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Published: January 21st 2009
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After the Phi Phi experience, Koh Lanta was great - our bungalow right next to the virtually private beach was idyllic, so much more laid back and less crowded than it's Andaman neighbour. We did make it to the beach party for a bit and I managed to prove to myself that I am excellent at beach volleyball.
Too much relaxing is always a bad thing, so we moved on to Penang after a couple of days. The 12hr journey was not as painful as I had expected, but all that way in minibuses with low seats and a serious lack of legroom for the tall gentleman is never an enjoyable experience. We survived on will power, Smarties and the positive vibes coming off the grumpy wizened monk who got on at Hat Yai and sat next to me for the final leg. My impression that Buddhist monks live the simple life and get by on the basic necessities was smashed when he got out his Sony mobile phone / Mp3 player and I'm sure he started to sing along to The Prodigy. Or maybe he tuned into Monk FM. Either way he was swearing profusely.
In Penang we
stayed in Georgetown, curry heaven. I managed to convince Catherine to have curry for breakfast the first morning, and we were served up a fantastic dosa filled with vegetable masala. No cutlery needed, just pick it up with your right hand and shovel it in. More curry for dinner, this time served up with freshly cooked chapatis and endless amounts of spicy dahl. The man sold the benefits of the stomach bhuna but with the possibility of our own stomachs rejecting it, we gracefully declined his kind offer.
We didn’t just eat curry while we were there, though. We visited the sights that defined the British colonial era in the town, including Fort Cornwallis and Penang Hill. The hill is accessed by a very long and very steep funicular railway reaching up the 850m to the top of the lush green viewpoint. It is noticeably five degrees cooler up there than Georgetown, and homesick ex-pats used to go up the hill to escape the searing heat. We decided to copy them and were hoisted up in the packed 1977 Swiss built railway carriage to the summit, which gave great views of Penang and the longest bridge in South East
Asia, with a 13km span. There was a great Police station at the top which was, in the spirit of true British Police Stations, closed.
So as to prove we were better than the hoardes of local weekender tourists that we shared the ascent with, we decided to walk down. In hindsight, a bad idea. After an hour and a half we found ourselves at some Botanic Gardens miles from anywhere. Although it would have technically been possible to get a taxi back, I was not to be defeated and it was another 90 minutes of sweaty walking before the sight of a bus stop - what relief. It was like finding an oasis in the desert, I would imagine.
A 6am minibus journey took us to our next destination, where we are now, Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. By 7am the driver was almost fully asleep at the wheel and was, unsuccessfully, trying every trick in the book to stay awake - drink some water, apply the breaks, open the window, shut the window, open the window again, stick the hand out, stick the arm out, stick the head out. In the end he opted to
Temple in Penang
The biggest joss sticks ever seen? stop on the hard shoulder, get out and throw a bottle of water over his face. It did the job! We got here!
This place is brim full of tea plantations and we had a bit of a tour around one yesterday. The way the small bushes carpet the hills and valleys for miles around is a great sight, as their neat rows cling to the landscape and roll out of view. We were treated to a few tea facts by our guide, so I will share just one of them with you now - did you know that tea was discovered in Burma in the 16th century?!? And that only the young fresh leaves are used to make tea! Great facts, I’m sure you’ll agree.
There are also loads of strawberry farms around here, adding to the slightly British feel of the place. We had an amazing cup of strawberry coffee but passed up the opportunity to have a cream tea - squirty cream instead of clotted? I don’t think so sunshine.
Stretched the legs today as we found a decent trek up to the peak of one of the mountains. At the top there were
great views and a shifty looking bloke catching butterflies with a big net.
Leaving here tomorrow, back to the humid heat as we close in on the equator.
Stay safe
Nic
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