To Malaysia and Beyooooond! (some pics added)

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1st May

Jumunjy Party! T (bar owner) asked if we would dress up as devils again for their party - well, of course, does a bear xxxx in the woods? oh yeah, we didnt need much encouragement to don the outfits once again for the grand finale. I had to overstay my Thai visa 3 days but wanted v much to go to T and Bim's party, as we love Jumunjy Bar!

This time our numbers were depleted, no Satan I'm afraid, he was out on Koh Tao diving - totally unreliable is Satan, and there was only me and Shay! however, we recruited 2 angels (the outfits were still lying around, bit worse for wear around the house!), we got our friend Sam, and Duck - our lovely lovely gay mate from Sports Bar next door. God - he was uncontrollable once we put wings and a skirt on him! camped it right up he did! haha

We had a great party and danced a lot, only 2 devils, 2 angels this time, but we had a lot of fun. The PAC girls came along too, Av and Sheena and Lisa, and Christel was there too, and Vanessa. T gave us free shots and we were very happy! we had a lock in around 2.30am, by then Marko and Joe from Moonlight Bar in Haad Rin had come along too, so that was all good. Marko crashed at our house.

Anyhoo, next day me and Shay had to leave the island as Shay had to go home to Canada and i was overstaying my visa in the name of the devil. Shay's ferry was 9am, we went to break our fast and then i waved her off on her ferry, i was absolutely gutted to leave her, Shay is wicked and one of my bestest travel buddies. We had lots and lots of fun and are so on the same wavelength! i miss her loads and had a little cry.

The good thing was that Kate decided to come to malaysia with me and Vanessa had already missed 2 early ferries the previous 2 days ha ha, (met Ness in Haad Rin with Shay on one of our nights out), so Kate came and Ness joined us, and we got the ferry together, we took the night boat and bus to go to the Penang border crossing into Malaysia. It was a long old journey, and the night boat was not the best but it was ok as the girls were with me. We got to the border 3.30pm on 3rd May, i went through the border expecting the 500 baat a day fine, that you get for each day you overstay, but by a stroke of devilish luck, they let me through and didnt say anything. Result!

We were waiting for the bus to pick us up and I bumped into Paul (from Laos!), was great to see him again, and we had a chinwag and then met him at the same guest house later in penang! Nice one!

Our first night there, we checked in at Star, which is part of 75 Travellers Lodge g/house where Paul stayed. We ate at the night market and got to grips with yet another currency, ringitts this time.

4 May

Got up at the crack of noon! we are a nightmare in the mornings, wot we see of em! anyway, breakfast was hard to find, we ended up eating some old biscuit at a malay place down the road. wasnt very nice and a nutty bloke was trying to get us to play the bongos to some dodgy hindu music. he was a job to shake off i can tell thee.

So that night, we went to an indian restaurant with Paul and his friend Richard, was really nice, we went for a drink after and decided to get some beers in and watch dvd's on Kate's laptop. Paul bought round the Mighty Boosh and we watched some episodes of that! Its an outrage!!! i wanna be a future sailor.

5 May

Me kate and ness, bumbled our way into town and eventually found the bus going to penang hill, we went there and got the cable car up, there's good views from the top and a posh english garden type tea place and restaurant up top. we had some food and cream teas with scones and jam! bloody lovely! im so fat im bursting out my pants.

we then decided to do a runner from penang as its a bit pants, we got back and had about an hour to spare to book the 10pm bus, it was all a bit of a mad rush, we managed to get the tickets changed as earlier we were gonna go to taman negara, but then changed our minds to the parhentian islands! we rushed around like loons to get showered and get our bags packed and to the pick up point, we managed it just in time, only to find out the bus wasnt leaving til midnight. honestly, organisation is not the strong point here.

the bus turned out to be a mini bus with 4 others on board, becky and aidy - a couple from devon, and mark and laura - young uns travelling together - they are 18 and 19. We had a wicked overnight bus journey, ness and i were taking antibiotics (you know how the gonorrhea gets you) so we didnt drink, but the rest caned a big bottle of vodka and we had a mass singalong to Grease and various other 80s and 90s songs, it was hilarious. then they all passed out late, but i couldnt sleep a wink, i had kate over me lap and marks legs on mine and was vastly uncomfortable! the driver was a loon, he drove like a maniac and then stopped 3 times and poured water on his head to keep himself awake. i was cacking it a bit! then he was speeding along and came upon this wooden raised bridge all of a sudden, he tried to brake but then had to go across it full speed ahead. we were thrown up in the air about a foot and it rudely awakened the others who were all dazed and confused, i saw it coming and was just papping myself! anyway, eventually we got there in one piece and got the next morning's ferry to the island. god, it wasnt much better, the boat driver was a complete madman, he was going so fast, one poor woman was vomiting over the side and i held on for dear life trying to look relaxed and not at all scared. the nose of the boat was banging up and down like the titanic, it was, all in all, a wacky races type journey from Penang to the islands with dick dastardly and mutley at the helm. hey-ellp!

We arrived on the beach around 7am and the sun was blazing. me and becky started the room search, we tramped around and all bungalows were full, we were told to wait til after 11am for checkout time, then kate, aidy and ness took a turn up the other end of Long Beach. eventually they found a family room to share at Panorama, 2 big beds and a mattress on the floor, mark and laura found a cheap shack up the other end. the 5 of us shared this big bungalow and it was great. We got 2 free meals too, so shared the discount and ate really cheap - the food was amazing! best ive had in asia i would be so bold as to say.

So we checked in around 2pm i think, i had fell asleep on the beach due to not getting a wink on the bus! so the rest of the day we hit the beach, which was gorgeous, the water was amazing - the clearest i have seen, and mark and laura came back and we all snorkelled. We ate at the resort and then quaffed copious amounts of vodka which we had bought from penang.

7 may

we arose from our coffins at midday, and hit the beach again. met mark and laura and snorkelled along the other side of the beach, rocky bits and deep stuff. it was the best snorkelling ever, we saw 3 stingrays and about 15 reef sharks among other marine delights, brilliant. i had an indent on my head the size of a big thing by the end of it! attractive as ever.

That night we went out to the beach bars, me aidy and becky went home around 2, and the girls and laura and mark were out grooving til 5.30am! the wild minxes.

8 may

ness and kate left to go to kuala lumpur, they dont have as much time as me so i was always going to linger about like a bad smell while they had to zoom off on their way. i prefer the leisurely approach, more loafing and less travelling! so me and aidy and becks moved into a smaller room. this time i got the mattress on the floor! quite comfy actually - not so bad at all.

we decided we would head for taman negara next, in the jungle, but it's a malarial area so we put a notice up at reception asking if anyone had any malarone to spare. we managed to get enough donations off kind random strangers over the next couple of days to medicate a 4 day trip to the jungle - brucie bonus! like it like it. good game good game.

so, again we hit the beach, snorkelled, found our school of sharks again and various interesting fish and oceanic wildlife and then played 'shithead' (card game) on our balcony with a bottle of vodka. most civilised.

9 may

o no, we arose from our pits at the crack of noon again, its becoming a habit. bit of a routine now - hit the beach, snorkelled with our sharks and sun bathed and loafed. we ate at panorama and the usual night storm and rain came, its weird, it rains at night and is brill sunshine in the day, gradually clouding over around 6ish. not a problem.

Anyway, we ate with laura and mark again, and then we went to the beach bar, buffalo, which is reggae, hip hop type music bar. danced my pants off and partook of some green stuff with the bar tenders! well, it was a reggae bar so rude not to. so then the gringo looking owner, who resembled an unwanted extra in a fistful of dollars type movie, with bad teeth - wot was left of em, hassled me and made lewd suggestions that we were going to get together that night. GAH! i kept shaking my head and insisting on the reverse but it was hopeless, he was smitten with the shapes i had thrown to the reggae music, oh curse those irresistable hips of mine. after a couple of hours of him trailing around after me with a glint in his eye (or was it just a squint) he decided he was going to close his bar so we could get it on. i gave up refusing as it was getting me nowhere but frustration city, said ok, and when his back was turned pegged it off down the beach and ran home like i was being chased by all the demons in hell. it was only 3am so i was a bit annoyed that i had to do a runner just to get some peace from the local lech. arses.

oh yeah, we saw the resorts monitor lizards that day too. they have a swampy area behind the bungalows (lovely) and the lizards live there. very nice too. keeps the rats at bay im sure.

10th

ooh, quel surprise! up at 12 (becky and mark were up early to dive), got woken then by becky and mark when they got back, so we went - yeah, you guessed it - beach, snorkelling, game of frisbee, etc etc, god its a hard life.

becky and i decided to go on the wagon, i had been trying to board it for a couple of days but kept getting ambushed by a vodka bottle. evil nasty bottle. get away from my liver.

we managed to stay on the wagon, wow! and had an early night. however, by then my body clock had deserted me and i couldnt sleep til 4.30am. hmmm.

11th

same same, frisbee on beach, and game of volley ball with another guy izzy and laura and mark too. i was dire at volley ball and covered in sand from falling over, apparently i grunted loudly when trying to hit the ball too. some days, i dont know how the boys can resist.

so anyway, after a hard and lively day on the beach, we ate pizza and watched man u win the cup. not too happy that villa only drew with west ham. we should have won, but i didnt get to see the match. bloody man u stealing all the attention as usual. damn champions pah.

early night as we were getting up early to get the ferry and bus to taman negara the next morning at 8am. off to the jungle. gwapple me gwapenuts.

12th may

so we had a very long (god, whenever you book a bus, they say, 5 hours, then it turns into an epic 12 hours every time - gah!), and arduous journey to the jungle. we arrived at taman negara, we ended up staying in an 8 man dorm room (7 of us) for 10 ringitt a night - bargain (6 is a quid). ellie and ollie were on the island and we had met them there, and then another two, one of which recognised me from bangkok with heath, alex, and so we all had dinner and then kipped in together. lovely.

13 may

had (manky) breakfast, before doing the jungle canopy walk - it was 45 metres high and consisted of the usual asian initiative of inventing something out of scraps of whatever old crap is to hand. consists of ladders with planks of wood laid on top and rigged into place in the treetops with rope and some netting. brilliant! dunno how healthy and safety it is but it wobbled a bit, altho i think it's pretty strong to be fair. it was a bit like celebs in the jungle. really loved it. then we had a little walk up to a viewpoint and whatnot.

we were back by midday-ish and went to have lunch on a floating restaurant on the river. we got chatting (we being me, aidy and becky) to asri, the bloke working in there, he took us along the river a tiny bit, and then in his boat to a little islandy area a few metres away, and there was a floating wooden house and platform with a couple of hammocks. its his house! its pretty tatty but he is happy as larry there. we chilled on his 'patio' and he got out his guitar and we sang songs with him. he plays darn well, he taught me and becky a malaysian song and we managed to learn it in malaysian! brilliant. he invited us to go out with him that night, but i ended up here - becks and aidy have gone.

they had a great night, he turned off the motor on his night boat and glided down the river with his big flashlight and they heard loads of cool jungle night noises etc. missed out on that one.

14 may

10am bus to kualar lumpur. checked in at a place paul had recommended, its really nice. we have a lounge on the 4th floor with big telly and dvd player and loads of dvds. we watched tenacious D which i found hilarious. we have been spotting the pick of destiny in kl since! everyone played drinking games there in the evening (i was very good and had a night off alcohol in my new endeavour to remain alive).

will continue to blog soon and upload some pics..........i have to wait to be tagged on parhentian islands from aidy as ive only just got a memory card.................

and so endeth this lesson x

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Photos

me duck shay and sam
hitting the fiery pits of hell again in our 2nd unveiling of the devil cossies

Bus journey Penang to Parehentian
this is where we met, aidy, becky, mark and laura on the bus! they downed a bottle of voddy on the way and we had a singalong!! i may not the best looking but i am defo the brownest, heeeeey

arrival on the beach at perhentian island (kecil)
this is us just arrived off the boat. now we have to find somewhere to stay!

Dinner at panorama with our noisy swedish neighbors
they sounded like a pair of Borats

Neil and me
the wind changed and thats wot happened!