Malaysia is a relaxing delight after China. The sun is bright, the sky is blue and the people are pleased to see us. A melting pot of cultures and religions much of Malaysia is occupied by descendants of both Chinese and Malay who for the most part live harmoniously together. Georgetown, a town in Penang an island off the west coast of Malaysia, has been named by Unesco as a sight of historic interest because of the colonial buildings which still occupy much of the town. The buildings left over from the time when the British occupied the town offer a nostalgic glimpse into the past. Unlike some of the other Unesco towns, we have visited the buildings seemed largely untouched or renovated, giving them an authentic feel sometimes lacking in parts of Luang Prabang, and Lijiang. Whilst many have become coffee shops or art cafes others remain unoccupied. Georgetown is nestled in one corner of the island so there are many other sights to see once you have crossed the straits on the ferry, or across the road bridge.

We spent three days in Georgetown first, exploring its small streets and hunting for the numerous pieces of street art which are dotted around the town. We also visited the camera museum and reminisced over the cameras on show which we had both owned in the past. We were extra lucky in that our visit coincided with the 2016 heritage festival, a series of evening workshops focussing largely on traditional games and displays of martial arts and lion dancing. The costume sort of lion dancing obviously, as there are no lions in Malaysia! Then to cap it all we received a message from Ali and Murray, two Australians who we'd met in Laos, who had spotted our pics on their Facebook page and realised we were in Georgetown at the same time. Obviously, we had to meet and catch up on their adventures over fruit shake followed by a few beers- so all in all it was a fun-filled few days.

We'd decided to move onto Batu Ferringhi, a beach resort further up the coast and closer to the National park, for a further three days, which we later extended to six. The convenient cheap bus route made it a good location to explore places along the northern coast - including Tesco food court! One of the days was set aside for a trek across the National Park to reach turtle Beach. The walk was largely along earth tracks stabilised with errant tree roots so it felt like proper jungle trekking. Whilst the weather was hot and humid we were shaded under the trees and coped well despite the climb which took us to the top of the hill. On the way up we spotted some black monkeys in the tree, with light brown eyebrows. These turned out to be Dusky Leaf monkeys.

The sounds of the jungle are often the most interesting, and the noise made by cicadas and other insects deafening. When we got about two-thirds of the way across the weather suddenly changed and dark clouds massing above the trees started to drop rain onto the trees and subsequently onto us. As we reached the end of the trail and made our way across the beach the drops got bigger, and we were subsequently soaked again by the time we reached the turtle sanctuary. The researchers there collect some of the eggs laid on the beach at night to ensure they hatch successfully, so there was a little brood of turtles for us to see alongside the educational displays. It gave us a nice reward at the end of the trail.

After checking out the turtles we retreated to the shelter of a beach hut while we waited for the boat pickup we'd arranged. As the boat approached we steeled ourselves for a quick wade across the shallows to climb in, and within a couple of minutes, we were aboard and off. When we booked the boat, before we left for the trek, we were imagining a nice calm sail back around the cliffs to the start point. In the event, we got a spine jarring bounce across the tops of the waves as the rainstorm had excited the current to something akin to a frenzy. Photo taking was virtually impossible as we bounced up and down. The offer of a halfway stop at Monkey beach suddenly seemed appealing. In the event, the beach turned out to be a litter infested stretch of sand with little to offer except a few shacks serving snacks or water sports equipment. Eventually, the boat returned to pick us up again, and this time proved to be more relaxing as we chose to sit closer to the back and away from the "crash down section" of the boat.

The weather during the rest of the stay in Penang turned out to be dotted with rainstorms, which curtailed many of our activities, although thanks to decent internet when people had gone out from the hotel we were able to do some planning and finalise flights for the latter parts of our trip, in between trips out into the bright sunshine and blue skies that appeared between the short downpours.