AT

07/11/11

By now you'll know we only travel in the early morning or over night, so no surprises then when we grabbed a quick takeaway breakfast at the ferry port before boarding our boat which would then stop at Phi Phi where we would transfer to a boat heading back to Phuket, in total 4 hours on ferries. We had already decided to pit stop in a cafe before trying to find a taxi to the Golddiggers resort in Nai Yang, Phuket, thus avoiding the minibus fiasco from the airport. Gold diggers was chosen due to it's location from the airport (1 or 2 km depending on who you believe) and it also had a pool to relax in, as we were just using this as a stop over we hadn't planned any trips or looked at local tourist sites.

Phuket ferry port was bedlam as touts pushed and argued their way to the front, but after a quick side step right we walked far enough from the scrum to find a table and sit down. The minibuses were busy as people were herded into little groups to wait as the drivers found more victims to cram in, one couple, who walked off just before us were in one of the last groups to leave, I know that feeling!

Once the crowds had departed I walked over and booked a car to our accommodation, it worked out a little more expensive but at least we would go straight there. Bex had a power nap as our taxi made it's way north and a little more than 40 minutes later we pulled into the Golddigger, this reenforced my view that our original driver was a fool and probably annoyed that he wasn't getting a single kickback off our bus.

Payment was made up front and we were taken to our room, which turned out to be a three bed affair but again, with hindsight a fan room was not the best option as it was actually hotter inside than outside and all the fans did was blow the warm air around, oh well it's only for two nights.

Gear stowed we took a walk around the area which literally had one shop and a few Market stalls, this maybe a boring couple of days! We walked towards the beach and by chance came across a dirty little path that people appeared to be using as a moped cut through and after walking for a 1/4 mile we came out onto the beachfront road and rows of shops and restaurants, suddenly things felt better and the sea breeze was kicking up enough for the kite surfers to be out, at least we had somewhere to eat tonight.

Tomorrow we planned to hire a bike and look around the north of the island and get out to the gibbon rehab centre but for now we headed back to the room and get changed for a run, easily the best way to explore the area!

It was not getting any easier in the heat, but at least we knew the area better and had found a restaurant for later. The room was baking and the cold water shower was Luke warm, so by the time we left the room for dinner I was melting but the breeze on the seafront was cooling and refreshing ( the large strawberry milkshake may have helped!). Unfortunately the further away from the coast you were the less breeze you get and our room was probably closer to the moon, so another cold shower before settling down on the bed to try and sleep, fans on full of course!

08/11/11

No rush to get up so as usual I'm wide awake by 7am, damn my body clock! I left Bex sleeping for a bit and went out to check the email for replies, Star Lodge in Penang had already confirmed and now the original backpackers lodge in KL had replied so at least we had places to stay sorted. Once the boss was awake we walked to the beach front for breakfast and bike hire.

The place was a ghost town and nothing was open and I began to think we were missing something really important, but after a bit of hunting we found something which was open and we both had some toast. Bike hire was 50 Baht more here than in Lanta but the same rules applied, return it with a full tank and don't crash it, which seemed fair enough and after we put on our pink helmets! We rode back to the room to pack a bag for the day. Tourist map in hand we headed out onto the open road and to be fair it was one of the more accurate maps we'd had and once we were off the main roads the ride was very relaxing, the sun was out but the breeze, again, kept us cool. The road side scenery went from broken down shanty towns to gated driveways, no better could the class gaps be shown than just here.

After 20 minutes we pulled of the 4027 ( road name!) and onto the narrow road down to the rehab centre, only to come across a toll booth at the park entrance. The price for bikes was clearly marked as 20 baht so I started to get the wallet out only to be told it was now 200 baht each! I pointed at the sign and said it's only 20, but the guard merely replied "it's gone up, now 200 each" clearly it had been a slow week for fleecing tourist, so in disgust I turned the bike around and headed back to the highway. I felt sorry that we missed out on the rehab centre, and at the end of the day the gibbons are the innocent party in someone else's greed, but there was noway we would pay that and an entrance fee to the centre.

We carried on along the 4027 until we came to the crossroads with the main highway again, decision made, we would continue down the coasting a loop and return up the other side, getting within 10k of where we had stayed just a few days earlier. The road twisted and turned down to Patong beach where we took a left and headed across the island, most of this was pure guesswork as signs and signpost seemed to be at a premium, especially in the more rural areas. Whilst heading back up the main highway we came a cross a retail development full of brand warehouses, a bit like clarks village in somerset. Nike, adidas, reebok etc all had shops here to poke around and because it was so well advertised the place was almost deserted! Lunch was taken here and we poked around all the shops to see if any bargains were to be had. Some of the shops had missed the point of a discount warehouse, they had clearly over inflated the prices then offered a discount of up to 50%. the going rate for a standard Nike tshirt in other stores was around 300 to 400 baht, in one store here the pre discount price was over 1000 and then they chop off 50%, still making it more expensive, even with my maths.

Back on the bike we slowly rode our way back to our hotel and a well earned dip in the pool, I continued to write on the now completely shattered iPad, using the bottom quarter of the screen only, I also like to think that it improved my scribble, but I'm sure anyone who reads this will have their own view on that.

That evening we returned the bike but not without riding it down the little cut through lane first, I'd like to think I'm doing quite well so far, not a scratch or a dent to my name although ask me that question when we leave Java!

09/11/11

Bags all packed and taxi all booked for the airport transfer we sat down in the cafe area to a couple of cold milkshakes and watch the rain fall. So far on this trip we have been racing the rain and appear to be one step ahead, on our last day where ever we have been it has rained, without fail. At least this time i had the sense to book and afternoon flight, so we had a little lie in ( it's the royal "we" as I was awake as normal) and breakfast was bought from a bakery the day before.

Our destination today was Penang, Malaysia flying with Firefly Airlines and only a short hop (1hr 15min) across the border. The Thai -Malaysia border is still a hot bed for violence and skirmishes, the random nature of these means that the British tourist consulate still recommends not trying to cross overland in case of kidnap or getting caught up in a gunfight! Hence our decision to fly.

Good grief! Mother Russia has invaded Penang Airport and they are queuing out of the front doors, now I'm glad we got here a couple of hours early as the sheer number of people leaving is causing delays to some planes, ours, at the moment appears to be ok.

Through check in with no problems, but there isn't a single seat free in departures because the delays and the plane in front of ours, which is Russian of course is now running 2hrs behind. To make matters worse the people in departures all seem to have left their manners behind and are trying to intimidate Becky into leaving her seat (I'm a gentleman, so I'm still standing) so when she does go, I sit down and just smile at them, which probably winds them up even more!

Amazingly our plane boards on time and it's another twin prop. I'm still left with the feeling I'm going to see the pilot from raiders of the lost ark come running down the aisle wearing the only parachute!

Finally, welcome to Penang, the second largest city and a two night stay for us. Our hotel, the Star Lodge is located in Chinatown and is a twenty minute drive by taxi through the narrow streets but this gives us an opportunity to see the sights. The buildings are a mix of old colonial and modern architecture which gives it a very mixed feel, one minute your walking through 1900's India and the next your in New York. What they appear to have done is move all the "named" shops into massive shopping complexes dotted around the outskirts of town, imagine four or five Bluewaters or Westfields within a 20 miles square radius and you get the idea. What your left with is quite a charming, but rundown looking city centre with a shopping centre in the middle.

After our check in we took a walk out into the city, our plan was to get to the ferry dock and buy a train ticket to Kuala Lumpur ( the station itself is a twenty minute ferry ride to Butterworth on the other bank) and then locate one of a number of authorized iPad sellers in Penang to replace the damaged equipment, off course all was subject to change.....

Ferry located but the booking office was closed until 10am tomorrow, which unfortunately means another walk to the port in the morning and hope they still have tickets, fortunately it's only 10 minutes from the hotel if we walk directly, so not too far out of our way. We located the nearest mega mall to us and took a taxi as it was too far and too warm to walk, on the way we went passed many of the sights we would walk past tomorrow so at least we knew where they were and now we were looking at them in the glow of sunset.

We entered the mall and were blown away with it's size! On five levels it made Westfield look like a supermarket and this wasn't even the biggest one in Penang. We made for the store and set about getting a replacement, all ready knowing that we would have to buy a new IPad. I showed them the damaged screen and they were just as puzzled, in fact one guy said he had never seen it do that before, i was just glad to be back up and running again as it had become an invaluable tool and saved a bit of cash along the way with Internet cafe fees. I would still be carrying the old one around as I need to sinc it back in the uk before taking it in to be looked at, a minor pain considering.

Half the mission completed we decided to have a look around the shops and grab some dinner before heading back to the hotel. Once we had our fill of glamour and glitz we took a taxi back and I set about the job of loading apps and missing links ( I get all the fun jobs!) Bex decided to update Facebook, at least priorities are in place.....