Penang, Malaysia is an island. It is connected to the Malaysian mainland by two long bridges, the eight-mile long Penang Bridge, opened a number of years ago, and the just-opened Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge an even longer 15-mile structure.

Penang was the first British settlement on the Malay Peninsula (1786) and still contains vestiges of that colonial heritage in many of its shops, buildings, and the street layout. We decide not to take a guided tour and to just look around on our own. Good decision! It was hot and humid and there was a street fair in the main old town just a few blocks from where the ship was docked. Bonnier was in heaven – the fair celebrated the International Day of the Woman. There were food booths, street performers, demonstrations, and beautiful, friendly people. We found it interesting that we both mentioned at about the same time that in the stops we have made in Malaya, all of the people we have met have been so friendly and outgoing. Malaysia was, for us, a newfound treasure and we look forward to returning.

Yes, those are real knives. Talk about a leap of faith...

After working our way through the fair, we went back to the ship to cool off and have bite to eat. We did take the ship’s shuttle into town after lunch to see if we could find a refrigerator magnet, but they dropped us off at a major shopping mall and no magnets.

We boarded the next bus back to the ship and took some down time since we have Phuket, Thailand tomorrow.