26th July - Perhentian Island

We slept in in our lovely clean bed and then joined girl-Holly for a nic breakfast at Ewan's.

We took a wander across the island to Long Beach which is actually what it says on the tin - a beautiful, long, white, sandy beach with stunning blue, calm water. We skirted the crowds and found a nice shady spot for a laze and a read for several hours. We swam in the sea and enjoyed the fine, sandy sea bed in comparison the the rockiness of Coral Beach but, because of the loack of rocks and coral, there weren't any fish or sea-life to look at.

After dinner, we booked our dive with Ombak and enjoyed a bit more of a chat with charasmatic dive-holly. We tried our equipment on and were impressed by the newness and quality of it, as well as the fact that it wasn't just thrust on us on the morning of the dive.

I spent the rest of the evening trying to write blog but, after I'd got sucked into Facebook, the battery was low and I couldn't face sitting in the hot room so it could charge. Instead, I enjoyed more time reading and chilling on our little balcony outside our room.

25th July - Penang to Perhentien Island

We were up at 4am to get ready for the 5am minibus. We commandeered a seat on the front row in the hope it would be a more comfortabe ride but I had a rocking, clicking seat that kept reclining itself onto the legs of the poor guy behind. Combined with the windy road and sharp braking, we didn't get much sleep but the bus driver very nice and friendly and made regular short stops so the 5 1/2 hour journey still flew by.
We arrived at Kuala Besut about 10.30, signed in at the surprisingly helpful desk and took our first speed boat. It cut through the water at a thrilling speed, bouncing up and doown dramatically and  spraying us all with water. It was really good fun and the kids on the boat didn't stop grinning. The water was an amazing colour and the islands looked a lot better preserved than the Thai islands we'd seen.

We dropped a few others off at their respective beaches and arrived at our destination, Coral Bay. We were last off the boat because I couldn't stop looking at the school of fish that were next to boat and resting in the shade of the pier. We hardly walked a few paces down the pier when we saw a shark gliding through the shallows. We also spotted a long, thin swordfish type thing and big, pretty, colourful ones.

I left Matt in the shade and enquired along the beach about accomodation but most places full or too expensive. It came to a toss up between Ewan's and Aur-Bay. Ewan's was not available until after 3, was only free for one night and even though it had nice chalets, they looked onto a patch of land that was being landscaped.  Aur-bay was not so nice but it was on the beach, available immediately and cheaper. We went for tight option to save a couple of quid a night.

After a quick shower, when I realised there was no sink and the floor had a constant pool of water (which meant I had to take my trousers off to take a wee!) we asked around a few of the schools about diving. We stopped at Ombak diving school first. We were expecting a price and the name of a site or two but were given a very detailed and passionate explanation of the options by a guy called Holly. We both took to him immediately and foud ourselves wishing he'd taught us to dive. We also asked at Quiver and, though they were nice, we preferred the personal approach of Holly. Unfortunately, Matt's ears were still feeling bad with the 'Baro Trauma' he sustained at Koh Tao after not equalising properly and so decided to give it a day or so before taking the dive.

Back at the room, Matt fell to sleep but the bed smelled funny so I couldn't drop off. Instead I wandered the few metre to the beach. There was no shade at all by this time so I went in the sea. The tide was out and it was really rocky underfoot and so didn't swim. I could have braved the rocks and walked in further but to be honest, even though I knew the sharks weren't dangerous, I didn't fancy running into one alone and so gave up and sat on the balcony outside our room.

Under the opposite bungalows, there was a large 'swamp' where all of the shower water ran out into the ground. I thought I's seen something swimming in it earlier but,as I sat there, 2 HUGE lizards over a metre long came out and faced each other off for a bit. They scrurried back in the water before Matt got a look at them but they were like mini dinosaurs.

We went to a beach front restaurant for food and to watch the sun set. We bumped into a girl called Holly who I'd briefly met earlier and so asked her to join us so we could pass the time while the family at the restaurant broke their Ramadan fast and started taking orders again. We had a nice chat about her job which was interesting because she works at a mine in Mongolia teaching safety and had a few funny stories about how strange it could be, especially at the fortnightly disco.

We went back to go to bed but the bed smelled so fusty that I took a closer look. The pillow cases were mouldy and the bed covers didn't look much healthier so I asked at reception for some different ones. When I took covers off I was horrified to find that the pillows themselves were black with a respiritary disease level of mould. I quickly ran up to Ewan's to ask if the room was still free and felt lucky to discover that someone had cancelled. Back at Aur-bay, I spoke to the cocky guy there and found out that he was well aware of the problem. He would not give us all our money back and was quite rude and dismissive. We packed our stuff, asked whether they fancied returning the rest of the money in exchange for the lock and, since they didn't, we out the padlock on the foor and took the key as a souvineer.

Ewan's Place was even more lovely than I remembered now that it wasn't full of workmen and I kicked myself for not checking in there in the first place. Ewan himself was as sweet and generous as when I met him earlier and offered to make us some food even though the kitchen was closed. After all the excitement, it was about 1.30am before I feel asleep.

24th July - Penang

We planned to spend the day at Penang National Park so went to find somewhere for a filling and healthy breakfast. Somehow, I ended up with a fried roti banana which was bizarrely served with a spicy masala sauce. It started chucking it down before we'd even finished so we waited for the rain to slow a little before heading out to catch the bus.
The aircon on the bus was set to 'arctic' again and so I was grateful for the extra layers of waterproof jacket and a cardy, even thought it was still pretty cold.

We checked in at the National park entrance (so that they could come and get us if we didn't return) and decided on the walk to Turtle Beach rather than Monkey Beach. There were lots of steps climbing up and down and we were very sweaty but the walk was only an hour or so and we barely came across anyone else - just a group of 3 guys who appeared to be running and so were obviously insane. We did see a huge centipede and a few butterflies though.

Turtle beach was quite nice and was deserted but we didn't see any turtles. We didn't do much there apart from I had a nice snooze on a bench and we snacked on a healthy lunch of dried fruit, chocolate filled wafer biscuits and deep-fried masala beans.

The walk  back was equally sweaty but didn't seem as far. We were enticed into to a nearby called 'Mom's and Pop's' by a Malaysian/Indian taxi driver and enjoyed some tasty local curries as we chatted to him.
The bus back was still freezing but not too bad now that we weren't soaked with rain. We got off at a local shopping centre called Komtar to do some wire shopping so we could replace the bag of wiress we left on Koh Tao. Miraculously, we stumbled across compouter section in the middle of otherwise deserted market, and found almost everything we needed. I did break accidentally break the clips (on both sides!) of my precious bumbag and so felt rather sulky as we looked at a few andriod phones . Taking a basic phone with me was a bit of a mistake because we mostly get wifi at restaurants when we don't actually have the laptop with us.

We took the free bus back near ur guesthouse and I got into a conversation with a nice Malaysian old man. We had been chatting for a while when he told me he'd been really sick and had been to the doctors and I hope he didn't notice when I started leaning back and covering my mouth. I then became more aware that he had a line of what looked like vomit around his mouth and a slick of browny/orange in his mouth and round his teeth. After this I struggled to concentrate and was quite relieved when he got off.

It was getting late by the time we returned and so spent a practical hour or so packing and going to the ATM, ready for our early start tomorrow.

23rd July - Penang

Struggled to wake up again due to airless, windowless room and so were late getting started.
After breakfast of our first Nasi Lemak (coconut rice with anchovy sambal) we went to the bus stop where we thought we could get the bus to the National Park. After waiting a long while for a bus that was apparently due every 5 mins there was still no sign so we hopped on the free shuttle bus that we couldn't find yesterday. We did a circuit of Georgetown and ended up back where we were before finally hitting jetty main station.

By this time it was past lunch so we amended plans and went to Penang Hill funicular instead. It's apparently the largest one in Malaysia and it was quite fun to ride even though I didn't enjoy it as much as the one in Hong Kong. I annoyed a lady who had pushed past us in the queue by refusing to move for the other two people she was waiting for so I guess I must be getting more self-assured in my old age. The view over the city was expansive but, like Hong Kong, the visibility was rubbish due to the weather.

We had a giggle about the 'Owl Museum' at the top because when I asked of there were any real owls there, the guy looked at me like I was insane!  I'm not sure of the appeal of a whole museum of stuff shaped like owls but someone must like it. We walked around top to 'Monkey Cup' carniverous plant garden and waved at the lazy gits who took the golf-buggy ride along the same route. I accidentally waved at the ;ady who took the huff with me and so ended up looking like a smug git but she waved back, despite looking very confused.
We bought some very tasty chickpeas (a surprise to Matt) and took a look around the Hindu temple and the outside of the mosque, both of which had been build for the people building the original railway.

The journey back down the funicular was a bit more scary because they packed it so full that I was afraid that it would go flying and crush us all into flesh soup at the bottom but we arrived safely and caught the bus to nearby Kek Lok Si buddhist  temple. We stopped to try the local speciality, Penang Laksa, which is a fishy stew that sounded lovely in theory (and was rated 7th most tasty world food by the New York Times) but was a bit too strong tasting for me.

Walked up to temple through an indoor market. The first thing we saw was the seven storey octagonal based 'Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas' towering up in front of us and beyond, the rambling, multi-level complex of prayer halls, pagodas, bell towers and just about every other typical temple structure you can think of, in varying styles from Burmese to Chinese to Thai.

We took the inclined lift (more fun than the funicular) to very top to see the 30.2m bronze statue of Kuan Tin. As well as that and the other impressive statues, there were also smallish plaster-type figures spread around the garden including ones of Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

After walking down the big hill and catching the bus back to Georgetown, we went in search of more food from 'the leaflet' and tried Won Ton Mee and chicken satay sticks at the street stalls near our guesthouse.
We had a quick explore of the classier end of town with its expensive bars and hotels and took ourselves to bed.

22nd July - Penang

Despite learning in China that there is very little that I like about Chinese food, we somehow ended up having breakfast at Chinese place. Turns out that even toast and porridge are gross!

We went to Penang State Museum and learned about the multi-cultural origins of island. There was lots to look at and read but the really fun bit was finding the dressing up section. My second 'discovery' of the day was that Matt suits a fez, wrap and blazer combo - who'da thunk it? It was especially fun because we were soon joined by a young guy from the museum who took great pleasure in dressing us.

We headed back through little India for lunch and enjoyed a South Indian thali whilst thinking of Nic and our jaunt to Kerala.

There was a shuttle bus that circled the city but we waited for it for quite a while and it didn't show. Determined not to be thwarted, we set off on foot, looking for some of the places of interest on the tourist map. We saw lots of Chinese temples and mosques as well as a few interesting colonial-style buildings. We also discovered a street art installation type thing with a bike stuck to a wall with kids painted on the the wall itself and a phone box with 'fitting room' graffitied on the front and a guy changing spray-painted inside.

Shortly after stumbled across a flea market and Matt enjoyed wandering around looking for new cables to replace the ones that he left at Silver Sands in Koh Tao. Compared to car-boots back home, the people had very little on their stalls but it was still interesting to nosy at what people were getting rid of.

We headed back to the sea front to look at some of the buildings there and stopped for a cold drink. I tried chrysanthemum tea (not a fan) and Matt had 'lychee juice' - which was actually just the syrup out of a tin of lychees!

We visited Fort Cornwallis but didn't feel like reading the nonsensical boards so just enjoyed exploring the gunpowder store (shaped like a teletubby house), the cannons, the spooky, empty chapel and the prison. The fort was built for admin purposes not defense which was lucky 'cos it was tiny, though apparently it's the largest standing fort in Malaysia.

We sat outside the fort for a while, watching a tall Western lad play basketball with bunch of Indian kids and decided to spend our evening searching out some of the dishes outlined in a leaflet we discovered about how great Penang food is.

We found and tried Roti Canai, a soft, fluffy roti served on a banana leaf with a dash of curry; Mee Goreng, fried noodles in a thick, spicy tomato gravy with tofu and  stewed squid (apparently but we couldn't find any); Ais Kacang, shaved ice with sweetened syrups, jelly, condensed milk and sweetcorn (all of Asia seems to think it's a fruit and they put it in sundaes at McDonald's - they also do a sweetcorn rather than apple pie!). It also contained pearl barley instead of the traditional 'sweetened red beans' but I'm not sure if that's an improvement or not!

21st July - Some boat somewhere to Penang

The boat docked in the early hours and we peeled ourselves off our neighbour and disembarked. We were collected by a surly tuk tuk driver who took us to a tour office where I slept leant on a table until we were collected by the bus to Had Yai.

We were meant to be there at 10.30 but the bus took rest stop at 10am and didn't arrive til 12.30 - giving us just enough time to remove our bags and jump onto the next minibus.

The Malaysian border crossing simplest yet. We didn't even have an entry card to fill in and were just asked for fingerprints instead. We did have to lug our bags through for x-rays though they didn't even look at the screen.

Back on bus we continued towards Butterworth, stopping only for our first taste of scrummy Malaysian food and to change money. We planned to go to Butterworth to get the ferry to Penang but when the driver stopped on a main road, rather than the town itself, we were a little bit thrown. It turned outt hat the bus was going t Penang anyway and was happy to take us so we got back on a luckily avoided a long walk and further transport options.

The first room we looked at was so small door couldn't open. When we said we didn't want it we were taken across the road to Banana Guesthouse where room a bit better but the staff were rude. We were keen to just get rid of our bags and look around so we took it anyway.

When the British comandeered Penang, they encouraged settlers from all over to come and live there. Consequently, it became inhabited by migrants from India, China and Europe, as well as ethinic Malays. Each group brought their foods, traditions and practices and these have been preserved there until today. There are areas dedicated as 'Chinatown' and 'Little India' but actually the cultures live and interact very harmoniously.

After frequent yearnings for Indian food in the last few months have left us disappointed and unsatisfied, we headed straight for Little India. The music, smells and shops there soon convinced us of its authenticity and the somasa stall we visited was all the persuading we needed to dive headfirst into a nearby restaurant.
We walked down to the sea front, around the bustling food courts and stumbled upon a massive Japanese festival going on outside the city hall. We stopped in the throng of people to look at the dance being performed on the big stage and got talking to a young man there. He was clearly Aspergers and talked to us for a long time, giving us facts and figures about the festival, Thailand and the UK.

There was lots going on and a really lively atmosphere so we spent quite a while just walking around, looking at the groups of people sitting on the grass or looking at the many stalls that were there.

After watching more dancing, we were about to head back when we realised that our watches were an hour out because of the time difference and so decided to stay for the grande finale fireworks display. The fireworks were let off from Fort Cornwallis nearby and, although they were nice to watch, what was more fun was listening to the exaggerated chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the crowd.

20th July- Koh Tao

We checked out of the White Sands in the morning feeling a bit tired. I'd woken in the early hours to find that the ants from the bathroom had migrated to my bed and had not settled after that.

We considered doing the advanced diving course but our ears were too sore and we wondered if we might benefit from learning elsewhere later in the future. Unfortunately, sore ears and the fact we had no room to change in meant that I also had to give up on my trapeze dream for the time being.

We left our bags at reception and spent the day on the beach, trying to stay out of the sun. We found a nice beach restaurant but it was still actually a little dull at times because we didn't feel too sparkly, had seen enough of the 'town' and couldn't go in the sea because we wouldn't have been able to shower.

At 8pm we were taken to 'sleeper boat' where we were due to spend the night. After quite a wait, we were eventually herded on. We had seen pictures of the boat at the travel agent but were still not quite prepared for the size of the beds. Each tiny 'mattress' was places as close as possible to the next tiny 'mattress' so it was like sleeping with lots of strangers in one giant bed. In total, the boat held 120 passengers so it was very 'cosy' indeed.

Somehow, we actually slept quite well but Matt did keep waking up face-to-face with the guy next to him and getting a bit of a shock.