Day 182- Yet again we had to be up really early for our bus and by 7am we were sitting comfortably and waiting for departure. The journey was good and we arrived onto Penang Island by around midday. From here we had to catch a bus to Georgetown which is where we were staying. However the bus dropped us off at the side of a busy highway where we were hassled by taxi drivers. We managed to spot what looked like could be a bus station opposite so we hurried across the road and managed to find a way through the fence just as our bus was pulling in. We jumped on and found our hostel no problem when we arrived in Georgetown 40 mins later. It was a really nice hostel and in a good location so we went out to find some lunch in nearby Little India where we tucked into a banana leaf rice set. Like Malacca Georgetown is seeped in history due to its prime position on the Malay Peninsula near the top of the Malacca Strait. As we walked around the centre and down to the sea we could see the colonial history, particularly on the esplanade where the grand Town Hall and City Hall stood. From here we walked along to Fort Cornwallis which was an old fort originally built to defend the area against pirates but since then has been used more as an administrative centre than for battle. After enjoying our first few hours in the city we headed back passing yet more old buildings and churches and took a well deserved rest. Whilst we were on the esplanade earlier we noticed a lot of stalls being set up and a stage being constructed so we went down at night to see what was happening. It turned out it was the 5th year anniversary of the day the current government was voted in so there was a big party. We bought some traditional Penang Malay food- Penang Laska (noodle curry soup, quite bitter) and some chicken satay. We stayed to watch some of the singing and performances on stage before walking back to the hostel.

Day 183- The free breakfast was great with a traditional Malay option of noodles, veg and naan. We made sure we booked our Burma flight before we did any more research and then cracked on with choosing our Thai Islands. Once we managed to get out we stopped for lunch at a small cafe and ordered an amazing bowl of Wan Tan Mee then went for a huge walk around Georgetown heading Northwards. We came full circle round to the sea where we explored the jetty villages. The one we walked along was the Chew Jetty which was settled by Chinese hundreds of years ago who came here looking for work. As all water villages it was incredible to see them perched on the edge of the jetty, the majority of them propped up by plastic buckets and chunks of concrete. Next we walked further along until we came back to the centre where we decided to exchange some money into dollars. We needed dollars as Burma has no ATMs and nowhere takes card so we needed cash only. What makes life more difficult is that they only exchange US dollars for Kyat (the Burmese currency) and that since most business is done on the black market we needed 100 dollar notes and they had to be crisp, clean and no folds. Not easy! We managed to find enough between 3 exchange bueraus and then headed back to the hostel to change for my birthday night out. My birthday was the next day but we didn't want to be hungover for our early bus so moved it a day early. My mam had put £50 in our bank to treat ourselves so we were very excited as you can imagine We got all dressed up and first we had a drink in a bar next to the hostel and then we went down to a restaurant we had spotted earlier. The restaurant was a mix of character with random stuff everywhere and a lovely band playing. We both ordered a plump juicy rib-eye steak which came with chips, peppercorn sauce and salad. It was delicious and such a nice change to Western food, they even had cider for Eve. We had noticed a few bars around our hostel so walked back and found a nice bar with a duo singing, even better it was ladies night so Eve got free drinks and I got two for one so we had many a rum and coke before moving on. We then found a nice small quiet one for a last drink, here I went for a cheeky Special Brew and the only thing Eve liked was the bottled Long Island Ice-tea. Just as we were about to leave the Sunderland match came on so it was far from our last drink. I ran back to hostel to put my Sunderland shirt on and watched the match. Several, plus a few more drinks more and a very disappointing 3-1 loss later we trundled back to the hotel. We both had a such good night and we celebrated my birthday well.

Day 184 (Lloyd's Birthday)- The grand old age of 23 had hit me and I was certainly feeling it. After waking up just after mid-day we were both very hungover and in need of some comfort food. Luckily I had a fantastic girlfriend who bought me some sweets and chocolate for my birthday and made me a lovely card. She also took me for the breakfast I needed. We went to a cafe and ordered a cream cheese and smoked salmon toastie- perfect! It was divine and sorted me right out. Although we had picked the islands we wanted to stay on in Thailand we hadn't sorted out transport yet so back at the hostel we booked a mini~van-coach-ferry transfer service to Koh Tarutao. We did some research and I Skyped home and spoke to the family which was nice and then I fancied Indian for tea so walked along to Little India. After my birthday feast of mutton curry, rice, dhosai and dips we had a slow walk back and an early night as we were to be up at 5am.