Rest and recuperation in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpa

We arrived at Kuala Lumpa povo terminal (a special not so nice terminal for those flying on air Asia) and were quickly stunned by the immensity of the city. We went to a hostel called Pondock lodge near the golden triangle area and were pleased to find dorms with air con and fairly friendly staff, it was only later we discovered that the bar down stairs plays unbearably loud music till 4 in the morning, and this is coming from someone who can sleep through almost anything.
Over the next few days we visited the KL tower, taking pictures of the city, walked round some of the capitals more cultural sites, and shopping a little in Chinatown for presents for home.

Strawberry's and more beautiful islands

Having had enough of the big city and knowing we had to return later we caught a bus up to the Cameron Highlands a crazy place which slightly resembles a ski resort with no snow. Everything there is strawberry themed you name it and they've most probably got one with strawberry's, it did however have a nice cool climate due to it's higher elevation, some nice hikes and scones with home made strawberry jam and cream! we met a strange but wonderful group at fathers hostel and rarely went to bed before 3, and spent our days doing strange things like a bee maze, the largest indoor maze in Malaysia (took me all of 4 minutes) visiting butterfly farms and walking, a rather pleascent and chilled out way to spend a few days.
One day i went walking on my own as i was completely unable to drive a semi automatic motorbike and ended up miles away hitch hiking back which was remarkably easy. I'd spent an hour or more waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never arrived stuck my hand out and got a lift from the second car that went past, granted he spoke very little English but he was very nice and gave me a lift almost all the way back.

Perhentian Paradise

The Perhentian's were as beautiful as we'd been told and after a mini bus from the Cameron highlands and a 40 minute boat journey there we were on long beach slowly making our way around struggling with the backpacks.
We being poor travelers chose the cheapest accommodation a dorm for 3 pound a night and you don't get a lot for that there, didn't really have a fan, the electricity only worked between 7 at night and 7 in the morning and the windows in the bathroom didn't let any light in so at mid day you had to use a torch to have a shower, hilarious! Unfortunately the first two days on the islands it rained unmercifully and we had to be content with drinking fruit shakes and reading, luckily we also bumped into Celine and Shavone from the gibbon experience and spent a good night with them. Having Done a little bit of snorkeling and found the best buffet on the island we settled into a nice routine for a few days before feeling the time restraints and heading off.

Getting out

Easier said than done! Unfortunately we happened to have chosen the school holiday season so getting away and down to Singapore was an absolute nightmare! We jumped in a taxi with another couple of girls we'd met on the island and after dropping them of at the bus station heading to the train station to jump on the much hyped 'Jungle Train' where you literally travel though the rain-forest and can stick your feet out the train. Arriving at the train station we were confronted by a train that had quite literally come of the tracks blocking a road and attracting a large crowd of locals gawping at the crane trying to lift it back onto the tracks. Wearily we walked into the station resigned to the fact that we were unlikely to be getting a train anywhere in the immediate future, we asked and lo and behold all the trains were booked up for the next 5 days or so. Running out to catch the taxi before it left us at this little train station in the middle of nowhere i decided, looking at the train, it was most probably for the best.
The next couple of hours involved us making our way around the bus stations trying to find a bus to take us to Singapore, this involved another 'not quite taxi' which cost us a pound and was driven by this little old man who talked a lot about football, waited for us to check we got a bus and offered his number in case anything went wrong, sweet but strange! After spending a couple of hours in Tesco, (yeah that one!) we finally got a night bus to Singapore.

Singapore

On the bus journey down we made a food stop a 2 in the morning at some small roadside cafe and just to give you some idea of how into football the Malaysians are, i was greeted by a group of transfixed Malays all staring at the England v America game.
The next morning we were dumped on the Malaysian side of the border at a small town, about three hours later we were stood in the little India of Singapore at Hopp Inn , a nice hostel but a good deal more expensive than we were used to.
Singapore was a stark contrast to where we'd bin for the last 4 months it was in some ways a little bit of a reminder of the western world, and its prices, Three days later having spent lots of money stocking up on warm clothes for New Zealand and visiting their world famous Zoo, which was actually a really nice day out we were ready to leave as although i liked Singapore it didn't really fit into my backpackers budget.
Heading back over the border to Malaysia we made a beeline for Malacca, a famous old port once favored by a prince. I can't say that i was blown away by the town but as always the people can make any place a good one and another good group made our time memorable, it was also a good place to pick up a few nice presents for the guys back home.
Heading back to Kuala Lumpa with a day to spare we visited the Batu Caves for the day and i discovered I've become much more unfit since China an Vietnam climbing the 270 odd stairs to the limestone caves guarded by some rather nasty monkeys. It was a nice day out and we spent the last evening watching the Netherlands v Japan in Reggae bar in China town with some friends from Malacca.
Finally it's onto New Zealand, sort of the odd ball of the trip really but no doubt challenging in different ways!

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