panang curry

I left Phi Phi early on Monday morning and was absolutely dreading the boat over to Phuket. Sea sickness en route to an island full of prozzers and Germans.

My pessimism was well placed. The ferry journey was rougher than a docker's arse after 12 pints, and I thanked God that I had stayed sober the night before and avoided enduring this hungover. Fortunately, it only takes an hour and a half to get to Phuket, and upon arrival I was easily able to get a taxi to the airport.

The one hour flight down to the Malaysian island of Penang was, by contrast, comfortable and enjoyable. Our plane drew high above the clear blue skies, which afforded stunning views of the archepecho of islands that make this such a popular part of the world.

As we started to hover over Penang, I was struck my how incredibly modern it looked. Modern high rised buildings towered over the clear blue sea of the harbour, and it reminded me of Sydney from this position.

On the ground, the capital of Penang - Georgetown - appears very different. It is a fascinating ethic mix of Chinese and Indian - with a lot of old colonial British architecture thrown in to boot. After checking into my hotel, I meandered around the Chinatown area and did what the otherwise annoying Rick Stein recommended in his recent cookery tour of the far east, and visited a street stall for lunch. I ordered what looked like a kind of breaded chicken, which was covered for me in a rich curry sauce and served on a red plastic plate. It looked utterly uninviting, but I have to say it was absolutely delicious. The spices and tastes were unlike anything I had tasted before, and probably never will do in a restaurant in the UK.

Penang has quite a reputation for its food. It was the place from which spices were sent back to the East End docks of London in the days of Empire. Indeed the island thrived as a centre for international trade throughout the 19th century.

Keen to see more of the area's colonial heritage, I went for an afternoon drink in the famous Eastern & Oriental Hotel, which was a favourite haunt of Noel Coward and Rupyard Kipling. It is an incredible place boasting a vast marble reception hall, a garden that would not look out of place at Chequers and the opportunity to take traditional afternoon tea. I opted for a G&T, which was quite reasonably priced. Sadly a room for the night was not.

After my civilised drink, which was accompanied by a pretty uncivilised conversation with an American guy at the bar about whether or not I slept with Thai girls while I was on Phi Phi, I went for a walk round some of Georgetown's other colonial sights. Then I ventured into the city's Little India district in search of more gastronomic delights, and I was not to be disappointed. Street after street saw scores of little stalls all cooking up lovely looking meals there and then. I strolled around drinking mango juice before buying bag loads of samosas, rotis and the like to take back later.

After a quick few beers, I then headed back to my clean and pleasant hotel. It couldn't be a late one as I had to be up early to catch (another) boat to the island of Langkawi. However, it had still been a highly enjoyable day strolling round a place of such bustle and colour.