Long weekends: Penang, Malaysia, perfect for a three to four day jaunt

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the great things about living in Singapore is how easy it is to travel from there to other places. When I lived there, one of the first things we would do each August at the start of the Singapore American School school year was figure out where we wanted to go on school holidays. There were several three-day weekends sprinkled throughout the year. Planning early meant getting a flight to where we wanted to go. On holidays, everyone scrambles to get out.

One place we headed to on a three nights, four day vacation was to the island of Penang on the north-western coast of Malaysia. This trip was before kids, but everything we did was kid-friendly. It was also dad-friendly. My father went along with us on this particular long weekend away.

Penang is a perfect mix of history, beaches, nature and terrific food. Not too touristy, unlike what has happened to several beach areas of Thailand, but touristy enough that the hotels know what travelers might like and you can find a variety of interesting things to do. We went here based on recommendations of a few different teacher friends of ours.

Although we did hang out on the beach a little, we’re not exactly beach people, so we spent more of our time at other Penang offerings. George Town, the state capital has historic buildings which have not lost their flavor for what life was like here in the 19th and early 20th century. There is an interesting mix of temples, museums, shop houses and hotels that can easily take up an afternoon of sightseeing. We did take a day tour with a guide that made getting around to various sites simple and easy. (When traveling with family members, almost always choose simple and easy. It’s a sanity saver.)

Another place we went was The Butterfly Farm. According the Penang Web site, this was the first butterfly farm set up in the world. I remember it as being utterly gorgeous and fascinating. The ride through the island countryside was part of the allure.

Here’s another travel hint. Stay at a modest hotel and splurge on a brunch buffet at a swankier place. We stayed at the Lone Pine Hotel in Batu Ferringhi and had brunch next door at the Shangri-La. We also took over a few of the Shangri-La’s beach chairs and no one seemed to notice.

East and West Coasters: Virgin America releases 25% off code

by Grant Martin on

For those of you blue-staters out there looking to non-stop across the country, Virgin America (VX) just released a 25% off code redeemable on any of their flights.

Virgin America, in case you’re wondering, is the domestic Low Cost Carrier (LCC) arm of Virgin Airlines, the British based international airline and part of the Virgin empire. They’ve been flying since August of this year and fighting for their share of the non-stop transcon market.

This means that in addition to your normal service they’ll be offering other perks to try to win your business. Televisions in your seats. MP3’s. Power. Mood lighting.

VX flies from their hub in San Francisco among New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, so if you’re a red-stater or just unlucky like me, you have to take a pass on this one. I’ll dig up something for us later.

Use code ELEVATE25 to book before 2359 on December 7th to take advantage.

Dollar eviscerated in India: Rupees now preferred

by Neil Woodburn on

As another sign of the plummeting dollar, officials in India have turned up their noses at the greenback and have started charging tourists a fixed rupee rate instead of the traditional dollar based entrance fee for the country’s main sights.

According to a recent Reuters article, the Ministry of Culture used to charge $5 to enter the Taj Mahal. This price was set when one dollar was worth 50 rupees. Today, the dollar has slunk to a low of 39 rupees. This means that the $5 entrance fee is now shortchanging the state coffers by 55 rupees per tourist.

To stem this loss of revenue, the Ministry of Culture is now making tourists pay a fixed rate of 250 rupees, approximately $6.50.

Man, will it ever end? When India becomes an expensive place to visit due to the plummeting dollar, things are really bad.

Greyhound gets a makeover

by Catherine Bodry on

Greyhound buses and major terminals are getting updated, and my response to that news is “thank goodness!” It seems that every experience I’ve had with Greyhound involved scuttling cockroaches and pee-splattered toilets. There always seems to be a buzzing florescent light flickering in every dirty, gray waiting area.

But the company reports that it spent $60 million to “freshen up 1250 of its buses and its largest terminals.” Updates include new seats, paint jobs, refurbished restrooms, and plasma-screen TVs in waiting areas. Next, Greyhound plans to launch an ad campaign aimed both at bringing back old customers and attracting new riders between the ages of 18 and 24.

While I don’t anticipate that I’ll be riding around like a rajah anytime soon, new seats, new paint, and refurbished bathrooms just might entice this former customer to give the company another shot. What about you?

Armed robberies in Baja keep surfers away

by Catherine Bodry on

I lived out a hippie fantasy of mine a few years back when an old boyfriend and I drove his truck from Alaska to Mexico, camping the whole way. In Baja, where we camped on a beach for a month, he ran out of money and my funds got pretty low. We had to subsist on a diet of bread, rice, and oatmeal which were alternately flavored with peanut butter, jelly, maple syrup, or chicken bouillon cubes. I think I had one margarita that whole month, but nevertheless it was a great time — dolphins would swim by, I could swim laps along the shore, and my hair even started to dread (which was my incentive to finally wash it).

I could go on about my idyllic pseudo-hippie days, but the point of my story is to compare the Baja of my early twenties to the troubling Baja of today. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a half-dozen robberies and car jackings along Baja’s 780-mile stretch have been targeted at U.S. surfers. One story, from a Swamis Surfing Association member, is particularly gruesome:
[Chris] Weber said he and his girlfriend had gone to Baja to escape the foul air caused by the wildfires in San Diego County. Just after sundown Oct. 23, two men wearing military clothing and ski masks confronted the couple.

“They made us get down on all fours – execution position – and put guns to our heads,” said Weber.

Then the armed gunmen sexually assaulted Weber’s girlfriend before taking $10,000 worth of computers, video cameras and other gear. Weber acknowledges that his career guiding surfing tours in Mexico is over, and he urges other would-be Baja surfers to do the same.

Weber’s incident isn’t isolated, and a string of roadside robberies seems to indicate a rising threat to Baja tourists. In similar cases, “the perpetrators fooled tourists into pulling off the road by using flashing lights similar to those mounted on police cars. These thieves forced their victims to kneel and put firearms to their heads.”

These stories alone are practically enough to keep this reformed hippie-wannabe insulated in her tiny Alaska town. But I also know that if I had the chance for another road trip down to Mexico, I’d probably go for it — with extra caution added, and expensive gear left at home.

For more stories and information on how to report an assault, read the Union-Tribune’s article here.

Thanks to Marilyn Terrill over at National Geographic’s Intelligent Traveler for the story tip.