Whacky Races

Well Bangkok is certainly banging there's no doubt about that!

We are not staying in the Backpacker side of town which is Khao San Road, we are in the "better" side of town, where dare I say it's a bit quieter??

Yesterday we took a taxi to The Grand Palace, it is easy to see where it gets it's name from, it is an absolute splendid sight, and well worth a visit. It was a blistering hot day yesterday around 32c with not a breath of air. Matt had been going on at me about appropriate dress for the said Temples and told me that I should dress respectfully (as if I don't normally!!) So with that in mind I opted for a long cotton skirt, a vest top and a jumper to cover my bare shoulders with when we went into the Temples. Matt went along in shorts and a t-shirt. As soon as we tried to walk through the gates we were shouted at through a loud speaker and told that we weren't dressed appropriately and that we would have to go and "borrow" some clothes from their office. This didn't prove to be a real problem as there were 100's of Westerners there all with the same problem, us Westerners seem to have no regard for other countries culture. We were wondering what the particular problem was with our dress (or lack of) as we really thought we had it covered (no pun intended) anyway it only turned out that Matt was showing too much leg!! He was handed a beautiful pair of pea green elasticated waist trousers for the tour. Well I just fell about the place laughing at him, he looked ridiculous, especially as he was wearing a trendy blue t-shirt and flip flops, he wouldn't let me take a photo. I was in hysterics, it was one of those "you had to be there" moments! Anyway we took lots of snaps, we went to see the Emerald Buddha and a few other bits and pieces but because it was just soooo hot we cut our visit short. Matt couldn't rid himself of his newly acquired pants quick enough he he!!

After that we walked to the Khao San Road, it was full of Westerners and pervy old men. It was more like home than Bangkok. We went for a beer and half a Pad Thai which was horrible and then had a walk around some of the shops/markets. We didn't do any shopping though as we aim to do it before we fly home so that we don't have to cart it around with us. There are lots of bargains to be had though!!!!!

The traffic here is like Whacky Races, there are about 3 lanes on the road but with 8 lanes of traffic, it's mayhem in places. There is also a constant smog about the place and difficult to breathe in places where there is a lot of cars and buses. A lot of the locals wear the masks over their noses/mouths. If the locals think it's bad you can imagine what it's like for tourists. It is much cleaner than I expected though, a lot cleaner than Kualar Lumper, although the stench of rotting food and sewers does not escape you!!

The buses here are like something from a Bollywood movie, they are painted in bright gaudy colours and have the same interior as a tacky Indian restaurant, with tasseled curtains, red and orange lighting and dodgy piped in back ground music. The only thing is you can't order a curry on one!!

Today we went to one of the many shopping centres as it really is too hot to be wandering around the streets aimlessly. We ended up in the cinema to see I am Legend. It was really funny at the beginning as the Thai National Anthem comes on and you all have to stand up and pay homage to the king. Can you imagine that at home with all the cheeky little brats, they'd all be swearing and shouting out obscenities! It was a great film though.

I'm not too familiar with the Thai religions although I know it's mostly Buddha and Hindu. One of the things that the Thais do though is have a little temple of worship outside their property, whether it be a shop, house, cafe etc. The only way to describe these little temples is to compare them to a bird table. On them they have a little Buddha and lots of flowers and crosses and other paraphernalia, they also leave food and gifts out for whoever it is the table is set up for. They believe that if they feed their God that it will keep any evil spirits away. It is quite funny actually, if you could see some of the crap they leave out. In Ko Samui they had a bottle of cherryade with a straw in and a pack of 10 cigars. I thought it was hilarious. I thought with it being Christmas that they may leave a glass of Sherry, a mince pie and a carrot for Rudolph!!

We fly to Chang Mai tomorrow so will post more then and let you know how the cooking lessons are going.

Happy New Year!!

One night in Bangkok..

... actually you better make that 3!

Well we are unexpectedly in Bangkok, we arrived at our lovely beach resort on the 27th only to find that there had been a mix up with our reservation and that there were no rooms left!! The rest of the resort was also busy as it is now a popular time for Thais to holiday, and the resort we had chosen was popular with Thais not Westerners. Anyway I'm not going to bore you with the whole fiasco, suffice to say it was just that.

We got on the bus for Bangkok yesterday, another 6 hours on top of the 14 hours we had done the day previously and we are now here until 1st January, when we will fly up to Chiang Mai for about 8-10 days. It is much cooler in Northern Thailand, which will be a welcome relief from this heat. Bangkok is as busy as you would be expect, we haven't seen too much yet as we only arrived late afternoon yesterday, but we are going to see some sights today, including The Grand Palace, so watch this space for an update and some pics.

We are staying in a lovely hotel, totally blown the budget, we seem to have forgotten that we're backpackers since we arrived in Thailand, oops!! I am loving the country so far, the only thing that annoys me about the Thai people is that they think Westerners have a licence to print money and try to rip us off at every opportunity. We are trying to stand firm but we have found ourselves in a situation that didn't leave us any room for bartering, or bantering for that matter and as a result we were taken to the cleaners!! It's a long story and one which I can't be bothered to go into, you will lose the will to live if I go into any kind of detail.

Food here has been superb, which we always knew it would be especially as it's my favourite cuisine anyway. When we get to Chiang Mai we will be both going on a 4-5 day cookery course, it is hosted by a top Thai chef who has been on lots of BBC cookery programmes!!! So no doubt our folks will be the first to sample our Thai culinary skills when we get back!!

We aren't going to Cambodia now, instead we will enjoy what time we have left in Thailand, Matt has a friend that he is due to meet in CM and we will also try and do some trekking, riding elephants and other Thai touristy nonsense before we fly home, date TBC!!

So that's it for now, just a short one, will update on Banging Bankok in a few days!

Homeward Bound

So Christmas is as far away as ever now, hope you all got lots of lovely pressies!

Today is our last day in Koh Samui, tomorrow we leave for Prachuap Khirikhan, where we will spend new year. It is apparently the best beach in Thailand and much quieter than all the touristy beaches. So that is why we chose it as we don't like new year. We will be there for 5 nights so we still have a bit of beach left yet!

Christmas day was weird, there has been a Christmas tree up in our resort with decorations up too but there is no Christmas vibe. Christmas eve all the young party goers went to the full moon beach at the next Island (forgotten the name) we contemplated going along too but decided against it in the end. We've heard a lot about these "party's" so we opted for a quiet one instead. You're probably thinking what a miserable pair of gits we are but it is difficult getting excited about it all with no friends and family about.

Christmas day we got up as normal and had breakfast by the beach, which is a bonus obviously. We then spent the rest of the day lounging about, drinking beer and eventually had a Christmas lunch of vegetable Pad Thai. We rang our families later in the afternoon and I managed to compose myself, I couldn't help thinking about them all sat round though enjoying the festivities.

Last night there was a party at our resort with some live music and a BBQ so we were looking forward to that, it was packed too with a good atmosphere, everybody wishing each other merry Christmas etc, some people wearing party hats and silly earrings so it did feel better. We also got chatting with a few Brummies so we spent the night with them, we didn't get in til 2am this morning. The band were appalling I have to say (Matt will agree) it was 2 cockney blokes of about 50 years old, dressed in checked shirts that you buy from Florence and Fred at Tesco, chinos with creases down the fronts and boating shoes. The 3rd guy was a Thai kid of about 25, now he really looked the part with long straggly hair, faded denims and a vest, with a fag dangling from his mouth. So you can imagine it was a bit of a strange combo. There was no drummer, it was all backing music run through a PR system. Well the 2 older guys were an absolute joke, talk about wooden. Their opening tune was The Shadows, Apache. Let's just say you had to see (and hear) it to believe it. We just took the proverbial out of them all night, they were that belligerent though that they didn't give a monkeys and just turned the music up even louder! I'm sure Hank Marvin would have had something to say if he'd have heard them...

Today we didn't get up until lunch time, easy life. The weather has been pants today with lots of rain and cloud so we haven't been on the beach or by the pool. We have spent it playing Scrabble and watching cheesy T.V.

It's safe to say now that we're looking forward to getting home, Christmas aside we are just weary from been on the road for 8 months. So we have brought our flight dates forward and we will be flying home in 3 weeks instead of 5. We still have a lot to see in that time though as we head off to Cambodia and up to Northern Thailand so don't give up on the blog just yet.

Christmas - Thai Style

Hello All, you must all be buzzing now with the anticipation of Santas arrival this evening and what he will bring all you boys and girls that have behaved this year. He will be mafted when he gets to Thailand I hope he has his swim wear with him :o)

Well we have had a very exciting couple of days as you can imagine, Matt's proposal and my Birthday yesterday, I'm on cloud 9. Thank you all for your lovely messages and well wishes it means a lot to us both. My engagement ring at the moment is a stainless steel band bought from the lucky lucky man on the beach, we're going to shop for a real one when we get back so I'm looking forward to that, not sure Matt is ;o)

We have had a really relaxing time since we arrived in Koh Samui and the weather has been superb. The resort that we're at is full of westerners and chavvy Brits which is a bit of a come down after 8 months on the road, but I guess it conditions us a little for return home. It is really touristy here and is not like travelling now at all, it's more like being on holiday. Thailand is beautiful (what bit I've seen) but I can't help but notice the seediness that consumes the place. There are so many fat, balding old men here who are just out for the Thai girls and there are also lots of the same kind of men married to the Thai girls. It's shocking to think that these beautiful women are exploited in this way, but as Matt said it's the life they choose and they don't see anything wrong with it. The men are just sad pathetic old perverts who can't form a relationship with a woman because she loves him, it's all to do with the size of his wallet.

Yesterday we spent another day relaxing by the pool and then late afternoon we decided to start my Birthday celebrations early. We had a wander along the Lamai Beach taking in the other resorts, some of them really luxurious and others not quite so. The beach here has surprised me, while the sea is that beautiful aquamarine colour and the sand is white, there is litter strewn everywhere, plastic bottles, fag ends, numerous shoes and flip flops, drinking straws, and there are loads of random dogs wandering up and down. No I'm not referring to the ugly women I'm talking the 4 legged variety. Not the sort of thing I was expecting. Having said that there are some parts of the beach that are spotless. Luckily for us we stay by the pool on the loungers, it's easier to get to the bar!!

So we went in the 1st pub yesterday, a Swedish pub and ordered a couple of Singah Beers, to be told the distressing news that they weren't serving alcohol that day as there were some presidential elections taking place, and it was against the law to serve alcohol. It didn't seem to have a negative effect on the prostitution laws in Thailand just the drinking ones. So we order a fizzy drink and made off back to the beach to our resort where we knew they were serving beer as it is off the main road and out of earshot of the police. As we were heading back we heard some Reggae music and saw some candles flickering away at some beach side bar so we parked our butts and spent most of the evening there, watching fireworks and sipping ice cold beer. We also bought a kind of balloon to celebrate my B'Day. You light it inside and then it takes off into the air and drifts off into the Thai night. It was quite romantic actually he he. After the beer we went to a nice little Thai/Italian restaurant for some food, we had been there a couple of nights previously and enjoyed a great Thai curry so we agreed that we would go back.Matt told the lady that owned it we would be back on Sunday as it was his girlfriends birthday, I didn't think she was paying much attention to us crazy westerners but last night when we had finished our meal she came across with a big cocktail of ice cream and fruit covered in chocolate sauce with two dessert spoons and wished me Happy Birthday. What a lovely gesture.

Today has been much the same as any other, we have been laid by the pool listening to Brits bickering at each other, touts trying to sell us sarongs and pancakes, and crazy kids diving about in the pool, with some dodgy 80's music playing in the background. It does not feel like Christmas at all. We are enjoying it though, we have had no stress of getting up the M1 in rush hour traffic, no Christmas shopping to do, no planning of our logistical Christmas between Droitwich and Hull, and to top it all it's sunny and we're in a lovely little resort on a Thai beach.

There are no signs of a Christmas lunch anywhere on the menu here for tomorrow so it will probably be red and green curry for lunch, at least the colours are seasonal :o) Tomorrow night we are having a BBQ and there is a live band playing so we think(!) we're looking forward to that. If it's rubbish we are heading to the 7/11 for a bag full of goodies and beer and will barricade ourselves in our room and watch some trash TV, it will be just like home!!

Well you must have known it was coming...

Well lets get straight to the point, I've just proposed to Michelle! Yes, that's right we're going to get married, not sure where, when or how yet but I'm sure most of you who are reading this will be invited to the special day. That's it really, nothing else to say, but again have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Adios until 2008!

Lifes a beach

We're now in Thailand, the Island of Ko Samui to be more specific, it is lovely!

We arrived in Thailand on Monday direct from the Cameron Highlands, it wasn't planned that way. We jumped off the bus in Butterworth after about 7 hours and thought that we would stay the night there before going across the border to Thailand, but as we got off the bus we were mobbed by touts all trying to sell us bus tickets for our next destination. We were a bit weary after 7 hours on a ram shackle bus but we were on travelling mode so rather than mess about trying to finds digs for the night we decided to hop on a mini bus to Hat Yai instead (another 4 hours!!)

We had an hour to kill before the bus departure so we went to an indoor food market for a cup of tea. Well I had been spoilt in C/H as far as tea goes, the one we had here looked like tomato soup with some white stuff floating at the bottom. It turned out to be condensed milk it was vile!!

The mini bus into Thailand was a bit of a white knuckle ride, the driver stopped for no man. We made the border crossing and got all the necessary stamps before setting off again. Once across the Thailand border the Malaysian standard of living (such as it is) came to an abrupt end, much the same way as Singapore did when we left there for Malaysia. Thailand is very raw and reminds me very much of Bolivia (at least that part of Thailand did) in fact I'd go so far to say that it made Bolivia look like Hollywood!! It was hustle and bustle everywhere and a certain sense of frenzied mania everywhere.

We were dropped in Hat Yai at about 7pm in the midst of typical Thai life. We had been on the road since 9am and were in a totally new country, it was also extremely humid and we were both knackered and a bit tired. We picked out the first hostel in the Lonely Planet and went in to make enquires about a room for the night. Well words fail me. The hostel was a pit, there was a HUGE corridor that we had to walk down to get to our room (similar to the kind you would see in One flew over the cuckoos nest, but dark instead of sterile) we opened the door to our room and I was almost floored. It was basic and just a little bit on the shabby side. BUT it had a beautiful clean bed,and after 10 hours on the road I would have slept in the gutter, so we dumped our bags and hit the town for a few beers and a lovely Phad Thai!!

We stayed in Hat Yai for two nights, it is a really busy, noisy place with nothing much to do there but eat and shop. Its not very touristy and is only a stopping off point for the border crossing with Malaysia. It is an absolute shit hole if I'm honest and there are as many rats there as there are people. It is a smelly run down place, not too dissimilar to say, Bosnia??

Anyway we had a decent couple of days there before getting another mini bus yesterday (and ferry) to where we will now spend Christmas. Ko Samui. We have blown our budget and are staying in fantastic beach side resort. We couldn't have found anywhere nicer and it has exceeded our expectations by far. So much so that we are staying an extra 4 nights, so we will now be here until 27th before we go back to the mainland beach for New Year.

This morning we ate our breakfast by the sea, sat in our shorts and t-shirt. It must make you shiver at home when you think of such attire ;o)

So that's us for the moment. You must all be wondering are we feeling home sick? I'll be honest with you and say yes I am particularly so, Matt is but not as much. But we know that we are home in 5 weeks and back into the rat race and all the last 8 months will be a memory so we intend to make every minute count.

This is my very first Christmas away from home and as much as I have known all along that it would be difficult I didn't realise just how much. So make the most of yours at home with your loved ones and try not to worry too much about us laying at the beach side sipping cocktails to numb the pain he he :o)

Merry Christmas everybody, have a good one Michelle and Matt xx

It's proper Boh I tell thee!!

For all you non Bo Selecta fans you wont have a clue what the title of this blog means, oh well.

Today we went on the tour, we had a cracking day out eating and drinking our way round the C/H. We were picked up about 9am in a little mini bus we then went around the local hotels picking up other tourists, most of them were Malaysian. Our first stop was to a Rose Garden! We weren't particularly excited by the prospect of trailing around some poncey roses but I think it's safe to say that we both enjoyed it. It wasn't just roses there were hundreds of different types of flowers and cacti. Anyway not much to tell other than we took lots of snaps (see Flickr)

After the rose garden we headed to the Strawberry Farm, this I was looking forward to as Strawbs are one of my favourite fruits so I couldn't wait to get my grotty hands on them. We were allowed to go inside one of the green houses but were advised not to "pluck" the strawberries.We never even got the chance as it seemed other tourists had beaten us to it, the plants were bereft of any fruit :o( Luckily there was a small row of shops selling souvenirs and all strawberry related products, these included (to name a few) fresh strawbs, milkshake, waffles, jam, ice cream, scones and jam. I was like a woman demented, wondering what to try first. We tasted some of the jam, it was sooooo sweet with a bitter twist to it, delicious. After that we opted for some fresh ones, these too were really sweet, although we were told that because they had had a lot of rain the last couple of weeks, that the strawbs weren't as sweet as they normally are because they hadn't had enough sun. Lack of sunshine aside they were still better than the English ones we get back home. We washed all that down with a milkshake which was more like a smoothie, absolutely spot on and well worth a visit.

We left the Strawberry Farm and went to see some butterflies amongst other things. Other thing's being a tarantula, lots of snakes and hundreds of insects. I'm sure you know me well enough by now to know that I didn't enjoy this part one bit, they should have left me with the strawberries. In the tank with the tarantula was a little mouse, obviously the spiders Sunday lunch. There was also a snake with a rat hidden away in the corner looking so unhappy, obviously aware of it's fate. I hate stuff like that and made a quick exit. I don't mind butterflies too much but there were hundreds of them all fluttering about so I never went in there either, although Matt did and he took some stunning pics. Again we were told not to touch the butterflies (as if I would!) but you know what tourists are like, they're not to be told and there were loads of dead butterflies on the floor where people had grabbed them for photo opportunities.

After the butterflies we headed for the tea plantations, it was great. We drove round the windy roads through the plantations, the scenery was amazing. It just looked like a sea of green velvet from a distance, and you would think that if you touched it it would feel the same way, but the leaves are actually quite brittle to touch with absolutely no trace of tea? We then had a tour of the tea factory where all the rolling and drying of leaves takes place. It was really interesting and the aroma was lovely, all you could smell was tea! The factory that we visited belonged to a company called "Boh" and is owned by a Scottish family who live in KL. Boh alone produce enough tea each day to make the equivalent of 5.5 MILLION cups!!! That is a lot of washing up!! The factory was really basic too using lots of old fashioned methods and machinery, none of this high tech state of the art stuff. There wasn't a computer operated piece of machinery in sight, hard to believe they produce so much tea using such methods.

After the tea factory we went to the Boh Cafe for a bit of tea tasting, we opted for a mug of Cameron Gold Blend. Now if there is one thing I hate it's a pissy cup of tea, but this stuff is strong enough to put hairs on your chest. It is orange in colour and no matter how much milk you dilute it with it stays the same colour. My kind of tea. We were told that they use the tea dust off the floor to make Tetley Tea which is why it's like piss. We also had a home made coconut pie, it was just like been at my Nana's house where we would ALWAYS have a cup of tea and a home made coconut bun, yummy.

After the tea factory we were taken to a honey farm, but we had eaten and drank that much by this time that we weren't particularly interested in seeing some bees and a pot of honey. We had a quick look round the local market, bought some lovely juicy sweetcorn for our lunch and hopped back on the bus back to Tanah Rata.

Tomorrow we will leave here unfortunately back to the humidity and lowlands of Malaysia. We will head to Butterworth and then possibly across to Penanag for a quick overnight stop. We want to get to Thailand now as we hope to spend about 3 weeks on the beach, before we head further North to Chang Mai, where we hope to take a Thai cookery course. We will then make our way back down to Bangkok and into Cambodia for a week or so. We were going to do Vietnam but there simply isn't enough time to do the place justice.

Maybe next time...

Tea and sympathy

Hi All, we're now in the Cameron Highlands enjoying the cooler temperatures and lack of humidity. It is about 20c here so compared with the mid 30 temps we've being experiencing it is really pleasant. We will stay here for 3 night's before we head to Butterworth for a night just as a stop over ready for our border crossing into Thailand, whoopee!!

All the time we were planning our trip Thailand was THE one place that I was really looking forward to, and now almost a year later we're nearly there. It is rainy season in most of Asia at the moment so it's not glorious sunshine every day as you might be expecting. We have had our fair share of rain this week but it soon clears up once it stops. We have experienced all elements the last 7 months so rain to us is like water off a ducks back ;o)

The couple of days we spent in KL were a bit hectic. It is an extremely busy and noisy place with lots of built up areas and sky scrapers, it is also a filthy, smelly place too. The drains are just full of rotting food and stagnant water, and in the kind of heat they experience you can imagine the effects. All that aside though it is a really exciting place to spend a couple of days although I don't think I could manage any more than that. It is also extremely humid here and even just ambling around the place was hard work. We did get a great deal on a hotel room though, 10GBP for an A/C room with our own bathroom and T.V. Where in London could you get that kind of deal?!

The bus station in KL was very similar to those in Sth America, you are pounced upon as soon as you walk in and everybody wants to know where you're going and to sell you a ticket. We were ushered to one of the many ticket desks and told how much it would be, what time the bus leaves etc. Anyway Matt being the worldly wise traveller that he is now decided to try his hand at a bit of bartering, and told the guy that is was too expensive (4GBP each!!!!) and that we would try another operator. We went to the next desk only to find that it was exactly the same price there too. We paid our money and scuttled off embarrassed that we had tried to get one over on the locals. It's all part of the fun though!!

The drive to CH was pretty spectacular once we got off the main highway, the road was one of those full of hair pin bends and right at the edge of a massive drop (if you dared to look!) It was just like driving through the jungle as all we could see for miles and miles was trees and forestry, with a few indigenous communities scattered along the way.

CH is a busy little place, with emphasis on the little. It is full of tea shops (surprise surprise) and curry restaurants. Needless to say we have no complaints, it's like we have died and gone to heaven. Tomorrow we will go and visit the tea plantations and go find out what it's all about (Alfie) There are also lots of strawberry fields, and cactus farms so we will be taking in some of those and sampling anything that is going, although I don't think the cactus is necessarily for eating, I'm sure it's more common for it's healing properties? No doubt I will find out just what you can do with a cactus tomorrow.

We're in an internet cafe at the moment and again they are just like the South American ones, full of young kids who would be better placed in a classroom, but instead playing beat me up games aimed at 18+'s. They can't play these games quietly either, they screech at the tops of their voices while they pound away at the key board. So I'm now sat with a pair of Mickey Mouse earphones on listening to some "banging choones" on Facebook (AC/DC Whole lotta Rosie) and as noisy as this song is it still can't block the little blighters out.

We have both really missed listening to decent music while we've been away. We decided that we wouldn't bring our ipods as it was just one more thing to keep our eye on in addition to money, camera, passports etc. But I think it's safe to say that next time we travel our ipods will be high up on our list of things to bring. Matt has already been chatting to Ben about going to a music festival at Benicassim in July next year. It's like "a posh version of Reading" apparently. Anyway hopefully there are two tickets with our names on, posh Reading or not we need a fix of loud music. If it is like Reading I'll be "Dancing with tears in my eyes" (Only old people will know that song)

Gary we're looking forward to a noisy weekend at your place when we get back too ;o)

Have a nice weekend all!

Mafted in Malaysia

We arrived in Malaysia on Monday after a 5 hour bus trip from Singapore. I was sorry to leave Singapore as I really did love it, but the temptation to shop was killing me, so we left there more for my own safety than anything. I would love to visit the place again and take my mum, she would LOVE it and would make an ideal shopping companion.

The border crossing into Malaysia was really plain sailing, and we got yet another stamp on our already bursting at the seems passports. I know we have only been in Asia for a few days, but already it is evident that when we started our trip in South America we really were throwing ourselves in at the deep end. Travel in Asia is extremely easy, in part as there is no language barrier, but also because the route were taking is also so well travelled. It makes me more proud of myself though when I think of some of the situations we found ourselves in, within a few weeks of leaving the safety and comfort of our lives as they were then. Within 3 weeks of leaving home we were on a 40 minute flight in Ecuador (speaking no Spanish at all) that would get us to a connecting bus into the Amazon for 5 very hairy days. Pretty impressive even if I do say so myself.

We have both agreed that next time we come travelling (we're aiming for Matt's 40th) we will miss out westernised countries and stick to places like South/Central America and more of Asia. It is far more interesting and challenging, and you learn so much about different cultures, religions and it also gives you such a greater geographical and political understanding of the world.

I wasn't the most academic of pupils at school, in so much as most of the time I didn't even go to school as I hated it that much. I actually left school having taken no exams at all and got a job working on a YTS in the local supermarket for 27.50GBP a week. But ultimately your future isn't about academic achievements and what grades you passed at school. The best education I have ever had is this trip around the world. It should be compulsory. I have learnt so much these last 7 months and met so many interesting people, and none of these experiences can be learnt through a book or a classroom. It's about getting out there and living life among the locals, it is priceless.

We are in Kuala Lumper now, we will probably stay here for a few days as it is a big place with lots to do (including shops) Melaka was a great place, the Malaysians are so laid back it's untrue. There are also many different religions here but they all seem to live harmoniously with no undercurrent of bad feeling.

The hostel we stayed at in Melaka was a bit of an eye opener, although it is no worse than some that we stayed in in Sth America. It was that bad that I did actually attempt to clean the bathroom (I am my mothers daughter) but to no avail. It was always going to be difficult with a tin of vim and a nail brush, but at least I tried. The toilet didn't flush, it was the sort where you have to fill a pan of water (or any other receptacle you may have to hand) and do the job yourself, which if it were your own toilet at home may not be too much of a chore. But when you consider there were about 30 other guests sharing this toilet, well I don't think I need to go on!! Mind you it was only 5GBP a night for both of us so you can't grumble eh??

We're heading up to the Cameron Highlands after KL and will do a few days touring the tea plantations. It may sound quite dull to you office folk but we're actually looking forward to it, I'm hoping that we actually get a decent brew while we're there too. One thing I have missed about home is a decent cup of Yorkshire tea at my mum and dads (one of life's simple pleasures ;o)) The only thing about the Cameron Highlands is that they are in a kind of, dare I say it "jungle" kind of area. So as much as I'm looking forward to the tea, I know it will be a tense couple of days and will really push my reserve to the limit. But as I said earlier, that's what we came for and that is what it's all about.

After the CH we're not sure whether to go up to Penang or head straight into Thailand, we will play it by ear for now and see how it goes.

Matt has posted our first Asian pics today so do enjoy them from the comfort of your arm chairs in the freezing cold he he!

It's not a question of curry...

Well hello there, as you can probably tell by the flag, or maybe you can't as it looks similar to the last one, we are now in Malaysia. We crossed over the border yesterday to Melaka (or Melacca depending on your spelling) which is/was a very important port city on the west coast which has been conquered by the Portuguese, Dutch and of course the English at various stages throughout it's history. It's still bleeding hot, before you ask, but we seem to be coping with it ok and only need to stop for a drink every hour. There's an old fort and palace that we visited today and hopefully I'll post some pictures within the next few days.

So on to the subject of food. Anyone reading this who knows us will know that we are both partial to the odd curry be it Thai, Indian, Chinese. Michelle can stomach even hotter curries than me which is a bit embarrassing really but hey ho. Now being in Asia it's not a question of whether you're going to eat curry (when I say curry I'm really referring to anything that's mildly spicy really, I know that's a bit of a culinary stereotype but as I've said before it's my blog and I'll write what I want to!). Sorry where was I, yes it's not a question of whether you're going to eat curry (I actually typed that out again I should have cut and paste) it's at what time of the day you are going to eat your FIRST curry and then how many subsequent meals that day will consist of the stuff. Do you skip breakfast and have an early lunch of curry? Do you have curry for breakfast but of a sufficient portion to last you through to teatime? Do you go for the triple whammy and have breakfast, dinner and tea (breakfast, lunch and dinner for all the southerners) of curry and then spend the rest of the evening in the W.C. Incidentally we bought 20 (twenty!) packs of tissues earlier from the chemist as none of toilets here have toilet paper in. Plus if they do they are the toilet of the squat variety and you have to take your shoes off when you go. That's not some religious rule it's just that your ankles end up getting covered in ..... anyway that's enough of that!!

Talking of food we made a bit of a food faux pas yesterday. Michelle ordered a bit of a curry medley and it's served on banana leaves in this particular restaurant. You don't get knives, forks and eat with your hand(s), specifically your right hand as the other one is used for doing the business in the toilet if you don't have twenty packs of tissues; seriously it is. So there we were eating away with our right hands when the waiter bought over a little silver cup of water. Now being thirsty I started to drink it and after a while Michelle had a few sips too. Strange I thought why he didn't bring one each. What we can only guess today, after both having crippling stomach cramps for about an hour yesterday, is that the water is used for washing your fingers in. Obviously the water would have come out of the tap rather than from a bottle of drinking water so God only knows what sort of parasitic filth was in it. Still we're all right today and even went back to the same restaurant tonight so it can't have been that bad. We didn't drink the water today though!!

We're off to Kualar Lumpur, the capital, tomorrow so will probably be away early as it's only two hours from here and we can spend most of the day sightseeing and eating. The south of Malaysia is predominantly Muslim and so there are quite a few Mosques around. In fact, there's one about what sounds like 10 feet away from our room, as this morning the "Call to Prayer" aka "Early Morning Alarm call" blasted out at 5am. It's actually a recorded voice these days but in the old days the head of the Mosque I presume would climb the tower or Minaret as it's called, next to the Mosque and start wailing at the top of his voice. God knows (or should that be Allah knows) who they've got to record this wailing as it sounds like a cross between Barry White and Roadrunner, it really is awful, the last thing you need at 5am that's for sure.

So that's me, I better stop now as it's getting late here,

See you Soon,

Shopping galore in Singapore

We have had a fantastic, wet couple of days in Singapore, it really is something special this place. Matt had warned me previously about all the shopping malls, but nothing could have prepared me for the amount and the immensity of these places! They're that bad that once you get inside one, it's very difficult to find your way back out again. It really is a shoppers paradise and I would recommend it to all my girlfriends. Stew and Kirsty spent a couple of days here on their way to Oz and Kirsty told us how much she loved it (Kirsty loves to shop!!) but Stew really struggled with the humidity which we can relate too!!

We have visited some really exciting cities on our trip, but Singapore is something else. It screams efficiency. We have completely exhausted the underground (MRT) which is so simple to use and 100% reliable. Everywhere is really clean and there is just a really positive energy about the place, I love it!!

The one thing I do hate though (oh yes there's always something you must be thinking) is the humidity. We have the luxury of A/C in our hotel so you can have a nice shower, blow dry your hair put on clean clothes, but the minute you step outside the hotel the place just steals the air from your lungs and you are damp in an instant, and remain that way for the rest of the day, which is why they probably have so many A/C shopping malls. I swear to God I have never seen so many shops. I don't even think Buenos Aires can compete, and that is another huge shopping city.

But we're backpackers and so whatever we accumulate, we have to carry, which kind of spoils things a bit. That said I am going on a shopping rampage when we get to Bangkok (where we fly home from) and will be doing all our Christmas shopping. I think I can get gifts for my whole family and friends for about ten quid, it is soooooo cheap!! The only thing we have bought today is a fake G-Shock watch (1.70GBP and it's still working 7 hours later!) and an umbrella for Matt as it seems to rain every 5 minutes here. No let me re-phrase that, it teems down!!

So we have spent much time on Orchard Road which is where a lot of the big malls are, we did Raffles, we've spent more than our fair share of time in Little India, Bugis Village (more shops) we have been along Circular Quay where all the trendy restaurants and bars are, and lots of other places in between. James we didn't get to the Zoo as we only had two full days here and half of one of those was spent trying to get out of the shopping centre!!

We also booked our bus tickets today, and tomorrow we get the bus for a 4.5 hour trip to Melaka, Malaysia. I think we could have quite easily spent more time in Singapore but the urge to shop is just too much to bear any longer. Today we also booked some accommodation for the Christmas period, and we will be staying on the Island of Ko Samui in Thailand. We arrive on the 23rd December and will stay until 27th, it will be so strange been away for Christmas, we are both looking forward to celebrating ours late with family and friends when we get back in Feb.

One thing I really envy of Asian women and that is their poker straight hair, it totally defies humidity. I've spend most of my time here with a gaping jaw wandering how it stays so straight in all the humidity and rain. Unfortunately my hair does not tolerate humidity and I am looking more like Bonnie Tyler every day. I'm going to get my mum to book me an appointment for Toni & Guy for the day after I get home, I am in desperate need of some serious cutting and colour. I used to have my hair cut ever 6-7 weeks at home, it is now 10 MONTHS since my hair saw a professional pair of scissors. Initially I did try to "keep it tidy" using the scissors from our first aid kit but it was like trying to fit a new carpet with a butter knife so I gave up.

It's all girls talk this hair and shopping stuff!

Missing you already

We're now in Singapore and it's ace!!

Yesterday we packed our gear away after 6 easy weeks in Oz, ready for some more hardcore travel through Asia. We took the van back to the depot, which was almost as stressful as when we picked it up. Despite my bragging at how good we were getting at driving around the cities, nothing can prepare you for the roads in Sydney, it's a nightmare to drive round/through. We agreed that I would drive and Matt would be chief navigator (damage limitation!) that way if we did get lost (or should I say when!) it wasn't my fault, I was simply following instructions ;o) Anyway we did get lost, a few times. We eventually stopped at a petrol station and asked a taxi driver where the address was, as always when you're lost we were practically right by it.

We got our full deposit back too which was good news, as obviously coming to the end of our trip we need all the financial resource available to us. We jumped in a cab back to the airport and apart from a slight delay (1.5 hrs) due to an electric storm in Sydney we had another good flight on a Boeing 747! We saw the new Airbus at Sydney airport, it is HUGE. We took a few pics so will post them on Flickr soon.

As you will have probably gathered I'm not too sorry to have left Oz. I don't know why I didn't take to the place, I can't really put it down to any one thing, all I know is that it feels great to be in Singapore where nothing is familiar (apart from Mcdonalds) and nobody has yet told us where to go(!) and what to see.

Our last few days in Oz were spent at the campsite where we started off, Lane Cove and it really is a lovely park with lots of trees and greenery, it's almost like camping in a wood. The other night I was on my way to phone my dad to wish him a happy birthday. The phone box is a few minutes walk from the camp site, but it is pitch black down the footpath and there are LOTS of insects, beetles, flies, moths you name it, and they all come out at night. So me being the arachnophobiac that I am, you can imagine what an ordeal it is for me venturing out in these conditions. I went fully armed with a tin of fly spray much to the annoyance of Matt whose patience is quickly running out with my obsession of creepy crawlies. Anyway there is no real reason for me telling you all this, other than to say when we got to the phone box (unscathed) we realised that we had forgotten the phone card (I say we!!) so we had to go all the way back to the van, at which point Matt decided that he wouldn't come back with me so I had to brave it alone. Yeah thanks for that!! When I got back to the phone box, trembling, there was somebody in it, so it was another wasted journey. I wafted and swatted my way back to the van (God only knows what I looked like to passers by) and decided to text my dad instead. Much easier and insect free ;o) We did see a MASSIVE spider though on our first attempt, and I'm not exaggerating it was the same size as a small tarantula, obviously being in Asia now for the next 7 weeks means that I'm not out of the woods yet either!!!!!

We arrived at Singapore at about 1.30am this morning, totally cream crackered and probably half cut, thanks to the complimentary beer and spirits on the flight. We exhausted their supply of red wine and had to go onto the white in the end, we only drank to help us relax though ;o) We got a taxi to our hotel which took about 15 minutes, we had a bit of banter along the way with the taxi driver, who now wants to work for Comet as they pay well enough to allow us to go travelling and they even allow you to have 10 months off work and keep your job open for you.

The hotel we're staying at is on the outskirts of the main city so we are just making our way in now, on foot at the moment, and then we are gong to get the tube for the rest of the journey. It is 5* luxury to be back in a hotel, with our own bathroom, a T.V and A/C, I felt a million dollars this morning getting ready surrounded by such comfort and luxury. As much as we loved camping in NZ and Oz, it has been a bit much after 13 weeks. We are in Singapore for 3 nights altogether so we will get to Malaysia on Monday, all being well. We will head to Malaka for a couple of nights and then to the capital Kuala Lumper. I can't begin to tell you how exciting and challenging it feels again to be back in the thick of travelling. I think that is what we have missed since leaving South America.

So look forward to a lot more happy blogging and a lot less moaning from me. I am loving it already and we've not even seen anything yet!!

Up close and personal

We're now back in Sydney after a very relaxing few days at Batemans Bay and more recently Kiama. For our avid fans who remember the nightmare day we had when we arrived in Oz, well you would be impressed if you had seen us get to Sydney today. We drove straight to the camp site, we never even broke a sweat.

We stayed 4 nights in Batemans, we had a really nice spot by the beach and the weather picked up too, we got chatting to an Ozzie (Bill) who insisted on showing us the interior of his newly acquired caravan. We oooohd and aaaahd a bit before getting back to our van. He was a nice old bloke, just a bit lonely, so much so that he asked us to go to Surfers Beach with him, hmmm. Matt made some excuse though and we managed to let him down lightly.

KIama is a great little sea side place too where we spent three nights. We popped into the local while we were having a wander round the town, to receive the welcome news that it was Happy Hour!! So we indulged in 6 pints of Tooheys (not each) and left an hour later with a slight swagger. She knew we were hard core Brits when we ordered proper "pints" instead of the poncey schooners that the Ozzies drink ;o)

We went back to the pub on Friday night as there was a live band playing, we made enquiries at the bar about them and were told that not a lot was known about them as they hadn't played there before. Anyway we went down there Friday night and got among the locals, it was a typical working class pub, loads of big hairy fellas in the work gear spending all the house keeping money on ale. There were also a few groupies gathering around the front, bleached blonde permed hair, skin tight black leggings and cerise pink stilettos (that was just the fellas). Their trotters left a lot to be desired. So as you can imagine we blended in quite nicely ;o)

It turned out to be a good night, the band were really good although they played a lot of Ozzie stuff that we're not too familiar with, they also did some Police, Snow Patrol etc. I could tell Matt was chomping at the bit to get up and have a go on the guy's Les Paul. We were a bit worse for wear when we left there and had a bit of a hike back to the camp site. I don't know how we started but we were throwing our flip flops down the street and brawling like a couple of yobs. It was an expensive brawl though because Matt's flip flops snapped!! He has now started wearing a pair of mine, and has taken on a feminine air all of a sudden ;o)

Last night we were having a BBQ for tea, so we got all the stuff prepared and went across to the communal area. As I mentioned previously we don't make much eye contact with people now for fear of a full on Ozzie lecture, so we probably look quite sheepish. Anyway we got some fodder on the hot plate and we heard "you wont cook them on there" (No it wasn't Matt's old flip flops we were cooking) we turned round and it was a big Cockney/Ozzie (Cozzie??) our worst nightmare. We gave a pleasant little snort as we usually do and carried on. He then said "go and use the other BBQ in the kitchen" we insisted that we were fine with the one we were using, to which he just grunted (how could we have minds of our own!) He then started asking where we were from, we went through the rigmarole of Worcester/Yorkshire. He told us he's from England "Oh yeah, what part?" Wait for it.... Essex! surprise surprise. Anyway I can't be bothered to bore you with the details but he did say "what would anybody want to live there for" (England) He is one of the patriotic Ozzie wannabe's that we just don't like. Once our food was cooked he asked us to join him and his wife at the dining table, I told him I'd left a pan on and we made a hasty exit back to the van and slagged him off.

Only 5 more days now before Singapore, our RTW tickets are nearly finished :-(