{w:400;h:300} Penang on the west coast of Northern Malaysia!!!!

The bus journey over was uneventful and relatively easy for us - which makes a change. Usually bus journeys (or any kind of moving transportation) tend to be total nightmare. This did go uncharacteristically smoothly….. We drove through beautiful mountains covered with lush green forest and stopped at a regular bus stop for lunch. The food was amazing and Tehya was more adventurous than usual and ate slightly spicy veg as well as steamed rice. There were a few hair raising corners through the mountains but we managed to hold on to our lunches and Tehya even slept for a few hours. We arrived in Penang feeling tired and glad that we could get off the bus and move around - our buts and legs were all a little numb after 7 hours. We stayed on the bus after Butterworth (did not get the ferry over - 2RM each) and got charged 25RM for a taxi into Georgetown as the bus station turned out not to be either of the two we remembered (or the ones on our map - both in Georgetown) but close to the airport - which is a fair distance away. We got dropped at the guest house - we have chosen to stay at Star Lodge - owned by the same family as No. 75 (where we stayed before). It has recently opened and there is something very reassuring about knowing you are one of the first few guests to have used the bed and pillows!!!!

We went out and walked to the Komtar the main shopping mall in Penang and were reminded how much can change in 7/8 years - or how badly your memory can fail you…… as we looked for and failed to find several restaurants and shops we remembered from previous visits. We eventually made our way to Little India - it was wonderful, the smell of incense and Indian food cooking in curb side restaurants , the sound of cheesy Bangra/Bollywood music blaring out. We walked past a clothe shop which had the most beautiful childs outfit hanging by the door. We asked how much it was and we were told 55RM, so we went inside to have a look. They did not have the colour we wanted after searching for ages. Tehya chose an outfit with a green skirt and pale purple top - Gavin asked how much they would sell it for and they said 45RM. Tehya and I went into the changing room so she could wear it for dinner and Gavin went to pay - they only charged him 40RM which is about six pounds. The outfit is so beautiful, she is now an Indian princess and wanted to wear it to bed. We stopped and ate at an Indian restaurant and had a lovely meal of chicken Tikka for Gavin and steamed rice with delicately spiced veg for me and Tehya - again Teh was keen to try different food and really enjoyed her dinner. Much to the appreciation and enjoyment of some of the staff.