Worth the electric shock?

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Hi everyone! Feels like ages since I last updated the blog, internet access hasn't been as available since we left Indonesia and we've been on the go a lot. From Denpasar we flew in to Kuala Lumper which only took a few hours. We stayed at a hotel in the Chow Kit area of K.L which was pretty interesting.... while I was in a shop haggling over the price of socks (true!) Adam was offered sex for 50 Ring git! The markets were a treat too- whole boiled cow heads lined up in a row for sale next to dried fish and some sort of organ. We both did our very best "don't heave" faces and got out empty handed, as soon as we could see daylight= exit! The Petronas Towers were really impressive unlike the Durian icecream I had inside them- what the hell is with that fruit?? We got a train to the Batu caves which was worth a visit, on the journey back the train conductor called out "Who carries Durian?!" It smells a little bit like sweet fart spray, if you know what I mean :-)

From K.L we went to Jerantut and then on to Taman Negara National Park, which is a world away from the busy cities, cars and crowds we came from. We did several treks at the park which were awesome, particularly the canopy walk which involves a 40m path above the trees, made from netting, ropes and handy man ladders (No harnesses, safety nets or briefings like Go Ape!) We saw loads of wierd and wonderful insects and creepy crawlies- also a moth the size of a swallow, no lie! I hate moths! We had a few lucky escapes from the local leeches, thanks to our new socks I'd haggled over in K.L :-) It was the first time we've been "dry"during our time away, as it was Ramandan and we were in the thick of the jungle (Adam thought ahead and bought a bottle of vodka before we left- it made the night walk more interesting!). From Taman Negara we got a public bus back to Jerantut for us then to catch the Jungle train to Kota Bharu. The whole journey was like taking a step back in time. We passed throught the countryside and saw rural life in Malaysia from the relative comfort of the slow train that lasted around 7 hours.

Once we were on the east coast of Malaysia we headed to the Perhentian islands, definately 1 of our favourite places so far. We have seen some beautiful beaches and islands on our trip so far and this is up there with the best, the water was 31 degrees and as clear as bottled water. We did some snorkelling and diving and saw black tip reef sharks which was amazing. The only reason we left after 5 days was that there was no ATM on the island!

From the Perhentians we were only a few hours from Thailand but all of the guide books and literature advise travellers not to cross the East coast border because of threats to your safety. We had talked about heading west and crossing overland there but after speaking to a Irish landlady (always trustworthy), we decided to give it a go. Luckily, we had no problems. The whole process took about 14 hours for us to get from the Perhentians to Krabi (Thailand) and we didn't encounter any problems at the border (visa on arrival) or getting local transport. The only downside was the waiting around for buses etc which felt more difficult with the humidity and our huge bags, although the 2 quid chinese meal and drinks for us both helped. Love a bargain!

We had a 2 week visa in Thailand so we spent a few days at Krabi, where we did white water rafting, quad biking and an elephant ride. Then we got a ferry to Kho Lanta where we did nothing but eat, sleep, drink and sunbathe! Next we went to Phi Phi, which was fantastic. I really enjoyed everything about it; great markets and shopping, good choice of food and pretty cheap, buckets of cocktails for sale, nice weather, good walks and an easy place to meet people. We did a night dive from Phi Phi which was pretty good and watched ammatuer Thai boxing which was really funny (basically drunk mates with big egos wanting to prove who was stronger for the crowds entertainment).

From Phi Phi we had a boat to Phuket where I made the most of the cheap massage and Adam made the most of the Chang before we left the country the next day. We had a long day of travelling and waiting around to get from Phuket to Cambodia and by this point I had a head cold and looked and felt like Quazy Modo from the Hunchback of Notre Dam but more clammy :-) When we arrived at Phnom Penh last week it reminded me very much of Denpasar in Bali, very busy, lots of shouts of Tuk Tuk, transport etc and quite disorientating to a newby! Once we'd had a good night's sleep and got our bearings we spent our first proper day in Phnom Penh visiting S21 and the Killing Fields which was harrowing but a must see for anyone visiting Cambodia.

After a 7 hour bus journey from Phnom Penh, we arrived at Siem Reap a few days ago and this is where we are now. It's much more relaxed here and is set up for tourists because of the Angkor Wat temples. We explored the temples with our tuk tuk driver Mut and despite the unpredictable weather, really enjoyed it. We decided to go horseriding a few days ago and the 2 hour ride was great. We saw lots of the rural country life, trekking through rice paddys, farms and villages and stopping off at a Buddhist temple to stretch our legs. All of the local children wanted to say Hello and practise their English on us which was sweet, all in all a really fun trip although we're still finding it difficult to sit down now- ha ha!

Still thoroughly enjoying our trip as you can see, every day we see something new and learn a bit more about the world... unless we are hungover then we forget it! Today I gave a bit back by giving blood at the children's hospital in Siem Reap, they were appealing for donors. I would have given money but now pretty skint and have so much more to see!

I would upload pictures but every time I try on the hotel computers I get a mini electric shock so I think I'll wait until next time!

See you in a month unless we bump our flight off! ;-)

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