When I hopped on the minibus to the Cameron Highlands friday morning I found out that I was the only passenger, so it was a very enjoyable and scenic four and a half drive. I thought I would try the Twin Pines guesthouse first, which turned out to be the right decision because I got a nice comfy little room for a very good price. I really like this guesthouse, everything is very clean, there is a tv room with cable, it is quiet, and the staff are very friendly. I had a look around town, and to me it seems a lot busier and more developed than when I was here ten years ago. I really enjoyed being back in a cooler climate where I could walk around quite comfortably without sweating all the time. ... read more

I have found a little paradise called the Perhentian Islands in northeastern Malaysia. There are two main islands here called Besar(large) and Kecil(small) which I have spent the last 6 days on. They both have plenty of stunning beaches, snorkelling and diving spots, and decent accommodation. I am on the smaller island which attracts mainly young foreign backpackers whilst the larger island has more local tourists as well as more up market places to stay at. It was quite easy to get to, on wednesday I took a two and a half hour local bus from Kuala Terengganu and then a 40 minute speedboat ride to the island. I found it a little bit hard to get cheap accommodation so ended up staying the first night in a bungalow with shared bathroom and limited hours of ... read more

I almost missed my 12.45pm bus to Mersing thanks to some bad information from my hotel, but I got there just as it was about to leave. The trip was supposed to take four and a half hours, but we got caught in a traffic jam due to a head on collision between three trucks. Once in Mersing it took my a while to find accommodation, but eventually settled on an aircon room with bathroom for $13. Had a quick look around town before getting dinner next door at a chinese restaurant, then surfed the net and watched a movie. Tuesday I caught the ferry for Palau Tioman at the very reasonable hour of 11.30am. The two hour crossing went very quick, mainly due to the fact that I spent most of the time talking to ... read more

I left Hua Hin at 9.15pm on the Thursday night and arrived in Hat Yai about 8am. On the way just before Surat Thani we had to go through about 3km of water caused by the major floods in the area. On the bus I also found out that the train would still not go all the way to Hat Yai for a number of days. After a little bit of searching I found a minibus direct from the bus station to the pier just out of Satun. Unfortunately I had bought a combined minibus and boat ticket so I ended up having to wait at the ferry terminal for about 3 hours to catch my boat. The crossing was very smooth and just over an hour later I was in Langkawi, Malaysia. I shared a ... read more

The bus took about two and a half hours to get to Mae Hong Son but it was a very enjoyable trip with the nice scenery we passed. I arrived at the new bus station which isn’t in my guidebook and decided not to take an expensive motorbike taxi and just walk the couple of kilometres. After asking a couple of locals I found the guesthouse I was looking for and got a room for about $7 a night. I had a look around town and then in the evening went to the Chilli Bar for a drink where I met Ryan, an Englishman who is married to a Thai woman from this area. The next day the friendly couple who run the bar invited Ryan ,his wife, and myself to join them in the afternoon ... read more