26th August 2010 - Clares house - Kuala Lumpur

We left off last time with Sam and I getting ready for our trip to "The Beach". It went without a hitch and we were definitely glad we did not pay for the more expensive trip as it seemed we got everything the same! Our tour group was just us and four really nice British girls who were just on a three week holiday. We sped through the lagoons and crystal clear water, stopping for photos of the monkies and snorkeling along the way. As we pulled into Maya bay it looks just like the movie (and it still need to re-watch it again!) It was quite busy when we arrived and though it is always preferable to see things when no one is there you can't really expect it at such a touristy destination. The beach did quiet down after an hour and we sunbathed and had a picnic on the beach and swam and posed for photos. A really great half day trip with some great photos.

That night we decided to go out for some (very rare) drinks! The prices on Phi Phi are astronomical!! They were charging 16 GBP for a bottle of wine (and it was Jacobs creek!!) and the buckets were almost a fiver. We ran around the town, following various 'free bucket' and happy hour offers until we were suitably trashed enough to visit the most entertaining bar on the island - Reggae Bar. The bar is set up with lots of seating around a boxing ring and tourists can just into the ring and Muay Thai fight each other. the rest of the evening was spent getting very rowdy and cheering and shouting! We also saw a rat on the way home that was the size of a large cat!!! Spent the whole of the next day recovering and generally arguing with our hotel as they were trying to rip us off. i got so angry i made the guy cry and he tried to throw us out but managed to smooth it over for a couple of hundred baht. I would have happily left but as the whole island was full, we were hungover and stuck on an island it made sense to make him stop crying really, despite him being a bloody idiot

We left Phi Phi and Thailand the next day and were headed to Penang in Malaysia. 3 hour boat and 10 hour bus and border crossing later we crossed the long bridge over to Penang island. As soon as you cross the border you can tell the difference in culture! Buddhist temples turn into Mosques and Churches and shacks on the side of the road turn into 5 stars hotels and high rise office blocks. In the large cities and towns Malaysia is supremely western. After walking around the centre of Georgetown hunting for a room for an hour (and seeing some rooms you wouldn't force your worst enemy to stay in) we plumped the extra 4 quid a night and stayed in the 6 day old Banana guesthouse. Our room was stifling and only had a weak fan but it was clean. We wandered out in search of food in Chinatown and stumbled upon the 'Red Garden' a food court with all the locals singing and line dancing to old English songs! brilliant! we ate and drank and ended up back there every night! Fantastic atmosphere. The next day we explored Georgetown on a walking tour from our guidebook. Saw all the monuments and tried some Indian Ghee fudge while walking in Little India, also had a fantastic curry. That night we walked out of town to another food court and tried some 'mui nee' curried noodle soup with seafood. very tasty! Also tried the famous Penang Chicken and rice. We had heard such good things about the rest of Penang (really big and modern island) so we decided to rent our last motorbike, Sam was amazing and so confident on the roads despite being busy duel carriageways, but everyone drives on the left here so that made it easier. Although it did not make the directions easier - the whole place is a maze and it took 2 hours of driving round town before we found the right coastal road to take us north round the rest of the island. On our quest we did find the 'Temple of Supreme Bliss' which offered stunning views of the city and amazing ponds and statues. Bar Angkor Wat it was the most impressive we have seen. We visited the spice garden and had lunch with a lovely older Malaysian couple in a cafe jutting out over the sea. They had been married 25 years and were telling us how in love they still were - beautiful. We then were out in the sticks and driving through the mountains on coastal roads, the only bike on the road with stunning views all around us. That was really special. Had a bit of a nightmare getting back - totally lost on the maze of roads and running out of petrol...long, but made it back with ten minutes to spare!

You would think we would have slept well after such a busy day but no...with only 2 hours sleep due to uncomfortable beds and boiling room we were up ready to catch a bus to the Cameron Highlands at 6am. We heard temperatures we so much cooler up there so were excited for some rest bite. We were piling our bags into the back of a crammed mini bus when we met two other travelers trying to fit theirs in too. Kate and Tom, brother and sister travelers from Nottingham. Introductions done and lots of chat on the bus and before we knew it we were traveling with them for almost 2 weeks having a fantastic time! We arrived in the Cameron Highlands about 12pm and despite being knackered Sam and I were booked on a countryside tour of the key attractions in the Highlands. We visited a Rose Garden with an amazing view and some very questionable Disney statues...., a strawberry farm where we had the best strawberries and ice-cream i have ever eaten, a honey bee farm, a temple and the fantastic Boh Tea plantation. We had a free tour through the factory looking at all the steps of turning the leaves into tea and looked out over the tea plantations, our guide even showed us how to pick and gave us some really interesting information on the history of the industry. We stayed for another couple of days, enjoying the cool weather, wandering around the markets and eating the most amazing curries and cream teas!

We missed the beach a bit and so decided to head off to the Perhentian Islands with Kate and Tom. A 3 hour mini bus ride with amazing scenery followed and we were dropped at some random cafe for 2 hours while waiting for our connecting bus. Sam and i wandered off in search of chocolate and wandered down this little lane by a school - it was let out time and the road was filled with boys and girls. Everyone stared at us so much, and giggled when we waved or tried to speak to them. Some of the boys could not speak very good English but were all putting peace signs up to us and the girls were staring at my bare shoulders! Some followed us into the shop and some of the girls waited to see what chocolate i picked and then queued up behind me to buy the same one! It was really quite moving actually - the same thing happened all the way back to where we were waiting for the bus, some kids shouting 'hello,how are you,where you from' all as one big word and the making peace signs,we made them back at them and they seemed really excited and happy - it was just amazing. Moments like that are what the trip is all about.

The bus finally arrived and we drove for another 3 hours to the speedboat dock, more queuing and signing things that say they are not responsible for anything - had to sign a LOT of those in SE Asia!!! We were then at the port and they split us into two boat loads. We had to all make a 4ft jump off this high wall down onto the wooden jetty and as i had run back to buy a coffee shake i was the last one with everyone watching and cheering as i had to make this jump. pressure much??? well, jumped it and cleared it thankfully although i smashed my knee and nearly knocked Sam over. The speedboat ride was really really fun - the sort of thing you pay a lot of money for in the UK. It went ridiculously fast, bounced up and down and you had to hold on for dear life but it was great!!! We arrived on Perhentian at around 7pm and the four of us trecked about looking for an affordable dorm as we heard all prices on this island were sky high and there was zero cash machines or places that took cards. We found a hostel called 'New World' run by a french guy called Alex and got 4 beds for 30 ringit each (6 pounds a night) The dorm was fine, dubbed 'the fridge' for its metal walls and freezing cold air-con (no complaints here) we had a little section with 4 beds and all had to put mozzie nets up over out bunks because they were everywhere. It was also 6 quid for a can of bug spray and Sam and i could go through one every 48 hours. expensive. The toilet and washing facilities were really bad but hey - you are right on the beach. We went out that night and ate curries and fresh fish from the BBQ and had a few beers and some shisha. awesome fun. Headed to a tiny shack of a beach bar called Black Tip and danced to the live band, guitar, vocals, bongos and violin - doing covers of Kings of Leon, Eurythmics and U2. A great party atmosphere. We spent the next few days lazing on the beach ten steps from our dorm and swimming in the clearest most perfect water i have seen on the trip, or anywhere! it was really perfect. Sam and Tom also decided to blag some free drinks by dressing up as ladies for ladies night - unfortunately i don't think anyone else saw the tiny sign advertising it and they were the only men on the whole beach dressed up!!! Amazing!!! They got lots of funny looks and i saw one girl double-take at Sam and then say to her mate 'Shit i thought that girl had a beard then!' Hilarity ensued...... We did have a couple of early nights (all that sunbathing takes it out of you...) and one night we woke up at 1am to hear a woman screaming outside our dorm door and some general chaos ('Don't you touch me you french bastard!!'). It really sounded like a woman was being attacked. We all jumped up, got dressed and went to see what was going on, there was no need to panic apparently. Alex - the guy running the hostel had fired a Malay woman who worked in the cafe and she had gone off, got totally WASTED on monkey juice (a deadly whiskey called orang-utang) and tried to stab him with a carving knife! wicked! who needs Eastenders??? He had tried to push her away and that was what we heard. She kept us up for another 2 hours screaming, slamming doors and generally abusing everyone! We got that nights stay half price - bonus.

The only excursion Sam and I did on Perhentian was a day snorkelling on our 3 1/2 year anniversary! It was out of this world. One the first stop we got to swim with a giant turtle - just incredible! we also swam with sharks, sting-rays, parrot fish, clown fish, dories, nemos, angelfish - you name it - it was there. You could just literally swim inside the giant schools of fish and they came right up to your mask. The coral was every colour of the rainbow and really bright - it was like giant underwater alien cities. i wish i could describe it more but you just can't.....

After almost a week we reluctantly left as we were out of cash - having spent 300 pounds between us in a week - just so expensive. We got the morning speedboat back to mainland and had to split up with Tom and Kate - who were heading to the jungle of Taman Negara national park, however we couldn't afford this so we headed down the coast to Cherating. It to us a long time to find a place to stay, and when we did it was extortionately expensive! (who said traveling in Asia was always cheap? they were wrong!!!) Cherating had a beach which was ok and looked good for surf but after being in Perhentian it was just plain tame. We did have some fantastic chicken curries at a tiny local cafe though, and we went on a mangrove boat tour. We learnt all about the life cycles of fireflies and where they lived and then drove out on boats to see them. The guides flashed these special lights and they all left the bushes and trees and flew around the boats. Apparently the Chinese believe if fireflies are attracted to you then you are very lucky - so lucky i was as they all seemed to gravitate towards me and land in my hair flashing away, i also managed to catch lots in my hands and show them to the kids sat behind us which was fun. Could not take any pictures of this though as the flash on cameras can kill them as they are so sensitive. On the way back to our bungalow we saw the most amazing site. A womans cat had just had kittens and a monkey had run in and snatched one away! It was just sat on the side of the road holding this kitten in its' arms and would not let it go. The woman was desperately trying to swap her kitten for a teddy to give to the monkey but it was having none of it. i think it just wanted its own baby.

Off to Kuala Lumpur next and a 6 hour bus ride before the Petronus towers start to appear on the skyline. We arrive at Clares house after a very long and lost taxi ride. It has been so lovely to meet Sam's family, play with the kids and have some home comforts of British food, comfy beds, TV and internet. We met up with Tom and Kate another few times when they arrived in KL. Sightseeing at Lake Titiwangsa (epic name), seeing the power lifting world championships, lake boating, art galleries, chinatown, bukit bintang shopping district and TGI's! Clare and Paul kindly said we could house sit for them for 3 weeks while they were on holiday in the UK. Sam and i have spent the time, cooking, shopping round the markets, swimming in the pool, walking the dogs and generally relaxing after such a hectic 3 months. It has just been fantastic. We even managed to catch Lauren and Harri as they passed through and spent a day sightseeing with them. It is now August 26th and our time in South East Asia draws to a close. We are staying here until the 29th to see Sams second cousin henry on his birthday and then we head to Singapore for 4 days before flying to New Zealand. We will be visiting the world famous zoo, going on a night safari, trying the local delicacies, visiting galleries, orchid gardens and museums, having a Singapore Sling in raffles hotel and trying to blag our way to a bar with a great view to take those memorable pictures of the skyline. You would think we would feel satisfied that we have seen this part of the world, and while we have loved every moment and seen amazing sights - it has only opened doors for so many other places...what about Indonesia? India? Borneo? China? Japan? Hmmm. Bye Bye SE Asia. Don't have too much fun while we are away, we will definitely be back soon.