One of the best things about this second year in Myanmar is the new time off schedule for the teachers at my school. Work eight weeks, get a week off. Work another eight weeks, then 2 weeks off! It's going to be great and allow for me to do a lot more traveling around the region.
So even though it seems like I just back from my touring around Thailand, I've already got my next vacation planned for second week of July. I was able to get a heck of a deal on a round trip ticket to Penang, Malaysia.
Penang is both a province of Malaysia and a medium sized island on the Malacca Strait coast. It has a fascinating history. The capital, Georgetown, was the very first British settlement in Southeast Asia, dating back to 1786. Ripe with lots of colonial architecture and historic sites, it's been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It's also known as the food capital of Malaysia. Lonely Planet named it as having the best street food in the world. A mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai and Burmese cultural influences have created was is supposed to be one of the best places to eat anywhere.
I'll be renting a motorcycle and traveling not just on the island, but on peninsular Malaysia as well.
Another cool aspect of the trip is that the language of Malaysia, Malay, is essentially the same as Indonesian, in which I'm fluent. They're about as different as say British and American English. I'm looking forward to being able to communicate with everyone I meet again.
So even though it seems like I just back from my touring around Thailand, I've already got my next vacation planned for second week of July. I was able to get a heck of a deal on a round trip ticket to Penang, Malaysia.
Penang is both a province of Malaysia and a medium sized island on the Malacca Strait coast. It has a fascinating history. The capital, Georgetown, was the very first British settlement in Southeast Asia, dating back to 1786. Ripe with lots of colonial architecture and historic sites, it's been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It's also known as the food capital of Malaysia. Lonely Planet named it as having the best street food in the world. A mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai and Burmese cultural influences have created was is supposed to be one of the best places to eat anywhere.
I'll be renting a motorcycle and traveling not just on the island, but on peninsular Malaysia as well.
Another cool aspect of the trip is that the language of Malaysia, Malay, is essentially the same as Indonesian, in which I'm fluent. They're about as different as say British and American English. I'm looking forward to being able to communicate with everyone I meet again.
