Hello Everybody,

Were now on the Island of Penang, just 13.5 km's off the main land of Malaysia. We're in the capital of Penang, George Town. The trip up here from KL was really good. We had a 27 Seater VIP Coach. Very comfy and loads of leg room. Not bad for only 8quid for the both of us. There was no need for a boat this time as there is a bridge that connects the main land of Malaysia to Penang Island. It's 13.5 km's long and is Asia's longest bridge which also makes it the 3rd longest bridge in the world!

We got here early evening which is so much nicer than arriving late. We checked ourselves in to our hotel. We felt like we had got a very good deal as this hotel had a lot of creature comforts, a power shower for one thing which we certainly haven't been used too. It was at that point we thought sod it, lets stay here for at least a week. We didn't do much else that day but had a quick look around. There is a large shopping mall just 5 minutes walk away with lots of places to eat and also a Starbucks, which made Darren very happy! We then went back to our room and chilled out watching some TV. It was just nice to relax.

The following day we went to Penang Museum. It was about 30 pence for the both of us so it was defiantly worth a gamble! They even gave us a free guide to Penang Island, so winners all round then. It was very good to our surprise and took us no more than an hour to look around. Afterwards we went to Fort Cornwallis which was built by the British in the 1800's. Really quite cool to see how they lived. The cells were very interesting (see the photos of Darren and George banged up). We saw a lot of cannons and afterwards had an ice-cream in the little cafe there.

The next day we went up to Penang Hill. It's the highest point of Penang with great 360 degree vies of the Island. It was a 30 minute tram ride up which was great. On the way up we met a couple on their holiday called Jill and Del. They were a lovely couple who risked leaving their house being looked after by their daughter, that’s what they told us! At the top the temperature was a little cooler which was nice and the views were really good. We went for a walk around the top and came across these flipping huge spiders. Very, very creepy and they must of been up to 8 inches in length. We have never seen spiders of this size before anywhere in the world, not even in Zoo's. We even got talking to an Australian couple who said that they were also bigger than anything they’d seen back home, so that’s saying something. Anyway, kept walking around. Saw some monkeys which one of them tried to attack us. He really showed us his teeth and hissed at us. We must of wandered into his territory. We just walked the other way and we certainly didn't want to be bitten. Afterwards we decided to go back down which the heat hits you again. It was a really nice day.

We had seen a poster about the 'Worlds Largest Toy Museum' which we took with a pinch of salt. So the following day we went there and not being sure what to expect, it was basically just a lot of glass cases full of toys which we're sure anyone could of done then charge the public to come and see your toys but not touch. We weren't disappointed though as it was quite interesting but probably wouldn't recommend it. We thought we'd be at the museum, seeing as its suppose to be the worlds largest an all, for a good half of the day. but it only took about an hour and a half and hadn't really planned what to do next. Darren knew that there was a huge luxury mall called Gurney Plaza just down the road which didn't look far on the map, so we decided to walk it. A bit of a mistake as it took 45 minutes in 32 degrees heat but we're young and had plenty of water on us. We we're just very hot and the powerful air-con of the shopping mall was very welcoming :o) Inside it was really well laid out and we spent a few hours there and had a lovely big dinner in the evening. We really recommend eating at a restaurant called Nando's. They have a wonderful sauce called 'Peri-Peri' sauce, which is available in 4 hot stages and if you like spicy food which Darren does now then you'll love it. They even have non-spicy food for the not so brave like Gemma, ahh! They started in South Africa but we can't remember if there are any back in the UK. We hope there is as it was lovely. We have since ate there 4 times and its great and value for money. Darren keeps asking for the food to be hotter every time and with only one stage left of maximum spice, he's thinking about going the full hog and trying the hottest back in KL. Gemma thinks a big jug of water on the table might be best first though :o)

The following day we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens. We pretty much know the bus system inside out now and on the way down to get our bus we saw a free shuttle bus to Queensway Mall which is apparently Penang’s largest and longest shopping complex. So we though sod it, lets see where it takes us and hopped on. Even though we'd shopped the day before, it was a free ride there. It was about 30 minutes till we got there and it was the longest mall we've ever seen. Also had great views of the Penang Bridge from here. We spent a few hours here and brought a couple of tops at very good prices. We had dinner here too and were pleased to see they had a Nandos here, yummy! Afterwards we got the free bus back and just chilled out in our room again. The days are very hot which are nearly always above 32 degrees so a lot of chilling out in our air-con'd room was done!

So the following day we did, this time, go to the Botanical Gardens. It was very lush and green everywhere. Saw some monkeys, that were friendlier, getting food out of the bins and making a right mess. It was very humid here though but again we had lots of water on us. Which we'd drunk over a litre within an hour. Again we were going to spend a few hours here but it was just too hot so we left after a couple. Got a taxi back to Gurney Plaza to get some lunch and cool off. Did a bit of window shopping before heading back to the hotel. We chilled out for a few hours before going out in the evening for waffles and ice-cream and to see Penang’s finest 5 star hotel, the Eastern Oriental.

That’s about it for now. Tomorrow we leave. We have decided to go to a city called Melaka but will stop at KL on the way. We loved it there and will probably stay again for about a week.

So speak to you all soon.

Lots of love Darren and Gemma and of course George xxx xxx