We're on Langkawi, off the northwest coast of Malaysia now. Been traveling like mad for the last few days, mainly because we haven't really wanted to stay anywhere!!

From Melaka we took a bus up to Kuala Lumpur - What a bloody dump!! This is a city with some serious class differences, where I reckon around 80% of the population live in their own crap, around 15% drive huge merc's around and 5 % are somewhere in the middle! Came into the main Bus station called Pudraya, but the station and roads were so congested that the driver threw everyone out somewhere in the middle of a traffic jam in around 35 degrees and we didn't have a clue where we were. After looking for somewhere to sleep for about 3 hrs in the heat, with our packs we went for a 4 star hotel that was fairly grotty but we were fed up and just wanted to lie down - well, that came to an abrupt end when Emma found very suspicious white stains all over the uncleaned bedsheets - uhhh. We went down and said we were leaving, 15 mins after we checked in and they wanted to charge us for the room coz we'd used the bed!!

Anyway, eventually found some semigrotty place, went and saw the Petronas towers, had dinner and decided we'd leave the next morning!

Next stop - Penang/Georgetown We took a bus directly from the station we were supposed to be dropped off at - there are around 40 ticket offices, as you walk past each one they yell out their destinations, and if you seem in the least bit interested send a tout to pester you, who shows you fake photos of some georgeous bus. Anyway, they're not too bad, apart from the fact that ours stank of puke! After going alond the 13,5 km long bridge out to Penang we found a hotel just before a huge thunderstorm rolled in. Later on had probably the best meal of our lives (Indian) and took an unforgettable trishaw ride with M Jacksom "Beat it" and flashdance blasting out of the hundred and something year old drivers radio. We felt so sorry for him every time he got to the slightest hill as he slowed to a near halt and started coughing and spluttering L. Anyway, I fancied staying there and exploring for a day or two, but Emma was longing for sun and sand, so up at 0530 to take the ferry to Langkawi. This is after we've been up till the early hours coz Emma's realized she's left her credit cards and driving licence under the roof boards in a hotel in Melaka J J. A hilarious little sidenote to the ferry trip being that they showed (full blast) Resident Evil on the tele, with the walking dead, and people's heads getting chopped off with lots of little kids on the boat! Anyway, In Langkawi now, but Emma isn't getting any sun and sea for a while coz she's cut her foot up on the beach by being a prat!!! Found a cool little place to stay with a lovely caretaker. The rooms are 1 month old and we're paying about 18 euros a night. Next time I write we'll be in Thailand as long as neither of us chop any limbs off or anything J