We stayed 3 nights in Georgetown, the old town capital of Penang and it was a strange place. Culturally it was mixed between Chinese, Indian and Malay but with lots of colonial legacy left over from the British. Some of the gutters/sewers have missing slabs and if you were not careful could easily step into one, especially at night - Best to walk on the road - it's also vaguely unnerving to see rats (the size of cats) popping in and out of the various gaps. It was very hot and we walked and cycled endlessly, spending most of our time in little India. After three days and approaching exhaustion we moved on the Cameron Highlands, where it was much cooler and the scenery was very pretty, mainly tea and strawberry plantations and very green (a clue to the rain to come). We trekked through the "Mossy Forest" which was like walking through an enchanted fairyland forest with a trampoline floor. When you jumped trees shook and the likes of Gollum, Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins could be seen hiding in the undergrowth. Unfortunately a fever hit DT on the first night and his temperature soared to 40 degrees and the next day his leg was infected with poison and he had to be grounded. The suspicion is that he was "knobbled" by forces of darkness in Penang - An early suspect was the sinister Bulgarian, who was spotted in the vicinity wearing an overcoat and carrying an umbrella (in 37 degree heat ?) or the previously ubiquitous Frenchman, who has been undercover for some time but sightings of him in Japan make him an unlikely suspect. Agent "H", codename Whitehead, had to carry on with solo reconnaissance missions and tracked down the rare and elusive Rafflesia flower, one that only blooms for seven days and taking 9 months to grow - after a three hour mountain trek.

After three nights in the Cameron Highlands, we moved to Melaka and found a safe house in the Chinese quarter with an escape route onto the river from our back door. Melaka was an interesting town with several historical influences including English, Dutch(the main square even has a Windmill as a feature) Portuguese and Chinese. Dan was still suffering a bit in his recovery phase but we risked three more days exploring the town and sampling the Malay food - a wide variety of offerings from many cultures - We often bumped in a German guy called Nils, who seemed to be on the same food trail as us. Soon it was time to leave, Dan had fully recovered and we had stayed in one place longer than was safe. Singapore beckoned and our assignation with the Jeory's was drawing close.