That Time I Tried Travelling The YouTube Way

I want to preface that, at my age, I have never been on a backpacking trip all on my own, up until I went to Penang, Malaysia.

I arrived at the concourse early. Not a lot of people because everyone was still in the office. Good thing I booked business class tickets, I got to sit in the business class lounge while I wait for departure.

When it was time to depart I followed the other passengers down to the platform. The train was actually nice and new and had very comfortable seats.

When they gave the meal. I was already a bit skeptical because the sandwich had cheese on it. But it was a five hour journey and I was a bit scared of going hungry. And so I ate it. Not even an hour after and I already felt the need to go to the toilet.

I think every thirty minutes I went to the toilet. I already took activated carbon pills and loperamide but I my tummy still was not fine. I think the other passengers also noticed how frequent I was walking up to the toilet. But I was too busy calming myself to worry about embarassment. I was messaging a friend during that time and telling her of my ordeal. What a difficult five hours they were.

During the moments I was not in the toilet I still enjoyed the ride. The contrast of Kuala Lumpur compared to the other places the train passed by gave a good idea of what the bigger picture of living in Malaysia was really like. And the landscape gave me a good sense of how people in kampung (insert english translation) living was like in Malaysia. I grew up in the country side in the Philippines and so it was interesting to compare agriculture in both countries is like based on what I saw during the ride. Malaysia still had so much of its forests while Philippines have converted most of the lands into rice paddies.

I arrived at the ferry station to Penang island early in the evening. I would the ferry trip was unique. It was custom built to have a dedicated space for passengers on foot and another space for people with motorbikes. And the ferry had gates or platforms or whatever they were called on each side. This was so that the ferry did not have to make a turn when docking. Very clever and efficient design I would say.

When I got out of the ferry terminal I was beaming with excitement of finally going on a solo trip. This was, although not a far away country from where I live, a start to my adventures. I was finally exploring the world just like everyone does. Prior to this I only had short stays in Batam island and Bintan island. They were more of trips just to get away from the monotony of my everyday living. And I never really tried to make most of those trips. But this one I really set myself to explore even though I will just be there for two days.

I walked to the hotel because I saw in the google map that it was not too far. After I checked in and put down all my luggage I went straight into walking around Georgetown. Shop houses everywhere some were well maintained while others were already dilapidated. I think that was really the charm of the place. I liked it, even though they looked old I did not feel scared.

It was a good idea that I planned for this trip well and my colleague gave me tips on where to go. I got a bike rental the next day and rode it everywhere till I got tired. That was the best decision I made. I got to see so much of Georgetown. It also helped that I jog and bike every now and then. So biking the whole day was no issue for me.

I would say most of the places I visited were to eat the popular cuisine in Penang. They had so much to offer. And everything was tasty. Food was part of the culture there and it was nice to try them.

On my last day I decided to give those glass floor observation deck in the tallest building in Penang. I didn't know I had vertigo until then. I also met a friendly Canadian there whom I convinced to take turns with me to snap photos with our phones. One of the challenges I set for myself is to overcome this fear of going up to people and talking to them casually. As weird as it sounds I really didn't know how to be good at it. And I am glad to make some practice. As I do it more I realise that it was not as hard as I thought it was. I was just lacking in practice. That was the reason my past interactions felt awkward to me.

After that I went to eat lunch at his very popular place where they served food with so much sauce. That was one experience I was not prepared for. The food was fine and I can see why people liked it. The place was so packed. It was interesting for me to observe.