So nice to see this thread pop up again, especially as it was just over two years ago we went. I was thinking about it just the other day (32nd Wedding Aniversary) on how fast time as past and how much we enjoyed it.
Then, with amazing coincidence, I saw this thread yesterday and realised that I have never placed a post after the trip.
Well we had an absolutely wonderful time and my wife just fell in love with the place. Everywhere has changed dramatically, but the basics (road structure, many buildings, landscape etc) was exactly as I remembered it when I was just 11 years old.
We saw the 4 houses that we lived in at Hillside, Tanjung Tokong and a street named Jalan Kilat on the mainland down the road from Butterworth.
First day there I took my wife on a complete walking tour of Hillside including a walk up the winding Jungle Road where we had played as kids. A chap let us into the reservoir when I told him we use to play there as there were no fences or locked gates in those days. I got some great photos. Sadly Scout Rock is no longer there and they have built houses on stilts where the rock use to be!
Also saw my old school at Minden Barracks (now the University), Butterworth (via the new bridge and returned on the old ferry), and of course Penang Hill; fortunately the new train up the hill opened on the day of our wedding anniversary, that was so good!
All in all we saw the whole island and so many happy memories came flooding back. If I can be honest there was dust in my eyes when we landed at Penang and dust in my eyes when we left.
We have talked about how we could go and live there, but I am not sure that it would be possible.
Anybody in Penang want to hire an ex RAF engine basher who now specialises in supportability management of deployable communication IT equipment?? I am pretty adaptable at most things.
