After a quick change of plan I took the bus straight to Penang, had spent the previuos 2 days in KL but still did not like it, really not much to do there, but the city transport is great. Arriving onto the Island of Penang I was a bit shocked. I was expecting a laid back Island atmosphere with just a large town. Penang is bustling little city with sky scrapers and massive shopping malls even a Tesco,(Which I admit I did take a walk around but was way too expensive for a backpacker.) After a quick hop on a local bus I arrived into Chinatown. A quick look at a few rooms and I realised that the town was full of other backpackers, most of whom where still there after the Bangkok saga and some others with Thailands surprise new visa rules.So lot of hostels were full. Eventually I got a room in a guesthouse for about $9 which was ok. But moved to another hostel the next morning for about $4. If you arrive in Penang you better be hungry, from one market to the next, food stall after food stall , the smell of roasting chicken, grilled fish & stir fry vegetables fill the air every where you go. Its never ending, one stall closes another one opens. You can eat authentic malay, indian, chinese, japanese & korean all in one day or one meal if you wish 24 hrs a day. Had a great dim sum breakfast one morning and some fatasic indian food. A stall will only cook 1 speciality (for about $1.50) so you find yourself just grazing along the streets for lunch and dinner.Little India was also super. Met up with a great crew from Oz & germany and we did manage some sightseeng at an amazing Chinese Temple. So Penang turned out to be a bit of a hidden gem and 1 night quickly turned into 5. Who said anything about having plans !
