Welcome to Penang

---

The sign in big print told me we had arrived in Butterworth but it was still dark with not many people around to tell us where we need to go. Sitting down at the train station and putting my head in my hands I could have easily fallen asleep. Dan discovered that we should catch the ferry across to Penang and once we were there we could catch a free bus. We grabbed our packs and walked over to the ferry. We waited about ten minutes for the ferry to arrive. We jumped on and headed for Penang.

When we arrived the sun was beginning to poke its head into the sky. We found the bus got on and drove until we thought we were close to where we could stay. We got off and found somewhere to eat. We got chatting to some English guys and we talked about where we could stay. It seemed that there was cheap accommodation close by. With some food on board we grabbed our packs and began to walk.

Unfortunately we got lost as a “helpful” man pointed us in the wrong direction. I was hot by this time and the pack on my back was getting heavier by the minute. Dan flagged down a taxi to get some direction s and we decided to get in. But this taxi driver was not helpful and was only in it to make a buck. We insisted that he use his meter which took some convincing. We then had to tell him to reset it. Playing dumb he drove as slowly as he possibly could and pretended he didn’t know where he was going. With Dan and his trusty map gave him directions and the taxi driver still playing dumb made the wrong turn. Dan got him back on track and when we were close enough we asked him to stop paid him is money and found a place to stay.

We found a room with air conditioning, no window and a shared bathroom. We dumped our stuff and went for a wander. With a hot tip we found ourselves at restaurant called Kapitan, if you are ever here you need to come and try their kebabs. It was yummy Indian cuisine. We filled our tummies and walked towards the waterfront. We sat on the water for a while and watched the fisherman and Penang life pass us by.

We came back to the waterfront that evening keen for a cold beer and the chilli crab. We found ourselves talking to an elderly Malaysian man about life in Penang. Before long his wife was tapping him on the shoulder to leave and again we were feeling hungry. Dan was keen to try out the chilli crab he had heard about so he went off in search of it. The crab was a disaster, the whole time we crunched on shell. Luckily the sauce was tasty. We walked back to the guest house for a shower and before we knew it lights were out and we were asleep.

---

Photos

Finding our way around Penang
Where are we going to stay?