Time to head north – and to leave Malaysia for Thailand. After spending so long in other countries – 3 months in Oz, a month in the States, Canada and New Zealand – it seems odd to be leaving Malaysia after just less than two weeks. However, we have spent over 2 months in Malaysia […]
Read more "Taking the slow train north"For the last few days I’ve had a sore, inflamed throat, probably caused by the dry air of an air-conditioned room. Yesterday it also became a really nasty hacking cough, and started with all the symptoms of a cold. So I went to a pharmacy (easy to spot in Malaysia, where they’re called Farmaci!), and […]
Read more "Eugh!"Some people regard eating in Asia as a game of Russian roulette, where you’re always likely to get ill from a meal, but just don’t know when. I’m sure that during our three months here, we’ll eat some dodgy meals, and end up getting temporarily ill from them, but on the other hand, we’ve got […]
Read more "Eating Asian style"We finally moved on from Pangkor Island, heading to Penang Island, 200km further north. Considering that’s only 120 miles, its not quite believable that it took almost 7 hours! We started at 9am, taking one of the island’s shockingly pink taxis to the jetty (4 miles, £1.20), then across to the mainland on a catamaran […]
Read more "Moving on from one island to another"One of the facts of travel is that over time you get used to tropical temperatures. When you first arrive somewhere like Asia the heat and the humidity hit you like a wall, and you feel unfit and unable to do anything (add that to jet lag, and imagine what a life our friend Peter […]
Read more "Bloodletting"When we went for a walk this morning, we didn’t have to get very far to see exotic wildlife. Sitting on the roadside opposite our room were three hornbills, waiting to see if they could nab a tasty morsel from the food stall. Sadly, down on the beach we came across a beached, dead Leatherback […]
Read more "Slow pace of life on Pangkor Island"When you’re in a tropical paradise, and you wake up and open the curtains onto the sea, then there’s no alternative but to spend the day on the beach – so we did. And because its Monday morning, I thought I should share it with you. To say anything else is unnecessary! (Well, apart from […]
Read more "Pangkor Island"It’s only a day late, but it was worth the wait. We’ve now reached Pangkor Island, just off the west coast of Malaysia, above Kuala Lumpur. The ferry across from the mainland took half an hour, and cost 60p, and then a taxi took us to the west coast of the island to Teluk Nipah, […]
Read more "Pangkor Island at last…"Oh, to be in Asia, now that Valentine’s here. Following on from the wedding anniversary spent on a Chinese hard-sleeper train, we managed to spend today on a bus. Malaysian buses are pretty impressive, compared to normal Asian standards, but there are still elements of Asia in the organisation. We had tickets for the 9:30 […]
Read more "What a romantic Valentine’s Day"Since we arrived in Asia, Emily has consistently asked for one thing to eat – coconut. Unfortunately here, they don’t tend to have the hardened brown coconuts we have at home, so the flesh is quite different to eat. Instead, they chop open a green coconut, pop in a straw and drink the milk. The […]
Read more "Day one in Malaysia"