Taking the jungle train up through the shack villages was like stepping back through time. Houses consisted of tin sheds mostly squeezed between the railway line and either a cliff or the jungle. Most villages won't much bigger then a dozen of these sheds and im not sure where their income came from, although there were two bigger villages in the rail line there wasn't much else, suppose that's why they call it the jungle line. Arriving in Kota Bharu in the middle of a tropical storm wasn't the best especially when we were greeted by a taxi trout who was adamant on overcharging us (Anki, a russian guy I couldn't pronounce the name of and myself) for a taxi to the backpackers Anki had been recommended. Arriving at the backpackers it was by far the ... read more

Wow what a hike, I trekked to the top of Berinchang today and if I thought it was going to be anything like walks I have ever done before I was so wrong! There was a path just, most of the time however it was scrambling over trees, loosing my feet in swamps and overall getting very dirty and wet feet! It really was a hike in the jungle, hard work especially in the humidity but the views from the top were amazing and very rewarding. Then I met an Australian couple at the top after checking their feet a few times trying to work out how they got up here clean and in jandels I realised there was a 10 km drive up, but that's cheating and even though the hike was hard work I'm ... read more

I started the day off with a trip to Little India with Peter, Alex and Maritz, followed by a trip to the Mosque, where we were given gowns and a head scarf to wear allowing us the look around the grounds, after relaxing at a cafe for lunch in central market we headed back to the hostel to relax while the day was at its hottest. During the early evening heavy rain we jumped on the monorail and mrt to the twin towers and shopping centres where we ate at a Malay style restaurant. I still can't believe the shops they have! Wish I didn't have to carry everything! Then I would spend so much money here shopping. There is even a theme park in one of the shopping centres. After checking out the cinemas we ... read more