Stowaways and Conspiracies

Well I finally left Koh Tao and headed off for my ferry to Penang, Malaysia. When I arrived I was pointed in the direction of the dock I needed, passing all the huge ferries going to Chumphon. When I got there I saw a small boat consisting of an upper and lower deck but the boat was tiny. Smaller than the ferries that ship people between the islands! I felt sick at the thought of a 9 hour journey on this thing and almost caught a taxi back to the Lotus Resort but I had to do it sometime right? As we all boarded we were allocated a slot...I mean bed which was a foam mattress of which connected to another 8 mattresses. It wasn't too hard to sleep, if you didn't mind if your arms and legs connected with your neighbour. Plus I'd had a sea sickness tablet which made me kind of drowsy. I woke up feeling a little nauseous and found the Aussie boy on my left was snuggled up into my armpit! I'd had my arms above my head as I didn't know where to put them so he was literally nose first in my underarm. Good job for him i'd deoderised before I got on the boat hahaha!

My sleeping quarters

We arrived in Suratthani at 5:30am and got a taxi to the travel agent where I was to meet the bus. It appeared that my VIP bus (you know...a 40 seater with reclining seats and air con) was sneakily changed to a bleedin minibus. A 12 seater with hardly no air con and I was forced to sit on the back seat in the middle of 3 guys. Six gruelling hours later (and 1 toilet stop)....I arrived in Hat Yai to change to another minibus. This time I managed to get a single seat with a bit more room but the sun was on my side of the window and it was a hot and sticky 3 hours (via the Malaysian Border) to Penang. Luckily, I spotted the street opposite where we were dropped off and it just so happened to be where my hostel was!

Dragon dance on stilts

The Love Lane Inn was the basic of all basic hostels but what can you expect for £3 a night. I was so tired but I headed on out for Chinese New Year to the Esplanande (promenade). The show was fun and was being broadcasted live for Penang TV so I did the waving thing when the cameras came over to the audience. The fireworks went off at midnight but there was no shouting, drinking, kissing or wishing every stranger 'Happy New Year' which I found strange so I headed back.

The next day I had to change from my private room to a dorm (as was the way I had to book it). I headed on out to the Esplanande to take pictures and to see Fort Cornwallis (where a bird shat on me! Only me eh!). There was a free bus around the city so I then headed off to Komtar Mall to head up to the observatory on the 60^th floor of the nearby building...but it was closed for the New Year until Wednesday. BUM! I then met the local guy I was speaking to at the bus stop previously. He told me to go upto the Cinema on the 8^th floor and they had great views of the city. 

8th floor view

An hour later, after not letting me go until we had discussed the death of Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, JFK and if Neil Armstrong ever landed on the moon.....he decided to escort me upto the cinema FFS! Then he started talking to a random ladyboy and tried to get me to play pool with shim until her/his film started. I apologised and told them I was going to Penang Hil and it was getting late. So.....he escorted me back down to the bus station and said his 'goodbye forever'. The bus was taking forever and I was tired so I headed back to the hostel.

Fort Cornwallis

As I walked through to the stairs, a guy fresh out of the shower was stark bollock naked and drying himself off! I looked down pretending not to have seen his floppy widgie (only because he was about 50yr old and looked like Grizzly Adams lol). He apologised and I ran upstairs. I went on the net for a while, until the owners decided to set a huge line of firecrackers off right behind me which flew everywhere and hit me! Fucking loonatics! They told me they were having fireworks in 15 minutes so I thought it best to disappear for dinner before I had 1^st degree burns and a bald patch! I went to seek out Little India....I really fancied a curry. It was gorgeous but my stomach can't hold much anymore and so most of it went to waste.

That night in the dorm was terrible. We had one giant fan to cool 9 beds. Then.... we had a bleedin powercut. It was horrible! Hot, sticky and a mossie fest. I couldn't sleep until about 3am. At 9am I was woken by loud music and drums outside in the street below. The were doing a dragon dance...AT 9AM FFS! 

I tossed and turned and slept til 11am. I wanted to go to the concert where the 'Gangham Style Man' was performing live but it had already started and I didn't know where to go. Good job really because the guests that went came back like lobsters due to the 35oC sun. Instead I sorted out my next stop to Ipoh and headed out to the Botanical Gardens. A bit disappointed really. Not many flowers, no one knew where the Japanese Garden was (my reason for going...love them) and the waterfall could not be found either. Hot and bothered....I got a taxi back.  

That night I ate in the Red Garden.  Utter chaos but the food was really nice.

The Red Garden

YUK!!!

After another hot and sweaty night I was exhausted.  My bus to Ipoh didn't leave until 7:30pm so I had a full day to kill.  I'd not yet been to Penang Hill so I headed out.  It was a huge hill (believe it or not lol!) with great views over Penang.  I sat at the bus station and was debating whether to sack it off and go to the cinema but I was here to 'see' Penang and not spend time watching movies.  After standing up on a jam packed bus for 45 minutes we arrived.  I followed the sheep and headed for the Hill.  There were steps leading up to the temples which led your through an under cover bazaar.  I was walking up when my phone vibrated.  I had my earphones in, sunglasses on and a bottle of water in my hand.  I struggled to answer the call from my dad.  I threw my headphones over my shoulder and finally managed to speak to him.  It suddenly got really dark so I lifted my sunglasses upto my head with my water bottle hand and didn't realise the bloody thing was open!  Yeah...I ended up pouring half a bottle of bloody water over my head lol!  It could only happen to me!  I was soaked hahahaha!

I continued upto the top where the temples were.  I was soaked from water and from sweat.  It was afterall, 35oC remember.  I wondered around and took some pictures but I couldn't find the tram to take me upto the top of the hill.  I was knackered so I took defeat and headed back to the bus to go home.  Later that night I headed off to Ipoh.