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Published: September 13th 2008
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The sophisticated one!
Jodi just mentioned to me....."you even spelled that right!"....is that a surprise? We did manage to arrive in Penang, Malaysia in one day from Koh Samui - but the journey had us in absolute stitches 20 hours after venturing out.
We left our hotel at 6:10 in the morning and managed to flag down a minivan to the bus station on Koh Samui. We were able to quickly buy a bus ticket on a government bus to Hat Yai (in the very south of Thailand) which included our ferry ticket to Donsak. As we boarded the bus, we were feeling quite smug that we had avoided the trap of the tourist bus once again and managed to organize it all on our own.
This was a short lived sentiment. We had been assured in Samui that we would arrive in Hat Yai in plenty of time to get a minibus onward to Penang. However, when we arrived in HatYai at 3:45 pm we were told by company after company that there were no more minibuses. Hat Yai is really a no-go zone due to the violence in the south, so I definitely was not keen on spending the night. We decided to get a minibus to the border because we had
heard that Malaysian transport was frequent on the other side. We arrived at the border about 7:30pm, in the pitch black and pouring rain, to discover that it is 2km between Thai and Malaysian immigration. Thankfully a kind Thai let us ride in the flatbed of his pickup truck between the two sides.
Once through Malaysian immigration, we discovered there are actually no buses at the border - that you have to walk to Padang Besar. This is only about 1km from immigration but it is along a highway and it was so dark outside. At this point we were travelling with a nice Danish couple and their two kids who were pulling black suitcases behind them along the highway.
In Padang Besar we hired a taxi to take us the 80 kms to Alor Setar for about 25$. It felt so surreal as we drove down further into Malaysia - listening to "Hotel California" by the Eagles, and "The final countdown". It was so dark, and the driver narrowly missed a water buffalo crossing the highway!! We arrived in Alor Setar at about 9:30pm again to learn that we had missed the last buses to Penang or
Butterworth. We had resigned ourselves to a night in the bus station when we lucked out and negotiated for two "black market seats" (ie. off the record) on a Melaka bound executive bus that would drop us off in Butterworth. It was the nicest bus we have ever been on - it was the first time I had seen a seatbelt since we left Canada! The bus dropped us off at the jetty in Butterworth at 12:15am and we caught the ferry to Penang at 12:30am. We finally found a guesthouse at about 1:15 am.
Penang was nothing spectacular, but we probably ate the best food of our whole trip! We ate dim sum for breakfast in Chinatown, and had amazing curry and samosas for dinner in Little India (backdrop: the muezzins last call to prayer before the sunset, and loud (LOUD) bollywood music).
The next morning we again left Penang early and boarded a bus for Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. This was probably one of the more terrifying bus experiences I have had. The bus was so rickety it could barely make it up the steep mountain roads - and the bus driver made up
for this by speeding up downhill around all the corners. There was luggage, and strangely a can of paint, flying from side to side of the bus behind our seats. At one point I simply burst out laughing because he simply drove like a maniac.
The Cameron Highlands were absolutely freezing and the mosquitoes were huge. Most of the budget accommodation here in Malaysia is share bathroom. I would describe the experience in the Highlands as similar to camping in an Ontario provincial park in early October. We did visit a beautiful tea plantation though - hiking into the 3 km into, and out of, the plantation from the main road. It was stunning, and we enjoyed some great tea overlooking the plantation when we finally arrived at the factory.
Today we are now in Kuala Lumpur - we arrived yesterday afternoon. The city is amazing - the transit system is incredible and it is so clean! We are staying in Chinatown, but are headed to Little India tonight to enjoy the Saturday night bazaar.
Sorry - so boring without pictures....we have had a really hard time finding an internet connection fast enough to load them up.
Hopefully soon!
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christine
non-member comment
smile!
Hey Guys, still sounds like an awesome adventure! That pregnant kitty is sooo cute btw. Also, Jodie, you need to enjoy the pictures more because one day your kids and grandkids are going to want to see pictures of you on your big Asian adventure and they'll wonder why you aren't smiling more :)