Mark: Well, we've been in India for 2 months so I thought it was about time I filled you in on the adventure so far! When Louise left you we were leaving Malaysia, and immediately upon touching down the change was enormous. For starters, it took forever to get through the tiny airport at Trichy! We were starting our journey there in the southern province of Tamil Nadu. When we got checked in and ventured out for the day, the fact that we were in India really hit home. It truly is a feast for all the senses.... the smells (incense everywhere), the sounds (more auto-rickshaws than you can imagine), the sights (distressing at times, wondrous at others) and the taste (yeah, the food isn't bad!) really blows your mind. Trichy was a cool little town ... read more

Mark: Well, it's been a while since the last entry, so figured I should really fill you in! The week we had to spend in Bangkok was fine, if a little boring for us. We've been to that city 4 times now on this trip alone (6 in total for me), so there really isn't anything left for us to see. We did manage to finally make it up the Golden Mount, get a new phone at last, and were taken to the inevitable ping-pong show by Natt. Seriously it was all his idea, he's a terrible influence.... And then, after a week of waiting, we had our Chinese visas, and we were on our way! We decided to fly to Shenzhen (it was cheapest), and not many tourists go here. Actually, let me rephrase that, ... read more

Mark: Hello again! It's been a while since our last update and lots has happened so time to fill you guys in... Leaving Sumatra we headed to Jakarta, the Indonesian capital on Java. It is crazy to think that this is even the same country as Sumatra to be honest, the contrast is enormous. Sumatra had such a slow relaxed pace, whereas Java (and especially Jakarta) is just mad. Jakarta is a huge metropolis, absolutely booming, bigger even than Bangkok, but to be fair exactly what we needed. We hadn't stopped for about 4 weeks at this point, so to able to relax and unwind with some westernisation was very nice. Jakarta doesn't actually hold many tourist attractions, but we didn't struggle to tell ourselves that Starbucks and the cinema (WOLVERINE!) counted as tourist hotspots! We ... read more

Lou: Well before and after our whistle-stop tour of the Philippines, we were in Malaysia. Doing what? I hear you cry... Well, er, mostly eating... We headed from Singapore to Melaka in southern Malaysia on an amazing bus. After the coffin-style seats designed for pint-sized people in Vietnam, we practically had an armchair each on the bus to Malaysia! They even reclined and had flip-up foot rests. Our trip to Malaysia was off to a good start! We arrived in Melaka and found somewhere to stay, the owner of our guesthouse, Zen, was an absolute legend. I asked him where the toilet was, he showed me and also thought this was the perfect opportunity to teach me a secret handshake! As Malaysia is a Muslim country, we had heard you are not allowed to buy or ... read more

Mark: Well, when I left you last, we were on our way to the bright lights of Singapore. And bright lights they were! Though we were worried we wouldn't get there at all, due to our phone being broken in a massive thunderstorm coming from Samui back to the mainland, so we were without an alarm clock! Luckily though, we got a wake up call, and made it to the airport in plenty of time. For me, the first time in 3 months that I would be entering a new country! I was sceptical to be honest, as everything I've heard made me think it would just be a big expensive city, not catering to backpackers, and not holding any real lasting appeal. Well, how wrong I was. It's a small country, but it packs a ... read more