Day 14 Ah Pulau Langkawi. Just the place to chill out and relax around the pool and have a leisurely holiday on a tropical island paradise. Today, as will everyday we went to Cactus for breakfast where the average cost is about RM10 or about $4. As we did last night, we met up again with the crew that run the breakfast shift and most of them are the same people that were here last year. After that we came back to the hotel for a swim for a few hours and then headed off to Kuah, the main commercial heart of Langkawi. There we spent a few hours wandering around the streets, in and out of shops, all at a very slow pace. I was a bit pissed off (not really) that the bottle of ... read more

Day 12 The day dawned absolutely gloriously and the fine weather was back so we decided to head to George Town today. I learnt that it’s two words not one. We caught the bus to the jetty where we arrived form Butterworth 7 days ago. This is one of the main terminals for the buses in the city, the other being the Komtar Building, the highest on Penang. From the jetty, we proceeded along the wharf area around to Fort Cornwallis, the original landing place of Captain Francis Light. Along the way we passed several buildings that were built in the early 1900s along Weld Quay. Captain Light worked for the East India Company and negoiated the lease of the island including protection from the British from attacks by the Siamese. However, so such protection was ... read more

Day 10 Today we went on a half day afternoon tour to Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple and the funicular railway up Penang Hill overlooking Georgetown and the whole eastern side of the island. In the morning we spent a little time around the pool while David and Amary also went for a walk along the beach. In the evenings we tend to get back rather late after going to the markets so we tend get up later each morning than we would at home. Our first stop on the tour was the temple and we warned by the guide there was a lot of steps to get up the hill. It didn’t look to be to bad to start the climb but it progressively got harder. On the way up the narrow lane is full ... read more

Day 8 Today started as they all will while we are on Penang with breakfast by the pool. We were picked up at 9am for our half day round island tour. The first stop was the Penang Batik Factory where we were shown how the batik products are made. A lot of batik made at this establishment is for institutions like schools and hotels and is made using a stencil. Of course a lot of these designs are unavailable to the public as they are for a specific client. The art of the making of batik is fascinating to watch. Initially, the design is drawn on the cloth and then stamped with molten wax using a die made of metal which blocks areas off to which the colour can be added later. If a freestyle design ... read more

Day 6 Saturday 23rd May Penang. After a refreshing night’s sleep we went down to breakfast in the restaurant. What a difference to JB. A huge variety of food is available on the buffet, with plenty of fresh fruit and cooked foods of all sorts including Western, Indian and Malay. After brekkie we went for a walk down to the beach, with huge signs saying that you swim in the sea at your own risk due to jellyfish. The beach is nice and white with coral sand, so a bit rough on the feet. Today and tomorrow is to be relaxing and we have booked for massages this afternoon. We then went for a walk heading towards the main resort strip at Batu Ferrighi and enquired about cars. We cashed some Aussie dollars and got quite ... read more