Day 87-89 George Town (Malaysia)

As usual, our journey turned out to be another unfortunate one.

I was going to dedicate a post to it because it was that long, but it would have just got too confusing      
Basically, a 6 hour journey turned out to be a 16 hour one, that involved LOTS of waiting, lots of different buses, a policeman and various hurdles. 

Eventually though, we did get there. And it turned out that we really liked George Town (Penang).

We arrived at about 12.40am.

We walked down 'Love Lane', where our hostel 'Red Inn Herritage' was.        
We were walking aimlessly when a girl sat outside smoking said "hi" and asked where we were going. Then she told us that everywhere shuts at 10 or 11pm, so our hostel may not still be open.

She spoke through the shutters of where she was staying to ask if they could maybe help. 

A guy came out and said "Is it Miss Sophie?" To which I of course replied "yes". 

And there we were. It said 'Love Lane Inn' outside and there were no signs of the other hostel name but there you have it.

He asked us for payment but then also explained that we wouldn't be able to get cash out in Malaysia after 11pm because they switch all of the ATMs off too. 

Fortunately, he let us off until the following morning and even stocked the bread, tea and coffee up for us because he thought we must be hungry.      

Malaysia was off to a good start!

Our hostel was lovely. There were lots of wooden shutters and pretty tiling... and the bed was the comfiest I've stayed in in weeks, or even months!   

If it wasn't for the 24/7 smoochers in our dorm, it would have been perfect!

The next morning,  we were directed to a "nice but cheap" (one of our most used phrases) local place around the corner to eat. And we were very impressed!

You help yourself to whichever dishes you want, then they add it up.

Each of our plates was around £1 each. 

Then, we got a map and followed a walking route around the town.
                                    We started at St Georges church.

Then went to the Time Tunnel museum..

We walked along the beachfront and to a fort..

Then through some amazing art filled streets..

It finally took us to an Indian area (George Town is really multi cultured, with a big percentage of residents and food being Indian, Chinese and Western).

They even have the best of British too (ha ha)...

Just walking around the streets was lovely. George Town is a place where the buildings are ageing and the paint is chipping but they're just embracing it and making it work for them.

In the evening, we went to some street markets and ate a local dish called Curry Mee. We got some free drinks at a reggae bar..

And went to a bar where Marie loved the artwork..

The following day, we stopped off at the same "nice but cheap" food place in the morning (and went back later on too, for supplies for our trip the next day)..

Then Marie and me went to the Khoo Kongsi, which was pretty awesome!

We got in just in time to take cover for a thunderstorm.

To pass the time we read books and gave ourselves beards, as you do.

In the evening we went to the Red Garden Food Paradise. Which is like a food court of all kinds of food.

We had Laska. Which is a dish that Penang is famous for. Its like noodle soup, with mackerel, veg and spice. It was really taste and only cost about 80p.

The following morning, a minibus picked us up at 5am to take us to the Perhentian Islands. 

Jack managed to leave his favourite shorts in the hostel. 

His list of lost items is now up to; 2 sunglasses, 1 vest, 3 pairs of trainers, phone, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of boxers, suncream, a head torch, Maries bag with drawings in it, possibly money and now 1 pair of shorts.   

We're working on how he can be more responsible for his things and how he can prevent losing them...all suggestions welcome please!

Next stop... Pulau Perhentian!