MALAYSIA - Kuala Lumpur

The capital of Malaysia greeted us at the end of a bus ride from the Cameron Highlands. It was quite a busy time of year while we were there as it was Chinese New Year. We knew this was coming up and had therefore planned to spend it somewhere we thought would be quite interesting and lively. However many people started to inform us that it is a real family celebration and they expected KL to be empty! Never mind, we went anyway to see what would happen.

The first thing that is obvious in this part of the world when you get off the bus, which was a sharp contrast to the Cameron Highlands, is the heat. It can literally hit you as you enter it. The heat and humidity combine to form what can be a very uncomfortable atmosphere, one which you find yourself constantly seeking refuge. As we felt the heat eminate from the tarmac beneath us we sort relief in a nearby mall. This became a real recurring theme of our visit there, spending a limited amount of time outdoors. We did have the chance to see several interesting parts of the city, firstly and most obviously were the Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world. We got a ticket to go up to the skybridge and had to return for the experience later that day. Here they are!

...and the real ones!

Upon returning we got in a lift up to the bridge. It is approximately halfway up the towers and therefore does not have as good a view as one would hope for from one of the worlds tallest buildings.

During the day we visited other parts of the city including the Kuala Lumpur Tower. It was however a complete rip off to go up so we just looked at it from below.

Merdeka Square provided us with quite a surprise. A cricket pitch surrounded by the city. It is the location where the The Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan hoisted in 1957, consistantly making it the centre of national celebration. It is surrounded by incredibly diverse buildings including a cricket pavillion and church.

By keeping in contact with travel aquaintances we met on the way we were able to establish that some people we met in Beijing were in KL and we therefore met up with Eilis and John for dinner and a few drinks. After thoroughly confusing the lady splitting our bill 5 ways we headed our separate way on the monorail.

Fearing a mad transportation shortage at this celebratory time of year we booked a bus early. It turned out to be a very posh one which had armchair like seats with in built massagers. The journey past very comfortably apart from the interuption of border formalities entering Singapore.

MALAYSIA - Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands are the Highest region of the mainland and benefit from all year round reliable weather, never too hot, never too cold. Because of this it is also one of Malaysia's favourite tourist destinations for both people from home and abroad. The British also loved it because of the climate and the fertile mountains and saw the opportunity to turn the area into the largest tea producing area in Malaysia. It is also famous for the trecks that can be taken in and around the area and after checking into our very picturesque and friendly hostel we sampled the delights of the scenic pathways. We were a little taken back by the Englishness of the area, particularly when arriving at Ye Old Smokehouse, a Mock Tudor pub/tea room.

It was like we hadn't let the countryside of England. It overlooked the local golf course which looked like quite a test. We did some investigation and made the decision to have a round on what had been described as the cheapest round of golf in Malaysia.

It would have to wait however as the next day we went on a fantastic tour of the region, take in a rose producer and the views from their land, strawberry farm, honey farm, tea plantation and visitors centre and an insect and animal centre. It was a brilliant insight into the area.

We learnt a little about the strawberries that grow all year round thanks to the excellent climate, the tea manufacturing process from plant to useable leaves at their beautiful site with a stunning visitors centre building and saw first hand some of the creepy crawlies that inhabit the Malaysian countryside including the mighty Rhinoceros Beetle which is one of the largest beetles in the world. Other delights that Attenborough would have been salavating over were lizards, snakes, toads, frogs and giant insects including a 10-12inch grasshopper, stick insects and mantises.

Next day while Clem was having a quiet morning Karl and I had a much longed for round of golf, the first for over 3 months. It was an interesting round with some pretty shoddy rented clubs, but still very enjoyable in some fantastic weather. The course featured a lot of water which Karl visited many times and used many of our allotted 6 balls each. In fact we found ourselves on the last tee, quite an intimidating shot with only one ball left each, we managed to keep the balls in play and finished the round, Karl having lost 10 balls, however he does hold a pose well!

We caught a bus from the Cameron Highlands south. Next stop Kuala Lumpur.

MALAYSIA - Penang

Penang is a region of Malaysia on the west coast. The residents are made up of immigrants from predominantly India and China making it one of the best places to get a takeaway!

I have never been to a place where the people of such different backgrounds get along so well. It seems as though the world could learn a lot from them. Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Protestants, Catholics and many other religions all in one place all living happily and neighbourly. When we arrived however there was much going on. A fire had broken out at a nearby restaurant. We witnessed the fire spread to the next building and threaten many more. Some firemen were already there and more were on the way, however it was at this point that we realise how lucky we are with the emergency services in the UK. The whole situation seemed to be dealt with in a less organised manner, people were all over the streets surrounding the fire, in the way of all the services making everything a whole lot more difficult. We walked around the city on a very warm day and saw many of it's highlights. By the time we had returned to the hostel the fire had been extinguished without crossing over to more buildings. We headed down to Little India for a brilliant diner. It was a Naan Set which was made up of a naan, tandori chicken and three dipping curries/sauces. The meal was delicious one of my favourites of the trip to that point. On the way out I expressed some interest in the way that a man was making naans in the kitchen. I was invited in to take a look by some very enthusiastic staff. They were fantastic and showed and explained what they were doing. Great way to finish the day.

The following day we explored some more of the city including the incredible housing located on piers over the water's edge. The construction of the piers could be seen as nothing less than amazing. We walked out onto them seeing the water beneath through some large gaps between boards. I noticed that some of the pier was held up by concrete buckets. Buckets filled with concrete and then placed in position ontop of each other to form piles. With time some of the plastic had split or broken away leaving piles of concrete in various angular bucket shapes. Later we went up the cities lookout for sunset and to see the city at night. Although not quite as spectacular as Hong Kong it was still a great view, although we did have some interesting company in the form of some rather large spiders floating overhead on their webs around the street lights.

Next day we boarded a bus to the Cameron Highlands.

MALAYSIA - Lankawri

As we queued to board the ferry and have our passports checked a girl came up to me and asked us what country we were currently in. I replied with the answer but couldn't help thinking the same thing about the previous 3 months! ha.

I can honestly say that the ferry journey on the western side of the Malay peninsula was a lot better than those to and from Ko Toh. It was smooth and calm and i certainly didn't hear the slightest hint of a wretch.

Langkawri is a beautiful island with beaches of the most powdery flour like sand that feels excellent between the toes. It has one or two very popular areas including the area we stayed in which has restaurants fronting the beach. Other areas including the one we visited the following day, in a rented car, include large waterfalls and a view point at 800m up with incredible views. Linked to the viewpoint was an incredible curved bridge hung from one centrally located structure. It was however a slightly unnerving experience to cross it, so much so Karl decided to wait for us on one side. After, we continued our drive around some of the island and took in the scenery.

After Langkowri we got on yet another boat, this time to Penang.

THAILAND - Ko Toh

When we got off the train, the next morning, we were ushered quickly onto a departing bus, apart from myself who needed to go and get some cash, so i got on the back of another moped and the bus picked me up further down the road. The ferry journey we had next was appalling. Ignore what i said previously about the bus journey from Siem Reap to the Thai border being bad, this was another level. The ferry was thrown from side to side up and down so much that what must have been about quarter of the boat was being sick around us, all we could do was try and fall asleep and ignore the wretching. After the most unpleasent 3 hour journey of our lives, which would normally take 1.5 hours in good weather, we arrived to Ko Toh. Ko Toh is a world renown diving Island and reputedly the cheapest place to learn in the world, unfortunately for me and my very tight budget it was too expensive, but over the next 3.5 days Karl and Clem proceded to get their Open Water diving liscence, good on them! While they were back to school learning all about the underwater world, bouyancy etc i was relaxing, reading, padling and going for the occasional walk. On the final night Karl and I went for a drink in town. The plan was for a quiet one but a group of travellers saw the opportunity to get us involved in their night out. They bought us some more drinks and we stayed out till late. The next day we had to return to the mainland in order to travel across the country to the west and into Malaysia. Before this, however, we had to cope with yet another awful ferry crossing, maybe marginally better than the first. Then we got on train and then bus to the next ferry terminal on the West Coast. This ferry would take us over the border and into Malaysia to the island of Langkawi.

THAILAND - Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi is famous for one reason, it is the location of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai, however there is much to do in the area. It lies a couple of hours west of Bangkok. We stayed in an excellent guest house on the river and booked ourselves in for a day long tour the next day. The tour took in the Erawan Waterfalls, a 7 tierd waterfall, elephant riding, bamboo rafting and a trip along the Death Railway finishing with a look at the bridge itself. The whole day was fantastic and gave us a lot more than we thought we would get from visiting the town.

The next day we took a slightly complicated journey down to Ko Toh an island off the East of Thailand just north of Ko Pangnan and Ko Samuii. We got a bus halfway back to Bangkok then got off. It took a while to find out where the train station was but a couple fo young girls helped us out and took us somewhere to find dinner, very helpful and friendly. We then got on moped taxis to the train station which was a really scary experience. We had been on mopeds/bikes before on the trip, but never with our 20kg bag on our back. Whenever the driver accelerated i almost flew off the back, i managed to hold on and forego the cramp in my leg to get off safely at the station. We then had to wait there for 2 hours for our train. Eventually it arrived and we boarded the night train down the country. It was an excellent train with beds down either side with curtains across them.

THAILAND - Bangkok

Once over the border the journey was very different. We were met by posh minibuses with air-con. But by that point the damage was done i had heat stroke and spent the rest of the journey trying to sleep and prevent myself being sick. I did make it to Bangkok without being ill.

Karl and Clem explored Bangkok without me for the first day there while I stayed in bed, apparently they had an excellent time. Next day I did join them although still not hungry. We did some of the things they had done the previous day so that i could also enjoy them, which was very nice of them. Firstly we caught a Tuc Tuc, a slightly scary experience, to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and had a look around the exhibition. We then walked down towards the Arabic area and then to the river to catch a ferry to the temple Wat Pho which is renowned as the birth place of the Thai massage but perhaps more amazingly for a huge reclining, gold Buddha with mother of pearl feet. The temples were quite different to those in Cambodia or Vietnam in that they seemed to be really over the top, some of the decoration almost looking a little kitch from a distance, mainly because they were bright gold with shining reds and blues, etc, however some of the stone carvings next to doorways were brilliant fun.

We were staying in a guest house on Koh San Road. For those who have not been to Bangkok I should explain that Koh San Road must be the most lively road in the city where bars and clubs of all kinds meet in order to try and get the business of holiday makers. It is therefore very much a 24 hour street, perhaps not the nicest area I have stayed in but quite an interesting one!

Unfortunately due to me being ill we were unable to see all that the city had to offer and we were soon on a bus to Kanchanaburi.