An old rattler of a bus brought us to the island of Penang, just off the west coast of Malaysia. We came not for the beaches but for colourful Georgetown. We spent a fascinating couple of days simply wandering around the towns' historic Little India and Chinatown areas. We had planned to work our way through northern Malaysia and into southern Thailand. We were a bit nervous due to daily terrorist activity in the area, but were determined not to be put off. When they set off bombs at the airport, train station and bus stations at Hat Yai, a place we had to pass through, we decided to fly from Penang to Ko Samui. Not as much fun, but safe! S