We say farewell to Penang Island

Five days on Penang is quite enough. We've chilled here. We've eaten fine food for the price of a 'Grab' bag of Walkers crisps. We've swam in the disappointingly murky sea. We've been bitten by mosquitos. We've drunk coctails in a posh hotel, swam in its pool and slid down its water slide. We've made friends with some locals and also with some very nice backpackers. On one occasion we drank A LOT of Tiger beers.

But all that is in the past now. Tomorrow we leave for beaches new. Specifically, the Perhentian Islands on the east coast of Malaysia. Apparently it is "The place that you will never forget".

Look, see

Mmm, nice huh?

Despite its drawbacks, our time on Penang has been good. We've had the opportunity to unwind a bit after the various intense shopping mall related trials of KL.


Friday 10th September, 11.50am
Location: KL city limits

We are leaving KL. My spirits feel lighter but my stomach feels heavier. Is it the process of acclimatisation, of adjustment to food which is basically less 'clean'?! Last night I had trouble sleeping again, but then I reached a bit of a plateau with it - a realisation that if I was restless I would get no peace. So I lay there, quiet and calm, feeling that if I reached a state of total physical restfulness and mental equilibrium then it wouldn't matter if I didn't actually sleep. It worked. I was attaining a higher state of consciousness... then Steve farted.

It is a relief to be sitting here, reclining in air conditioned comfort while KL falls behind us, to be replaced bt a deep and impenetrable rainforest. Air conditioning is all well and good but I can't wait to breathe fresh sea air.


Saturday 11th September, 6.40pm
Location: Miami Beach nr Batu Ferringhi, Penang, Malaysia

We've arrived at last! I'm sitting at a beachside cafe, listening to chill out tunes (highlights have included Nu Yorican Soul, DJ Shadow and currently Primal Scream - 'Loaded') while the sun goes down behind the peninsular and a few dozen Malaysian children frolic in the sea a hundred yards down the beach.

The sea may not be the agean blue I've dreamed of, but we've nonetheless got one step closer to living it. There are children everywhere, enjoying their weekend, lazy, docile dogs and a couple of cheeky little monkeys in a cage a few yards down the beach, dipping pieces of apple in a water tray before they eat them.

Shortly we will wander down the beach on a reckie, looking for somewhere to stay tomorrow night and perhaps the night after. We need a few days of beach life before we think about moving on. So far, everything has been in a hurry, we need to take it down a gear. I'll have some time to fill in some of the gaps in my journal, to read, to laze on the beach.

We're going to have a good time. We're going to have a party.