Having said to Mum and Jan that my blogs are not just a list of things I am doing, today I am going to write it as I go along!! So sorry if the tenses all get muddled up. 9.23am - Sitting in a cafe on Petaling Street, Chinatown drinking iced lemon tea. I have decided in honour of Chinese New Year to have a Chinese day. I left the hotel bright and early (not so hot) and walked to Chinatown only to find, like the rest of Malaysia, Chinatown doesn’t wake up until...

The public transport system in Malaysia is brilliant. I have used bus, train, monorail, grab taxi and plane. All are connected and very easy to follow. They have all been clean and on time - if there is a timetable. This morning I arrived at the main bus station in Melaka at 8.35, went to a counter bought a ticket ($2) to KL - which is a two hour journey - and found myself in a luxury coach 20 mins later. The bus station that we arrived at was on the other side o...

What can I say about Melaka; it is loud, full of tourists, very like Siem Reap, busy and very enjoyable. Yesterday on my way to the airport the taxi driver said, “You will love Melaka, it gives you the history of Malaysia.” He was right the reason this place is full of tourists etc etc is that there is so much to see - very like Siem Reap. Started the day by getting up early to walk to the floating mosque, it has been built on an island that is being develop...

When I got up this morning I decided that I would do nothing special as I felt a quiet day would be a good idea. So I went for a walk, as I was walking along the coast in town I came across the local park which was lovely but it also had a great beach as well. After wandering through and along both - I had a well deserved coffee. On the way back I came across Andy who was selling an Island hopping trip at 2pm for only 40 R (about $9). What could I do but go. So...

I was sitting patiently waiting for my transport to the mangroves watching someone clearing the bushes of the most enormous caterpillars when he found something else. It was a stick insect with the most beautiful wings - photo does not do it justice. The trip around the mangrove was great but again I had to feel “lucky “ to be British. There were at least 8 nationalities on the boat and one native English speaker - guess what language the guide spoke. I met ...