So last Friday (12th Dec) we headed over the border to Malaysia....nice and smooth. Took a mini van from Hat Yai to Penang, taking 4 hours and hoorraah no problems!!! Penang is a little island just off the west coast of the Malay pennisula....we stayed in Butterworth city and in Chinatown (a road away from 'Love Lane'!!!) and was welcomed by the lovely Mr Low the owner who 'once we said from Wales' asked us 'do you know Prestatin?!!!!' haha, he has an old lady come every year from there!!!

Malaysia feels so westernised!! I guess that has a major influence on the European colonies, most recent the British Empire until 1957. Feels like English is their first language and the shops etc are very western...they even had a Tesco! We only had two days in Penang so we walked alot around Butterworth on day 1....the city is non existent with pavements, so walking around can be a little amusing, although the traffic is 10 times less than in Indochina! So phew for that!!

There is so many cultures here....Chinatown and Little India are the biggest influences as so many Chinease and Indians arived here during the British colony. British influences are everywhere with road names and architiecture of the bulidings. We took a walk in the evening to the river front espanade and saw their county hall which looks alot like Cardiff City Hall, all lit up for Xams, very pretty! We walked around the markets of Chinatwon and the Bollywood of Little India...music blaring from the shops was hilarious! We offically ate on our first backstreet stall eating fresh rice/noodles meals (goodness knows what was in them!) but they were delicious! Cost up 7.50 Ringett which works out at 1quid 50p! Happy days!!! That ment we had enough money spare to get Darren some Dim Som (big fluffy dumplings with meat inside...Sue we want you to make!! They are amazing!)

We spent our second day chilling and not spending too much money! Where can we do that best???? The beach! haha! Caught a cheap cheap bus to their main beach resort in Batu Ferrangi, had some lunch and chilled for a few hours! Their waters looked a bit like at home, not the cleanest and their sand was like tiny little crystals..definately wasnt sand! They had loads of watersports going on but we just chilled and read our books!

We were supposed to go up Penang Hill (800m) to watch the sunset but we were both pretty tired and it ment another 45 minute bus ride. We went to their shopping mall and saw our first official Xmas tree and decorations! We listened to a few more carols and thought of you guys back home (haha) Darren realised last week that the theifs stole his denim shorts and a black vest so we tried to look in a few of their shops but because everyone here is about 5 foot tall and weighs 7 stone (even the dudes!) we couldnt find anything for Da!

Had another bargain meal on the street and watched a little bit of the Arsenal vs M'boro at the hostel..well Darren did!!!!

You can do Penang in a day or two...we could of gone to see a few museums and things but we wanted to save a few pennies before KL and Singapore. Butterworth was a great little city, easy to walk around and admire the different cultures and religions. It also had some great temples and the people were really friendly. No touts or tuk tuk drivers on your case, just an easy stroll along the roads. We enjoyed!

Headed to KL on Sun 14th by bus....I'll update you on that another time! X

OK so we headed to KL on 14th Dec by luxury bus....and it was so cheap, like 7 quid for the 5 hour journey!!! We both slept most of the way because the chairs were so big and comfy! So we headed to Chinatown where the best accomodation (value) is with the added bonus of many places having bedbugs!! but Daz promised he's use his work skills to check the beds before we checked in!! Found a decent one for 5quid a night, just a bed and table but its right in the heart of Chinatown which is good!

KL is a fab city!!! Clean and easy going....compared to Bangkok that is!!!! Walked around the Petaling market in Chinatown for a little while and then headed into the Golden Triangle in the evening for a walk about! Yey...we saw lots of Xmas decorations and lots of xmas carols so it made us feel a lot more xmasy although it will never feel like xmas in this kind of heat!

We treated ourselves to dinner in Nando's! compared to at home is was a bargain, about 12 quid...but thats more than 60 Ringit!! And since we been eating for under 10 Ringit for the 2 of us recently it was a bit of a splurge!!! haha, oh well we fed Darren well!!!!!! hehe

The next day we got up early and headed to Batu Caves about 10km north of the city...a big hindu sight where millions of pilgrims flock every year for some religious reason!! At the front of the caves is this massive 43foot Murga statue...huge! and we had to climb 272 steps to get to the entrance to the caves. Once again we came across an aray of Malay monkeys!!! All were hilarious! We got pics of one drinking milk from a bottle and another with a packet of money nuts!! he climbed up some rocks and his bag fell upside down so all the the nuts feel out...he wasnt a happy fella!!!! Was funny! The caves were pretty impressive and had shrines and temples inside. There were lots of Indians there so we thought this place obviously more important to them than us as were saw it as merely an attraction. There were some great views of the city from the top of the steps too.

after lunch we walked over to Merdaka Sq, the former parade ground where Malay proclaimed independance from the British Empire on 31st aug 1957. We didnt know that up until 1963 it was called Malay and only became Malaysia once Sarawak, Sabith and Singapore joined the nation. (Although Singapore got kicked out in 1965). The square is the colonial centre and definately demonstrated a British feels with regard to architecture, including big tudor style mansions. Britain colonised Malay from 1795 but before that rulers included Holland and Portugal so there was definately an European feel to the whole area.

The main attraction in KL is the Patronus Twin Towers...we headed over there in the evening to check out the night view as it glows a crystal/silver colour in the dark. What a sight....the towers a beautiful....its currently the biggist twin tower building in the world (452m) and the second biggest, after Tapai 101 which is 500m odd high! There is 84 floors and there is a suspending bridge on floor 41 which connects the towers! The buildings look incredible in the night so we were really glad we ventured out to see them!

The next day we got up early and headed back to the Patronus Towers and queued for the free 15min sky bridge tour! Waited for about 45 mins and thought we'd be heading up mid afternoon but when we got to the desk the lady asked us if we wanted to go stright up...bonus!!!! We watched a short video about the towers which is the main head quarters for a massive perolium company and then we took the speed lift up to the bridge. Pretty awesome views (considering it was free!). The towers were the tallest in the world from 1996-2003, although I would of thought the NY Twin Towers were bigger...someone check that out for us!

We did a little shopping in KL...their shopping malls are gigantic! There is even one 5 times the size for the quandrant that onnly sells electricals! Crazy!!!! We spent quite a long time in the Quicksilver store...ooops! (Unfortunately prices no different to back home) and then we just chilled and went to the cinema to see 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'....if you havent seen it...dont bother!!!! Although it was soooo cheap! About 1.75quid for me and 2quid for Daz (they have a lot of male and female prices here!!) and popcorn was like under 2pound! Crazy!!! We had to kill time as we'd checked out of our hostel because we were due to catch a 9pm overnight sleeper train to Singapore...so we tried to waste lots of time!!!!

We loved KL....so much more laid back than some of the other major cities were have walked around. Didnt expect it to be so clean, colourful and modern.....but its all of those. We took plenty of walks without being badgered by taxi's and the scooter - car ratio is reversed which is nice! Theres lots of different cultures and we have enjoyed experiencing it all.

We headed to KL train station in the evening for our night journey to Singapore, a little aprehensive as we could only get a 2nd class sleeper.....after an hour half delay we finally got on the train about 11pm (long long day) and headed south! Ahhh it was fab! I feel alseep straight away and Darren pretty much fitted in the bunk! We had to have our bags on our beds but it wasnt too bad! Da will upload some of the pics...def was a great adventure and would recommend travelling by land through all the countries we've done! Its been a blast! Till next time.............