MELAKA

Oh how we do love SE Asia ........ everything and everyone is just so .... nice !!!!! Easyily booked tickets to Melaka whilst we were in Singapore, nice, modern bus left on time and shock hooror gasp .... arrived in Melaka on time. Our day was made when the first person we saw in Melaka was a policewoman who said hello !!!! How friendly is that?

We stayed in a hostel / hotel called number 20 which was very stylish ... all sanded wood floors / white walls / leather sofas and minemalist decor complete with Tom, a very friendly cat. Was a little dismayed to find that beer / wine prices were similar to singapore ie more expensive than the UK but hey .... we're on holiday!

Spend the first few days exploring the colonial history (Portuguese/Dutch/ British) of Melaka via the museums and architecture. In fact Number 20 (where we stayed) is one of the oldest buildings in melaka (1627).

Very friendly feel to the place which has a touristy feel to it as it is popular with Malaysian holiday makers. We enjoyed the street markets, food stalls and especially watching the karaoke with a beer in hand.

Overall then, a great introduction to Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR

Arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 2pm and headed to Punjagga Homestay which had been recommended to us .... what a dump!!!!! Still, KL seems nice enough .... a very vibrant and cosmopolitan city with lots and lots of shopping malls (Emma even managed to find a Tiffany store in the first hour of arriving). It's so nice to be in a city which has excellent transport facilities and yet is so easy to walk around too. People seem to be as friendly here as they were in Melaka which is suprising given the fact that it is a city with 2.2 million inhabitants.

Took the opportunity to see a film or two as we were not keen to go back to the 'homestay' ..... we sawe The Bourne Ultimatum which was a bizarre experience as Emma had a 3year old girl jumping up and down on her seat next to her and I had a man who burped, farted, shook his leg and talked on the phone for the entire film! Ooooh, what was great though was the fact that instead on Nachos or sweets you can get a portion of mashed potato to take into the movie with you!

after two nights in the homestay we heaed out to a hotel in Chinatown ....... soooooooo much better ...... quite funky actually and in a more 'real' area of town than the Golden Triangle area where every 2nd person seems to be from one of the Package Tour hotels.

CAMERON HIGHLANDS

How refreshing are the Cameron Highlands? Afetr sweltering in the heat of Kuala Lumput we headed to the hills for a bit of cool relief. Even got cold enough to wear a jumper!

The Cameron Highlands are lovely .... all tea plantations and strawberry fields interspersed with a few bee farms. Walked upto the Boh tea estate which was lovely so rewarded ourselves with a pot of their finest accompanied by cakes ..... sooooo civilised! It was really intersesting walking back through the small settlements and seeing how th ehousing differs from the lowlands. The whole place has a feel to it that I imagine is reminiscent of England in the 1920's ...... lots of mock tudor facing. The only thing that feels a little out of place are the giant plastic fruit and giant plastic bees that adorn the parks and sometimes the roadside........ yesterday we saw an 8 foot cabbage which was slightly bizarre!

The whole place is very touristy but it's aimed mainly at Malaysians which gives it an interesting edge .......

PENANG

Penang (especially Georgetown) is excellent !!!!! Loads of history, really friendly people, fantastic food, shopping (if you want it) and just a really nice atmosphere.

We decided to take the ferry from the mainland to Penang as it was both easier and also afforded us the chance to view the island from the sea. Were met by clean (ish) quiet streets (ok it was Sunday but even so ....) and a really welcoming atmosphere. Instantly we felt that it was a place that we would enjoy exploring.

Afetr following the two suggested walking tours of Georgetown which took a day and a half we headed upto the hill station (the first in the SE Asia) to enjoy the cooler climate and to get a bit of exercise in. The cable car ride to the top was great .... very steep ride upto 800 + metres. After exploring the Hindu temple and the mosque at the top we then decided to walk down. Whilst this was great excercise it has to be the steepest jeep track that we have ever seen!!!!! (dreams of street luging down it).

Once we got to the bottom we waited for a bus for a few hours (entertaining ourselves watching spectacled and whiskered monkeys stealing food from peoples motorbike panniers) outside the Botanical gardens but when a bus failed to turn up we walked back to the hotel past great examples of the colonial architecture and past several temples ranging from Burmese to Indian.

Also managed to explore Penangs excellent museum and the colonial cemetary where Captain Light (founder of Penang) is buried.

LANGKAWI

Caught the fast ferry (2.5 hours) from Penang to Langkawi and soooooo glad we did. Langkawi is a tropical paradise that is just stunning. Friendly Malays, great food, fantastic scenery and cheap beer .... what else could one ask for?

Spent the first day or two sunning ourselves on the beach whilst feeling smug thinking of everyone at work and then hired a 150cc monster machine (not) scooter to explore the island.

Langkawi has probably the best cable car scenic viewpoint we have ever come across ..... they've really thought out how to make the whole thing pretty and whilst it can't possibly blend in with the natural surroundings the whole enterprise somehow compliments the view. Whilst on the top we were also treated to the spectacle of an Indian movie being made (again).

On next to the seven waterfalls, followed by a trip along the coastline and then through the heart of the islasnd to Kuah, the islands only town.

Great place, recommend people to come here to enjoy all the island has to offer.

Next stop ........... Thailand