http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/mattandmarissa/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from mattandmarissa en-us Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:30:29 +0000 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:30:29 +0000 Koh Samui where we drank our first bucket and managed to break our camera in the process great fun. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-400883.html Not much to say about Lanta apart from sun sea sand frisbee beer hammocks oh and Swedish people http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Lanta/blog-399415.html 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 ou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Kedah-and-Perlis/Pulau-Langkawi/blog-379873.html 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 itrsquos not as charming.The hostel was grand just as the Spanish guy had described. A really sweet old Chinese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/George-Town/blog-379865.html 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 pi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-379322.html 18 to 19 NovemberWe 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 n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Perak/Pulau-Pangkor/blog-350245.html 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 probab http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Cameron-Highlands/blog-348123.html They are right when they describe Singapore as ldquoeast meets westrdquo. 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 mak http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-354368.html 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 yoursquore in an old Spanish town and there is a river running through the middle just a very relaxing http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Melaka/Melaka-City/blog-347154.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Selangor/Batu-Caves/blog-343211.html Hi everyoneFriday morning we were up early again At 6.40am we got a taxi to the bus station to get the 7.30am bus to Semporna a journey which should take 5 and a half hours not too bad. The bus was a little bit past its best with a window smashed at the back and a few broken seats but this is nothing new for Asia. We set off on time which is quite rare and the journey seemed to be going we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Semporna/blog-341513.html After checking out three tour operators and the internet we ended up choosing the most expensive tour there was Our ldquoyoursquore only here oncerdquo attitude is gonna mean wersquore back before you know it To be fair though the company was in Lonely Planet and had won loads of awards so we thought it best to go with them especially as we only had one afternoon to see as much wild http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kinabatangan/blog-339972.html Hi peeps yoursquore probably all very bored of us going on so we will keep this one short.After coming down the mountain we caught a bus to Sandakan where we stayed in and equally nice hotel as the suite just not a big. But we did have a view out onto the sea which was nice and ESPN again which matt really enjoyed Marissa not so much. We had 2 nights there to rest our aching legs. We had http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Sepilok-Orang-Utan-Sanctuary/blog-339959.html First and foremost HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD You don't look a day over 50The climb up Mount Kinabalu was booked for Friday so on Thursday morning we left for the park as we had booked a night in the park before to do a bit of exploring in the rainforest and to acclimatise this is due to the fact you start at around 1900m. We got to the bus station in town and we were ushered into a little minibus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Mount-Kinabalu/blog-339932.html Hia againOK folks here we are againWell thought we'd tell you about Borneo up to now. We arrived in KK on Monday. We're in the city again but we're near the sea so it feels completely different. We weren't really sure what to expect but it's lovelier than I Marissa imagined and much more chilled out than KL.We are staying at Akinabalu Hostel which is tres basic but it feels clean and the lou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kota-Kinabalu/blog-337241.html Hey you guysIt's raining at the moment so we are in the hostel and thought we'd write our next installmentWe're in Borneo now we arrived on Monday. KL was fab but hard work The heat makes you knackered so quickly and coz you're in the city it feels even hotter Oh and it didn't help that we tried to walk to places that were impossible to get to Walking's all good when you know where you're g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-337235.html Hi everyoneWell we've made it to KL safe and sound It was sunny when we arrived but then the rain came down It's really warm though so I'm kind of grateful of the rain at the mo little white girl still not used to the heatWe ended up flying to Singapore rather than to Doha so it was just one 12 hour flight lots of food and films and some more food Marissa was happy then a 55 minute flig http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-335384.html