Raj: It's been a relaxing few days in Malacca. The bus trip from Singapore was pleasant so we'll use more buses to get between cities during our stay in Malaysia. Our hotel was a welcome relief after the pokey room in Singapore - comfortable beds and surroundings, more space and all the facilities. Nice. Still damn hot - a constant 30 degrees day and night. So far everyone but me has suffered a bit of heat stroke. We visited the local pool to cool off. A highlight of this short visit was the Jonker Street night market where stalls for shopping and food were abundant. The kids have new knock-off brand shoes and other goodies - already our packs are busting! Last night we dined at my pick - the Puk Putra Tandoori Restaurant, a fusion of Pakistani and Indian cuisine, yum. And on the way home we took a couple of Trishaws which we all enjoyed.

We now head to KL for 3 days. It's also Election Day today so the locals have advised us to stay indoors as around this time there can be political protests. Yesterday some low powered explosives were set off in KL. Guess we'll just need to be sensible and see what happens when we get there.

On the Rajfactor: leaving Singapore was a bit stressful when Raj misplaced the keys as we were trying to checkout - let's just say it was a miracle they were found...and he would have lost his wallet in McDonalds had it not been for an honest customer...but wait there's more - he was also the only one to get picked on at security checks at the airport and metro. To his credit though, at least he hasn't gotten sick (yet) even though he's in food heaven and eating more - one might say more than he needs to!