An amazing day spent feeding the elephants, bathing with the elephants and being educated about the plight of the elephants in Thailand. Since logging has been banned in Thailand most elephants have been effectively "out of work" and forced to work in elephant camps where they give tourists rides all day (the seat on their back is actually really bad for them as they have weak backbones), paint pictures and do unnatural routines, or even beg on the streets of cities. Domestic elephants in Thailand are subjected to a ritual called "pajaan" which means "to crush". When the elephants are stil [View Full Entry]

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Koh Samui where we drank our first bucket and managed to break our camera in the process - great fun. [View Full Entry]

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Not much to say about Lanta apart from sun, sea, sand, frisbee, beer, hammocks, oh, and Swedish people! [View Full Entry]

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After arriving in Langkawi and finding somewhere to stay (AB Motel - cold shower - not accustomed to these yet), we went looking for an alternative (with a warm shower) and found a resort called Langkapuri Beach Resort, with little bungalows on the beach, one of which we could have in a couple of days time (it was very busy in Langkawi due to the kids being off school - how inconvenient). After our wee mission we went and got some lunch on the beach and had a chat with a fella called Bingo, who tried to sell us a tour. [View Full Entry]

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After getting the boat from Pangkor to Lamut, the bus from Lamut to Butterworth, then the ferry from Butterworth to Penang, we arrived at our hostel, Star Lodge, which had been recommended to us by a lovely Spanish guy in Pangkor. Penang is a lot like Melaka, but bigger and busier, so it’s not as charming. The hostel was grand, just as the Spanish guy had described. A really sweet old Chinese man who ran the hostel recommended a place to eat called Red Garden Food Paradise. He gave us a little flyer and as it was round the corner, we [View Full Entry]

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18 to 19 November We had a lot of time left and not much more of Malaysia to see before we could enter Thailand (stupid visa rules). We never planned to go to Pangkor, but after reading in the Lonely Planet that the government was promoting it as one of the country's top destinations, we thought a few days on a beach wasn't a bad idea indeed. To get there we had to take two buses and then a ferry (not a problem after the trip to the Cameron Highlands!). Once again we had not booked anywhere to stay. The taxi [View Full Entry]

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After the expense that was Singapore we were looking to save as much money as possible. So the thought of shelling out 30 quid each to get there wasn't the most enticing - there must be a cheaper way. As it turned out there was but it wasn't easy. We first had to get the public bus across the causeway back to Malaysia - which we stupidly decided to do at half 5 on a Friday (the same time as probably the whole population of Singapore - it's cheaper to live in Malaysia on the weekend apparently). The crossing actually involves [View Full Entry]

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They are right when they describe Singapore as “east meets west”. With its skyscrapers and men in business suits it's a lot like a tidy version of London or New York. But then there are bits and bobs of the old Singapore around, like the old shop houses by the river (which look funny backed against the skyscrapers). Everyone is so well dressed and seems to own a designer bag, which makes you feel quite scruffy! There are T-shirts for sale everywhere saying “Singapore: the fine city - and they really are not exaggerating! You get fined for eating and drinking [View Full Entry]

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Melaka is a lovely little town which has been given world heritage status this year - and deservedly so! The Dutch, English and Portuguese settled there many moons ago, so the buildings are a mixture of styles and very pretty! The streets are very narrow and cobbled which makes you feel like you’re in an old Spanish town, and there is a river running through the middle - just a very relaxing, gorgeous place! We arrived early in the afternoon on the 5th and didn’t have anywhere to stay booked, as there were a couple of places in Lonely Planet that [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, We're back on the mainland now. No more flights until Boxing Day - the flights aren't that bad, its just the waiting around before and the packing, oh and why are airports always so far out of the city (stupid question - we don't need any smart answers thanks). It's just getting a bus is easier cos they can go right into town - where you want to be. We first flew from Tawau to Kota Kinabalu on Sunday then from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur on Monday. We stayed in Akinabalu Hostel again which was fine and the [View Full Entry]

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