Staycation Penang during Covid-19
Traveling during Covid-19, what’s that look like? Above all, it means having a lot of patience! A mask, hand sanitizer, and QR codes. We won’t be taking the plane for the time being, especially since we won’t be allowed to return to Malaysia. So staycation in Penang it is!
Interstate travel
This year has turned out differently from what we had thought beforehand. On the 2nd of January, we got on the plane to Vietnam without any worries, made a trip to Jakarta and Bangkok, lay on the beach at Langkawi, and were in the Netherlands for another two weeks. Not knowing that Holland would be our last holiday destination for the time being. From the 18th of March, Malaysia was closed, and all holiday plans were canceled. Of course, we didn’t have a bad time those first three months of 2020, but after four months in our apartment, we were looking forward to the moment when we could go outside again.
Now we were allowed to eat outside again for a while (This is great, although my cooking skills have gone through quite a transformation, in a good sense) but traveling outside our state wasn’t allowed yet. The moment our favorite man named Noor Hisham Abdullah (the Malaysian version of Jaap van Dissel) gave the signal that the ‘interstate travel’ opened again, the planning could begin.
Consequences of Covid-19
The otherwise bustling Georgetown seems a bit deserted. In 2018, 3.8 million tourists visited this city. Since 2008 Georgetown is on the Unesco World Heritage List, and partly because of that it has become so popular among foreigners. According to our Grab driver, he had a lot of Dutch, Germans, English, and French in his car at the beginning of this year. But since the outbreak of the coronavirus, his work has come to a complete standstill. And he’s not the only one, a lot of people here drive full-time for Grab because tourists often don’t have a car and still easily want to go to other places. And even now he can’t work full time. All Malaysians have their car and don’t book Grab. This island lives off tourism, and the consequences of the virus are clearly visible here.
Trishaw
Usually, dozens of trishaws drive around Georgetown. This is a bicycle taxi with a maximum of two people in a kind of carriage. Now you can still see the trishaws, but empty. The people who normally have to struggle to drive the tourists to the highlights of Georgetown, now live on the street and sleep in their trishaw. Very sad to see, how long will this go on like this? We don’t expect that it will be possible to travel again soon, let alone that Europeans will come to Malaysia. During the public holiday on Friday, we, fortunately, saw quite a few people being cycled around. Let’s hope there will be many more public holidays where all the inhabitants of Malaysia will come to Penang on a staycation.
KL Sentral
Of course, in Malaysia, because as soon as we set foot outside this country there is little chance that we can go back. Or you have to choose to stay for two weeks in a quarantined hotel where three times a day a plate of rice is put in front of your door. We decided to take the train to the island of Penang. This was Jeroen’s first time, so I could take my tour guide role again, I have missed it lately. Wednesday afternoon the train left from KL Sentral. This is the largest station in Malaysia, and from here trains depart to the north and south of the country, but also the airport. Over the station, they continuously call out that you have to keep at least a meter distance from each other and have your mask on.
Ferry to Georgetown
The mask is not a problem, you see everyone walking with it. Keeping your distance seems a little harder. There was quite a queue at check-in in front of the train and keeping one-meter distance? No chance, of course, but in the train itself, everything worked fine. Four hours later, with that mask on it gets quite warm, we arrived in Butterworth. This is a town on the west side of Malaysia, and from here the ferry leaves in 15 minutes to Georgetown, Penang. Ideal, because from the ferry it was a five-minute walk to our hotel ‘The Prestige’.
Hotel The Prestige
Arriving at the hotel everything was very well arranged! You were checked on the temperature before you entered the hotel. Also, the hotel rooms were only cleaned on request, so the cleaning lady did not come into contact with several guests. Besides, you had to keep your mask on everywhere in the hotel, except when you were served breakfast. And you chose your breakfast via your mobile phone. You only had to scan the QR code that you sent to the menu. Worked fine! This new hotel is spotless, has a good breakfast, a nice swimming pool, and a perfect location in the middle of Georgetown!
Staycation Penang during Covid-19
Traveling during Covid-19, what’s that look like? Above all, it means having a lot of patience! A mask, hand sanitizer, and QR codes. We won’t be taking the plane for the time being, especially since we won’t be allowed to return to Malaysia. So staycation in Penang it is!
Interstate travel
This year has turned out differently from what we had thought beforehand. On the 2nd of January, we got on the plane to Vietnam without any worries, made a trip to Jakarta and Bangkok, lay on the beach at Langkawi, and were in the Netherlands for another two weeks. Not knowing that Holland would be our last holiday destination for the time being. From the 18th of March, Malaysia was closed, and all holiday plans were canceled. Of course, we didn’t have a bad time those first three months of 2020, but after four months in our apartment, we were looking forward to the moment when we could go outside again.
Now we were allowed to eat outside again for a while (This is great, although my cooking skills have gone through quite a transformation, in a good sense) but traveling outside our state wasn’t allowed yet. The moment our favorite man named Noor Hisham Abdullah (the Malaysian version of Jaap van Dissel) gave the signal that the ‘interstate travel’ opened again, the planning could begin.
KL Sentral
Of course, in Malaysia, because as soon as we set foot outside this country there is little chance that we can go back. Or you have to choose to stay for two weeks in a quarantined hotel where three times a day a plate of rice is put in front of your door. We decided to take the train to the island of Penang. This was Jeroen’s first time, so I could take my tour guide role again, I have missed it lately. Wednesday afternoon the train left from KL Sentral. This is the largest station in Malaysia, and from here trains depart to the north and south of the country, but also the airport. Over the station, they continuously call out that you have to keep at least a meter distance from each other and have your mask on.
Ferry to Georgetown
The mask is not a problem, you see everyone walking with it. Keeping your distance seems a little harder. There was quite a queue at check-in in front of the train and keeping one-meter distance? No chance, of course, but in the train itself, everything worked fine. Four hours later, with that mask on it gets quite warm, we arrived in Butterworth. This is a town on the west side of Malaysia, and from here the ferry leaves in 15 minutes to Georgetown, Penang. Ideal, because from the ferry it was a five-minute walk to our hotel ‘The Prestige’.
Hotel The Prestige
Arriving at the hotel everything was very well arranged! You were checked on the temperature before you entered the hotel. Also, the hotel rooms were only cleaned on request, so the cleaning lady did not come into contact with several guests. Besides, you had to keep your mask on everywhere in the hotel, except when you were served breakfast. And you chose your breakfast via your mobile phone. You only had to scan the QR code that you sent to the menu. Worked fine! This new hotel is spotless, has a good breakfast, a nice swimming pool, and a perfect location in the middle of Georgetown!
Consequences of Covid-19
The otherwise bustling Georgetown seems a bit deserted. In 2018, 3.8 million tourists visited this city. Since 2008 Georgetown is on the Unesco World Heritage List, and partly because of that it has become so popular among foreigners. According to our Grab driver, he had a lot of Dutch, Germans, English, and French in his car at the beginning of this year. But since the outbreak of the coronavirus, his work has come to a complete standstill. And he’s not the only one, a lot of people here drive full-time for Grab because tourists often don’t have a car and still easily want to go to other places. And even now he can’t work full time. All Malaysians have their car and don’t book Grab. This island lives off tourism, and the consequences of the virus are clearly visible here.
Trishaw
Usually, dozens of trishaws drive around Georgetown. This is a bicycle taxi with a maximum of two people in a kind of carriage. Now you can still see the trishaws, but empty. The people who normally have to struggle to drive the tourists to the highlights of Georgetown, now live on the street and sleep in their trishaw. Very sad to see, how long will this go on like this? We don’t expect that it will be possible to travel again soon, let alone that Europeans will come to Malaysia. During the public holiday on Friday, we, fortunately, saw quite a few people being cycled around. Let’s hope there will be many more public holidays where all the inhabitants of Malaysia will come to Penang on a staycation.
Leave A Comment