Interesting journey to reach Penang, we had a maniac driver who thought it was great fun to overtake 11 vehicles in one go, including a truck and a bus! I learnt quite quickly in Asia that when travelling on local transport the best way to go is to either shut your eyes so you can't see it or just watch and laugh otherwise you'd seriously have a nervous breakdown! There don't seem to be any laws other than just get from A to B as quickly as you can and if someone's in your way just beep your horn very loudly at them until they move out of the way!

After negociating the border crossing, during which I had a mild panic while immigration took a very close look at my passport and then got out a calculator to work something out. I was hoping it was only the number of days I had left in Thailand before my visa expired and not a huge fine for some random thing...but I was ok, eventually my passport was back in my own safe hands and on with the journey...

So we took a ferry across from Butterworth on mainland Malaysia to Georgetown on Penang island. Not much time for exploring on the first day but we had some great food at a big night market on Gurbey Drive. Basically there are just loads of tables set out surrounded by stall after stall selling different types of food. You just choose what you want from each one and then sit and wait for it to be brought to your table. So it's noodles from one, satay chicken from another, beer from another etc etc. Food is fantastic and so so cheap. You can have a feast for less than 3 pounds.

Next day it was up early to explore Georgetown. Had a typcial malaysian breakfast of roti chani. It's like naan bread cooked on a big flat wok type dish served with a vegetable dahl - really good. Then it was off on foot to follow the Georgetown heritage trail to see the many sights and architecture it has to offer. We visited old colonial houses, the fort and lighthouse, beautiful temples and mosques and several different musuems along the way. That was just for starters as after lunch we decided to go up Penang Hill, and that's no mean feat. You can walk, but it will take you about 6 hours, so we opted for the furnicular train instead. The view on the way up is amazing, and you get a good chance to take some photos as you have to change trains half way up when the gradient really starts to steepen. Once at the top there's loads to explore and lots of treks to do around the hill. We didn't have much time so just climbed to the very top where there's a stunning Hindu temple and a mosque, with a 360 degreee view of the whole island of Penang. We also came across a snake charmer on our way back to the train. Not sure how well his charm was working on this particular day as the first two snakes we saw him get out of the basket turned pretty nasty and with a somewhat nervous smile on his face (and a bit of help from an unwilling colleague!) they were quickly coaxed back into their baskets and tied up very tightly. However he did have a bit more success with some of the others, kissing a couple and even putting the head of one snake in his mouth - rather him than me!

Ate dinner in Little India that night and randomly came across a bizarre kind of procession where the locals were all bringing plates or trays of food out of their shops to be blessed by a strangely dressed man on a float being pulled along by two bullocks. No idea what it was all about, but proves you should never go out without your camera becuase you just never know what's round the corner!