So after 19 long hours on the train and maybe 20 minutes of sleep in total I arrived to Hat Yai at around 9:30am.

It was a very long, cold and uncomfortable night but I am here. The first thing I see out in the paddocks is a group of people standing around a paddock watching bullfighting - something I had been informed was popular in these parts.
After getting off the train I had to rush to catch my minivan which was also due to leave at 9:30, luckily I arrived in time and so started the 4.5 drive to Penang.
The guy driving the minibus was crazy and the ride was anything but comfortable but at around 2pm I touched down in Penang. First thing I am noticing is lots of people - today is Thaipusam a special Indian celebration. I make my way to my Couchsurfers place and to go about 5km takes nearlly two hours on the bus - when I arrive I am absolutely exhausted.

My hosts Sherilyn and Sam and their two kids are lovely and I receive a very warm welcome.
At Night we head to Sherilyns mothers house to have a special Chinese Hotpot dinner for the celebration. Basically there is a big pot of chicken soup boiling in centre of table and we continuously as we eat add meats and vegetables to the boiling soup to cook them, including pork, beef, fish, fish balls, crab, prawns, cuddle fish, squid, tofu, mushrooms and every other thing you can imagine.
After not eating meat for two weeks I way overdid it tonight and ate myself silly and although I hate doing that I had to try it all and maybe my body needed the big feed. The trick is to go back to eating smaller more proportioned meals tommorow.
All in all today has been a great day, I have left Thailand and started my Malaysian adventure with a bang :)