Once in a while, I come across a travel experience, or meet someone in one of my adventures that I just have to share with other people. This time, I just have to share about our tour guide, David Yeoh. He was the reason our trip to Penang, Malaysia, turned out so well, and I highly recommend his services to anyone and everyone going to Penang.
Take note, though, he is in high demand. While we were with him, his phone kept on ringing with requests for tours, so I suggest that you book him well ahead! Read on to learn more about our experience with David after the jump!
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I personally believe that travel is as much discovering new places as it is about discovering one's self. With this in mind, I have often found that among the best travel we've had was when we stepped outside our comfort zone, our shell of isolation, and really immersed ourselves in new experiences.
Of course, there is lots of fun in the luxurious too, but a glimpse of the true identity of a place you visit comes richer when you make an effort to not just think and act like tourists do, but also as locals would.
Personally, I am a beginner at this. I wouldn't know where to begin on my own-- I'd probably end up eating at McDonalds and drinking Coke the world over if left completely alone, just because I don't know any better. That is why I count it very lucky meeting people who bring local color to our trips-- as our trip to Penang, Malaysia turned out to be.
Karen and I opted for a more adventurous take on this trip. Backpacking. All our stuff for three days and three nights crammed into two knapsacks. Although perfectly reasonable for others, trust me, it was a challenge for the chronic over-packers that we are.
As part of the theme, I purposefully kept our itinerary "flexible". To put it another way, we were winging it. No plans or fixed schedules, some ideas but nothing more.
We were pretty comfortable with the idea at first, seasoned travelers that we were (or were pretending to be). Until we found ourselves in Penang on our first morning, too early to check into our hotel, but too plan-less to get along our tourist-y business. Practically without sleep for the last 30 hours, it was so easy to get lazy and waste 4 hours waiting for our room to be ready.
To Karen's sole credit, she got us moving anyway by suggesting that we walk out and get a cab and head to Georgetown, the UNESCO heritage site in Penang, and take it from there.
The real brilliance of that suggestion, however, had nothing to do with Georgetown, because we didn't make it that far (yet), but with the chance meeting it allowed us with the driver of the first (and only) private taxi that found itself near our out-of-the-way hotel. Meet David. A 60-something taxi driver, tour guide, and gastronomic aficionado who has enough energy in him to lift sleepless travelers like us to excitement.
In his car, he had stacks of brochures about Penang, clearbooks on tourist destinations, and even photo albums of his pictures with his guests. It was practically a tourist information center on wheels.
In less than five minutes, we were able to put together a great itinerary for the day, and what should have been a simple commute to Georgetown turned out to be an entire day's tour-- for a reasonable 30 ringgits (USD10) per hour. To put that in context, a one way taxi ride to Georgetown would cost 40 ringgits already, and another 40 for the ride back home.
Over the next six hours (and for 180 ringgit total) he took us from one destination to another: specialty stores of chocolates, batik, coffee, tea and other local produce; the 120 year old Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple, lunch at one of the more popular hawker food courts for locals, a taste of the best and most unhygienic (they are one and the same) laksa ever made, a drive around little India and China town in George town, and the Nyonya mansion in Georgetown. With David all the while acting as our guide, telling us about all the interesting backgrounds of these places.
We were so pleased with him that we happily booked him for the next day too, and he took us to Penang hill, the botanical garden, the Thai Buddhist temple with the reclining Buddha, the Burmese Buddhist temple with the standing Buddha, a Malaysian local eatery that easily wins as my best meal for the trip, the Batu Ferringhi beach, the Shangri La and Hard Rock hotels for a look, and then to a local spa by our request.
And so, with David's help, we had the best of both experiences: seeing all the tourist sites, but also getting a feel of local life, especially the food.
And yet, for all the great places we saw and good food we ate, I can think of so many reasons besides, reasons that are endlessly more compelling, why David is best in class. Small nuances that define the experience beyond being just another tour. For the sake of brevity, allow me to try and enumerate:
1. He bothered to get to know us and called us by name, in a warm, personal way from the start.
2. He was unabashed to tell us which attractions were not worth going to. It didn't matter that he would miss out on some ringgits for the shorter tour; he sincerely cared about the visitor's experience.
3. Each time you get in or out of his car, he would hurry to open your door for you.
4. He just happens to know someone almost anywhere you go, giving you the confidence that he really knows the city's in and outs.
5. He will even give you a wake up call in the morning to make sure you don't over sleep.
6. He knows the good spots to take pictures and will bring you there, taking the pictures himself.
7. When we told him we wanted to watch a particular show at the Georgetown festival, he made calls and found out where we could buy tickets. He even got us a discount, and took us to get the tickets himself.
8. After the show, he insisted on waiting for us and driving us home, knowing it would be hard to find a cab so late at night, and didn't even charge more than what any other taxi would despite having to wait for us for hours.
9. He can keep you entertained indefinitely while in the car with his endless funny stories, or let you rest quietly if you prefer. He seems to be able to tell which one you're in the mood for, too.
10. He is fluent in English, Malay, and can even speak German.
And by the end of our trip, as he was driving us to the airport, he even had a small souvenir for us to take home and remember Malaysia by.
Of course, there are no pretenses. He was doing his job, and it was still, first and foremost, a commercial transaction. But it was a job extremely well done, and it went a very long way in making our trip efficient, stress free, and memorable. So much so that paying him didn't feel like paying him, but more like giving him a gift out of gratitude for his hospitality.
So if you're going to Penang, find the best guide out there, David Yeoh. And tell him Jor-el and Karen say hello. Here are his contact details:
Email: yeoh_david@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile number: (+6) 014-246-6623
Services: Island tour, sight seeing tour, airport/hotel transfers, gastronomic tour, overland tour, city night tour, apartment rental
Take note, though, he is in high demand. While we were with him, his phone kept on ringing with requests for tours, so I suggest that you book him well ahead! Read on to learn more about our experience with David after the jump!
---------
I personally believe that travel is as much discovering new places as it is about discovering one's self. With this in mind, I have often found that among the best travel we've had was when we stepped outside our comfort zone, our shell of isolation, and really immersed ourselves in new experiences.
Of course, there is lots of fun in the luxurious too, but a glimpse of the true identity of a place you visit comes richer when you make an effort to not just think and act like tourists do, but also as locals would.
Personally, I am a beginner at this. I wouldn't know where to begin on my own-- I'd probably end up eating at McDonalds and drinking Coke the world over if left completely alone, just because I don't know any better. That is why I count it very lucky meeting people who bring local color to our trips-- as our trip to Penang, Malaysia turned out to be.
Karen and I opted for a more adventurous take on this trip. Backpacking. All our stuff for three days and three nights crammed into two knapsacks. Although perfectly reasonable for others, trust me, it was a challenge for the chronic over-packers that we are.
As part of the theme, I purposefully kept our itinerary "flexible". To put it another way, we were winging it. No plans or fixed schedules, some ideas but nothing more.
We were pretty comfortable with the idea at first, seasoned travelers that we were (or were pretending to be). Until we found ourselves in Penang on our first morning, too early to check into our hotel, but too plan-less to get along our tourist-y business. Practically without sleep for the last 30 hours, it was so easy to get lazy and waste 4 hours waiting for our room to be ready.
To Karen's sole credit, she got us moving anyway by suggesting that we walk out and get a cab and head to Georgetown, the UNESCO heritage site in Penang, and take it from there.
The real brilliance of that suggestion, however, had nothing to do with Georgetown, because we didn't make it that far (yet), but with the chance meeting it allowed us with the driver of the first (and only) private taxi that found itself near our out-of-the-way hotel. Meet David. A 60-something taxi driver, tour guide, and gastronomic aficionado who has enough energy in him to lift sleepless travelers like us to excitement.
In his car, he had stacks of brochures about Penang, clearbooks on tourist destinations, and even photo albums of his pictures with his guests. It was practically a tourist information center on wheels.
In less than five minutes, we were able to put together a great itinerary for the day, and what should have been a simple commute to Georgetown turned out to be an entire day's tour-- for a reasonable 30 ringgits (USD10) per hour. To put that in context, a one way taxi ride to Georgetown would cost 40 ringgits already, and another 40 for the ride back home.
Over the next six hours (and for 180 ringgit total) he took us from one destination to another: specialty stores of chocolates, batik, coffee, tea and other local produce; the 120 year old Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple, lunch at one of the more popular hawker food courts for locals, a taste of the best and most unhygienic (they are one and the same) laksa ever made, a drive around little India and China town in George town, and the Nyonya mansion in Georgetown. With David all the while acting as our guide, telling us about all the interesting backgrounds of these places.
We were so pleased with him that we happily booked him for the next day too, and he took us to Penang hill, the botanical garden, the Thai Buddhist temple with the reclining Buddha, the Burmese Buddhist temple with the standing Buddha, a Malaysian local eatery that easily wins as my best meal for the trip, the Batu Ferringhi beach, the Shangri La and Hard Rock hotels for a look, and then to a local spa by our request.
And so, with David's help, we had the best of both experiences: seeing all the tourist sites, but also getting a feel of local life, especially the food.
 |
| David bringing us to a local eatery that was simply our best meal in Malaysia |
1. He bothered to get to know us and called us by name, in a warm, personal way from the start.
2. He was unabashed to tell us which attractions were not worth going to. It didn't matter that he would miss out on some ringgits for the shorter tour; he sincerely cared about the visitor's experience.
3. Each time you get in or out of his car, he would hurry to open your door for you.
4. He just happens to know someone almost anywhere you go, giving you the confidence that he really knows the city's in and outs.
5. He will even give you a wake up call in the morning to make sure you don't over sleep.
6. He knows the good spots to take pictures and will bring you there, taking the pictures himself.
7. When we told him we wanted to watch a particular show at the Georgetown festival, he made calls and found out where we could buy tickets. He even got us a discount, and took us to get the tickets himself.
8. After the show, he insisted on waiting for us and driving us home, knowing it would be hard to find a cab so late at night, and didn't even charge more than what any other taxi would despite having to wait for us for hours.
9. He can keep you entertained indefinitely while in the car with his endless funny stories, or let you rest quietly if you prefer. He seems to be able to tell which one you're in the mood for, too.
10. He is fluent in English, Malay, and can even speak German.
And by the end of our trip, as he was driving us to the airport, he even had a small souvenir for us to take home and remember Malaysia by.
Of course, there are no pretenses. He was doing his job, and it was still, first and foremost, a commercial transaction. But it was a job extremely well done, and it went a very long way in making our trip efficient, stress free, and memorable. So much so that paying him didn't feel like paying him, but more like giving him a gift out of gratitude for his hospitality.
So if you're going to Penang, find the best guide out there, David Yeoh. And tell him Jor-el and Karen say hello. Here are his contact details:
Email: yeoh_david@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile number: (+6) 014-246-6623
Services: Island tour, sight seeing tour, airport/hotel transfers, gastronomic tour, overland tour, city night tour, apartment rental
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Don't worry.. I already help both of you to send warmest regards to uncle David.. He missed you guy's and hope to see you guys again.
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