More of the Andaman Sea coastline as seen approaching Penang Island back in late July (above), with more of west-coast peninsular Malaysia as seen from the same flight, below.
Ok so this post is a bit more about me than usual, because…well, it’s my birthday so why not? Plus, just one week ago as this post goes live, I was still in KL, wrapping up my lovely afternoon in which I explored first the Botanic Gardens (which we’ve shown you in recent posts) and then the remarkable Malaysian Museum of Islamic Art (which we’ll show you in future posts). Since this blog tends to show you photos I might have taken quite a few weeks or months ago, I thought I’d show you some recent posts featuring the fairly-current me, sweaty and happy from climbing up to the top of the Penang Hill two weekends ago, on the eponymous island of Penang in the eponymous State of Penang in the fabulous country of Malaysia. Quick comparison: as you see, there in Malaysia, land of true mountains, they call their 833-meter high item a “hill.” Down south here in my truly beloved adopted home of NL, some folks call the Vaalserberg and surrounding 322-meter high items “the Dutch alps’ … some of them, I think, with tongue in cheek. Or at least I hope so. This was, of course, a work visit – and generally a quite lovely and enjoyable one, I’ll say. But as you know, we don’t really talk in this personal space about the work, so instead I’m showing you various shots of one of my truly favorite MY weekend activities, walking in the heat and humidity (endurance test for an aging dude, eh?) of a Malaysian summer afternoon from the bottom to the top of this awesome hill. Pro tip: check for monkeys in the various photos below. And yes, Steve, there’s another special animal shot that’s just for you 🙂 — see if you can properly identify the one I took with you in mind…
Sticking with my theme of using up more of 2023’s photos before taking my break, herewith all the remaining from-the-air shots of 2023. They’re in chronological order, so you first see my plane passing over the Dutch coast on 6 November en route to Dublin, then more of the English coast both on the east side (North Sea) and the west side (Irish Sea – so far as I could tell, we passed roughly over Liverpool, but clouds…), and then two 29 November images of the island of Penang and the sea north of it as we approached landing after my flight from Qatar to Penang (with a stop in Phuket); and, finally, 6 December photos as our plane traveled up the coasts of Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar en route from KL to Yangon. Not really sure which islands we’re seeing in these various shots, but fairly sure most were islands in Myanmar by this point.
Penang Island from the mainland: above, as seen on 29th of November as we neared our landing; below, as seen during my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Yangon on the 6th of December.
As noted a few posts ago, I’ve been traveling again for work, thus a new photo of Penang Hill (of which we showed you lots and lots in posts from my last visit) as seen, this time, from the air as we approached our landing at Penang Int’l Airport on Tuesday evening two weeks ago, already. This photo taken, as it happens, more or less precisely three weeks after the photo in yesterday’s post, of different mountains on a different island off a different continent. And you wonder why my head gets mixed up sometimes…
Seems time to wrap up the photos I haven’t yet posted from my Malaysia visit back in June, given that I’m now back from my Myanmar visit and have a TON of photos still to sort then post from there and right here at home in NL, as well. In case anyone’s keeping track, WordPress tells me I’ve now posted at least one new post for 218 days in a row. I thought I might give myself a break at my birthday earlier this month…but then I realized a) that I’m seeing so many lovely things that I really should share them with y’all, and b) that having a daily post to set up gives a bit of structure to how I see or photograph what I see when I’m out and about in the world, near or far. In this post, all the remaning unposted pics from that lovely weekend hike up and back down Penang Hill.
Despite my brother’s distaste at the muddy hillside steps, there was much beauty to behold during that Penang Hill climb recently. This morning’s post signaled I’m now in Arnhem, a part of the Netherlands where there are … hills! Soon you’ll see more photos from here, as well :-).
Seems time to wrap up the photos I haven’t yet posted from my Malaysia visit back in June, given that I’m now back from my Myanmar visit and have a TON of photos still to sort then post from there and right here at home in NL, as well. In case anyone’s keeping track, WordPress tells me I’ve now posted at least one new post for 218 days in a row. I thought I might give myself a break at my birthday earlier this month…but then I realized a) that I’m seeing so many lovely things that I really should share them with y’all, and b) that having a daily post to set up gives a bit of structure to how I see or photograph what I see when I’m out and about in the world, near or far. In this post, all the remaning unposted pics from that lovely weekend hike up and back down Penang Hill.
(so much world, so little time....) 