Country hopping through Asia

---

Hey all,

Well we have now arrived in Bali - since we last wrote we have been to Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Singapore!

Koh Phi Phi was amazing - we did a day trip and saw some amazing beaches - (see some of the last pics we put on the blog). It was so hard to find accommodation there though as it is such a popular place but we had a nice little room and it wasn't too expensive which was really lucky after having listened to other people staying there!

So after a nice few days there we headed to Phuket where we had a flight booked to Kuala Lumpur. We stayed there for one night but it wasn't great - very resort-y and the beach was absolutely packed with tourists. We went out for something to eat at the cheapest place we could find as it all seemed pretty pricey and ordered some mussels to share as a starter (thinking it would be a nice little small dish) - what arrived was an absolutely HUGE plate piled so unbelievably high! Everyone was staring and laughing at us but we finished them all off! We stayed in a sweet little bungalow - right at the very top of a steep path - at night we needed a torch to see where we were going! I didn't sleep because it was so remote and dark i was convinced someone was going to break in! Kathy, the whole night, was snoring quietly beside me in a nice deep sleep whilst i was going up looking out the window to see if anyone was lurking in the shadows! They weren't...

The flight the next day to Kuala Lumpur was really short and easy, we negotiated various modes of public transport to our hostel without getting lost - we're obviously getting better at the travelling lifestyle! The hostel we stayed in was a converted cinema - the first room we looked round had a cockroach scuttling round it so we opted for the more expensive 3 pound-a-night air conditioned room! This had no windows or bathroom - we felt like we were in a prison cell except without the modern luxuries prisoners have these days!

In the day we went to the Petronas towers (the Twin towers) and went to the top of the observation tower with spectacular views of the city. We also went to Mederka Sq to see where Malaysia declared their independence but got caught in a rain storm because, although we don't like to admit it, it was the rainy season in Malaysia and Singapore so not been basking in the sun too much recently!

Ali and Nikki came to meet us that night and we all went to Little India for a curry (we were staying in Chinatown so had done Chinese the night before)... After we all spent over budget in the cheap markets on fake watches, wallets and bags!

We all headed to Melaka on a bus the next afternoon, a city 2hrs south of Kuala Lumpur, a pretty but quiet colonial city. We tried to go out to a bar but it was actually impossible to find any alcohol serving establishments! We found one but it was full of middle-aged Malaysian men who looked like Christmas had come early when we all walked in so we left pretty sharpish! We ended up going to the cinema about 10.30pm as there was literally nothing else to do!

The next day we saw the sights (or sight) - the colonial buildings in Melaka then caught a bus to Singapore. Stayed in a hostel called the YMCA International house! A christian hostel with the boys brigade doing charity work outside - but it was a nice place!
Singapore was a great city - almost too nice... Everyone was good looking, trendy, friendly and helpful and the city was spotless and safe - a great place to spend a couple of days.

We said goodbye to the other two girls and we have now gone our separate ways - they to Sydney and us to Bali - arrived late last night to be accosted by a travel rep from STA at 11pm trying to organise a meeting about the best places to go in Bali when we just wanted to go to sleep!

Place we are staying at is beautiful, in fact all the hostels and hotels seem beautiful here - ornate decor and beautiful gardens surrounding the swimming pools!

So we will be in Bali for the next 12 days soaking up the sun and not doing an awful lot. Hope you enjoy the photos,

Love Phil and Kathy xxx

---