Singapore gets my vote for the most civilised and cleanest place in South East Asia. No one crosses the road unless its a green man, everybody queues and there is no traffic due to the amazing metro system. It seems a world away from dusty Pnomh penh or the traffic madness of Hanoi. Singapore is the most modern place I have ever visited, also the most humid, so aircon is everywhere, even on an outside section of the esplanade! We walked around most of the city in...

Kuala Lumpur: A city desperately trying to be modern and full of so many different cultures. It was Chinese New Year so the red lanterns were in abundance, firecrackers as loud as gunshots were heard at all times of the day and the Chinese temples, particularly the one outside our hostel room, was swarming with people begging, hoping to be given a red lucky envelope of their own. We explored the city on foot and by the haphazard metro system. We visited the gold...

After calculating we had about 9 days spare in Malaysia, we opted for cheap Air Asia flights to the capital of Sabah province, Kota Kinabalu. What we failed to research was the weather, so we found ourselves with 3 wet days in KK! We made the most of it though and visited the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, 6 or so islands around 15 minutes away by a dodgy speedboat. The islands themselves were beautiful, but they were heaving with Korean tourists. The next day w...

The island of Langkawi was our first encounter of the food, the people and the culture of Malaysia. Only 2 hours away from Koh Lipe, Thailand but it was quite different, not to look at, just slightly more chaotic. At first we wanted to turn around and go back. We had not booked accommodation which was a mistake as we ended up trekking up and down the street in the midday sun for about an hour until we found somewhere. We quickly headed for the beach. The main tow...

Thinking Koh Lipe may be just like Phi Phi, another party backpacker island spoilt with ramshackle accommodation, busy streets and littered beaches... Thankfully I was wrong. Koh Lipe was the most beautiful thai island I have experienced. The sea was so incredibly blue, the beaches were pristine and even in peak season it did not seem very busy. You could still find a quiet spot on the beach, snorkel in the clearest waters without being run over by a longtail and...