Our decision not to risk stopping in south Thailand with the current political situation meant a full day of travelling to get to Penang in north-west Malaysia. The first minibus picked us up from our guesthouse first thing in the morning, arrived in Hat Yai at about lunchtime and deposited its 8 passengers at various little travel shops around the busy little city for the onward journeys. From Hat Yai, it wasn’t too far to the Malaysian border, where we jumped off the bus and queued up at a little booth for our exit stamps, the westerners moving straight through and the locals getting thoroughly questioned! A poor American girl on our bus realised as we arrived that she had lost track of time (surprisingly easy to do when you’re travelling) and had overstayed her Thai visa. Half and hour and 1600 Baht later she made her flustered way back to the rest of us (1 British girl, 2 Malay guys, 2 Chinese-Malaysian businessmen and us) waiting by the bus. Then it was back in the bus for another 200 meters to the Malaysian immigration building, which we had to walk through with our bags. Again, no problem for the westerners – we came straight out, found the correct minibus (unlike 2 Japanese businessmen who, after packing their bags in the back, jumped in and stared blankly at us until they realized their bus was the one in front!) and waited….and waited….. The 2 Chinese-Malaysians finally came back to the minibus, but the Malay guys didn’t. We asked why and were told something about them being Buddhist. A rubbish explanation – all a bit of a worry, really! We were stopped YET AGAIN on the other side by the military who checked the driver’s paperwork before ambling around the van, the muzzle of the machine-gun slung casually around his neck pointing straight into our window at head-level. A bit scary but it would have been far more disconcerting if it wasn’t for the big friendly grin spread across his face! Although there’s a bridge connecting Penang to the mainland (which the Lonely Planet helpfully mentioned COULD be the longest in SE Asia – you’d think they could’ve looked it up!?), it’s cheaper to get the car-ferry, so we did and arrived in Penang’s main town Georgetown, by early evening. The English girl who was on our bus, Poppy, got off at the bustling Chinatown area too and the 3 of us decided that we’d earned a couple of cold beers before we hunted down some accommodation. Your money doesn’t go nearly as far in Malaysia compared to Thailand, we soon discovered as we tromped from door to door in the pouring rain, but we eventually found clean (if somewhat stuffy and damp!) place for 30 Ringgit (approx 6 pounds) just off the main drag. Poppy had just got a job in Bangkok teaching English and although she was in Penang primarily to get her Thai work visa (which you need be outside the country to apply for) she was keen to have a look around while she was there, so we spent the next day battling the confusing public bus system and checking out the bizarre Snake Temple with its live pit-vipers living in branches on the alter and Fort Cornwallis, built by the Brits in the 1700s. The son of Penang’s founder (Francis Light) actually foundered Adelaide in Oz so a few years ago Georgetown and Adelaide became sister-cities – it was news to me! One thing we certainly didn’t expect, bearing in mind it carries the death sentence in Malaysia, was a demonstration in drug abuse! A jovial man in 18century getup showed us how to make a betel-nut leaf, lime and clove package, which is then chewed and spat out (to give you a bit of a buzz apparently!) It also turns your teeth and lips bright red, so Nige and I gave it a miss but Poppy, who’s slightly mad and up for everything, gave it a go…tasty, she reckons! That night, dinner at a banana-leaf restaurant (unlimited rice and curry, spooned onto your banana leaf) in Little India, accompanied by quite a few beers and discussions about life, travel, Buddhism and Poppy’s chilli addiction problem (she is now so hooked that she truly believes that food should cause a reaction or it’s not worth eating - like alcohol makes you drunk, eating should make your eyes stream!) We enjoyed Penang but must admit that, bearing in mind how people rave about it, we came away feeling maybe we’d missed something. Or maybe we’ve just seen so much now, we’re getting a bit worn out with travelling!