After more than two splendid weeks, it was time to say goodbye to Malaysia. The country is a fierce contender for a top spot on my list of favourite countries. It is easy to travel in but is significantly less touristy than Thailand (at least concerning western tourists). The locals have been open and friendly and the food was as diverse as good. I wanted to spend the second half of my trip in Thailand and my stay in George Town was meant to be just a stop-over on the way there.

This place is a food Mecca. Chinese, Indians and Malays compete in dishing out the largest variety of delicacies and you can’t walk 100m without coming across something yummy. The streets are very busy but fortunately the place has a nicer flair than the really big cities. It reminds me of Melaka in several ways (including the ever-present open gutters, yuck). Yesterday evening two travellers from the hostel and me took the ferry over to the mainland for some sunset photography.

On my last day in Kota Bharu I spent a lot of time at the local franchise of a big international fast food chain, trying to use their internet for my travel plans. It was horribly slow though and the location rather noise, resulting in me deciding to leave the next day and doing the preparations elsewhere. In the afternoon Nik took me for a ride around town. We stopped at a Chinese temple that features one of the biggest Buddha statues I’ve seen so far.