Penang, Malaysia

Hello everyone!

A cheery wave from a new country- Malaysia! The last week since I emailed has been relatively busy! We left koh tao very early Friday morning. We were a bit sad to be leaving :( I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a relaxing break and although flights are expensive, things are so cheap when you get there that it wouldn't turn out much more cost wise than a couple of weeks in Europe somewhere. So we had had a bit of a mare trying to book travel to langkawi which is where we originally intended to go after koh tao. So instead we decided to come straight to Penang. We didn't really fancy the slow over night bus as the seas are a bit choppy and these Asians don't seem so comfortable on a boat! So Friday morning we got the fast (3 hours) catamaran to the main land and stayed in a hotel in Surat thani for a night. Not much to report as its not a tourist town so was a bit boring really. They had a good market in the evening so we had a wander there but mostly rested. Saturday morning we got collected at 6am for the bus to Malaysia. What a bloody palava! We were on one bus then on another bus then got to hat yai (south Thailand) then onto a new bus. The border crossing was smooth, I didn't get another fancy visa page which was disappointing but did get a stamp! John was exciting as his first over land border crossing here. Not much to get excited about! We finally arrived in Penang at a rather late 730pm. Almost 13 hours. We were weary to say the least. The hostel owners gave us a warm welcome and told us where we could go for food. We had read on the reviews for this hostel that it is behind a mosque and the prayer calls at 5am can be loud. Yes, yes they were! We both managed to sort of sleep through it. They have prayer calls all through the day too but they are actually quite soothing and relaxing oddly. The hostel is quite basic but i think we are the only guests and the family who run it are so friendly. We are also only about 10m from batu ferringhi beach which is beautiful! At night (in between prayer calls) all you can hear are the waves lapping the shore.

Sunday we had a day on the beach as we were pretty shattered from the journey. We found a place for breakfast which did my usual breakfast item of pancakes. This always gives a place a gold star in my eyes. The water wasn't very clear but lovely and warm and some nice foamy waves. It was a much needed chill out. We went back to the cafe we had eaten at the night before. Its a courtyard type place with small stalls around the edge selling all different cuisine; Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese and a few more. The food was really good we had some Japanese. For those of you up north its a bit like an Asian / street version of meadow halls food court! But fresher and tastier food!

Monday we decided we would go and explore Georgetown. We had struggled to find accommodation in Georgetown and are hence staying a 40 min bus ride away in Batu ferringhi. The bus was nice and air conditioned but after 40 mins I was a bit green :( I get pretty badly travel sick and the long journeys are OK as I take tablets but always reluctant to take them for the short journeys as I get extremely drowsy. Once on solid land for a few minutes again I felt a bit better. Georgetown was definitely an experience! The best way I can describe it is a cultural melting pot. We wandered around little India and china town absorbing the atmosphere and differences. We visited a couple of Chinese temples as well as exploring fort Cornwallis which was where british explorer Francis Light set up base. Around fort Cornwallis was surreal as many of the buildings look British! And the street names are named after his men. We also visited Penang museum where we learnt why Penang is so culturally diverse. It seems there are not really 'native' Malaysians as such. Many people have come to Malaysia over the past centuries from all over Asia and the world bringing bits of their homeland culture with them. It seems today that the main groups left are Chinese, Indian and Malay Muslims. What we found quite strange was we spoke to a few people and they would say 'oh I'm Chinese Malay - my great grandpa came here from china' - they look very Chinese and are clearly proud and want to maintain their heritage which is lovely. This just seemed different to us at home for example my Nana has Italian heritage- her grandparents came over from Italy but she wouldn't describe herself as Italian British it would just be British. And so it seems the different cultures have stayed in tact and stayed very seperate whilst all sharing this land. This was really interesting and made exploring quite exciting. We had some great lunch in Georgetown- a little Indian vegetarian restaurant from the lonely planet. All the Indians in there ate with their hands but they gave us knives and forks! It was quite different to the local Indian at home! You could taste the individual spices much more. Highlight of the day was possibly a chocolate museum where i discovered i eat much more than the average brit each year! As much as georgetown was interesting we both agreed that not being able to find accommodation there was a blessing in disguise as it was such luxury coming home to a quiet beach side hotel after the hustle and bustle of the city!

So after exploring Georgetown, yesterday we set off to see the Kek Lok Si temple. It took us a while to get there! The buses are good here but the routes are a bit weird. This meant we had to go all the way into Georgetown and get another bus out to the temple. We contemplated hiring a moped but we didn't think our travel insurance covered us as neither of us have motorcycle licenses so we went with the bus. I had invested in some travel sickness wristbands which surprisingly worked! Possibly placebo affect but they worked all the same! So after a rather long bus journey and a lunch stop we made it. It is set in the hillside and there are several temple buildings and a huge pagoda. It was stunning. Very Chinese in the architecture and quite similar to a lot of temples we saw in Vietnam. They had a pond with lots of turtles in it but we thought it was a bit over crowded and a bit cruel. Poor turtles. In the main hall they had some really nice wishing ribbons which you could hang onto a wishing tree. They all said different things such as 'health for the family' 'success in education' 'wealth and happiness' so we donated some money and hung a couple on the wishing tree- hope they come true! After a bit of a wander around we decided to head home. It is crazy hot here, a bit less humidity as were near the coast but the sun is out all day every day which makes it scorching. To prove just how strong the sun is - I have actually bought and worn sunglasses. I hate sunglasses! I didn't even need to wear them in the sahara desert! I have lasted until day 49 in Asia and not needed sunglasses but the Malaysia sun has beaten me!

Today we have had another beach day as john has a bit of a cold so needs a rest. He has been taking medicine so hopefully feeling better tomorrow. Tomorrow I think we are going to a near by spice garden which is rather intriguing. And Friday we are going to try and find some bays and secluded beaches further around the coast which we have been told about. One thing which we have been pleasantly surprised about both in koh tao and here is just how empty the beaches are. I guess Asians aren't sun worshippers like us Europeans but that means we get the whole beach to ourselves! Bliss. What makes this beach even better is the watersports guy right by our hotel has the most adorable two month old kitten. He is ginger, mioaws a lot and is called 'my my' I might have to steal him!

So, as we have cut out langkawi from our trip we now have 9 days to kill after Penang before we need to be in Kuala Lumpur for our flight to Bali. After searching the guide books and asking around we have decided to stay for three days in Kuala Lumpur (not big city people) and on the way we are stopping in a town called Tanah Rata which is in the Cameron highlands. Its up in the mountains, looking forward to seeing some countryside. We have been told there are lots of walks to go on and tea plantations as well as strawberry farms- what could be any better?! I am hoping it will be as beautiful as the countryside around Chiang mai was. So after Tanah Rata we head to Kuala Lumpur then fly to Bali. We are both super excited about Bali (john especially because of the great surfing) but really enjoying Malaysia on the way :)

Hope every one at home is doing well and all enjoying your summer. I saw the royal baby has arrived ! Doesn't seem like we are missing much else though?! Missing you all of course and looking forward to catching up soon. Take care and lots of love xxxx