Weekly Recap: July 27 – August 2

A Hostel With a Proper Mattress

I arrived in George Town with the fairly modest ambition of walking a little less than I had in Kuala Lumpur. Maybe around 10,000 steps a day. A healthy and reasonable goal when you’ve already spent several weeks finding out just how far you can walk in 30+ degree heat.

On the very first day, I walked 25,000.

My hostel had been recommended by my American friend, Andy. It came with free breakfast, a towel at no extra cost and, most importantly, a mattress that wasn’t completely worn out. My ability to sleep in hostels is directly connected to the quality of the mattress. I can sleep through a surprising amount of noise, as long as I’m lying comfortably.

The hostel was fairly busy. Every evening included drinking games and pub crawls. It was nice knowing the option was there, even if I never joined. Instead, I became friends with the morning crowd, the people who got up early and shared breakfast together.

George Town is a much more walkable city than Kuala Lumpur. The streets move between preserved British colonial buildings, Chinese shop houses, Indian neighbourhoods and alleys full of street art. In front of the old colonial town hall is a huge lawn, followed by a fort and a promenade along the waterfront. Everything is close enough together that you discover something new before you’ve forgotten what you were originally looking for.

The street art in particular feels like a treasure hunt. George Town has a lot of it, and once you start following one of the maps through town, you quickly end up in little courtyards, shops and side streets you would otherwise have walked straight past. There’s something satisfying about having a general direction without turning the day into a sightseeing project.

The promenade itself isn’t very long, but you can climb over the barrier and continue along the sea wall for quite a while. If you keep going, you’ll eventually end up inside a luxury hotel built into yet another protected colonial building. Should you accidentally wander in and spend a few minutes enjoying the sea view, you can simply walk through the hotel to get back out with enough confidence. There’s even an open door leading through the staff kitchen. Just smile and nod to the staff as you walk past.

A Quiet Starbucks

On my first evening, I was tired in that particular way where you want to lie down, but can’t stand staying in bed. So instead of remaining at the hostel, I walked to a nearby Starbucks.

It doesn’t sound like the most romantic travel experience. I’d imagined a small local café, a table by the street and maybe a view worthy of a postcard. But I’d noticed a Starbucks sitting a little away from the crowds that didn’t seem particularly busy, so I decided to give it a chance. I walked in and found a cool, quiet café with soft background music.

I walked up to order one of the cheaper coffees that could justify me sitting there for the next hour and a half. The barista pointed at a small whiteboard and a sign explaining that customers should write down their order and hand it over. My tired brain simply accepted the instructions without thinking much about them. I ordered my coffee and found a comfortable chair.

A few minutes later, the barista brought over my drink and made a small hand gesture that I first interpreted as blowing me a kiss. Then it hit me. Not a single word had been spoken since I arrived. There were three staff members and only two other customers. It wasn’t just quiet. It was unusually quiet for Asia. It almost feels like there’s an unwritten rule across much of Asia that silence has to be filled with something, even if that means somebody suddenly starts singing to themselves.

It took me another moment before I realised that the staff, and several of the customers, were communicating entirely in sign language.

I’d spent the whole evening looking for a peaceful place to end the day. Completely by accident, I’d walked into the perfect café.

Andy’s Birthday

Throughout my stay in Kuala Lumpur, I’d wanted to be more social. Then I arrived in George Town and checked into a place literally called Ez Social Hostel. Instead of joining in, I spent my first three evenings happily wandering around on my own. Eventually I felt like I had to message Andy to reassure him that I wasn’t actually avoiding him. We’d only seen each other briefly on the day I arrived.

By complete coincidence, I bumped into him later that very same day. I’d sat down at a café attached to another hostel when Andy suddenly came downstairs. While I’d been walking around town, he’d moved into a different hostel.

By an even bigger coincidence, it was Andy’s birthday. I ended up spending the rest of the day with him and a few of his friends. After four weeks in George Town, Andy knew the city well. The evening ended with a good amount of beer on a closed rooftop terrace that we more or less turned into our own private birthday celebration.

A Plan for Thailand

Andy and I met again a few days later during the George Town Festival. After walking around, eating some street food and having a couple of beers, we sat down in front of the stage. Instead of paying much attention to the four-metre-tall illuminated puppet being moved around by puppeteers to gentle music, we somehow ended up talking about Thailand.

Andy would soon be heading there, and I’d been thinking it would be nice to have a travel companion for a while. So we agreed to travel together. First to Hat Yai, then on to Koh Samui. Ian and Brail, whom I’d met at Andy’s birthday, were also heading towards the islands, and it already looked like we’d all end up meeting again on a beach somewhere in Thailand.

I’m really looking forward to the beach. George Town has climbed very high on the list of places I’d happily return to. Yes, it’s hot, but after several months in the tropics I’m slowly getting used to being baked alive. The city has been great fun to explore. There’s still plenty I never saw, especially outside the city itself. More importantly, it’s simply a pleasant place to be. A bit like a Danish harbour town in the middle of summer. Busy, but full of interesting things. Good places to relax. Good places to meet people. Good places to sit down and focus. It works both as a short holiday destination and as a place to stay for a few weeks.

I’ll almost certainly come back one day.

But if I want to travel with Andy for a while, George Town has to wait for now. Thailand should be an exciting next stop. And I’m very much looking forward to spending a few days on a proper sandy beach.

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