The Northam All Suite Hotel Georgetown

... Why film a building? I mean if you want to pan and get the whole thing in, fair enough, but this guy was just standing there filming a small building as if it was going to get up and start wandering about. <br>I felt like smacking him in the mouth, but perhaps that was the miserable weather. Other than that I remember feeling suddenly tired, and I remember my bored mind generating a random movie clip of some nice boobs jiggling in my face with a 'Ye ...

In the morning I began my lengthy trip to Ko Tao by getting a speedboat at 8am back to Kuala Besut on the mainland. Depite Ko Tao being off the east coast of Thailand, it's necessary to go all the way west to Penang and then cross the border there, as apparently there's some dodgy stuff going on around border in east Thailand, and the British Foreign Office advises against travelling through it. I joined a bunch of people and we all ...

... some families to buy, some children travel by red tail boat daily to get to the school where there are about 200 pupils. It was striking to see the value placed on education despite the fact that there are very few options beyond primary school and the jobs on the island are very limited.<br><br>At the end of our time in Thailand here are some observations we have noted down - <br><br>1 - Pursuit for excellence <br>2 - Eye for detail<br>3 - Desire to serve, this is ...

... my curry preparation techniques. I&#8217;m always eating curry at restaurants, be they Thai, Indian or Malay, either looking for inspirations for new ways to cook the stuff at home, or just to partake in the sheer bliss that is a perfectly balanced blend of spices rolling across the tongue.<br><br>Red, yellow, green, doesn&#8217;t matter: I love curry, full stop.<br><br><br><br>So, when I ...

... to our room. As with KL, first impressions were somewhat overwhelming &#8211;opulent living room area, enormous separate bedroom, and bathroom, showerroom an toilet, with "his" and &#8220;her&#8221; sinks. And then there was the view from te window- the Straits of Melaka, fringed with palms.<br>. <br><br>Hunger pangs needed to be assuaged, so what better remedy than tiffin in the 1885 Restaurant?<br><br>The full monty here &#8211; a range ...

... Also one or two who in all honesty just seemed completely mad, waving their arms around and muttering to themselves etc. Quite sad really. Anyway, we sat in the bar chatting for a bit. As he was South African, I played it safe and avoided politics, sticking to less controversial subjects such as great white sharks and slipping standards within British education. Then it was toodloo, nighty night, and I never saw him again. Cheerio Clint, happy diving.<br><br>

... After packing about 40 people into a carriage made for 20 we made our ascent to the top. Penang Hill actually comprises a group of six peaks and the highest point is 833 metres above sea level. By the time we made it to the top, the cloud was well upon us but we managed to get a couple of decent shots of the stunning view before we were beaten and sulked down the path toward the funicular. Penang has revitalised me, next stop Kuala Lumpur.

... berths (essentially a corridor of bunkbeds on a train carriage) were very cosy, I didn't enjoy the constant feeling of being about to derail, while Dan was busy fretting about our belongings. So it was a disoriented and slightly ratty pair who disembarked at Butterworth station at 5am on the 4th March. The early morning ferry to the western island and 6am bus slipped us through the rain and the dark fairly peacefully that morning, leaving us in Georgetown's Chinatown in ...

... this more deeply when I visited the mosque and asked one of the brothers if the Muslim's and Hindu's lived happily together so close to each other and the reply was that at times ...

... the night market, sat on the beach and watched the horses for a while, and then went and had tea in a local restaurant while the market came to life. Listened to jazz versions of favourite hymns whilst eating tea. Rather long and varied market where the speciality was watches, sunglasses and CDs. Bought ourselves fake Rolexes, a DVD for Brendan and some knick-knacks for Mandy to give away as ...