Monday 16 July
Anyone who's dipped into this blog from time to time will know that I'm a little obsessed when it comes to discussing toilets and their various conditions. I was a bit lax on reviewing the toilets in Thailand - I'm pleased to say that nearly everywhere had a least one "Western" toilet, even if the rest were coupey-down ones. (Our Irish friend Mike whom we met on the train to Malaysia says he prefers the coupey-down ones - they are more hygienic as you don't have to touch anything. I have to remind him that it's easier for him, being a man. There follows a discussion on the suppleness of Asian women, being able to "coupey-down" easily, and sit crossed legged, even in older age. I did say Mike was our friend, didn't I?!
But why am I talking about toilets yet again? All will be revealed.
We have breakfast in the hotel. The lady who appears to be in charge of the dining room (she's the same one who brought our meals up to our room when we arrived yesterday) asks us how we'd like our fried eggs - double sided or one sided? Reg says the former, I go for the latter. The lady disappears into the kitchen and returns immediately with the said eggs. When we taste them, they are stone cold. The other food on offer is rice, noodles, a sort of sausage-looking stuff in a sauce, and toast, butter and psychedelic yellow jam.
When writing the review of this hotel, I suggest that some fruit juice, or fruit, plus "hot, freshly-cooked eggs" would be really nice for breakfast, if they want to encourage Western tourists. They are competing with other SE Asian countries for "Western" tourist trade; nearly every hostel and hotel we stayed in in China, Vietnam and Cambodia (our Thailand hostel provided Continental breakfast only, and it wasn't included in the hostel price) offered hot, freshly cooked eggs for breakfast, sometimes with a choice of how they were cooked. Often bacon was on offer too, though not always.
We decide to visit Batu Ferringhi (Ferringhi Beach) on Penang Island. We're told by the hotel reception staff that it's a lovely sandy beach with safe swimming.
We take the ferry across from Butterworth to Georgetown, Penang, and then catch a bus; on the map it doesn't look too far, but the first part of the journey is through heavy traffic; the whole trip is rather tortuous, and takes at least an hour. Thankfully the bus is air-conditioned; a local cafe-owner tells us that 3 years ago, the buses were old and dirty and didn't have the all-important air-conditioning.
On arrival we're hungry. The first cafe we go to tells us he's sorry, he's closed; it's Ramadan (the month where Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sex, between dawn and dusk). We manage to find a thriving non-Muslim food outlet where we have a delicious rice and beef dish; we know it must be good because lots of local people are eating there. The total cost, with an iced, fresh lime juice each, is 18 ringgits (about £3.60). We then wander along to another small cafe for a cup of tea and an icecream, which weren't on offer in the curry place.
This small cafe has Christian bible verses on the walls - it's a Christian cafe. I'm well pleased, and have a lovely chat with the cafe owners, a couple probably in their 50's. They tell us that there aren't many Christians in Malaysia, but they think I might be able to attend an English-speaking Christian church next Sunday when we're in the Cameron Highlands. That would make my day.
We finally wander down towards the beach, through an "aisle" of stalls selling beachwear, beachballs, rubber rings, sunglasses etc. Just before the sandy beach is a pristine-new toilet block, with various people milling around it, and a man sitting outside it at a little table.
"Hello!" I greet him. "How much?"
"Oh, sorry, Ma'm, sorry, you can't use this toilet yet. Minister of Tourism is coming at 3.00 pm to open. Only use after 4.00 pm. Please use toilet there." The man points to a portakabin a few yards away.
We settle ourselves down on the beach, paying 10 ringgits each (£2 - that's a lot for Malaysia) for a deckchair and an umbrella to shelter us from the fierce mid-afternoon sun. After a while I cool off in the lukewarm sea; Reg is just enjoying an afternoon of relaxation on the beach.
At around 3.00 pm there's a cafuffle behind us and a poshly-dressed, diminutive lady comes into view, flanked by a troup of reporters, officials and photographers. The new toilets must now be officially open! The Minister of Tourism looks at the beach, but refrains from stepping on it.
When we're ready to leave, we approach the new toilet block; I hand the man my 20 cents and am allowed to enter the "Ladies"! The toilets are very nice; there's one for Disabled people; I don't go in, but assume, as is usually the case, that this one is a Western-style sit-on toilet. I'm disappointed to find that the rest of the toilets are coupey-down ones.
A brand new toilet block built only with Asian tourists in mind.
Anyone who's dipped into this blog from time to time will know that I'm a little obsessed when it comes to discussing toilets and their various conditions. I was a bit lax on reviewing the toilets in Thailand - I'm pleased to say that nearly everywhere had a least one "Western" toilet, even if the rest were coupey-down ones. (Our Irish friend Mike whom we met on the train to Malaysia says he prefers the coupey-down ones - they are more hygienic as you don't have to touch anything. I have to remind him that it's easier for him, being a man. There follows a discussion on the suppleness of Asian women, being able to "coupey-down" easily, and sit crossed legged, even in older age. I did say Mike was our friend, didn't I?!
But why am I talking about toilets yet again? All will be revealed.
We have breakfast in the hotel. The lady who appears to be in charge of the dining room (she's the same one who brought our meals up to our room when we arrived yesterday) asks us how we'd like our fried eggs - double sided or one sided? Reg says the former, I go for the latter. The lady disappears into the kitchen and returns immediately with the said eggs. When we taste them, they are stone cold. The other food on offer is rice, noodles, a sort of sausage-looking stuff in a sauce, and toast, butter and psychedelic yellow jam.
When writing the review of this hotel, I suggest that some fruit juice, or fruit, plus "hot, freshly-cooked eggs" would be really nice for breakfast, if they want to encourage Western tourists. They are competing with other SE Asian countries for "Western" tourist trade; nearly every hostel and hotel we stayed in in China, Vietnam and Cambodia (our Thailand hostel provided Continental breakfast only, and it wasn't included in the hostel price) offered hot, freshly cooked eggs for breakfast, sometimes with a choice of how they were cooked. Often bacon was on offer too, though not always.
We decide to visit Batu Ferringhi (Ferringhi Beach) on Penang Island. We're told by the hotel reception staff that it's a lovely sandy beach with safe swimming.
We take the ferry across from Butterworth to Georgetown, Penang, and then catch a bus; on the map it doesn't look too far, but the first part of the journey is through heavy traffic; the whole trip is rather tortuous, and takes at least an hour. Thankfully the bus is air-conditioned; a local cafe-owner tells us that 3 years ago, the buses were old and dirty and didn't have the all-important air-conditioning.
On arrival we're hungry. The first cafe we go to tells us he's sorry, he's closed; it's Ramadan (the month where Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sex, between dawn and dusk). We manage to find a thriving non-Muslim food outlet where we have a delicious rice and beef dish; we know it must be good because lots of local people are eating there. The total cost, with an iced, fresh lime juice each, is 18 ringgits (about £3.60). We then wander along to another small cafe for a cup of tea and an icecream, which weren't on offer in the curry place.
This small cafe has Christian bible verses on the walls - it's a Christian cafe. I'm well pleased, and have a lovely chat with the cafe owners, a couple probably in their 50's. They tell us that there aren't many Christians in Malaysia, but they think I might be able to attend an English-speaking Christian church next Sunday when we're in the Cameron Highlands. That would make my day.
We finally wander down towards the beach, through an "aisle" of stalls selling beachwear, beachballs, rubber rings, sunglasses etc. Just before the sandy beach is a pristine-new toilet block, with various people milling around it, and a man sitting outside it at a little table.
"Hello!" I greet him. "How much?"
"Oh, sorry, Ma'm, sorry, you can't use this toilet yet. Minister of Tourism is coming at 3.00 pm to open. Only use after 4.00 pm. Please use toilet there." The man points to a portakabin a few yards away.
We settle ourselves down on the beach, paying 10 ringgits each (£2 - that's a lot for Malaysia) for a deckchair and an umbrella to shelter us from the fierce mid-afternoon sun. After a while I cool off in the lukewarm sea; Reg is just enjoying an afternoon of relaxation on the beach.
At around 3.00 pm there's a cafuffle behind us and a poshly-dressed, diminutive lady comes into view, flanked by a troup of reporters, officials and photographers. The new toilets must now be officially open! The Minister of Tourism looks at the beach, but refrains from stepping on it.
When we're ready to leave, we approach the new toilet block; I hand the man my 20 cents and am allowed to enter the "Ladies"! The toilets are very nice; there's one for Disabled people; I don't go in, but assume, as is usually the case, that this one is a Western-style sit-on toilet. I'm disappointed to find that the rest of the toilets are coupey-down ones.
A brand new toilet block built only with Asian tourists in mind.
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