Penang...

After Singapore, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur, the need for the beach was growing strong and the tan was fading... Fast!! It had been 2 weeks since being on the golden shores of Bondi and the city life was taking it's toll.

I didn't want to leave Malaysia just yet, so the two options were to either hit the North-east coast and the Perenthian islands or to travel North-west the the small island of Penang. The Lonely Planet was once again up to it's usual standard of not giving much information away, so after a bit of googling and a few recommendations, I made of the decision to give Penang a try. This was also closer to the Thailand border so transport across would be a lot easier.

The coach from KL to Penang was another easy 7 hour journey on a nice luxury vessel - of which I slept for the majority of - and we were soon dropped of in - what I thought - was central Penang but eventually turned out to be the middle of bloody nowhere... After spending 20 minutes trying to communicate with the extremely non-English speaking locals and picking up an Australian 'stalker' we were in a extortionate taxi and on the way to the hostel. The taxi dropped the Aussie off first and I managed to flirt-divert her by giving her the fake name of 'Alex Smith' on Facebook and said that I'm easy to find on there. I was staying in the Reggae Mansion hostel and it really lived up to the name with a very laid back vibe, cushions everywhere, large shelf of different Runs stacked behind the bar and - of course - UB40 banging out of the speakers!!

Ok, so taking the conversation back to the original plan; I wanted the beach!! Researching further, it was here that I think the wrong decision was made... What wasn't mentioned within any of the tourist information is that Penang is pretty much a commercial island, with a large Port many shopping complexes, markets and... not many beaches. The first day in Penang was supposed to be a relaxed and chilled out one of heading to the West side of the island and laying down until my skin looked like leather; however I was woken up at around 11am with a banging crack of Thunder followed by the sound of rain hammering down against the windows. This didn't stop. At all. So after about an hour I met a couple of guys from Reading and we headed out to the main Shopping centre to grab some lunch and then go to the cinema and saw the only film that looked half-decent; This Means War. The evening rain calmed down a bit and we found a few really cheap street food stalls to get some dinner and then found a bar for a cheeky bucket of beers.

The next day was more productive and a bit cultural. The wasn't fantastic; overcast and a good chance of the heavens reopening, so I found out what there was to do and went and done it! The first was to go to Fort Cornwallis. This is a large fort from the 1800s built by the British in the height of the Empire as the East coast of Malaysia was used as a main trading route through to Indonesia and beyond. The Fort wasn't anything to write home about, but was still in a good condition with high cannon lined walls, ammunition storages and jails still in their original state; and it only cost 50p for the ticket: Bargain!

The next hour or so was spent wandering around the city, visiting

more temples and heading into Little India for a Thali lunch of several curries and rice served on a sheet of grease proof paper and without cutlery. It was a great experience trying eat the whole lot with just my hands and making a pretty big mess in the process. On the evening I met up with a Dutch girl called Kristin who I met in KL and we wet out for a couple of drinks and checking the weather report; we planned to hit the beach tomorrow for a bit of sunshine before rolling out of Malaysia.

The next morning, the sun indeed was shining, bags were packed, suncream on and we were heading to the beach. When arriving at what is claimed to be 'the best beach on the island' it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The sand was mainly shingles and the water didn't look the most appealing; bit of a dirty colour with a strong smell of diesel... Nevertheless, the sun was out, the towels went down and for the next couple of hours we well and truly baked!! The evening was a bit easier. With the lack of entertainment within the town we decided to head back to the cinema and have the crap scared out of us by seeing The Woman in Black. I'm not sure what was more scary... the actual film or the person sitting next to me screaming at every jumping bit. Needless to say the brave Knight act didn't work as I nearly threw a tub of popcorn over the person in front of me when the Woman in Black suddenly appeared out of no-where...

The need for a quick beer afterwards was strong and having for back to the hostel I was only 1 sleep away from the part of the tour that I was waiting for the most!!

So with a 60 day Visa in the passport, and the alarm set for 6am, I was ready to leave Malaysia and venture back to my favourite place in the whole world; Thailand!!!!!!

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