Noppharat Thara Bay, Klong Moung, Ao Nang Sunday 22nd March 2009 We have found another little Paradise! Noppharat Thara Bay is pine and palm fringed, dotted with islands in a clear blue sea, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Thub and Chicken Island to name a few, with a golden sandy beach and just a few very small developments. Behind it is jungle, interspersed with rubber plantation. It is pristine clean beach and totally unspoilt. No jet skies, no speed boats or hang gliders, just sun, sand, sea and sensational coastal scenery. There are not many places left like this and we [View Full Entry]

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Maybe Song Kran has come early to Thailand? It is very wet! Saturday 21sy March2009 It is raining heavily here in Phuket. Tourists have enjoyed brilliant sunshine for months, until we arrived, trailing the thunder, lightning and torrential rain in our wake! Our ferry trip from Langkawi to Georgetown on Thursday started and ended in rain! In between, however, it was a smooth and sun-blessed crossing. The flight yesterday from Penang, on a small prop plane, was wonderful, as we watched the sun setting over the islands in the Andaman Sea. We had no problems on arrival at Phuket [View Full Entry]

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Luscious Langkawi and Irresponsible Tourism Wednesday 18th March 2009 The Langkawi group of islands should be one of the jewels of the Andaman Sea. The islands are mostly covered by lush jungle where large groups of monkeys chatter and play and tropical flowers abound. The beaches are white-sand coral and the sea is turquoise, blue and green, dotted with limestone stacks, craggy cliffs and numerous small islands. However, the Malaysian Government wants Langkawi to be Malaysia’s Phuket and they are succeeding fast. As a result, in many parts of Langkawi, jet skis and speed boats chase [View Full Entry]

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Georgetown, Langkawi and visa problems! Sunday 15th march 2009 Visiting Georgetown was more than just visiting a city. It was a step back in time, to colonial pomp, redcoats and cannon and the intrepid exploits of the East India Company. Georgetown was the first of the Malacca Straights British strongholds to be secured for the Crown back in Georgian England, followed thereafter by Melaka and Singapore to gain complete control of this important seaway. In1786, one, Captain Francis Light, second son of a drinking pal to King George 1, landed on the uninhabited island of Penang, thought [View Full Entry]

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Back to the beach: Pulau Penang Thursday 12th March 2009 We have been in Malaysia over one week and this is the first chance we’ve had to enjoy the beach (because we have been enjoying cities and mountains). Yesterday we came to Pulau Penang (Penang Island) by bus from the Cameron Highlands. Since our arrival it has been sunshine, sunshine, sunshine, with just a little bit of rain last night to freshen things up. So nice! We are hoping that we’ve now left the rains behind us and it will be sunshine all the way to Bangkok. Although Penang has its [View Full Entry]

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The Cameron Highlands Don’t say you’ve seen the sunset! Monday 9th March2009 The five hour coach journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands took us through some stunning countryside. Unfortunately, unlike the coaches from Singapore to Melaka and Melaka to KL, this one was a 1960s bone shaking relic with windows so dirty that photos of the waterfalls and mountains we passed were impossible to take. The hostel that we had pre-booked was a flophouse, and it was sweltering hot when we arrived (as we expected) not “cold” as the Indian propr [View Full Entry]

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Kuala Lumpur: KL is Knockout Lovely! Friday 6th March 2009 (our daughter-in-law’s birthday - “Feliz Cumpleanos“, Mam) This is a great city! It is noisy, crazy, jammed with traffic, hot and humid, twenty-four hours, totally manic and just what we expected! The journey here yesterday was a breeze. Coach travel in Malaysia really is first class. The coach was comfy and air conditioned. The motorway was just like those we have in Spain i.e. smooth, fast and beautifully planted with bougainvillea down the central reservations and not crowded. It is 145 kilometres from Mel [View Full Entry]

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Orchids, Railways and Urban Monkeys Saturday 7th March 2009 We didn’t expect to meet any monkeys in the heart of the Kuala Lumpur but this city is full of surprises! Today we walked, got lost, walked some more, got lost and eventually returned to Chinatown having seen far more of KL than planned and met up with a troupe of monkeys on the way! They were hanging out in the trees between the National Mosque and the Lake Gardens. First off we crossed the river and made our way to KL railway station just to see the amazing architecture. Designed and [View Full Entry]

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Melaka, a good introduction to Malaysia Wednesday 4th March 2009 Melaka was a good destination choice for our first stop in Malaysia. The four hour bus journey from Singapore was very comfortable in a spacious air conditioned coach, passing through spectacular countryside, jungles, green hills, distant mountains and miles and miles of palm plantations (for palm oil). Melaka is a lively little city, steeped in history and the locals are a cheery lot; even the Trishaw peddlers have a sense of humour, for example, “How about a ride on my BMW?” They don’t hassle either! I [View Full Entry]

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From hassle in Dempasar to sanity in Singapore! Saturday 28th February 2009 Every time we visit Dempasar airport (and this is the fourth time on this trip) we have problems! We checked in OK with Singapore airlines for our flight, then made our way upstairs, paid 150,000 Rupiah each for departure tax (about ten pounds sterling) and then went to pass through security to Departures. The officious little man at the desk said “You have stayed here illegally!” Whoops! How come? We arrived on 29th January and a 30 day visa takes us to 28th February. When we booked our flight [View Full Entry]

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