Penang, Monday - We arrived yesterday at this very pleasant island, once an English outpost and a stone's throw from Butterworth airfield on the Malaysian mainland. It's another currency and another electrical connection, this time they copy the British three-pin. Someone in Customs is going to query how much electrical wiring, plugs and connections I have to carry around.

I was sad to leave Bangkok with its familiarity and lovely people, always ready to smile and always trying to avoid offending. Here, in Malaysia, the predominant ethnic group appears to be Indians and quite a lot of Islamic people. Janet is not too impressed by the Indians, two of whom ran the first hotel we stayed in here.

It is billed as a heritage site and I booked as far back as May, 2007. It was the home of a famous scholar and administrator over a 100 years ago. I had visions of a large room with dark polished floor, lazy ceiling fans, shuttered windows, teak everywhere, maybe even mosquito netting. Instead, we were shown a closet with two thin beds pressed tight together, no room to open a suitcase and the toilet only inches from the beds where one was to sit on the toilet to use the primitive hose shower. All this for RM100 (3.25 RM to the American dollar) a day. Janet was so tired (we were up at 4.30 am) that we agreed but while she slept I booked us in at a modern hotel opposite and later I negotiated to pay part of the booking. This is how a two-star hotel appeared to us as a five-star hotel by comparison.

The Malaysian Hotel, from our 8th floor window, looks out over Georgetown and the strait between us and the Malaysian mainland. It's a stupendous view, with a separate bathroom, good beds, air-conditioning and breakfast. Despite all that, it is really an old girl now but very welcome in the circumstances.

Janet's phobia for rats and mice, which I presume is well-known for she screams if she suspects a rat is anywhere within miles, was well-tested on our walk to the plaza last night, for there were rats in the streets. Janet's scream was so piercing and chilling that several rickshaw drivers upended their passengers in alarm. Luckily, Janet only saw two large rats but there were more. Now, she says she will not be comfortable at the Butterfly Farm in case one alights on her skin. This British lady reduces me to tears of laughter, unfortunately, with these reactions to tiny furry creatures, even yelping at the squirrels in the parks in Taipei.

Now we are off to explore Penang during the daylight, for Janet won't venture out at night anymore (wait until she gets to Hanoi!).