It’s all very old school, and I’m sure if I spent very long here I would begin to think Great Britain still had an Empire. If you are travelling on my route and you have a big bag (or better still a trunk), this is the place you need to get out your Panama hat and linen jacket..or better still, a pith helmet! The hotel even provides a batman, who is charming and wears a black bow tie.

I don’t have too long to linger here though, as Ian from The Tropical Expat blog is taking me out to show me round – and interview me – he tells me as we drink a cheap but cold beer at a nearby roadside den.

Dinner is hawker centre style, where we both end choosing Syrian food (that tasted great) washed down with icy Tiger. Beer here is quite a bit more expensive than the last couple of countries I have been in, and I’m adjusting to this – a big Tiger here costs at least RM16 (£3).

Ian invites me back to The Penang Club for a drink where we discuss rail travel. The Penang Club was established in 1868 as an expat enclave in a very Victorian sort of a way. It retains this feel today, albeit now amidst a very different Penang. Like me, Ian is into the adventure of big rail journeys, so a good chance to compare notes. If you would like to read the interview, here is a link

When I get back to the E&O I contemplate going to “Farquhar’s Bar” for a nightcap, but decide against it as I might not be able to stop myself saying things like “Stop throwing those bloody spears at me!”..