In our most recent travel video we hop on a rickshaw and receive a guided city tour of historic
George Town, Penang,
Malaysia.
Although we had talked about taking a rickshaw tour of the city previously, it was a spur of the moment decision when we flagged down a colourful rickshaw heading down Chulia street after our
Chinese feast at Tek Sen restaurant.
Immediately, I had a favourable impression of our
Malaysian rickshaw driver who was personable, charming and easy going.
Instead of wasting time haggling over the price of our ride, he quoted us a fare that was within the price range we expected to pay given our initial research.
Within moments he was pedalling us down the hectic main streets and quieter back-alleys in the heart of
Georgetown. With infectious enthusiasm, he spurred off random facts about each area we visited along with taking delight in pointing out significant landmarks.
With a raspy deliberate voice he sounded a lot like a sage elder or even a bit like
Yoda: "This building is very Ooooollllddddd. Verrrrryyyy Oooooollllldddddd."
At one
point we passed a teenage boy riding his bicycle. Noticing that we were taking photos he kept turning his head backwards eagerly interested in what we were doing.
Finally, he circled back towards us waving at us while passing us in the opposite direction. Several seconds later I felt a tug on my right wrist; the boy playfully tried to snatch my camcorder straight out of my hand. As he pedalled forcefully ahead he turned around and beamed a radiant smile. We honestly weren't sure what to make of his failed attempt to snatch our camera.
On the one hand, it may have just been a joke; on the other, had he actually taken it we surely wouldn't have been laughing.
Some of the main attractions, buildings and landmarks that were part of our tour included
Fort Cornwallis,
Kapitan Keling Mosque,
Penang Museum, the former
Governor's house,
Sri Mariamman Temple,
Victoria Memorial Clock Tour and Litble
India.
As we entered
Little India district, it was like I was suddenly being catapulted back in time to my days roaming around India.
Women wearing Brightly colored saris, men flipping chapatis on greased pans and loud thumping music filled the streets.
In hindsight, one of the most humorous moments occurred when we got splashed by a wave riding along the
North Channel.
Everything, from head to toe, including our clothes and cameras was covered in water. Immediately, we tried our best to dry our cameras with sections of our shirts that weren't totally soaked. Fortunately for us everything was just fine -- including our cameras ;)
Overall, taking this rickshaw tour was one of the highlights of visiting Penang again for our
Visa run. When compared to the rickshaw ride in
Malacca, we certainly preferred our adventure in
George Town. For those interested in doing the same, walk down to Jin Penang (
Penang Road) where you'll easily spot a plethora of rickshaws and drivers. Expect to pay somewhere between 30 to 40
Ringgit for a one hour drive.
Have any of you taken a cycle rickshaw ride before? Would you like to? How was your experience?
http://nomadicsamuel.com/city-guides/penang
http://nomadicsamuel.com/video-blog/rickshaw-ride-in-george-town-malaysia
Dalam video perjalanan kita yang paling baru-baru ini kita melompat dengan menaiki beca dan menerima lawatan bandar berpandu bersejarah George Town,
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Walaupun kita telah bercakap tentang mengambil lawatan beca bandar sebelum ini, ia adalah satu keputusan mengejut ketika kita bendera ke bawah beca yang berwarna-warni menuju ke jalan Chulia selepas perayaan Cina kami di restoran Tek Sen.
Serta-merta, saya mempunyai kesan yang baik pemandu beca kami di Malaysia yang merupakan tampan, menarik dan mudah pergi. Daripada membuang masa tawar-menawar harga terhadap perjalanan kita, dia dipetik kami tambang itu adalah dalam julat harga yang kita dijangka untuk membayar diberikan penyelidikan awal kami.
Dalam masa beliau telah mengayuh kami di jalan-jalan utama yang sibuk dan senyap belakang lorong-lorong di tengah-tengah Georgetown. Dengan semangat berjangkit, dia mendorong off fakta rawak tentang setiap kawasan kami melawat bersama-sama dengan mengambil kegembiraan dalam menunjukkan tanda yang ketara.
This is part of our
Travel in Malaysia series. We're making a series of videos showcasing
Malaysian culture, Malaysian arts, Malaysian foods, Malaysian religion and
Malaysian
people.
http://nomadicsamuel.com/country-guides/malaysia
This travel video is proudly presented by: http://nomadicsamuel.com , http://smilingfacestravelphotos.com , http://thatbackpacker.com & http://backpacking-travel-blog.com
All photos and video taken by
Samuel Jeffery (
Nomadic Samuel) and
Audrey Bergner (That
Backpacker).
This video features the song '
Griphop' from
Kevin Macleod available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.
- published: 05 Jul 2013
- views: 5739