Langkawi

From Penang we caught the ferry to another island, Langkawi, further north. The main attraction here is that it's a duty free island, so the hefty taxes levied on alcohol in the rest of Malaysia thankfully don't apply here. The rainy weather precluded much activity, but we did while away some time at the local aquarium.

This is a leafy sea dragon, and I've never seen anything quite like it. It's like a cross between a seahorse and a strand of seaweed.

Penang

Our first stop in Malaysia was the island of Penang, and its capital Georgetown. There's not a lot going on there, but there are some lovely beaches (see above). There's also a funicular railway to the summit of Penang Hill, which gives a good view of Georgetown and the coast (see below).

Make a proper photo face, dammit!

Better.

Medan

Our visas were running out fast, so after Jakarta we had to skip straight to Medan on the north coast of Sumatra in order to hop across to peninsular Malaysia. Medan is nothing spectacular, but the 56-hour bus trip we had to endure to get there was an experience in itself. Even by Southeast Asian standards our driver seemed a touch unhinged, a general impression he conveyed increasingly over the 18 hour shift he drove, seemingly without sleeping (unless he had a power-nap at the wheel with a brick on the accelerator). Tailgating and overtaking on blind corners are the hallmark of the Asian road user, but our driver really knew how to cut it fine. His favourite pastime was to overtake other vehicles as gradually as possible by driving ever so slightly faster than them, while playing chicken with the frequent oncoming articulated lorries. The sight of a truck-driver's cab looming ever larger until it practically filled the coach's front window, only for one or both vehicles to swerve violently with ten metres or less to go before head-on collision, drew soft cries of "ooh" and "aah" from the Indonesian passengers, the kind of noises you normally feel compelled to make at a low-budget firework display. There was one woman sat at the front who seemed genuinely distressed, although this only served to egg the driver on.

Jakarta

Another capital city! Jakarta is huge, hot and humid. We grappled with the crowded and confusing public transport system a few times but only succeeded in being driven round the block and back to our starting point in a bus packed like a sardine tin. At least Medan Merdeka park, featuring the huge Tuga Monas independence monument, was in walking distance of our hostel.

Surabaya

We flew from Lombok to Surabaya, one of Java's smoggy, teeming cities. There wasn't really a great deal to do apart from hang around in air-conditioned shopping malls all day, feeling a bit like bratty American teenagers in the process.

After killing a few days doing nothing in particular (pictured above), we cut our losses and took a train across Java to Jakarta.

Al's tattoo

Back on Lombok, Al decided to get her wrist tattooed by a local artist. He drew the design directly onto her wrist in pen, then inked over it there and then. I thought I'd capture the process on camera.

Al with Putu, the tattoo artist.