I’d slept through another pause in travel for mechanical issues in the night but woke before breakfast. My jeans were only a little damp from the day before, so I dressed in my other pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The train had traveled overnight and stopped at Butterworth, so that we could catch a ferry to Penang Island and George Town. It was a hot and humid walk to and thru the ferry terminal; once again, I was sweating a lot. There were enough of us going to George Town that we had a private ferry ride. I’d selected the Free and Easy in George Town excursion several months ago. It had been a hard choice: There was a cooking excursion which started from the local markets and went through to making meals with local recipes and spices for a local charity. There was also an art and artistry excursion to meet artists and talk about their work. For the excursion that I selected, the Free and Easy in George Town, you were given a map, a trishaw – think bicycle attached to a rickshaw – and a trishaw driver. You could go wherever you liked, just be back in time to catch the ferry back to the mainland. I was happy with my choice since it meant that I did not have to move much in the heat. And it was very hot and humid in sunny George Town. George Town has been the melting pot of cultures and traditions for centuries. Multiculturalism is woven into the very fabric of the city, earning it the designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Town,_Penang). 

George Town was very interesting to see: the famous street art murals, temples of many cultures, food stalls and shops of many cuisines. I was sitting in the trishaw, in the sun, excessively sweating with my driver peddling away in the back. It was hot, hot, hot – even my driver was feeling it. I had no appetite for food, coffee, tea or pastries – all things reported to be really good in George Town. My poor driver would have gotten a break from peddling, if I had been more interested in shopping or eating. Instead, he peddled me around town to show me good places for photos and street art.

We returned to the ferry building early to escape the heat;  inside the ferry building, it was air conditioned – drier, a little cooler and shaded from the sun. I spoke with the fellow who’d organized the local Penang excursions. I learned that the unusual heat was making even the locals move slowly, if at all. I asked how he came to work for this touring company. He said that he had been working for a large tourism agency, organizing and managing large group tours, when he had a heart attack. He was able to get the care he needed locally and recovered after losing about 30 kg. Now he was helping to organize smaller tours and excursions less frequently – less stress and more time for his grandchildren. As more people arrived, I found myself talking to a couple who were in the hospitality industry. They were on vacation and had gone into town on Vespas with drivers, stopping to visit and talk to artists. They’d had fun but it was just too hot. Eventually, everyone returned to the ferry terminal building; we took the ferry back to Butterworth, then walked through the terminal to the train. Once again, I had to shower, wash some laundry and dress in dry clean clothes before lunch. At this point, I was just hoping for hotel laundry facilities in Singapore or Perth, at the latest.

I had lunch with Sally, Victoria and Ann – a delicious vegetarian pot au feu followed by curried cod. Again, I retired to my cabin to rest before dinner, but I already knew that I would have little interest in eating later. I had discovered that the observation car and bar were the next car over from my cabin, much closer to me than the piano and dining cars, four or more cars away. Since most people were having dinner, I had the observation car to myself, except for the staff ready to serve me cocktails and snacks. Negronis with the rocking of the train, scenery passing by and a good book… it was a perfect time. Vishnu came by to offer another light dinner of chicken and salad which I had in the observation car. After dinner, I was joined by Sven and Nicolette of Berlin; they were perhaps the youngest people on the trip, certainly the youngest I met. I had to ask why Berlin had seemed so bland and quiet when I was there. They said that the city really doesn’t come alive before the evening; exactly when I was in my hotel settling in for the evening. Sven was a sci-fi fan and we started comparing notes on what we thought of various movies and sci-fi series. When I asked Nicolette what books she liked, she said that she liked Agatha Christie. I had to recommend that she start reading Dorothy Sayers novels in order. The three of us talked for a good while before they went to hang out on the open air part of the car – they were continuing travels in Asia after the train and wanted to get accustomed to the heat. I returned to my cabin. At that point, I have to admit that I was too tired and too sore to read or write. I went to bed thinking that, as Vishnu had predicted, I was just getting settled into the routine of the train when the trip was due to end the next morning.