Returned to the Indian restaurant where we got a lovely meal a few nights ago in Tanah Rata and had another lovely meal. The French couple from the bus turned up, and immediately turned tail, and we hoped it was at least in part because they’d spotted us. And would end up having a vastly inferior meal elsewhere. Petty, but….
Then a decent night’s sleep in our decidedly modest hotel (it being a Friday night, the place was heaving with Malaysians out on a weekend jaunt), before catching the nine o’ clock bus to Butterworth. Or, as it eventually transpired, the arse end of nowhere on the outskirts of George Town, whence, we discovered, the next bus wasn’t for over half an hour. V, already fuming at the detour – having already planned the ferry & everything – managed to find a Grab cab for only 18 RM, so we got that instead.
And got a great ride and a bona fide slice of street theatre, in the form of our driver – an elderly, diminutive Chinese woman who could barely see over the steering wheel, and drove like a demon, shifting from lane to lane as the mood took her, while half-watching Malaysian MTV on the dashboard.
As we approached our destination, she insisted on knowing our exact destination, and then on driving us to the door. When we got to within what google said was barely three minutes walk, but a lot longer round the tangled one way system, we repeatedly asked to be let out so we could complete the journey on foot, but she was having none of it. “It too hot!” she kept insisting, and persevered until, sure enough, she could drop us directly opposite. V gave her a tip, which seemed to discomfort her, but she finally accepted it, with bowing and apologies, and headed back into the mad traffic.
And so we find ourselves in the Broadway Budget Hotel – a curious place, which turns out to be not quite as budget as touted, once various taxes have been added to the total on Booking.com. But we knew George Town was going to be pricey, it’s clean and comfortable, and the location’s excellent – right in between the Indian and Chinese neighbourhoods and a perfect base for sightseeing.
The ‘curious’ refers to the fact that on arrival we found no kettle, no cups, and strangest of all, only a bottom sheet and a blanket on the bed. Who wants a blanket next to their skin in any climate, but here….? Down at the front desk they seemed quite unfazed, and simply handed over on request a kettle, some cups, and a sheet.
Now we’re just taking a bit of quiet r&r, letting some of the intense heat fade out of the day before we venture out again, probably in search of night markets. Or perhaps something else…a bit of googling suggests there’s plenty to do hereabouts (including loads of street art, of which we’ve seen a few samples already), and we’ve three days to check it all out.