit or ass hanging out. Women wear the head gear and there is no swimming anywhere. The ocean is polluted and full of Jelly Fish with no real beach. KFC is probably the worst I've had anywhere in the world, and this hotel despite being expensive in my eyes for Asia is a complete dump. To be truthful, it's probably not so much the hotel itself but more the people that stay here. They make endless noise, bang around in there room, talk all night outside my door.. and worst of all I have to listen to the couple have sex next door. So far they've done it twice and it's a bit weird because I can hear him hitting her... which seems to results in her moaning.

The other thing I don't like about Georgetown is the sun. There must be no ozone layer here because it burns right through you and your clothes like a welding rod. Humidity has been reasonably low, but the sun is unbearable. Because of the sun, I've been getting grabs, which are cheap enough, but the traffic being 98% cars it is hopeless for getting anywheer quickly. Traffic jams seem common place and a lot of streets are one way so you often have to go in circles to get to your destination.

Finally because I'm in the UNESCO part of Georgetown, the buildings feel super old and dirty. I was thinking about hiring a bike and ridding around the Island which might give me a totally different perspective, but with the Sun being so aggressive I'm giving it a pass. It makes me happy I decided not to ride around Malaysia. And, oh, did I mention the Durian taste like shit!! (not that I know what that tastse like).

On the positive, it's very hard to find a good masseuse anywhere, and I'm still reeling from the one that damaged me in DaNang. But I found an Indonesian not far away who has great hands. Initially I started of with a foot massage, then a back massage, and finally a full body massage. I've learnt with this massage business you need to test them properly before allowing them to fuck your whole body up. Or the other option is to go-to a proper place where they are qualified and charge the same amount as they do in Australia. I don't see the point in that, and for $RM70 ($AUD24) an hour, the Indonesian does a great full body massage that leaves me nice and sleepy and feeling refreshed. As I said, hard to find, so after I saw her today, I asked her when is she moving to DaNang Vietnam? She just looked at me and waved "bye bye".