Techno Mariah Carey to Penang

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Thursday 30th

We took 2 mini-buses to Penang in Malaysia from Thailand, crossing the border at the UK governments un-recommended places to visit, but everything was fine and we didnt see any fighting. On the bus there the music was techno versions of all random songs including Mariah Carey, it was really funny.
Penang is an island on the east coast of Malaysia and to get there you have to cross the longest bridge in Malaysia, it might as well have been called the longest traffic jam, it took us ages to cross.
Once in Penang we stayed in a lovely old hotel (Cathey Hotel) which had wooden floors and really high ceilings. The pink and blue bathroom reminded me of my old bathroom before I replaced it. Cold showers again. In the evening we strolled about the local area and had dinner at the open night market.

Friday 31st:

The plan was to wake up really early and meet the other girls at 11, but me and Lara both managed to sleep in until 11:30. So instead we did the LP walking guide and met Nin (the tour leader) in the afternoon. She took us to Penang Hill. To get to the top we had to wait ages for a bus, take the bus, then wait for a tram and then take that. It total it took about 2 hours to get to the top. The view from Penang Hill was impressive, over the whole island.
On the bus back, Nin the tour leader was approached by a local Malaysian who got really angry at her for holding her rubbish on the bus.. telling her that she was dis-respecting the local culture! He had thought she had been eating on the bus, which she hadn’t. He said that Europeans had no respect for Malaysian culture. Which was a bit silly as all the girls in the group were sitting there covered in shawls and wearing long trousers. We all found it funny that he had called Nin European as she was obviously from Thailand.

In the evening we went out for a group meal to an Indian restaurant in the Indian district. It really was like being in a cleaner version of India. They had Bollywood DVD shops and Sari shops, including lots of lovely Indian restaurants.

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Photos

Techno Bus
Funny stickers on the mini van