Malaysia Malaise

Two and a half weeks in Malaysia was not what we had originally intended when we planned our trip but the Lord continues to move in mysterious ways and we were fortunate to spend this time recharging our batteries, enjoying great food, soaking up the sun, and making new friends.
Bernie's surgery and recuperation in New Zealand forced us to rethink our time in southeast Asia and realizing that we couldn't do everything we wanted to do in a shortened amount of time, (not to mention we were physically tired), we took our travel agent's advice (finally, eh Max?) and opted for two weeks on the island of Penang in Malaysia.
Adjusting to Malaysian heat and humidity took us the better part of a week. Wow... +36C with high humidity caused us to melt right into our pool deck chairs every afternoon beside our amazing pool and stay there until it was time to catch the local bus to the village for dinner at the 'Hawkers' Stalls'. Batu Feringghi (the village, or should we say small city, near our apartment) is famous for its Night Market and amazing food and we were not disappointed!
Sitting poolside every day we quickly got to know our apartment neighbours Mark, Emme, Nicole, and Will Haddon, recently transplanted from the UK to Malaysia. So transplanted in fact they're emigrating to Penang.
Our evening visits to the Hawkers' Stalls and Night Market introduced us to more wonderful folks like Stephen and Colin, traveling buddies also from the UK. (We bonded while trying to decide which yummy meals we should eat at the evening food stalls.) And I can't forget to mention our AirBnb flatmate Giulio, a lovely (and handsome) young man from Italy working and studying abroad.
And then it was off to KL for a few days of 'hanging out' at the Petronas Towers. Again we had the best AirBnb... just a five minute walk from the towers. I can't forget to mention that we celebrated my birthday on two different occasions, an Asian tapas evening in Penang and real North American waffles and maple syrup at the Petronas Towers. Our two and a half week stay in Malaysia was just what the doctor ordered and we absolutely loved every minute of it!