We melted on Penang Hill. There's nothing left.

A few days ago, we tackled a portion of Penang Hill, which is 2700 feet high. We knew we didn't have time to get to the top, but we figured we'd take a whack at it. Parts of the trail are nasty steep. Ton of course bounded up the trail like a billygoat, whereas I wanted to curl up in a sweaty little ball of death.

The hill area is rich in rainforest biodiversity with a number of rare species. Bird calls and squawks ring through the trees and at times the hum of insects reaches a fever pitch, silencing conversation. You see lots of ant activity as they march their way across the trail in neat orderly lines.

Penang Hill is Malaysia's oldest hill station. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rich - both British and Chinese - built bungalows on Penang Hill for taking a holiday and escaping the heat. A local Realtor told me that the few homes which still exist on Penang Hill command a high price. A small hotel and restaurant functions at the top and you can find a Hindu temple and a mosque there as well. Most people took (and still take) the railway or other forms of transportation to get up Penang Hill. In the above picture, you can see the city of Georgetown, where we live, in the distance.

In 30 minutes, we made it up to a break area. We were told that the summit was one more hour. We'll do that next time. Look at me - can you say sweaty?

On the way down, a massive clump of branches right above Ton's head rustled as if something was about to fall to the ground. It was a monkey! They are quite common in the forests, parks and gardens here. The moment was quite the adrenaline rush - at first we didn't know what the heck was happening, we just heard the crashing of leaves and branches. He didn't bother us though, he just checked us out.

At one point, there was a proposal for large-scale commercial development on Penang Hill, but this idea was defeated by public petition - a people power victory! The entrance to the trail we took is right by the Penang Botanic Gardens, which we strolled through before tackling our hike. The picture in the blog header is of a local group practicing morning tai chi. Check it out!

Until next time, peace out to my fellow citizens of the world!