Cheap is cheerful

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It has been a little while since we last updated the blog. Firstly, Happy New Year to all!
We spent Christmas Day in Ko Samui, lazing on the beach, having a massage. I am the only person on the beach that needs to be covered with a towel as they have goose bumps! We rounded the day off with an Italian meal on the beachfront. Not traditional I know, but our first taste of pasta in nearly two months! It was good, and was washed down with some red wine!

From Ko Samui we were in search of a quieter beach, and headed to Ao Nang on the other side of the Thai peninsula. We had been told to be ready for a 6.30am pick up, so we sat up at the reception waiting for the minivan. We waited, and waited. Rob went down to the agent where we had booked the ticket, but they were still not open at 9.15am, so there was nobody to vent our frustration at. At about 9.30am a minibus arrived, expecting to collect 2 people to go to Ao Nang, but with a different room number than ours. It appears that the woman really messed up booking our tickets.

We took the minibus, and then changed to a larger coach, and then it was onto the ferry for the journey back to mainland Thailand. We stopped for lunch for supposedly an hour, but it turned into nearly 2 hours. One guy found out that his bags had been gone through whilst he was on the ferry and that 2 mobile phones were missing. He was not a happy bunny understandably. We looked at our bags and saw that the padlocks were still intact and naively thought that our bags were fine. Later that evening when we looked, it was clear that they had picked the locks on our bags and had a good rummage - though there was nothing worth taking apart for a head torch.

We took a minivan for the next part of the journey which then stopped and we were told to change again. We tried to establish where we were but the woman just kept saying 'Ao Nang', and couldn't point to where we were on the map. After such an early start our patience was starting wear thin.

We took the final vehicle into Ao Nang, when the mission of trying to find accommodation began. We were joined in our quest by 2 Israelis who were on honeymoon, and therefore had a bigger budget than us! We visited about 8 hostels, where we were met on the steps by the sound of 'all full'. We were starting to get a bit worried, when our driver took us to some bungalows slightly off the beaten track. Thankfully they had 2 available for the night, so we settled for that, despite being above our budget. We went out for some food and Rob and I secured accommodation for the following night - cheaper, but a lot smellier!

Ao Nang was just as full of tourists enjoying their Christmas holidays, and the beach was not very nice. The first day we laid out in the sun, until a big black cloud came over the hill, and we got soaked to the skin. Whilst waiting for the rain to ease we had a beer - What else is there to do at the beach when it rains!

We decided that due to the time of year, everywhere in Thailand that we would want to visit would be busy, and the prices inflated. We made plans to quick foot it into Malaysia, where we hoped that our budget would not be solely spent on a night’s accommodation leaving very little money to eat. (One of our favourite pastimes!!)

It was another early start and several bus changes to make it to Penang, Malaysia. The border crossing was simple and did not involve the queue we encountered crossing into Thailand from Cambodia. We got to Georgetown in daylight, and found ourselves a nice clean guesthouse, with hot showers, and free internet. Immediately we liked the feel of Malaysia better than our stops in Thailand.

We have been exploring the island taking the public buses. We made the mistake of making our first trip to the beach at the weekend, when the bus was literally full to the rafters. We have been back since, and the journey is much more pleasant when you can sit down, and breathe!

Yesterday we went to the top of Penang Hill, and the views of the island were great. There was also an aviary at the top which we visited. We were able to make use of our new toy - a fancy camera that we bought ourselves for Christmas. Not being a fan of birds that are not in a soup, I was reluctant to get very close to them, even if they were behind bars! Rob held a small bird, but I declined!

The food here is fantastic and there is so much to choose from, and it is all so cheap. We are back to eating for a pound, and being completely stuffed. Penang is multicultural, so you can have allsorts of cuisine, by just walking around the block. Fantastic! Most of problems come, knowing what the etiquette is for ordering food. At one place Rob was handed plates of rice, and was then told to just help himself! Not knowing what the dishes were we had a surprisingly good feast on duck, vegetables, meat, all for a couple of quid.

We are going to spend a couple more days in Penang - sleeping in the same bed for more than one night is nice!

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