Ok time for another journal, as you can see I have finally made my way into Malaysia, currently in Penang.

After my last journal I decided that after 5 days of Phi Phi, I was more than ready to move on and last Friday, I managed to get to Lanta with very little effort on my part. In fact it was quite possibly the easiest journey so far. The boat from Phi Phi to Lanta took little more than an hour, and I even secured my accommodation there on board. The accommodation was more or less a glorified chicken hut, with an attached bathroom containing a hose, squat toilet and bucket! However it was really cheap, so I was more than happy with it!

So anyway, I spent 3 days in Lanta in the end, relaxing on the fine beaches. As the beaches were a lot bigger and less developed than Phi Phi, I managed to have a lot more sand to myself, which was nice. On the Saturday I decided to have a few beers and I got chatting to another Glaswegian guy. So anyway, we were chatting and he asked me where I was from, now knowing that he is from Glasgow, I thought I would be vague and said just south of London in Surrey! So anyway, he goes, oh yeah I have a few friends in a little village there called Cranleigh! Naturally my jaw dropped to the floor, I mean what a small world.

So, after 3 days on Lanta and more or less 2 weeks doing very little but relaxing on beaches and getting drunk, I decided to move on as I wanted to see as much of Malaysia as possible before I make my way to Australia on the 25th! So I got another bus to Hat Yai, which is quite a large town close to the Malaysian border. I decided to spend a night there as it is renowned for having lots of banks and hairdressers! Well, as I had not cut my hair for nearly 7 weeks, my oversized head was litterally massive with a great mass of fluffy hair that stood on end! I looked ridiculous, and was relieved when my ladyboy hairdresser finally shaved it off, and my head reduced to a more normal size!

On Tuesday, I got another bus to Penang, which involved obviously another border crossing, which I am pleased to say I handled much better than the last! The journey took 4 hours, and I made my way quickly to my chosen hostel and quickly out again for a spot of lunch and a quick visit to a couple of museums. I visited the Penang Museum, which was interesting if not a little confusing and the Fort Cornwallis, which is a big, replica fort that was built in the 16th century when it was discovered by a British explorer! I found the later quite interesting, and more or less took them both for what they were: Something to pass a couple of hours and escape the heat.

Which leaves me onto today, I decided to get out of Georgetown which is the main city of the island and venture out to see Penang Hill. This is a great big hill, whereby you have to get one of those trains that climb up and down. I am sure there must be a name for them, but at this moment in time, it escapes me! Anyway, I loved it as it was over 800m above sea level and the view from the top was stunning. After this, I got chatting to an English guy for once, and we made our way to a massive temple, nearby! Even though I must have seen hundreds of temples in the last few months, this one impressed me. As it was more of a chinese temple, with stunning flashes of red and gold with big balloons which I am assuming are the decoration for the forthcoming Chinese New Year. It looked beautiful and being slightly high up itself also boasted incredible vistas of Georgetown and beyond!

Ok, I have really waffled on today! I hope I have not bored you too much, tommorrow I am hopefully making my way onto the Cameron Highlands. This is a big hill station and famous for highlands tea and stunning walks! I am really looking forward to spending a few days there, enjoying the good old cream teas, yum, and doing a few long walks! It should be really cool.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well!

Cheers

Jon