Sweating in Penang; Snowing in Toledo

With the parting of the ways, Doug and the girls made their way north to the scenic town of Georgetown on an island on the East Coast of Malaysia. Meanwhile, Tracy and Reeve endured the half-way around the world flight and were greeted with 6-8 inches of snow in Toledo, OH. Tracy may add some tidbits of the Toledo end, but Doug will let you know how the Woodwards, Malaysian Annex are doing.

We made our way north to Penang on Sunday morning. As noon approached, we had heard rumors of a great park and lake garden in Taiping. We figured that since it was only a few km off the road we would check it out in the hopes of eating lunch in a scenic area. We found a gorgeous park at the foot of the mountains, and the guide book said there was a great zoo. So with an entrance fee of just over $1, we decided we’d visit the zoo. Already we were quite hot, and so we were easily convinced to take the tram around the zoo – a 30 minute trip that goes the 2.5 km route that makes up the zoo.


Other than being doused in sweat, we were incredibly impressed with the zoo. In addition to Orang Utans and many species of monkeys, they had an African Savannah, lions, black panthers, tigers, Asian elephants, incredible birds, wild boar, sun bears, and more owls than I’ve ever seen in my life. Rania was thrilled to see so many different animals and kept screaming various sounds “Birdie – “Dee” (deer – or anything resembling it, such as wild boar) and “moo.” Considering the heat, tired kids and great-grandpa (85), the tram was a great gig.

After several bottles of water and ice cream (compliments of grandpa), we were back in the cars heading toward Penang. The girls quickly fell asleep – Rania riding in one car, and Gabi playing with Grandma Ramona in the other car.

Compliments of Doug’s incredibly generous grandfather, we are staying in as plush a hotel as can be imagined. The Eastern & Oriental Hotel sits right on the edge of the island with quite a view of the sea, and is a 5+ star relic from colonial days. You can see a picture of the girls enjoying their nightly bath in our palatial bathroom.

The girls also endured a walk down the street to the Penang museum. Rania (somehow) was quite unimpressed with descriptions of Georgetown’s growth, but sure enjoyed climbing up and down a ramp in the museum. The girls have also been super sports as we visited the Night Market for some delicious outdoor food on Sunday evening, and enjoyed Little India for some Tandori Chicken – for all of $3 for a massive plate.

So things are going well in Penang. We may even be able to find a coffee shop with wireless so I can post this.

Tracy, meanwhile, may post tidbits from Toledo if she gets over jetlag, but their flights went pretty well, and Reeve was super! After arriving at 10:30 pm in the comforts of grandma Julie’s house, they quickly went to bed, figuring that 35 hours of travel was enough, and a 9+hr layover in Atlanta shouldn’t be replicated. After sleeping until 6 am, Reeve was quite weary, and went back to bed after 8 am, sleeping until 4 pm. So jetlag might be quite the transition. I’m anxious to hear how the night went. Reeve then had a chance to enjoy playing in the snow with Grandpa Barrie.

It was amazing to be driving through Malaysia and being able to talk with Tracy soon after she arrived. Cell phones and international calling can be quite the wonder!