Pulau Pinang

Landed in Penang Island after a looooong train journey (22hrs) from Bangkok (still amazed at the train service, meals and all). The island is rather interesting and somewhat strange in that it appears to be in some sort of time warp, especially wandering around Georgetown at dusk. The almost ephemeral quiet atmosphere and many empty bars is reminiscent of the Eagles' Hotel California - "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"!! This is emphasised by some of the guests in Hotel Noble - the guest-house we are staying in. They seem to be stuck at the table in the large communal area, forever reading and smoking cigarettes seemingly with no care to actually see Penang itself. The hippy gear and horizontal attitude for people who should know better (40-somethings!) doesn't help; we just smile nonchanantly and run by as fast as we can - it's a shame the table they've chosen is right outside our door!

We've been a bit sucked in by the Georgetown vibe ourselves and only left the town on Saturday for a day trip to the beach area (Batu Faranghi was too touristy and the beach sucked whilst Teluk Bahang was a lovely little fishing village, but way too quiet to stay too long).

Locals checking us out (looking perplexed & confused) count : 20+ per day (lower than Cambodia and Vietnam but still somewhat annoying all the same) :)

Train to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow evening - catch up with ya then xx