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nine of them, varying in color from black to blonde, all in 
nice large cages with perches and bars £&rxfehKmxfc& overhead* They 
were parked outside the Captain 1 s cabin, and the Captain seemed 
to be fond of there already* One little pale golden one was 
very tame, and romped over the Captain 1 s bed and into his tea 
without being reprimanded* 
The Kedah is a fine small boat, trim and white and speedy* 
The Brownes were on board, and we all had dinner together - and 
a very good dinner, too, with button quail on toast. 
July 19 - 
It was pouring rain when we pulled into Penang, early in 
the morning * We went ashore and walked as far as the railroad 
station, stopping at the post office to send some letters and 
cables. Penang is said to be a beautiful island, but we saw 
nothing of it, except the arcaded front s of the office buildings 
near the wharf, the narrow passageways where we tried to walk 
to avoid the rain, and where we had to step over old men and 
women sitting on the sidewalk and spitting betel nut juice. It 
was easier to walk in the puddles of rain in the street. 
The railroad station is famous for having no trains in it. You 
buy your ticket at the office, and then go across the street and 
take the ferry over to Prai, on the mainland. 
The train left at 9.40 - a European- style train with 
compartments known as "cabins* and a good dining car, with Siamese 
stewards. We sat most of the day in the diner so that we could 
see the country on both sides of us. For an hour and a half 
we went through solid rubb er plantations - not a break except for 
an occasional small railroad station. There were four hours of 
Malaya - the districts of Kedah and Perils. After the rubb er 
come open plains and rice pswafas. Lunch was our first Siamese 
curry, which has an entirely different flavor from the curry we 
are accustomed to, perhaps due to the fact that the powder is 
mixed with coconut milk to make the sauce. 
Pa dang Besar is the border station, and polite customs 
officials came aboard the train. ?f Have you anything to declare? ?f 
?, No ?f said we, and he bowed and started away. "What is dutiable?* 
Bill asked, and learned that only fire-arms are forbidden, and 
only merchandise for sale is dutiable. The Customs man was 
followed by the Immigration officer, and Bill made him look at 
our unnecessary Siamese visa . A traveler can only stay in Si am 
thirty days without putting up bond, but as we have only a week 
there was no trouble on that score. He did want to know "How 
old your Missis?" 
All afternoon we watched the moving picture outside our 
car windows . A few plantations of young rubber showed that 
Si am has aspirations to compete with Malaya. Most cultivation 
was devoted to the inevitable rice. Buddhi st priests in gold- 
colored robes wandered through the rain, sometimes holding 
paper umbrellas over their heads. From time to time curious 
rocks jutted straight up out of the flat country, high cliffs 
against the gray sky, and toward evening we came into real 
mountain country, where a thi ck jungle spread on both sides of 
us, and the train needed an extra engine to push it up the 
steep slopes of the hills. Men and women on the station platforms 
