.hmmessage P {margin:0px;padding:0px;} body.hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} .hmmessage P {margin:0px;padding:0px;} body.hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} .hmmessage P {margin:0px;padding:0px;} body.hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} I am back to reality....big cities, humidity, dirt, smog and big highrise buildings. I have no idea where the last 2 weeks have gone. We left the highlands to go to Penang, an island off the west coast of malaysia, and georgetown the main town and back to humidity. It was such a chock to get off the coach nand onto the ferry to cross and the heat just hit us!

We spent 3 days in Georgetown, whihchwas odd, but good, with the daily 4pm thunder storm and turrential rain. The town itself is made up of an eclectic mixture of architecture, an old fort adn the old colonial area noticeable, swiftly moving to the little india and the atmosphere of there immediately hit us! T he music balsting from every shop, the spices, colours of all the silks, saris and jewellery, along with the smells of all the food stalls and restaurants. There was one imparticular that had tuna and chicken samosas, oinion barjee, bean and lentilly things, but the best waere the banana sweet things that were sioooo good.

Chinatown in comparison was a bit of a let down, however there were loads of tamples dotted around the place, beautifuully decorated. The most impressive was just outside Georgetown, set on the side iof a hilla dn was obviously choosen for the location (a bit of a climb tho in the heat, luckily helped ont he way back down by an icecream shop that was nealry as good as the italian ones!). This buddhist temple was absioltuely beautiful, loads of paitings on the walls and statues, along with differnet shaped buildings and the views and the garden.

However, we found out that there was only one bus to the perhentian islands, that are on completely the opposite side of the island at 10pm, so our stay was cut short there by a day, as we were all eager to get on the islands, beaches to relax and read and finaslly get a bit of good sun action! we had a minor obstical in the way as we arrived at 5:20am, slightly out of it, to be bombarded by some malysian saying do you want a boat, boat tickets? We were like yes we want the slow boat...he spieled of a load of b******s about the slow boat had been stopped 3 years ago and there was only the fast one...we knew this wasnt true as our guide boat,t hat had been published last year said that there was one, along with a number of other hostels that specifically asaid that there were 2 boats one fast and one slow....we went off to have a coffee...nothing else was opemn, it was still dark, we also realised and knew that it was a very religous region, only the men were eating at the cafe we were at, all in long shirt dress and the women that were working in the kitchen vcompltetly covered head to foot.

We went along with this guy, only because he gave us a discount, we were tired, fed up, nowhere else was open and just wanted to be on the island, so we went for it (the guy even tried to pull off the farce...the drivers revving up his engines and wanting to leave, even though it was only 6:45 and the boat was due to go at 7:30...i cant beleive how the locals think as we're foreign we dont know that we're being conned!) This seems to be a common occurrence here- as soon as the locals see us, the charge us double the price and then say we're getting a really good deal!

Anyway we arrived on the island, the smaller of two called Perhentian Kecil, and opicture white sands, clear, crystal clear turquoise water, blue skies, palm trees...bliss! The accommodation was ok....we managed to change for the next 5 nights we stayed there...however the hostel owner was a laugh and half and we went on a snorkelling trip around the islands and saw so many fish in so many colours in the coral- black to fluorescent blues, purpules, greens and pink, so many nemo, sorry clown fish in the anemone, there were also the but ugly fish that you thought why had life been so cruel to them giving them, a face like that the iother looked to nice! However more importantly we saw (well i saw anyway) 3 sharks, a number of sting ray which are incredibly beautiful, blue with yellow spots on and also a massive turtle just grazing along the sea bead eating the weed. What we stupidly forgot or sshould have beeen more careful about were our backs- it was over cast, but even still at lunch helens back had turned a luminous shade of pink, mine and de's slightly better, but no much...ooooppps..we coul;d've blended in with the fish as well.

The food on the islands...pricey, but the fish we had was soo good. What was slightly weird were the locals. As soon as we told them we were from england thewy starte dcoming out with all these lines- luvely jubbley mate, alright mate, dont worry chicken currey, and do you know what i mean mate- all trying to put on cockney accents...bizzar! And it wasnt just in one restaurant, it was nearly every malaysian on the island who could speak english! It turns out there is an english padi instructor out there and not just a guest who had happened to go all around the island and speak with every person working there! What was even mopre weird, we turned up in Taman Negara, the national park and a rainforest that is 135 million years old and survived the ice age, we said to a guy that we were englsih and he turned around and said luvely jubbley- even more cionfusing!

Having spent 6 days of expensive food and internet that cost the same price as a meal on the mainland, reading and snorkelling and sunbathing, got a little boring. You'd think it would be heaven, but funds were running out witht he lack of atm and the need to do something different was evident so we moved onto to taman negara, as i said above, the rainforest of penisula malaysia. It was surprisingly not as hot as we expected.

Anyway i realise that all of this is going to be a bit of a mission to read and i have so much more to write as it has been nearly two weeks that i will up date more in the next couple of days. i hope you're all well and speak soon xxxxx