After all the trauma of getting to Penang we decided to embark on a two hour trek in search for accommodation.Eventually we reached Georgetown (formerly occupied by the British) and chose a shortlist of guesthouses.The first one was called Stardust and was run by two lovely ladies who despite minimal English were lovely to us to the extent that we felt so welcome we stayed for 6 nights instead of the intended 3!They were literally working non stop though, up at about 7am for early risers and still up doing laundry at 1am… the men just seemed to sit at the front of the café drinking beer!

On one night we ventured to a live music venue not expecting much as usually the live music in Asia is dreadful, luckily this place was really good.The band were excellent & to top it off the lead singers Mum got on stage for a cameo.She looked like a school dinner lady, but with a voice like Aretha Franklin. She absolutely rocked and the crowd of locals and backpackers loved her!

Georgetown was a decent town with some interesting reminders of Victorian Britain scattered around, but the main reason for staying so long was that it was so relaxed and we were now flagging a bit from the Jungle + journey here.The coffee shops were excellent with a coffee at the Georgetown White Coffee House about 70p, rather than next door at Starbucks at nearer 3 quid, had a few of those whilst milking their free wi-fi to plan the trip into Thailand.

In Malaysia you can shop for reasonable independent clothing for a pittance.Our bargain tip of the week is to turn up on Air Asia and fill your case with bargains, eat great food (albeit with appalling 'singers' in the background) for next to nothing and meet the people who are really friendly (outside of Kuala Lumpur).An example is that when you look lost they will offer to take you for free - not just give directions or try to overcharge you in a Taxi/Tuk-Tuk.