The flight from KL was only 50 minutes but by the time we had checked in to the hotel and got ourselves sorted it was early evening. We decided to get ourselves into town and rode the Singapore flyer – like the London Eye but bigger – which provides amazing views over the city especially of the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel – the one with the boat on top. After dinner we wondered around the marina marvelling at the contemporary buildings and sculptures everywhere. The next day we awoke to rain but carried on anyway with our plan to go to Sentosa Island which actually turned out to be a good idea as there was hardly anyone there! We took the cable car over and did a couple of 3D movies and the Luge then ... read more

We arrived at Kuala Lumpur feeling rather exhausted but excited that tomorrow night Dad, Deb and Jordan would be meeting us here! We walked to Chinatown and after a lot of searching found the fern loft, as recommended by backpackers we met in the Cameron Highlands, and checked into our first dorm of the trip. We slept pretty much all afternoon and in the evening Jeff, the guy who works at the hostel, cooked us all food on the rooftop and we sat drinking, eating and playing cards – and the boys had a little ‘chilli off’ – never seen so many grown men crying at a time! The next day we slept in late and had intended on seeing some of the city and possibly visiting the indoor theme park. We ended up sitting on ... read more

The bus journey had felt reasonable quick but by the time we got to Georgetown it was 8pm. Before settling on Crystal Guesthouse we looked around some really grotty and overprices hotels, accommodation here seems to be very different to Thailand – half the standard for double the price! We nipped out for some takeaway food and came across the ‘old Trafford burger’ stand and of course had to get one as it was just so random. It was pretty tasty too! As usual when we arrive somewhere at night without a reservation we immediately decide we hate it! Five steps feel like 25 when you’re lugging a heavy backpack around dingy, prostitute filled streets looking for a place to stay that won’t give you a disease. But of course everything looks different in the morning ... read more

We settled on a really cheap room as we were only in Bangkok for one night. The tiny white tiled room was furnished with a double bed and a ceiling fan – minimalist. After grabbing some much missed Pad Thai we decided to have an early night. Unfortunately the room was impossibly hot and the fan ridiculously noisy, and so sleep never came. On the plus side this meant we were up and out early! Last time we had been in Bangkok we hadn’t made it to Wat Pho to see the massive reclining Buddha so that was first on the list after getting ourselves some tickets out of Bangkok and a Subway breakfast :). Afterwards we grabbed a much needed ice coffee overlooking Wat Arun on the other side of the river. The chatuchak weekend ... read more

We pulled into Siem Reap bus station around 8.30pm and took a tuk-tuk into town. We found a nice room for $11, ordered room service and slept. We had a late start the next morning – we had decided to give ourselves a day before tackling the temples. We took a stroll around the central market, stopped for a passion fruit shake and then took a quick look at the old market which was much the same. At 4.30pm we were picked up in a tuk-tuk and taken Angkor wat. When we arrived at the ticket office we queued up for our passes, which involved us standing next to a camera so they could take a photo of us. We then got taken to Phnom Bakeng temple which is on a hill which overlooks Angkor wat ... read more