koh phi phi to taman negara

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Trying to improve my blogs as have not made much effort so far!
The last place we visited in Thailand was the island of Koh Phi Phi. It really is stunning. Pictures don't do it justice, we spent our four days here sunbathing and snorkelling. One of the highlights was a boat tour of the islands, visited monkey bay (self explanatory!) and other lovely beaches. Was lucky enough to have the chance to talk to one of the few Tsunami survivors left there. Phi Phi was hit hard and is still being re-built after most of the areas around the beach were destroyed. His story of lost friends was touching.

After Koh Phi Phi we headed directly to Kuala Lumpur which involved a horrible 22 hour journey where I suffered from what I think was travel sickness but was probably due to the amount of crisps I ate on the way. Kuala Lumpur felt like a strange city to me, surrounded by high rise buildings yet the roads and streets seemed empty most of the time. Saying this, we found a cheap little hostel in Chinatown which was full of life and had great food. It was right next to the night market where we got some great fake stuff ("geniune copy"), after much bartering.

On the first day we went up the Petronas towers which was had a good view of the city but having been up the State Tower in Bangkok this did not seem as impressive as you could only get half way up to the bridge. For the rest of the day we made the most of the abundance of shopping centres, and afterwards headed to the Aquarium - small but plenty to see. On the second day we went to the Islamic arts museum which was very interesting, followed by a trip to see the elephant rehabilitation centre. I found it too crowded with people shoving cameras in their faces, and the "rides" consisted of getting on the elephant, going round in a very small circle whilst being poked with a sharp stick (the elephant not me) and then getting off again. I found it hard to participate because despite the name "rehabilitation" it seemed they were not look after as well as they could be. We were supposed to help with washing the elephants in the river but it started raining heavily so we had to come back to the hostel.

On the way back we took a detour to see the Batu caves. 300 steps lead you a monkey infested cave and at the end was a Hindu shrine, it was amazing but you have to see it to appreciate it, unfortunately my camera is broken and Charlotte's had run out of battery! Hindus visit every year and have skewers put through their tongue and cheeks, and then a holy man comes to remove them. I don't know what kind of ritual this is, but sounds like asceticism to me..

Yesterday we left Kuala Lumpur and took a bus here to Taman Negara, the most ancient rainforest in the world (I think this is because it was not affected by the Ice Age, 15 million years oldish but can't be sure I am remembering correctly!) I am currently a 3 hour boat ride up the river in an internet cafe..despite having hardly any amenities and being in the middle of nowhere they still manage to get me on a computer. The humidity is about 90% here and the mozzys are vicious. We haven't got long as must get to Singapore by the 8th May. We are staying for one night, the recommended amount is 9 so wont get to see much. However, in the morning we are going to do the world's longest canopy walk, a jungle trek, then straight onto the train to Singapore for 14 hours. When we get to Oz I need a few days off to rest!!
Must get some sleep, v. busy tomorrow
lots of love xxx

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