One last island...

From Malaysia's far North West, we took at ferry down the coast to the island of Penang, for a few days in the city of Georgetown. The trip got off to a bad start when ended up floundering at sea after our ferry's propeller got caught in a fishing net (one day after a tourist ferry sunk doing a similar trip); getting pounded side on by a few largish waves got the adrenaline flowing.

But the fright was worth it as Penang proved to be a great destination, with a well preserved colonial heritage and a melting pot of religions. Plus, some extraordinary eats - king of which was the Nonya cuisine that is supposedly at its best on this island, and which for us were definitely amongst the tastiest dishes in Malaysia.

The view down our street, with colonial terraces in the foreground

No offence to the fine people at Nescafe, but coffee in Malaysia can be a bit so-so. No such problem in Georgetown as we found a couple of great cafes, with the requisite aircon cranked up high

No matter how sunny the morning, you could almost guarantee copping a mid afternoon downpour. It's important to plan to be somewhere interesting when you get stuck for an hour or so!

The brightly coloured houses of Penang's rich merchants of the past

We took another scooter excursion and found a great Buddhist temple in the centre of the island...

...and also this intricate multi-tiered Hindu creation

Baba-Nonya cuisine is a Malaysian adaptation of Chinese cuisine, with plenty of it's own unique taste combinations. We found a great restaurant run by three generations of Peranakan women - the food that night rated as some of our most memorable on the entire trip.

A little village on the main road around Penang sold the unique local version of laksa, without coconut milk but with crushed pineapple and mint. A sensational creation!

Don't worry, this guy wasn't on the menu...

A butterfly park at the far end of the island was a pretty diversion