Friday, May 22nd We woke early to finish packing and have breakfast. We loaded our heavy packs onto our backs (to be honest, they're not that heavy, just bulky), checked out of the Trekker Lodge, and walked to the nearest Monorail station where we got a train to KL Sentral station. Here we asked for taxi fares to the airport but everyone we asked charged double what we paid for our taxi ride in the opposite direction. We walked on and found, to our delight, an AirAsia bus (for cheap cheap) heading to the LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal). By 8:30 we were on our way. More than an hour later we finally arrived. During the ride we'd gotten rather nervous cause it took so long. We just hoped and prayed that we'd get there on ... read more

Sunday, May 17th We got news this morning that little Peanut, one of our moms beloved cats back home, lost his battle with cancer on Friday. He was a very special kitty and we loved him dearly. He could never jump onto a table without knocking something over and his back legs had a life of their own, never going where he intended. We will miss the little boy a lot! May you rest in peace Peanut. We went in search of fruit for lunch and ended up in Limau Limau Cafe. Only after ordering our fruit shakes and platter did we realize that this cafe is dedicated to cats. If you go deeper in there's a wall filled with framed pictures of cats. The logo of the cafe is also a cat. On the computer ... read more

Thursday, May 14th It had rained the entire night and we were resigned to spend the day in bed instead of hiking. Lucky for us the rain subsided and after breakfast we took a taxi north to the Sungai Palas BOH Tea Estate. The plan was to hike through the estate moving up, and over, Gunung Brinchang, a hill above the estate, and then all the way back to Tanah Rata. The drive up the winding main road took a long long time and we got a little worried. We might have been a bit optimistic in our planning. It felt very far. The taxi dropped us at an intersecting road in the middle of the estate. One road lead up to Gunung Brinchang, while the other lead down to the tea centre & factory. A ... read more

To all the mothers we know, but especially ours, we'd like to wish a wonderful mothers day! May God bless you and may your families spoil you rotten. Wish we could be there. Thanks for being such great moms! Sunday, May 10th Last night we had to sleep with our balcony door open because the AC had no remote and the default setting was too cold. This town goes to bed real late so after a night of many disturbances we woke early to the strangest sound ever to come from a chicken. We vowed to have our revenge. We had asked to be moved to the first fan room to become available so we quickly packed just in case they want to move us while we're gone, then headed to the bus stop. We waited ... read more

Wednesday, May 6th Did we mention that it's hot here? Well, hot isn't really the right word. Scorching is more like it. And the humidity! Phew! We're moving closer and closer to the equator and it's getting hotter and more humid with every kilometer. Even after 100 days in the tropical heat we're still not used to it. And we're from Africa... not exactly a cold place. We're starting to re-think our attitude toward air-cons. They might be man (and woman's) best friend after all (our apologies to dogs everywhere). Kuala Lumpur (like all the cities in South-East Asia we've visited) is a strange mix of rich and poor living side-by-side. Unlike South Africa there's seemingly little crime or hatred between the classes. There are these super expensive hotels that stand right next to dilapidated ghetto ... read more