Their willingness to pick-up and drop-off interesting looking boxes on the way suggested we were not the only goods. And then it’s on to Penang.

George Town, on the island of Penang, is a great little place. There’s a high Chinese population, an old colonial feel, and it all seems to be fairly laid back (at least, as south-east Asia goes). Perhaps this is what Singapore could have been like in a parallel universe.

Penang has a few notable attractions. One is the precipitous railway up the top of the hill, covered with beautiful colonial residences that appear to have been lifted in from leafy Surrey. Try not to think about the astonishing phenomenon of the British empire when you’re sipping tea in an English country garden looking out over the Malay straits…

Another is a temple draped with soporific snakes (whose main role appears to be photographic rather than at all religious):

Finally, George Town is known for its food. Vibrant dining courts, a multicultural blend of cuisine, and, ah – fabulous satay on the streets.

And it’s en route to one such court that we stumble onto a (fairly gratuitous, it seems) street parade, complete with child-scaring dragon.

Not to mention, more curiously, a troupe of acrobatic flag throwers.

A super town and a few great days.