Last nights storm has cooled the weather... I think it's down to a bearable 28 degrees when we went to breakfast.
Our plan for the day is to drive around the islandand try and get someshots of the fishing villages on the western side which is largely untouched by tourist development.
The GPS gets us out of Georgetown with no problem and we start to run along the coast between Georgetown and Batu Feringhi. Each little cove is a postcard picture of large boulders sticking out of the water and spread along the ends of the beaches with the rainforest tumbling down the hillsides to the water. Even here though, they are still building large resorts and high rise developments on the sideof the hill which comes right down to the sea.
I give Liz heart failure as I stop and park beside the narrow windy road and dart across (well dart may not be the right word... amble is better) the road to get a shot of a picturesque cove or a lone fisherman on the rocks. I found my best friend is my keen sense of hearing... listen for the approaching sound of bikes or busses on the blind corners and when it's quiet... go!
We pass through Batu Ferringhi without with themstopping... we may come back for the night markets tomorrow night. They are always fun to watch and I might even pick up a genuine, real deal, fair dinkum, fake Rolex or Brietling! Liz will be looking to add another 500 bracelets to the 5000 she already has at home!
Just past Batu Ferringhi we drive down a dirt road and come to a grassed area where they keep the horses they use to take tourists along the beach.
A family of locals have set up a picnic under the trees and I wander along the beach and get some shots of the small fishing boats in the next cove. The locals invite us to share their lunch which is a very nice jesture but we've only really just finished breakfast so we chat for a while and leave them to it.
Parked on the grass is a big Magirus-Deutz truck set up as a campervan. It's a rebuilt ex-German Army truck. Now this is a van! The English couple have been on the road for just over a year and have driven overland from The Czeck Republic through Iran, Nepal and India! No kids but a bigdog which they tell us has caused a few problems with quarantine etc. We can't imaqging traveling with young kids let alone with a dog! Can you imagine Toka on a trip like that!!!
We climb the mountain roads before reaching the flat area on the other side of the island. I've a habit of driving down any little side roads I come across, there might be a shot at the end, and here is no different. We drive through small villages and jungle before finally arriving at a fishing village which we suspect has not changed for hundreds of years except for the cars parked along the dirt road. There is a dirty looking narrow waterway with sheds and old wooden buildings lining the banks and colourful fishing boats lay alongside, with nets spread out drying.
We drive as far as we can down the dirt road... Liz reckons it'sonly for bikes it is so narrow... and she is correct as a couple of locals look at us a little strangely as they gingerly ride past. I reverse out anddo a 10-point turn and head the other way and come across trays of fish drying in the hot sun.
The locals are friendly and wave as we drive by and many are just sitting in the shade to get out of the searing heat. We get back to the main road and come to the fishing town of Teluk Behang which I have been to many times before. It has changed with the influx of tourists and you can no longer walk out on the long jetty and get a close-up view of the fishing fleet in the harbour.
It's bloody hot and we need a cool drink so we stop at a famous Teluk Behang eatery, The End of the World Seafood Restaurant. Other times I've been here it's always been closed but today the Tigers look invitingly chilled and there are fish, crabs and lobsters in the tanks along the walls... all just begging to be sampled... NOT!
We splurge and decide lobster thermidore and grilled tiget prawns would go down well. Back home lobster costs a furtune and while it isn't exactly cheap by local standards it's a bit of a holiday indulgence.
The cold Tiger goes down well and refreshed and fuelled up we head off to finish our island circuit. There is a lookout on top of the mountain range from where you can see the whole western side of the island but as it's Sunday parking is packed so we cross the range and head down and back to Georgetown.
Dinner tonight at the Yeng Keng Hotel Restaurant which, the 2nights we've been here, has been packed. We grab a table in the courtyard and invite an English lady traveling alone to join us and we share some excellent Haianese dishes ... a few Gin and Tonics and a Tiger or two. Around 9 o'clock it starts to spit rain and there is lightening so we call it a night. Once again the rain is torrential and we hit the sack after another day in this hot but fascinating place.
Our plan for the day is to drive around the islandand try and get someshots of the fishing villages on the western side which is largely untouched by tourist development.
The GPS gets us out of Georgetown with no problem and we start to run along the coast between Georgetown and Batu Feringhi. Each little cove is a postcard picture of large boulders sticking out of the water and spread along the ends of the beaches with the rainforest tumbling down the hillsides to the water. Even here though, they are still building large resorts and high rise developments on the sideof the hill which comes right down to the sea.
We pass through Batu Ferringhi without with themstopping... we may come back for the night markets tomorrow night. They are always fun to watch and I might even pick up a genuine, real deal, fair dinkum, fake Rolex or Brietling! Liz will be looking to add another 500 bracelets to the 5000 she already has at home!
Just past Batu Ferringhi we drive down a dirt road and come to a grassed area where they keep the horses they use to take tourists along the beach.
We climb the mountain roads before reaching the flat area on the other side of the island. I've a habit of driving down any little side roads I come across, there might be a shot at the end, and here is no different. We drive through small villages and jungle before finally arriving at a fishing village which we suspect has not changed for hundreds of years except for the cars parked along the dirt road. There is a dirty looking narrow waterway with sheds and old wooden buildings lining the banks and colourful fishing boats lay alongside, with nets spread out drying.
The locals are friendly and wave as we drive by and many are just sitting in the shade to get out of the searing heat. We get back to the main road and come to the fishing town of Teluk Behang which I have been to many times before. It has changed with the influx of tourists and you can no longer walk out on the long jetty and get a close-up view of the fishing fleet in the harbour.
It's bloody hot and we need a cool drink so we stop at a famous Teluk Behang eatery, The End of the World Seafood Restaurant. Other times I've been here it's always been closed but today the Tigers look invitingly chilled and there are fish, crabs and lobsters in the tanks along the walls... all just begging to be sampled... NOT!
The cold Tiger goes down well and refreshed and fuelled up we head off to finish our island circuit. There is a lookout on top of the mountain range from where you can see the whole western side of the island but as it's Sunday parking is packed so we cross the range and head down and back to Georgetown.
Dinner tonight at the Yeng Keng Hotel Restaurant which, the 2nights we've been here, has been packed. We grab a table in the courtyard and invite an English lady traveling alone to join us and we share some excellent Haianese dishes ... a few Gin and Tonics and a Tiger or two. Around 9 o'clock it starts to spit rain and there is lightening so we call it a night. Once again the rain is torrential and we hit the sack after another day in this hot but fascinating place.
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