Penang by private car - a waste of $300

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Taking advantage of a $9 flight to Penang, I eagerly booked us a flight for our last day in Malaysia months ago, and having now done it, regret not rearranging the KL trip to include a trip to Cameron or Genting Highlands instead. The cheap flight turned into an expensive day out after booking a private car, paying for lunch and souvenirs and all the extras that come with hanging around in airports for hours.

What was most frustrating was that the tour drove us around part of Penang Island, and the driver whose English was very average, just pointed things out. We stopped once for breakfast at his family's restaurant (very nice Chinese food which we otherwise wouldn't have experienced), a stop for the train up the Penang Hill and a look around, a stop for Nyonya food which was yum but we felt pressured to purchase more dishes and the final stop was a 2 minute walk on the beach. The guide told us a fair bit about the history and the provinces and people but with poor English on his behalf and lack of interest on our behalf, we were quite bored and frustrated at the cost of the trip to what we got. I feel this tour would have suited a more mature audience with an interest in history and culture. We were after experiences and highlights and can't say this is what we got.

We were dropped back at the airport at 4pm for our flight back to KL, and endured a 5 hour wait before we boarded our plane to Bangkok. This was indeed a very long and pointless day but it's one more place we can pin on the globe to say we've been and seen.

The one lovely thing that happened on this day was checking into the Renaissance Ratchaprasong Hotel in Bangkok to find our room (which we got on a great promotion anyway) had been upgraded thanks to someone I knew in the industry. The benefits of the suite enabled us to use the club lounge, enjoy complimentary high tea and cocktails, and the added space and views the room provided us. A great way to end a very long day, and start our 5 days in Bangkok.

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