MMMMMALAYSIA!!!! - VISA RUN!!

Visa Run

Thinking I would cruise back to the 5 star spot, the Andaman Club for this visa run, swimming in the beautiful pool, maybe a spa treatment, I am informed that I must go to Malaysia as I have already had 3 stamps and must leave the country by tomorrow! WHICH MEANS I HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!!!!!! I am on the NBO (next boat off) the island and take the night train to Penang, Malaysia.

The Night Train

I get to the train station with plenty of time to spare. I walk around an pick up some snacks. I am so amazed at how comfortable Asian women feel in asking me how many kilos I weigh.
I keep seeing these rickety old trains and I am hoping that the one I will be on will be a tad more comfortable.

The train comes finally and is all set up for a night ride with the beds all laid out and curtains covering your bunk. I get a bunk on the bottom and being 5'10", the bunks are made for someone who is 5'5". The border crossing happens the next morning without a hitch and I am laughing and joking it up with some young people from America. We pull into Butterworth and it is exciting to be in another country with a different flavor.

I get there, get dropped off in the wrong neighborhood, my taxi driver would not admit he had NO friggin clue as to where I was going. After hiking around for the next hour in the heat (closer to the equator), I am so mad, I could nuke the whole island, I finally arrive at my destination. I walk into Bananas Guesthouse on fire and hear this "You must be Quinnette Free." Instantly I relax and calm down. Deano reserved a room for you with an air conditioner. I LOVE THE WELSHMAN!!!!!

Malaysia is beautiful, lush and green and Penang is an island off the mainland. The people are great and most speak English. It's an amazing mixture here, Chinese, Indian, Malay and a large ex-pat population from Japan and G. Britain. There is a lot of English spoken because the Brits of course "discovered" Penang.

There is a friendly fan club, people stare but with a smile. I SO DIG THAT!!!!! I head off to the batik place on the other side of the island and this is my chance to have sarong, AMAZON size! I love it here and SOOO could live here!

The beaches are OK, but not like Thailand. [I]Imagine: You have searched long and hard for the perfect bit of beach that is nicely secluded. You lay out your spread and blanket. You slather on suncream and lay back and close your eyes. You are awakened by someone walking on YOUR beach, only to open your eyes and see a 5 foot monitor lizard and his 5 foot lady lizard walking right past you. Slow strolling like they don't eat lizards in this part of the world!!!! I have pics HONEST, they will come later (when I get my laptop fixed!).

The whole visa run is big business in Asia, from the travel agencies who book your visa run to the people who do all the work. Here I hand over my passport when I check into my hotel and provide a passport size photo and pay them and they do the rest. They appear at the immigration office on your behalf and take care of everything. Although I will be lucky to get a visa extension considering in my passport photos I look like a "patient".

I hit the mall looking for a new power cord as my baby (Thinkpad) has a broken one and I see this is where everyone gets the latest and greatest of everything. Also I walk around the Indian section looking at saris. I feel I will know the one I want when I see it. It really is beautiful here. My visa should be back tomorrow and I will head out on the last train back to Chumpon.

One my way to the train I run into Alex and his girl doing their visa thang! I love him.

I am so happy to be back on the Koh words cannot describe. I feel like I am really home.