Asia & Australia : Endings Penang - Beginnings in Bangkok

Our second day in Penang was 4 March and we made plans to go out late in the afternoon to the beach area for dinner and the night market. It was nice to have an easy morning even though we made a 15 minute trek to the post office. Once we had mailed postcards and another box to Australia, I reminded B that he owed me a pedi-cab or rickshaw ride. So we went in search of rickshaw - but they said we needed two - "too big"...lol!

We arrived at Batu Ferringi, the beach area, by cab and found a pretty good massage place - only thing was no a/c, just moving air. I put my feet in the fish pond for them to eat dead skin off, but not so much as a nibble. The foot/leg massage was very relaxing and I think addicting. We will have to do daily in Bangkok...

After our wonderful massage we walked back up the street towards the night market. The beach was lovely but not quite the strand we are used to strolling on. Unless you walked on the beach, you mostly had to walk a block up and on the street. It was a nice area but even tho that had big hotels and a Starbucks even, it could have been improved. Here are a few pics from the area:

beautiful garden restaurant

drive-thru Malaysian style

We were searching for a place to dine, when we came across The Ship. It was definitely a tourist place, but the menu looked good and was in English - lol... It was probably the BEST meal we have eaten the whole trip - even the cruise ship could learn a few things from this chef. We ordered the fixed menu which came with escargot, but she offered shrimp cocktail instead. My tiger shrimp and salmon steak were savory, flaky and yummy. The shrimp cocktail sauce was kind of a spicy thousand island dressing, but I liked it so much, I ate it with my shrimp...lol

The Ship

inside the ship

A salute to the photographer...lol

shrimp cocktail OMG! better than the cruise except at their fancy steak house

cheesecake was the only disappointing food, but by then we were stuffed anyways

After dinner we perused the night market, but I didn't buy a thing! I know, I know, you don't believe it...but I knew we'd see similar stuff in Bangkok and Chaing Mai, so opted not to lug it by train...

The next morning we took a taxi across the Penang bridge instead of the ferry, as it was more convenient that lugging luggage around.

as you can see, we have too many suitcases, but what's one to do for 4 months?

We caught the train from Butterworth, Malaysia to the border town of Pedang Besur. The demarkation into Thailand was a sign and you could just walk across - EXCEPT for immigrations control. There was only one station, so we waited for 2 hours in the heat and humidity until passport control was ready for all the folks that wanted to ride the train to Hat Yai (the first town in Thailand and about an hour away) The we got in line and qued for almost another hour until it was our turn. The sweetest sound I have ever heard it the thump/clunk of a stamp on my passport. I was assured 3 times that the commuter train had a/c - it did when we boarded, but I think they turned it off when we started going. Sweat was rolling down my face and B's t-shirt was drenched. It was stressful because we had to get to Hat Yai and find the office which was holding our pre-purchased First Class (with a/c) ticket to Bangkok on the overnight train. We had begun our trek at 1030am and finally arrived in Hat Yai, Thailand at 5pm. Finding the shipping office was easy and we got our ticket no problem. Had to wait outside in the heat again for an hour but at least it was in the shade with a slight breeze.

Commuter train to Hat Yai

folks in Asia always pose for pics so here is B in Malaysian commuter train

When we boarded our first class compartment, I was ecstatic -it really was a/c... then we realized it had no adjustments and was really cold...lol! Just imagine Texas in 100* weather, then going into the movies in shorts, a t-shirt and sandals...lol! I swore I wasn't gonna complain about being cold, but really glad I bought a shawl to use as a blanket... The train had a dining car which was accessible 3 cars down and served typical Chinese fair. It was filling and fit the bill - our conductor made up the room into beds while we were eating.

overnight train into Bangkok

our first class accommodations - a little tight with all the luggage, but overall cozy

"alarm clocks" for sale along the tracks outside of Bangkok

We arrived safely in Bangkok after a 12 hour train ride, but experienced weird taxi drivers. First one refused to take us cause he didn't understand destination, the 2nd one cause he didn't like English and the 3rd cause he said we had to many suitcases. It was frustrating and hilarious at the same time. We finally negotiated with an independent driver who had his own van and spoke decent English. Have arrived at Holiday Inn Silom, unpacked and went our to reconnoiter and get our daily foot massage.