Day 40 - Travel to Penang, Malaysia

Unfortunately when we arrived at the airport our flight had been delayed to 3:30pm so we had some time to kill.  I was actually a little shocked at how graphic and scary the anti-drug signs were in the airport - basically they were guaranteeing life in prison or a death sentence to anyone who tries to smuggle drugs in/out of Thailand!

Once we were on board it was an easy two hour flight to Penang, Malaysia! 

We noticed right away that there were a lot of women in burkha's as we arrived and the atmosphere in the airport was a lot more subdued than in "anything goes" Thailand.  Wallets full of ringgits, the local currency, we noticed during the cab ride into town that there were a lot of small bars and restaurants along the road, and even some slum areas.  About 20 minutes later as we pulled into Georgetown, there were a ton of motorbikes instead of tuk tuks!

Our hotel, the Bayview (no view of the Bay but we were on the 15th floor), happened to be hosting a wedding in the ballroom so you can imagine the scene in the lobby...more than six hundred guests were arriving!  We checked out the gym and pool and then happened to spy the bride greeting her guests as they arrived at the ballroom; she looked beautiful but totally overwhelmed, with no groom in sight!

Feeling hungry we wandered down the road and decided to try the Jaya Indian restaurant, which had one of the most enthusiastic waiter/managers I have ever met - he recommended so many different things to us and was so friendly to Tyler, then realized he had Ty confused with a different customer!

After eating our weight in curry and nan we went right to bed - not much nightlife on a Sunday in a muslim country ;-)