Traffic dodging in Penang

I'm currently in the town of Georgetown, on the island of Penang just of the coast of North West Malaysia. We came here thinking it would be a lot like Phuket and Koh Samui (beach resorts), but it turned out to be a lot quieter with only a few really big hotel resorts along the beach bit. Georgetown is the main town so we're staying there, but there aren't any beaches around here. It's an old British trading port from colonial times, so there are a lot of old grand British buildings and stuff here. There's also a really old Chinatown and a little India. It pretty much sums up Malaysia. Thailand is full of Thais (strangely enough), but there are only something like 20% Malays in Malaysia. The vast majority are Chinese, Indian, or a mix of all three. There really is a big mixture in the way people look. There's a lot more moustaches in Malaysia than in Thailand too. I like to think that says something important about a society.

Koh Samui was fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone. The beach was amazing, the beachfront huts cheap (as chips), and a there are a lot of shops and restaurants. I bought a new rucksack as they old one had seen better days and was worn out. A bit like Dad! :) We spent a few days on the beach and was a bit sad to leave. The journey from there to here was hell. Really nasty. It took one taxi, three bus journeys, 5 hours on a station platform, one overnight train, two ferries, a 4 hour trip in a horribly claustrophobic minibus, and a total of 24 hours to get here. I would have kissed the ground here except I probably would have got some kind of disease and died. Hygiene isn't a big thing in general over here. Tourist areas are great, but the cheap and nasty places can often be as nasty as they are cheap. I just paid to use the toilet here (in a big shopping centre) and walked straight back out again. Before Mum starts panicking, all the places she's staying in will be lovely unless she's planning on going backpacking.

We're leaving tonight to go to Kuala Lumpur, the capital. Me and Dave went there before in 2001 when we went to Borneo, so we know what to expect. No five star hotel this time though. After that we're off to Melaka, down the coast a bit more. It was one of the biggest trading ports in Asia during the 18th century so it should be interesting. Then we're in Singapore on Saturday and Sunday nights and go our seperate ways on Monday night. On we go!