Saturday 30 November Pulau Penang

We arrived in the Jerejak anchorage off Penang at 5 o'clock last night. Jejerjak is an island half a mile to the east of the south part of Penang island which offers a calm and sheltered anchorage. Last night we anchored south of the Butterworth bridge (13kms long linking Penang to the mainland) off the Harbour Master marina and went in to see the harbour master this morning to ask if we could leave our dinghy on one of their docks when we came ashore. No problem to do that and the fee for access and anchoring was Rm1 per metre per day. If they'd meant length of dinghy no issue but they were charging us to anchor the big boat which we declined on principle.

Anchorage spot no.2 was 500m south off the Jerejak ferry jetty. Here we asked the owners of the jetty if we could leave our dinghy and they said yes, of course we could as long as we left clear access for the ferries. How very kind and the bus stop in to Georgetown was right across the road. In reality bus stops are wherever you want them to be – flag one down and it stops to pick you up and only Rm2 (40p) fare for a smart air conditioned bus.

Georgetown is another UNESCO world heritage site; a mix of British colonial, Chinese, Indian and Malay buildings. The old town centre must look much as it did 100 years ago because where Singapore knocked down and redeveloped, Georgetown developed outside the old town. In the famous Chulia Street, famous in the back packing world for budget hotels and eateries, we had a delicious Indian curry for lunch before wandering the narrow streets making discoveries at each corner. It is a town where each turn brings a new delight. In a street of two storey terraces, shops below, accommodation above there are artisan at work, colourful Chinese lanterns, perhaps a Chinese temple and a short way further along a Hindu temple.

Queen Vic clock tower

Chinese clan jetty

Our wanderings brought us to the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee clock tower which is looking a little sad and in need of some repairs and on to Fort Cornwallis built by Captain Light in the 17^th century to defend the port. A legacy of the Brits when ships and sailing ruled the world. We did a tour of the fort and admired the cannons and views across the Straits.

Retracing our footsteps back to the bus terminal we stopped off to look at the Welds. The Welds are Chinese clan jetties. A different family own a series of houses on stilts which project over the water close to the ferry terminal. The area in front of them is known as the Junk anchorage and we could have brought Jackster here. Coming to have a look we felt happier to be anchored in Jerejak. While this is undoubtedly in the heart of the town it's a compromised spot; fishing boats from Thailand and Burma tie six abreast on long lines, the ferries produce wash as they come in and out and to reach shore you can either take your dinghy and tie to one of the clan jetties with it's crusting of razor sharp oyster shells or wait for a boat boy to taxi you ashore. And when the tide goes out smelly mud is exposed to fragrance the air. Happy we made the right choice for us we wandered through the houses which are open for everyone to look inside. Strange to have these large houses built on a platform with regular metal fences, sofas in the yard and full electric and running water. Not sure what were the provisions for waste water.

street market

Chinese temple

Kenny, world record champ

It was late afternoon by now and we weren't quite ready to go home. Following our noses up one street we were rewarded with finding some great interest shops; antique toys, an artist lady making batiks, a local flea market where David found a pair of binoculars with any lenses for sale. Who would buy those? Around the net corner were small art galleries in original houses, clothes shops and coffee shops. It was while we were having a coffee and cheesecake we discovered the Saturday night street fair with live performances was about to begin. Watching the world walking past we met Kenny who was about to perform that evening with nunchukas (martial art weapons derived from rice flails during the Boxer wars. Two truncheons joined together by a length of chain and banned in the UK). Kenny was proud to tell us he is the first Penang person to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records. His skill? Swimming in shallow water. To set the record he swam 150m without touching the bottom in 14 inches of water. The technique, which he showed us on a clip on his phone, was lying on his back and using only his arms progress feet first to cover the distance in less than 10 minutes. Who ever thinks of these records? Perhaps you propose a challenge and the GBOWR says yes or no to whether they think it worth recording. We can now say we've met a record holder, and the only one in Penang.