FUN FOR A FIVER. The blinged up trishaws of Penang are well known far and wide, the drivers decorate their trishaws with flowers, tinsel, stuffed toys and even install sound systems to help attract tourists. You will find them in different areas of Georgetown however the majority hang out on Penang Rd all in one crazy blingy line, And this is where this Fun For a Fiver begins…..
This is of course an activity that can be done without the addition of alcohol, however we thought it sounded like a damn good idea to pickup a couple of tinnies from the convenience store and head out to see Georgetown through the eyes of someone partaking in 14.2% Eagle beer! Yes that’s right!!! 14.2% and Eagle’s friend “Bison” at 12.5% (and this was purely just because its Asia and love we the fact that we can).
As with any local transport of this fashion, organising a price before jumping aboard is of great importance, we agreed to a 15 minute ride for RM10, or a little over US$3.
One thing we really appreciated in Penang is the level of English everyone speaks. Many people are very friendly and were happy to answers any questions we had about food or attractions, our Chinese driver was no exception! He rode us around the famous street art district pointing out interesting buildings and telling us historical facts along the way, while we listened to the Chinese Top 40 on his radio!
A heads up: the trishaws are not extremely wide and fitting 2 regular sized (western) people in was quite a bit of a squeeze and enough to make anyone consider taking up that New Years resolution again of losing weight!!!
This is a great way to see Georgetown especially at night when it’s a lot cooler and the traffic isn’t as mental as during the day. With no set plans on where to go, our driver chose for us and took us to some of the unique street art that sporadically fills the UNESCO heritage area.
