The last few days

The last few days have been a little odd. Normally, I’d write about each one, but really nothing had happened to justify separate updates.

The day after snorkelling we spent in Krabi and I was knackered after the previous couple of days. I’d given out a lot of energy and not had very good sleep. SO I just made myself comfortable, backed up my photos and then did some editing and writing, which you may have already seen.

I went for a massage at a nearby place and had a traditional Thai massage. The woman running the place tried to talk me out of it saying that foreigners find it too painful. But I went ahead anyway and didn’t find it anywhere near as painful as the one I had in Langkawi.

In the evening we all met up and went next door to a BBQ place for dinner. Tony, Martial and I chose to have the on table BBQ. They brought out an electric grill, and asked us to chose from Beef, Chicken, Fish and Pork. Since there were three of us we asked if we could get a little of each and we’d all share them. They didn’t have a problem with this and went off to prepare.

A Finnish woman who was working there came over and explained that usually all the meat would be laid out as a buffet and that we would help ourselves. But as it was quiet they would just bring it out on plates.

The first sign that something was different was that they brought out an extra table followed by lots of food. Then they brought out another and filled that too!

The amount of food we had was insane, and we had to tell them to stop bringing it as there was no way that we could finish what we had. We had lots of different dishes, a Thai salad, vegetables and fruit for dessert. We gave it a good shot, but even after force feeding the others we still had a load left.

The cost of this enormous feat was less then a KFC each.

The next day was a long travel day. Twelve hours to be exact. We left Krabi and made our way to the border, stopping just before for lunch. We then crossed over into Malaysia and completed the journey in another minibus

Unfortunately, I was unable to muster any excitement as our destination was Georgetown in Penang. The place in which I had grown so bored that I ended on this tour in the first place.

Within minutes of arriving last time I witnessed a fatality on the roads as a scooter rider was killed. History nearly repeated itself within an hour of arriving. We were eating at a food court when we heard the unmistakeable sound of a skid and a crunch. We looked over to see a scooter on its side, and people dragging a man to his feet. He seemed conscious but totally out of it and not in a good way at all. People just dragged him off, and I pray he did not have any spinal injuries because he was not handled gently. Within 30 seconds of the accident, cars all around were sounding their horns and revving their engines as they were impatient to get going.

I decided then and there that I really dislike Penang. There are few places I’ve been that I really cannot get on with, but Penang now heads the list.

We went for a brief walk to a coffee place, past lots of shuttered cafes and bars – all closed at 8:30pm and did eventually find a nice place.

In the morning we were due to go for a tour of Georgetown, but I really could not be bothered with it. I made my excuses, had a lie-in, tended my insect bites and generally made myself human again. I then went to the cinema and watched Looper. I didn’t think much of it. After which I returned to the hotel and had a swim. A swim, which it had turned out has led to an ear infection. As I write this, I’m deaf in one ear as it had trapped fluid and is quite painful. I’ve started some anti-biotics so hopefully it will clear pretty soon. It just feels like Penang getting one last kick in.

From Panang we took a very comfortable bus to Kuala Lumpur. The seats were more like couches and I slept for a decent portion of the journey.

I’d left KL quite literally under a cloud. Two and a half days of storms to be precise. We arrived in blazing sunshine, and then a very quick shower almost immediately that we crossed the city limits. I just burst out laughing as it is like this weather is stalking me. But it was just a shower, and we arrived at the hotel in intense sunshine and heat.

We had a small rest and then headed to the KLCC to get dinner and to see the Petronas Towers.

This time they provided a glorious sight, standing majestically above the city with coloured fountains spraying water in in the grounds below. It was a far cry from the torrential rain and clouds that obscured everything the last time I was here. I’m glad that I’ve got to see them looking at their best, and not just at their worst.

Yesterday, I awoke to find the ear infection had taken hold. It left me a bit dizzy and so I skipped the group stuff and went out to a pharmacy instead. Then I came back to the hotel and basically played games on my Vita in between flushing out my ear.

Its a glamorous life sometimes.

I’ve an hour to kill before we catch another bus, this time to Melaka. Ae says this is her favourite place that we visit, and I’ve not been before so I’m looking forward to it. I’m just hoping the ear settles down so that I can enjoy it as it seems to be growing more painful Damn you Penang!