Well, we eventually left for Penang at 6am on Sunday, 29 January.

The drive took just over 5 hours, but I slept most of the way due to the fact that I had been awake since 12pm on Saturday, 28 January.

We arrive in Penang shortly after 11am and went to drop our bags off at my friend's Grandfather's house.

After, we headed to town so we could get a bite to eat before we began our ascent to the Kaloksi Temple to see the Statue of Avalokiteshvara.

We ordered a variety of dishes from various food stalls. I settled for duck rice which came with cabbage. Was a really good dish.

After, we headed over to the Kaloksi Temple. The experience began when we had to start climbing, what seemed like, endless stairs ... weaving through low, covered areas where people were selling trinckets, t-shirts, key rings and other collectables.

It seemed like an endless flight of stairs when we began our ascent, and thankfully that was broken by the lift, however, when we reached the summit, there were even more stairs!

I have probably never walked up (or down) so many stairs in my life ... even on the London Underground!

About half-way up, we stopped to feed turtles before heading up to a lift (of sorts) so we could head up to the summit of the mountain to reach the temple an surrounding out buildings.

The weather was hot and humid, so walking up the stairs took its toll, but it was worth the experience.

The statue at the summit was ginormous, and was surrounding by carvings and other statues.

It seemed like our descent was a quicker, less effort-intensive experience ... probably because we were heading down and momentum and gravity were helping?

After this experience, we headed to a few food markets to get a quick bite to eat ... which included Spring Rolls and a couple of crispy, fried items.

We then went to Bawah Ke Atas to take a train up Penang Hill to reach Dua Hala.

The train that ascends the hill was built in the 20's and has, very recently, undergone an upgrade.

I filmed the ride up the hill, which definitely combated my vertigo!, to capture the full experience. The video clip probably won't give a full indication of the inclination of the train track, but will definitely let one experience the ride.

Once at the top, we were able to take photos of the endless vista of Penang. It was humid and hot, so parts were hazy, otherwise an amazing view.

We encountered monkeys on our walk and got to watch how people who were feeding them were chased by the Alpha Male, who eventually resorted to rummaging through a bin to find a Starbucks Coffee cup, which he promptly ripped open and drank the remaining contents.

There was also a female monkey with baby in tow ... and another monkey who got a rather large apple and starting devouring it in the spot.

We then walked around the grounds of the temple before heading back to the train to head back down the hill.

We then headed home so I could take a nap and my friends went to dinner with their family.

At 11pm my friends came back and woke me so we could head out to Sixty9ine Mansion, a club in Penang, so we could sit on the beach and relax a bit.

I sat on the beach enjoying an Orange Juice and watching the ocean lap the shore.

At about 1:30am on Monday, 30 January we headed back home to catch some sleep before another big day ahead of us.

I'll try update y'all again soon.

Ciao,
Michael