Penang Island, Malaysia

Iacopo had told me on Valentine’s Day when I was in Bangkok that his company was sending him to Malaysia to work. I didn’t have to wait until I got home to see him! It was such a nice surprise but it was still 7 weeks away, and it couldn’t come quick enough. Once TET was over, I worked for a week then I was off to Australia for the wedding, then I was back to work, broken up with a trip to Mui Ne, then the week after, was my 24th birthday, and after a week of games at the Secondary School, it was time for me to fly to Penang to see Iacopo! It had been six months since we’d last seen each other here in Vietnam. It felt like a lifetime.

I taught the first two classes on Friday morning. My TA, Giang, let me leave a bit early so I could skip the traffic and make it to the airport on time. It was my last classes with the Secondary Students so I had spent the week playing games and taking pictures with the students. The last class was so cute as they all gave me hugs when I was leaving- I didn’t even know they liked me! So it was a nice farewell. I rushed home, had a quick shower and called my Grab bike to the airport. I had a hand luggage case and the driver made me place it between us on a Honda Wave. The journey to the airport was so uncomfortable and it was roasting. By the time I got there, I felt that I needed another shower.

I checked-in on time, got through security and immigration and was ready sitting at the gate – an hour and a half early. Travelling really makes me nervous. I’m going to blame my ridiculous time management on my mother who made us miss a flight to Germany back in 2011. I can’t be late to airport now. In fact, I have to be hours early. No harm done really.

I boarded the plane, and with my window seat, I fell asleep and soon arrived in Penang. I managed to connect to the Wi-Fi in the airport. Iacopo was still working, so we were trying to organise where to meet. I stayed in the airport for a while, then ordered a Grab car to the hotel, via Coherent Penang, where he was working. It was so amazing to see him! Once we were back together, it felt like I had seen him yesterday, not six months ago!

Iacopo’s colleague, Yuan, and his family picked us up from the Hotel and we all went for dinner. We were taken to the South of the island to a seafood restaurant. There were fresh crabs, clams and oysters to choose from. Iacopo and I had no idea what to choose so we let Yuan decide. Around 7 different dishes came to the table, including satay, calamari, various clams two massive crabs that I had seen alive half an hour earlier. Everything was delicious! But there was far too much food, so we left it to the boys to finish everything off.

From there, we were taken to the Aeon Mall close to the hotel for some Friday night karaoke! It was so fun! Yuan bought a tower of beer for the four adults, which we actually managed to finish! It was getting late so I checked the receipt to see at what time we had to leave the room. It said 4 am! We had arrived around 10 and it was already 1 am! We had been there for 3 hours already and we were running out of songs to sing. Karaoke is great, but it loses its sparkle after 3 hours! We eventually left at 2am, once the two kids and myself were falling asleep.

The next morning, Iacopo and I had decided to sleep in but of course, I woke up bright and early at 8. It was so nice to wake up beside him. Our plan for the day was to get a Grab into the main part of the island, George Town. We walked around the town, playing hide and seek with the famous murals. George Town is full of amazing street art and Colonial buildings; it has been listed as a World Heritage Site. After a juice and some cake in The Mugshot Café, we headed out mural hunting, armed with a map of the town.

It is such a beautiful town, and so much more calm in comparison to Ho Chi Minh City. The island is very green and tropical, with the ocean and hills surrounding the towns. We were so lucky as the Penang International Food Festival (PIFF) was running on the weekend that we were there. We found the streets filled with stalls selling all kinds of food, drinks and desserts! We ate so much Satay and chicken wings. We found a shop that sold really cheap beer where locals and backpackers sit outside drinking. We were going to go for one, but we ended up staying for four!

We spent the evening wandering around the Street food festival and watching the music. At 11 when the stalls started shutting down, we headed to Love Lane, the Bui Vien of Penang. Although it is a much calmer and civilised drinking street. We settled in one of the bars with live music and had a happy hour cocktail. Around 1am, we headed back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we wanted to spend a day at the beach so we made our way to Batu Ferringhi, a 40-minute drive away from our hotel. We got dropped off at Bora Bora, a bar where we got some fruit juice. We walked along the beach and found some deck chairs where we set up our patch for the day. It was a perfect day and the sea was warm! The water wasn’t as clean as Phu Quoc, but Iacopo loved being in the sun and sea after months being stuck in cold, rainy Glasgow.

Sigi’s Bar and Grill had been recommended for lunch. We walked a wee while to find it. It turns out that the restaurant was part of a huge, luxurious resort so prices were much higher compared to the street food prices that we were used to. But everything went under ‘expenses’ for Iacopo’s work trip, so we didn’t mind spending extra. We ordered two large beers, calamari and tempura prawns with fries and a Malaysian noodle dish that resembled Pad Thai. Everything was delicious but I was so full that I passed out asleep once we reached our deck chairs.

At around 5pm, we decided to walk along the beach to the Hard Rock Café for a cocktail before the sunset. We sat on a pier and watched the sun go down. The sky was gorgeous and the sun turned blood red when it touched the sea in the horizon. It was beautiful. We hopped in a Grab back to the hotel where we showered quickly and headed out to Georgetown to catch the end of the food festival.

Iacopo had taken the Monday off work. We made our way to Kek Lok Si Temple where we spent a couple of hours wandering around in the heat. Once we made our way back down, we found the stop for the open top bus. For some strange reason, they only sold a 3-day pass for tourists and a day pass only for locals. It was our last day, so there was no need for a 3-day ticket. We settled on a normal ticket which allowed us to stay on for as long as we wanted but once we got off, we couldn’t get back on unless we bought another ticket. It was pretty bizarre but we were happy to stay on from Stop 4 at Kek Lok Si Temple and we decided to get off at Stop 12: The Blue Mansion in George Town. So we made use of our ticket and managed to sit out in the sun on the top deck. We may have both gotten a little bit sunburnt, especially Iacopo who spent the majority of the journey “taps aff”.

We stopped in at a café for an iced tea and coffee mixed together – delicious and with a strong kick. From there, we headed to Komtar Tower, the highest building in Penang. We bought tickets, courtesy of the company, to the top floor which allowed us to see views of the city and walk on the Rainbow Skywalk – a glass-bottom walkway that lets you see the ground from the 68th floor! It was so cool!

For dinner, we ordered some street food that had been recommended to Iacopo. We had a mixture of satay and different noodle dishes, as well as rice desserts! We walked along some of the piers around China Town where the boardwalks were lit up with bright colourful arches. We had to head back early to organise our cases (Iacopo was taking 9 kg worth of things home for me). We also popped in to Aeon Mall to get flight snacks and coffee for Iacopo’s colleagues in Glasgow. He was also working in the morning so we hit the hay early-ish.

In the morning, Iacopo left at 8 for work. I stayed in the hotel for a bit before headed to the airport at 10 for my flight at noon. I was sad to say goodbye to him, but I am home in 4 weeks so it wasn’t nearly as hard as when he left in November! Two more weeks doing speaking exams at school, then two weeks travelling with Aoife then I’m home! It was sad, but much more bearable this time round. I know I will see him soon. Last time, we had no idea when we would see each other again.

It was such an amazing weekend in Penang! I got to see a new place, get two new stamps on my passport, and see my boyfriend after 6 months. It was the perfect place and it was also perfect timing. I can’t believe my time in Vietnam is ending, but I am so excited to go home now.

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