Well......little did we realise that the transfer onto mainland would be quite so torturous!!! First up, after much deliberation, and thanks largely to a brewing tropical storm....we decided to leave paradise on the 7.30am ferry! BIG mistake...the storm a-brewing meant that it was somewhat choppy on the open seas and ERROR of all errors we managed to sit ourselves directly beneath the AC outlet...bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! We arrived on the mainland basically as blocks of ice and for once it was a huge relief to go outside into the humidity...... to a place called Kuantan, where we would have an overnight stop before heading into deepest darkest Jungle territory! Kuantan was good, not a great deal to see but enough for an overnight stop........ The morning dawned to a city full of closed shops.......Simon you know you mentioned ... read more

Well......took a while getting here......8 hours on a plane....not the nicest way to spend an evening! However, the atmosphere, weather and city itself made up for that when we got here!! Its a lovely welcoming, organised-yet bustling city, that is a good few degrees cooler than Dubai (Thankfully!!) and seems to have very much up-and-come. Came straight in from the Airport and found the Hostel no problems.....and although not quite as palatial as the last stopover it's not too bad....It will certainly do us for a few nights. Although we are expecting to be here a little bit longer as we have decided that waiting around in Bangkok, anytime in the near future, for any reason at ALL probably isn't the best plan. So we are going to get our Chinese Visas here instead. Should give ... read more