This morning I managed to sleep in till 9 after my long day of travelling yesterday and because I have to be on the 730am ferry tomorrow. My new sandals I had bought in Kuching were starting to shred either from the heat or excessive use so I had to switch back to my old sandals which luckily I hadnt thrown out.I had spoken yesterday about renting a bicycle and when I went down to the reception at 1030 nobody was there except the helper sleeping on the floor behi...

I finally made it to the ferry terminal at 530 in time for the 6pm ferry and luckily there was still one more at 7pm so I hadnt missed getting there today. Ticket price was 23Rm ($8) and I asked for a window seat.When I got on I looked everywhere for my seat and eventually found it a now with a pole blocking entrance to the seats. Fortunately there were two small girls sitting in the two seats beside who went off somewhere for the duration so I had the row to mys...

Just across from the Alor Setar Menara (Tower) was a large plaza in which the Royal Palace faced the Zahir Mosque and there was the State Museum. I expected the Palace and Museum to be closed today for the holiday and only expected to see the Zahir MosqueThe outside of the Royal Palace was visible with large yellow columns similar to ones in Indonesia I had seen. I was almost going to cross the road to the Mosque when I saw someone coming out a side pathway.I wen...

Having arrived in Alor Setar near the Thai border I wanted to spend some time exploring the towns sights before taking the ferry to Langkawi Island. I knew with the three day holiday the museums will probably be closed so I was debating whether to do half today and half when I take the ferry back, or even do a day trip back on the ferry when the museums are open.I had to ask around at the bus terminal where to get a bus to take me to the city centre. I wanted to ...

Having made an unnecessary detour to the Nine Emperor Gods Temple I bought a ticket for the 12pm bus to Alor Setar. Fortunately they run every 30 mins and weren't sold out due to the holiday period. From Alor Setar I was to take a local bus to the port then a ferry to Langkawi Island (see map above)Ticket price was 10.90Rm ($3.75). When the bus came its like what I suspect boarding a bus in India would be like. It was total mayhem. I was nearly smashed into the d...