All set and ready at 7.45 am we got into our mini van for an eleven hour ride across the border to Malaysia. This country has been a "do-we-don't-we" destination for the last few weeks as we are getting close to our departure from South East Asia with a flight from Bali on November 9th. WE have pretty much kept sot on with our schedule though and realising how fast we have moved through countries and over vast amounts of land we decided to squeeze this one in.
Our long journey there seemed to fly by, maybe thanks to our comfy leather seated and air conditioned van. The border crossing was quick and smooth for us too but another group travelling with us were not quite as lucky. Two couples consisting of old, unattractive men both stuck in a serious fashion time warp and there younger and somewhat more attractive Thai girlfriends, a situation that often leads to questions regarding the sincerity of feeling, had a spot of bother. It turned out one of the ladies didn't own a passport and her arrogant man decided he would attempt to bribe her across into Malaysia, a plan which failed miserably and resulted in them leaving the van and hurrying back for fear of the police catching up.
Eleven hours later we arrived in Penang, also known as Georgetown, and checked into a 5 pound a night guesthouse before heading to the streets for some recommended Indian Restaurants. The glass displays full of food at the entrance to each place were slightly off putting giving the impression that things may have been sat around somewhat longer than we would leave it at home, but hopefully it would taste amazing? It was a bit hard to tell if my Chicken Korma was any better than the made-for-British-taste-buds ones at home as it was stone cold and looked s bit like something you'd find in a dog's bowl, so I was a tad disappointed. However, Laura's veggie filled omelette and naan bread was lovely!
It didn't matter about the meal as we were really excited to be here and looking around it seemed to be a very exciting place for us to explore. We hit our beds in preparation!
Waking up the next day at 11am wasn't quite our plan but at least it gave us some energy back. After breakfast we hit the streets starting at the sparkling end of town in Lebuh Buckingham where every shop is full of jewellery, guards holding shotguns and some ridiculously cheap prices that had Laura's eyes light up somewhat!
Moving swiftly away before we spent a fortune we headed through the streets of Little India and Chinatown. This is where the place becomes a totally unique and amazing experience as there are so many ethnic groups living here, all with their different religions from Islam to Hindu to Christian and many more all with their own trades too. One minute you are walking past a Chinese stall selling rice noodles and the next entering beautiful Sari shops pumping out Indian Bollywood pop. The buildings are all grey and wearing away but the vibrant street colours bring this town to life in a spectacular way. There is complete freedom of religion here although Malaysia is considered a Muslim country and it is amazing watching everything work together.
Evening came around fast after a really enjoyable day of nosing around and we sat to eat at one of the street vendors stalls. Laura's request for noodles "no meat, no fish" were not so veggie as they were served complete with duck and pork, but I managed to fit it in alongside my double cheeseburger. Thank you Laura!
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