The poor blog has been slightly abandoned in the last few days thanks to us having an all round excellent time in Penang. We moved from the glorious Holiday Inn (boo) to the lovely Shalinis Guesthouse - a small Hindu family-run enterprise right by the beach, where you're free to use the kitchen (yey!). We have been making use of the tea-making facilities, a fridge, and a lovely balcony to sit on, and all for a measly 16 pounds a night for the room.
We've ventured into Georgetown, not altogether successfully thanks to everything shutting for the beginning of Ramadan, but a wander around was nice. Mostly, we've enjoyed lazing on the beach, a (particularly potent) cocktail by the water's edge for Sarah's birthday, and doing lots of reading.
Today, however, we decided to turn explorer and caught a bus to the entrance of Penang's National Park. After registering with the park officials (in case we got lost!) we set out, armed with only a basic map, half a chocolate cake, and a box of fish curry from the nice lady by the roadside. After a close encounter with some demon monkeys, and a sighting of a tiny crocodile in the water (eek!) we headed into proper jungle. An hour in, we stopped for lunch in true local style, avoiding the ants/ bugs/ butterflies etc, then carried on to a beach rumoured to have a turtle population.
Sadly, our turtle search proved fruitless, but we did manage to spot a white bellied sea eagle (yes, we've just looked it up, no, it wasn't a seagull) which was amazing. The huge majestic bird circled overhead, as we ate our Kendal Mint Cake (found crushed at the bottom of the rucksack) and drank our water.
After a relax on the beach we trekked back, and despite sweat to rival any athlete, and me nearly breaking my neck on a very slidey patch of mud, we made it back in one piece. Potentially the days biggest disaster was when I entrusted Sarah with the job of pressing the button on the bus to get the driver to stop. She thought I'd seen a nice art gallery; we missed our road.
So, an excellent day had by both of us, and a real taste of jungle adventuring. Tonight we ate at the fantastic food court down the road (not nearly as glamorous as it sounds) and intend to have a drink on the beach later. This. Is. The. Life.
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