Overnight we sailed at 18 knots in order to make our next port of call, Georgetown or Penang. It was incredibly smooth sailing and after breakfast, I attended a presentation on EXC by KK. Based on this presentation which was not well attended, it seems that there's a return to the typical EXC format including story time. I also learned that shore excursions will likely return to that name from Explorations Central due to confusion about the name and EXC In Depth. I laud that decision.
We then attended a lecture by Kris on Phuket before adjourning to the Crow's Nest to watch the sail in. Our berth was occupied, so we had to wait for another ship to leave. It was interesting to see two tugs pull the small cruise ship away from the dock. Then our crew slowly guided our ship into its berth.
Carol assembled our group of twelve in the Ocean Bar and as soon as the ship was cleared we made our way off the ship and found our guide for the day, Lawrence. We boarded a small van across the street from the 60 foot leaning clock tower. We then headed over towards Chinatown where we boarded tri-shaw's like what we used yesterday except the design of these put us in front of the driver. And these tri-shaw's were not as elaborately decorated. We wound our way through Chinatown and little India before ending up at a large Chinese temple. After visiting the temple, we strolled through the city and spotted a number of pieces of street art including a famous bicycle painting.
Throughout the rest of the day we rode the funicular to the top of Penang Hill where we not only enjoyed scenic views, but also some unique monkeys and the world's largest squirrels with several foot long black tails. After descending the mountain, we re-ascended the mountain to a giant covered Buddha. Following that visit, we made our way to a Chinese stilted village which was really interesting with little shops and more street art before returning to the ship.
This Tours By Locals tour was excellent and I appreciated Laurence's use of a portable PA system.
Back at the ship we skipped dinner and attended the 7:15pm Insights talk where Terry Greenberg presented on Thai History with an emphasis on the real story of Anna & the King of Siam and why it's banned in Thailand. We ended the evening watching a very funny British comedian, Paul Adams. I've had a sore throat all day which has impacted my enthusiasm, but I continue to soldier on. We'll see what I'm like when we visit Phuket tomorrow.
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