Today we left the cotton-wool padded surroundings of Singapore and entered into real South East Asia! The border crossing by bus from Singapore into Johor Bahru was surprisingly simple, with no one batting so much as an eyelid to the fact we're not locals. There were lots of people carrying a wide range of curious packages across the border, including what looked like half a bed, and they didnt seem to incur any hassle either! Singapore is so close to Malaysia, only separated by a thin river, so the journey only took about an hour including the time we spent in customs!

Johor Bahru itself didnt seem to have much to offer, so we took a bus up the east coast to the small town of Kuantan. Although the journey took 4 hours, the bus was very comfortable with (much-needed) air-con and good seats. The choice of music left a little to be desired however! We didnt see as much of the countryside on the journey as I'd hoped, as the road was surrounded by tall palm trees which blocked our view.

Arriving in Kuantan bus station we were immediately hit with taxi touts as expected but we both kept our cool and they soon left us alone. 10 minutes into our long hot walk to the motel we soon realised that Malaysia has nothing that resembles a sensible pavement. What they do have are blocks of concrete half a metre off the ground with no way down apart from jumping, which is never much fun when carrying a rucksack! We took to walking by the side of the road, which was easier but encouraged some funny looks from the locals. They also have no signs for road names which makes navigating pretty confusing. Still, we finally arrived at Hotel Classic unscathed and were pleased to find our room not only had aircon and a western style toilet, but a lovely view over the river as well (not from the toilet, from the room).

That evening we had a bite to eat at the shopping centre hawker stalls (tom yam, yum!) and then walked over the local mosque, Masjid Negeri. Renovated in the 1990s, the mosque forms the centre point of this predominately muslim town. It looked spectacular all lit up at night, with the call to prayer echoing out through the streets.

Apart from the mosque, there wasnt really a lot to see in Kuantan but it was good to stop in a less touristy place and experience the true Malay lifestyle.