Strangers Partying in Penang

Penang, Malaysia By

I don’t remember how it started or why. But all of a sudden we find ourselves surrounded by strangers in Penang. And yet on this journey of discovery we are finding strangers are friends and friends become family.

As I sit here early this morning with only 5 more minutes to myself I ponder the situation I have found myself in. In another half an hour I will be spending time with several other families on a journey to Monkey Beach and yet most of these families I have met for the first time here in Penang.

We have a group on Facebook that we are all a part of; we are all families on the move. Some of us blog, some of us don’t. Some of us are nomadic moving every month or less, some of us have home bases and travel consistently out of there. Some of us have little kids; some of us have big kids. Some of us have faith, some of us protest none. What I am trying to say is there are multiple differences and yet here we all are, having the time of our life, in little old Penang, Malaysia. 

There is not many places in the world that you can experience such a diverse group that get's on so well and so completely. Would you like to meet this crazy bunch we no longer label strangers?

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Bohemian Travelers – Are staying here in Penang long term like us. Long term means a few months in the nomad world. It has been great to meet Mary and her family, whom I have been reading since our journeys began and who shaped our decision to come to Penang. There has not been 2 days gone by where I haven’t spent some time with Mary since we have been here.

A King’s Life – You read about them in my blog from Bali. It was so great connecting with these guys again. Their kids are the same age as ours and we just adore their whole family. My 3 year old miss is stil confused why Mrs King is not a Queen though. 

The Edventure Project – We have been reading the Miller’s journey and absolutely love their peaceful existence. Their teenage children are absolutely adorable and have such a massive love for the young kids. They bring something that no one else could to our ‘Strangers in Penang’ party.

Worldschool Adventures – Amy, Mike and kids have just commenced travel. This is their first week and we are all so honoured to be part of the first leg of their journey. They have a major spirit of adventure and are so brave to have made Asia their first stop, all the way from Canada.

Going Anyway – You may also remember them from the dinner we had in Bali. One night was all it took for us to be hooked on their blog. They are a travelling inspiration with their 5 children alone, let alone doing it with the delightful Sparky who voyages in style via an amazing wheelchair tailored to their nomadic needs. They are also one of the only families from our part of the world – WA, Australia!

The lovely Malaysian Meanders also joined us for our pool party and that was exciting. I had been using some of her content while here in Penang and it was great to have her meet everyone. 

Among our group we have several unbloggers as well. Another lovely Australian couple currently living in Chang Mia with their son whose 5th birthday we are celebrating today on Monkey Island. Also the crazy Australian Sara and her boy have been adding humour at every dinner outing. Oh and did I mention Tami & her stunning daughter Rio from Texas with the most lovely drawl. 

At the pool party Mia befriended a pretty little American girl and when a storm hit rather quickly her mother and I quickly took shelter. I invited her over to our party in the function room by the pool and very quickly she realized she was amongst celebrities and was a bit gob smacked. A recent traveler she had been reading all our blogs for a long time and was over the moon to meet everyone. We were happy to invite her into the “family”.

The pool party alone had over 40 people. Last night over 30 of us converged on BBQ Nights in Penang for dinner and they so graciously served us without a moment’s hesitation. 

Now I’ve been writing this I am going to be late for our next social event at Monkey Beach. A day of sun, boats and swimming with our 30+ crowd. I just couldn’t wait to share the adventures we have been having with our strangers in Penang. And I hope you believe me when I say I hope you can be part of our adventure too one day.

We would love to meet you!

For more photos on our Strangers in Penang, please check out our Photo Journal

As we wrote about all the families we met with in Penang, so did they. You can find mention of us on any of their blogs. I must say it's so interesting reading the other side of the story!

Reader Comments...

"I respond to every comment by direct private email. I look forward to your feedback" -

Thanks for the link love, Erin and the gracious description of our family! It has been so great to meet you and yours and to make some special memories together in this fantastic corner of the world!

Jenn Miller Oct 9th, 2012

Looks awesome! We're always hoping to run into some other travel bloggers we "know" on the road but so far it has happened yet. Hope to cross paths sometime!

Dave Oct 11th, 2012

So excited for all of you! Love looking at the photos and reading about all of your time together!

Laurel Oct 13th, 2012

We love meeting people, hope we get to bump into you guys somewhere! Loved meeting you Jenn, absolutely gorgeous family!

Erin Oct 15th, 2012

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