Georgetown Penang impress with a number of buildings of historic importance and the closeness to the sea gives a beautiful view. Mun is very proud of his home town and he gave me a brief history lesson while we were walking around the Fort Cornwallis and driving through the city.
We also visited the Snake Temple where half wild snakes can be found everywhere inside the temple and in the garden outside. After my trip to Borneo earlier this month I am starting to get used to the sight of exotic animals but Mun didn't seem as confident..
One of the mornings at the breakfast table Mun's mother dusted off the old family photo album and showed me her wedding pictures and pictures of the children, Mun and his sisters. Digital photos in all glory but there is not much like it to watch old photographs with its special color and memory. Mun's mother also made home cooked Nasi Lemak for breakfast, just for me to enjoy while going through memory lane of the family's history.
The second day I was trusted to drive the car and we went to the Kok Lok Si Temple which is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. The temple is placed on a hill with a great view over the island.
Another thing Penang and Melaka have in common is food. The local traditional dishes are famous all over Malaysia but only as its
original they taste the best I have been told. In Penang I tried
different noodle dishes and the traditional Penang Laksa which is like a
sour noodle soap with fish and vegetables. In the evening Mun took me
for seafood and we had a wonderful meal with fish, crab, calamari and prawns for only RM52. A real bargain! 
The Malaysian dessert Cendol is a must try, however its not one of my favorites to say the least. I have tried the Cendol in KL, Penang and Melaka and I can honestly say that I have given it a fair chance but there will be no more Cendol for me. In Melaka you are supposed to get the best one but with the mix of flavored ice, fruit, sometimes ice cream, baked beans, corns and whatever they put in it it will still be a very memorable food experience for me despite my dislike.
Penang version of Cendol to the left and Melaka to the right.
In Melaka everything is about Chinatown and Jonker Street. A long Jonker street you can find plenty of antique, craft and cloths shops. It's a nice experience to walk here and do your souvenir shopping. During Friday and Saturday evenings the street is closed to traffic and it is transformed into a lively street market with all kinds of food and trinket stalls.
Another street of my taste was Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. This used to be the former preferred address for wealthy "Babas", straight born Chinese. The architecture found here is Dutch inspired and walking looking upon the buildings its like being transferred to a small European village. You will keep admiring the different details of the doors and windows until a crazy colorful Trishaw (bicycle taxi) will pass by playing Lady Gaga on highest volume.
Me and Becky tried out our creative side in a small Chinese gallery where we were shown how to paint Malaysian Batik. We both chose to paint elephants and the teacher right away started to put a grey color on Becky's. When I asked if I could do mine in green he looked surprised at me with one eyebrow higher than the other. We enjoyed the time and the Chinese man was very interested in "our money" and "our language" and had lots of curious questions. The end result of the paintings we got to take with us home.
