Penang, Malaysia

(Nick) Eventually we made our way back to Surat Thani. We grabbed a songtow and asked the driver where to get tickets for the train. Then he took us to the ticket office. Where we almost got the last two tickets on that night's train. But... We needed cash. So the songtow took us to the ATM. Then took the long way around the block back to the ticket office, then we purchased the tickets. Then, the driver then took us back to Holly's place. At that point we had about 3-4 hours to pack, eat and refresh before boarding the bus at the ticket office in downtown Surat (at 9pm) which would take us to the train station on the other side of Surat Thani (about 30 minutes away). So I'm pretty grateful that we found a songtow (taxi) that made the transition easier/ possible for us even if we had to pay the exorbitant sum of almost $10...

Everybody got that? Okay we continue. 

(Holly) So anyway. We headed back to my place to simplify (i.e. ditch) any unnecessary luggage that would accompanying us and our next couple weeks together. We ended up with 2 standard-sized backpacks, the way to go if you ask me. 

(Nick) After trekking through the jungle with fifty pound packs of stuff Holly had me convinced that lighter is better when traveling in Thailand by any and all modes of transport available. There was a largely unspoken agreement at this point that we might not always look or smell our best throughout this trip. Lighter packs were worth it.
 



(Holly) We had some time before the bus ride to the train station. We did a double take on our luggage, locked the doors, my bike and we set off out on foot for the alley night market to get one last taste of Thai food for a while. 

(Nick) We ended up with the best Pad Thai in Surat served by a woman who had been perfecting her technique for what I guess to be the last 70 years or so. We also managed to throw a clear plastic bandaid on Holly's cracked phone. Hopefully it will hold it together and keep the cockroaches out of it's inards until she makes it back home. 

The chef herself.

Don't forget to squeeze the lime. Just 20 baht/plate on Talad Mai Road, right on the corner.

 

(Holly) My favorite seat under the curbside tarp. Right behind the power cords and within eyes reach of the wok.

(Holly) We were starting to cut it close on time to get to the ticket shop where we needed to catch our cheap, 60 baht each ($2), songtow ride to the train station (20-25 minute drive). I thought we were on one road, but really we were on its parallel. We made it, Nick chasing after me the whole way to our taxi ride. 

(Nick) I was only chasing her because the sandals that I was wearing were not built for running long distances... Over uneven or missing pavement. Actually even walking fast in them would probably be discouraged. But on the flip side we were already reaping the benefits of traveling light. 

(Holly) Sorry about that Nick, that was all my fault. It's hilarious now, right? Be that as it may, we arrived at the station with time to spare. I'm throwing those sandals way when I get back, sounded like he was slapping 2x4s on the pavement behind me. I had to keep checking behind me to makes sure it wasn't a pack of angry beavers on my tail.

(Nick) But we made it to the bus at the ticket office if only by the skin of our teeth. The ride over to the train station was interesting. We'll call it an open-air bus. We sat in the back talking to a seasoned Brit who currently called Cambodia home. He was traveling with some friends from South Africa and Chile. Interesting guy. 

(Holly) We spent some hours walking and talking. Nick purchased an ice coffee halal at a vender stall not far from the train station. We sat and talked until we felt like we overstayed our welcome in our plastic chairs, among the sparse, late local crowd.

From there we purchased some fruit at the Tesco Lotus Express (like a 7Eleven, but with produce) as well as some yogurt. Back to the train station we found ourselves. Yes, we were square in the middle of the low key action. We watched people and luggage pass back and forth, with a couple passerby trains making their ins and outs, people hanging out the windows taking in the night air and others sleeping in awkward positions. It's then that you become grateful and patient, waiting on your quieter, air-conditioned sleeper train. Even if it is well delayed.

While there isn't a single extravagant asset to the station, character isn't lacking. I had mentioned to Nick a certain women who collect baht at the entrance of the toilet stalls. I wondered if I would see her again. Yep, there she was and in the same state I recalled leaving her in some months ago, bobbing her head up in down in a semi-coma sleep with painted boldness about her face. She unknowingly got a smile out of us. Last time, I snuck in to just wash my hands and brush my teeth. This time, I paid the toll to use the works, but BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) in mind. Perhaps I just needed the full experience, paying my ten baht, squatting over a worn-porcelain basin, tossing water down the hole with a bowl, and walking away with wet flipflops under fluorescent lighting(skipping the Thai splash-and-go method). Baht well spent.

We sat on a worn wooden bench waiting for our ride. I felt as though we were characters in a the start of a movie scene. Would it be a horror, humor, romantic comedy, thriller, drama, documentary

 (Holly) Then we found a flick to share. Nick was thinking ahead. He loaded movies on my new computer (Ahem, he brought me a replacement for my 25 lbs, 2005 DELL) and brought a duo-jack for us to both plug in our head-phones. Romance was could not be mistaken. There we were sitting on a bench with our bags, teeth brushed, glasses on, ready for some Despicable Me amidst sleeping strangers. Cute? I think yes, I'd take this moment back. So much excitement to look forward to. We made it maybe 20 minutes into the movie when the train coasted in.

(Nick) This is not the skip over the fact that the train did arrive 2 hours late.. at 3am. It's just that we sort of expected that the train would be late.

(Holly) The night platform guard seeing to our tickets. He was eyeing Nick's ticket. I was watching from the side. The man spoke no more than numbers and destinations in English. Nick was struggling to understand what he was saying. I saw the need to take a picture.

 (Holly) Nick and I a hopped on separate cars as we couldn't get them nearer each other. As you can see in the photo, most passengers were already boarded. The train started in Bangkok and was making it's way south. I set my backpack at the foot of the bed. It was then that I realized I left Nick somewhere on the train. I had no idea if he got to his bed ok and I didn't even have a chance to say goodnight to him. There I was alone, in the presence of sleeping strangers, separated by berth and car from my American lover. When would I see him again..

 (Holly) And behind curtain number 35.. my bed. I had the upper berth, complete with a pillow, sheets, a curtain, and air-conditioning. 

 (Holly) With little sleep I found and early sunrise over the rice patties. I wondered if Nick was still sleeping. I had a mess of thoughts going through my head. I took a look outside and started to get more eager about the trip. The rice patties, livestock, and passing towns were just how I remember with the exception of the lack of political campaigning flags. I recall thinking, I wonder if Nick is taking this all in? Was he awake? Did he know what cart or seat I was in? Should I go find him? Is he lost and crying somewhere, alone? Surely he's awake, over half the train is up and jiving.

(Nick) Everybody calm down. I was not lost and crying somewhere, alone. Everyone take a long deep reassuring breath before we continue. Things will work out alright for our daring adventurers.

(Holly) Beside myself with worry and dread.... I decided to sit down, knowing there would be a good chance he'd come find me. Time went by and there was no Nick. So I set out down the carts. I made it down two jumping, swinging railcars skipped past the dining cart, and then another cart.

All but a few curtains were still down. I wondered which one was his. I started catching eyes from down other passengers and started to get paranoid I was going to open the curtain of the wrong passenger. And yes, he was still sleeping. I found him dreaming away through the commotion and motion of the train. I'll admit a certain amount of jealousy hit, but didn't last long. Too much excitement ahead.

(Nick) Either in jealously or excitement. She woke me up. Then left before I was fully cognoscente of where the hell I was. ((Holly: haha, this just made me laugh out loud)) At this point I felt lost and alone. I may have teared up. But instead I just put my shirt on and went out to find the missing girl.

If you haven't seen Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" you should. Exact same situation as I was dealing with. Except that story lasts for a few hours and it only took me about a minute and a half to find the tall mysterious white girl on a train full of Asians. But I was getting hungry which only served to intensify the emotional roller coaster I was on.

Editor's Note: Please remember to keep breathing as you read this harrowing story of love, loss and mystery. We value our readers in the hopes that they will continue to read our honest retelling and gross exaggerations alike. Please take a breath now to compensate for any that may not have been taken while reading the prior passage. Thank you. We continue.

(Nick) We had to get off the train on the border of Thailand and Malaysia to go through customs, which took about 30 minutes for the passengers continuing on through Malaysia. Incredibly they let us in after taking our photos and stamping our passports.

Hello Butterworth, Malaysia. Butterworth is the hub to get to our destination of Georgetown, Penang Island, Malaysia.

(Holly) "Nick were not in the right place." We are suppose to be in Butterworth.

(Nick) "What's that you said?  It was hard to hear while I had my head out the window."

(Holly) "That hair of yours is doing something for me. Mostly making me smile right now."

(Holly) He convinced me we were in the right place. However, we were with the wrong currency. All the money exchange outlets I banked on were closed. I thought maybe if we made our way to the ferry we would be able to find someone or a stall to exchange with. Nope.  The hunt for Runggit was on.

(Holly) If we marked our path it would have likely been in zig-zags and loops. But we did find an ATM.  

(Nick) Interesting it was in a large and throughly modern looking bank. And the man that helped us figure out the machine was dressed entirely in what I would best describe as looking like silk pajamas. 

It was a warm morning in Malaysia and we were happy to be heading in the right direction, our second attempt to the ferry.

 (Holly) Oh look, an island. Just a 7 minute ferry ride to a place I was very much excited for Nick to experience.

 Thank goodness we left our cows at home. There we were taking our next steps in Penang.

 The light is green and the race is on. Nick and I were crossing the bridge making way for the historic streets of Penang.

I decided that we could start our way back to one of my favorite streets in Penang, Muntri. Nick seemed ok with the idea.

There were on Muntri Street. This may be my favorite Chinese temple so far. The colors are beautiful and the inside is far from dull.

After several attempts to find a single room without unnecessary cost, we found a place.

 But we couldn't make it though to the evening without a taste Indian. We chose a great place and I got some handsome company.

 Aloo Gobi, Chicken Tikka Masala, and garlic naan.

 Nick and I did some walking around town and stolled in and out of a few shops.

 Nick bought me a tattoo.

We  stumbled on some street dancing. Clip: Deepavali Street Dancing

 We stubbled on some street excitement. The start of Deepavali 2013.

 There was lots of color, people, and excitement.

 On our way back to our stay, I decided to head down our street to see if I could get re-acquainted with friend, Rauf, I met months prior. It was pretty fun and Nick got to meet him as well. Rauf is one fun guy! I hope I run into him again someday :)

Yes, more Indian food. 

We did some walking and found Penang Street art.

 

Oh look, an open swing.

 As we meandered around town, we made a stop at a little pier.

 Nick has some good ideas. He mentioned that we lacked photos together this year.

I spotted something on our way from the pier. A huge monitor lizard.

In the evening we made some friends. The man on the left happens to be a Japanese artist known for his large industrial designs throughout Asia. He recently settled in Penang. As Nick and I headed back to our hotel, this guy flagged us in. He wanted us to enjoy some beers, on him. The whole ideas was to get others locals and tourists to sit down and simply enjoy each others company. It was truly a good time.

Mosque

 We made a friend on our walk around town. This man was from China who lives in Penang. We discussed international politics for a bit. It's amazing how much people on the other side of the world know about the political situation in the US. And at that moment the US was phasing through government shutdown.

 Malay Street vender.

 Preserved fruit shop.

 Walking the streets of Georgetown, Penang.

 Love this historic buildings. Lots of British influence.

 An old cemetery, sailors, settlers, and missionaries.

Lots of beautiful vegetation.

Beautiful colors and blossoms.

 (Holly) This was so much fun. So glad we found him again in our brief visit.

Before leaving we ran into Rauf, one last time. Karma, right? Anyways, he told both Nick and I that it was the time and day to do a reading on Nick.

 Getting ready to board our train for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I had to make sure this guy found his way to his bed. Lucky for me I didn't have to go to far to find him this time. He was right across the aisle from me.