Beach BBQ

Today we met up with Brendan, a friend of Shirley and Carl's, who is from Penang and wanted to take us out to show us some of the sights and taste some of the best food. He met us at the hotel around lunchtime and we went straight to a small chinese restaurant that specialises in chinese style roast pork, duck, chicken and bean curd. I thought that the roast pork and duck we had eaten in KL was good, but this was something else [Tim, you would have stayed and eaten this until you burst!!].

After lunch we decided to go to a buddhist temple which Doug assured us was the only 'touristy' thing worth doing in Penang. The temple is one of the largest in the whole of Asia and was very impressive. It is built on a hill side and separated into several levels the highest of which you have to take a cable car to get to. As well as being in awe at the number of huge golden statues, the views across Penang from the top were incredible and something you could not see from any other part of the city.

The supermarket was the next stop to pick up supplies for the beach barbeque Brendan was planning. Half a tonne of food was purchased at the massive cost of three quid per head, and then we went back to the hotel for a quick swim and shower before going to the beach.

Brendan is a bit of an expert at beach barbeques and produced bricks, wire mesh and charcoal from the boot of his car before telling us to get digging. Half an hour later the pit was dug, the fire was lit and the first batch of chicken satay was on the go. A four hour food fest followed with sausages, burgers, chicken satay, prawns, squid, sweetcorn and fish balls all on the menu. We ate, drank and watched crabs running around like mad trying to catch food in the waves until the small hours when we went back to the hotel.

No beach barbeque would have been complete without someone getting wet, and it was Charlotte who was unfortunate enough to have a bag full of ice cold water poured on her head. She was then soaked again while trying to get revenge on Ken for what he had done as Doug filled a bag with sea water and threw it over both of them. I stayed dry so it was all just amusing in my book! Charlotte seemed less impressed.

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