Penang
Our journey across the border into Malaysia started before sunrise with a boat ride back to the mainland, even though Raillay beach is on the mainland (we never quite worked it out either). Simple enough you would have thought, except that it was low tide which meant that the boat was a moving dot on the horizon, a good 700m away from the shore.
There followed an interesting walk across sinking sand, sharp rocks and knee deep pools of water, making sure to avoid the crabs which were scuttling in and out of their hiding places who were no doubt none too pleased at being disturbed at that hour. Of course this all had to be achieved whilst carrying our rucksacks which doesn't do much to help a person's balance.
Thankfully the remainder of the journey was much simpler and we crossed the border in our minivan without further incident. We chose to stay in Georgetown for a couple of nights before heading to the north coast of the island for some more beach time.
Georgetown was a really interesting place. There is much evidence of the colonial past but there is more to the city than that, it has been declared a UNESCO heritage sight for basically being a place where different people live together in more or less harmony. There is one street where churches stand beside temples which stand beside mosques. It really did have a friendly feel about it.
With the numerous different ethnicities this made the food excellent (except for one occasion) we enjoyed numerous meals often choosing food with an Indian influence. The food highlight though was with the free breakfast at the hotel which gave us our first taste of marmite for two months. It was an absolute delight.
We moved on from Georgetown further up the coast for some further beach time for a couple of days. There is not much more to say than that really…
Next stop Cameron Highlands for some decent tea and strawberries and hopefully more marmite!