Arrived in Kota Baru

Blimey, what a bus journey!
Up at 7am for the 8:30 ferry from Georgetown on Penang, to the mainland, was the easy bit. The bus for the next leg of my marathon was scheduled for 10:45am, and they're almost exactly on time to be fair.
We headed east, hugging the Malaysia/Thailand border for most of the way. Sadly, the bus developed a problem - one of the toothed belts on the engine had either shed its teeth, or never had any in the first place. It took the two drivers ages too find a mechanic to fix it. But we still only trundled up hills..
The route was fantastic - good roads but through jungle, literally. The photos are along the journey - leaving Butterworth behind, jungle, and a lake about mid-way.
"Damn this endless jungle Carruthers."
If it hadn't been for the manager of a restaurant in Kota Bharu way-laying me and practicing his English (and Japanese) on me, I may never have reached the hotel from where I'm typing this.
The footie's on the big screen telly nearby.
Morocco v Portugal. Don't know the score.
Apparently, the England match is on at 3:00am local time tonight. Can't imagine stopping up that late to watch another England penalty debacle.Read more