Continuing on from parts 1 and 2.

From the idyllic paradise that was the Datai, we sped across Langkawi towards the ferryport. And I mean sped; we were driven by a Hello-Kitty loving girl who liked to talk with her hands while driving rather quickly along old rubber plantation roads. Interesting, in a kind of death defying way. But we then got to the ferry, which was run rather more smoothly and humanely than your average easyJet flight. And which delivered us, some hours later, to the city of Georgetown on the island of Penang. Upon arrival we were picked up and delivered to the E&O, one of the old classic hotels of the British Empire.

And then things took a turn for the surreal.

We were checked in, presented with flowers and drinks, and led up to the room by a small Chinese woman dressed as a butler. Which was fine. Except that when she opened the door to the suite, there was another butler, and immediately they started singing Only You to us. The whole damn song. In an singing style that can only be understood by those who remember Kim Jong-il’s masterful rendition from Team America. And they then insisted on taking pictures for presentation to us later:

Penang was a bit weird. We found a random biker/modded-car festival on our first walkabout, playing a lot of heavy rock over loud speakers. All as you’d expect. Except that the next track was by Taylor Swift. We walked about lots, saw some of the temples, shops, food stalls, classic colonial architecture, and some of the local landmarks:

We also took a taxi up to the far north west of the island to see some of the tourist traps there. We ate, we drank, we watched the sea outside. But we didn’t get the same connection to the place that we did to the Datai; perhaps it’s just that the hotel was nice, but not quite as nice as the last one. Or maybe it’s the way that most of the staff at the E&O had difficulty realising that Sir wasn’t there on his own, and that TLW could speak for herself…

But we enjoyed it. And we then headed to the airport to get a flight to the next destination: Kuala Lumpur.