Having decided to try to update our blog weekly.... we have managed to go 2 weeks since our last entry, so we have a lot to tell you!!

We moved from Penang to Taiping via all sorts of public transport... just to save ourselves a bit of money, and arrived in what turned out to be quite a dismal little town in the pouring rain (which seems to have followed us every day since!). That put an end to our plans of going to the night safari at the zoo! Instead we did some washing and played cards!

The next morning was a bit brighter, so after a local breakfast of mee soup (prawns, fish balls and chicken in a clear noodle soup) we caught the very decrepid local bus to Matang Mangrove reserve. It turned out we were the only visitors, which was brilliant as it meant we had some spectacular views of monkeys, lots of small colourful birds as well as two huge Crested Serpant eagles. The afternoon was spent on a few buses to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands, stopping off at Ipoh on the way. Checked into a hostel then out for a meal with two English boys we'd met on the bus (James and Chris).

Another local breakfast, this time roti with coconut for me and very spicey noodles for Alex set us up for an 8 hour walk through the jungle and up a very long valley to a huge tea plantation. On the way we bought homeade blackberry jam from a someones house who claimed to be the only person making it in Malaysia! The tea plantations were beautiful and we had a relaxing cup of tea and a tour of the factory, before walking the 5km back down the road, passing honey, strawberry and orchid farms. We waited for a bus outside a hardware shop (making friends with the owner who told us about his son who went to university in Portsmouth!). However after an hour the local bus didn't arrive but we managed to flag down a very posh coach which took us back to Tanah Rata for free!

The next day was spent visiting a butterfly park (which also had snakes, all kinds of beetles and massive spiders!), some strawberry plantations, and a beautiful Chinese Temple.

We were sad to leave the Highlands the next morning as they were so nice and cool in comparison to everywhere else we had been so far. We arrived in Kuala Lumpar after an extremely uncomfortable bus ride down incredibly windey road - all around me were people being sick (Alex had managed to grab a front seat so he missed all this!). Spent the afternoon walking to the Lake Gardens where we visited the Bird Park, claiming to have the largest covered aviary in the world. Saw some amazing birds, including some Brahimny Kites being fed ducklings! In the evening we walked to the Bukit Bintang area (where all the high rise hotels are) - a huge contrast to Chinatown where we were staying in our cramped backpackers hostel!

The next 2 days were spent exploring KL, climbing the Petronas Twin Towers, walking around parks, learning how to do batik painting on silk, watching some of an international squash tournament (we just happened to walk past it in a shopping centre while we were sheltering from yet another rainstorm!), and trying all sorts of local food - some nicer than others!

Our next destination was Jerantut, just a one night stop-over on our way to the national park of Taman Negara. Unfortunately by the time we arrived in the town and checked into the only place which had rooms left, the only place to eat that was still open was KFC!

After another torrential rain fall, we caught a bus to Kuala Tahan, where we checked into an Islamic guesthouse before setting off across the river (bumping into Nathan and Nora who we'd met on a train in Thailand over a month ago!). The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in a hide (partly sheltering from the rain) where we saw a hornbill fly across, wild boar, and crested fire-back pheasants as well as lots more colourful small birds. We were sharing the hide with a group of birdwatchers who let us use their telescope and told us the names of the birds we could see and hear. Dinner was at a floating cafe on the river before we went on a night safari on the back of a jeep. This turned out to be a disapointment as they had overbooked and we ended up right at the back, very uncomfortable and hardly able to see out! All we saw was a couple of snakes, some sleeping kingfishers and a frog!

The next day was spent walking 7km through Taman Negara. Because there were so many leaches everywhere, we had to tuck our trousers into our socks and t-shirts into our trousers - ended up looking pretty stupid!! Keeping the leaches out worked for me although they were all over my socks and shoes, but Alex still managed to get one on his wrist. During the day we did a canopy walk - with good views over the rain forest and river, walked up a mountain (Bukit Teresik), and visited another hide. We also managed to get completely soaked in the very regular torrential downpours! When we finished the walk we spent a few hours sitting in a hide where we were lucky enough to spot a hornbill. In the evening we caught a bus back to Jerantut, meeting two fellow geography students from Germany on the way. Unfortunately we had no choice other than KFC for dinner again having again arrived late in the evening!

It was a very early start the next morning, catching a 4.50am train to Singapore. The 8 hour journey didn't begin well as the train was delayed and then when we got onto the very cramped carriage we found a boy being sick on the floor right under out seats! The toilets were out of order so at one station I got off the train, crossing the tracks to use the loo there! We arrived in Singapore (after getting on and off the train at customs) to find an incredibly clean and modernised city. The underground took us to our hostel in Little India, run by very friendly people, and we checked into our dorm room. Stayed in the hostel for a while as it was raining so heavily outside, then set out for a walk around the area, visiting some beautiful Hindu temples and wandering round some electrical shops, looking for bargains on camera things! Spent the evening at the Esplanade (passing Raffles and other amazing buildings on the way) where we watched several music acts as part of a free music festival.

The next day we explored the Arab area, vitsiting mosques and lots of little shops then walked through the town to meet Peggy (a friend of Alex's Dad who works for Intel in Singapore) who gave us a very interesting guide book to Singapore and took us for a foot massage, done by blind people - very relaxing! After a delicious Japanese lunch we went to the Esplanade to meet Lesley, a girl who we met working at the Elephant park in Thailand. On the way we asked about tickets to the evenings performance by Jools Holland, expecting them to be sold out or very expensive, but managed to get ourselves a pair for just 14 pounds each! After having a hot chocolate with Lesley we went to the concert, held in the main concert hall - it was absolutely brilliant! He had the whole audience up dancing for most of it. After the concert we met Lesley for some drinks at Clarke Quay.

The rest of our time in Singapore was spent sheltering from the rain while walking around all sorts of amazing sights and huge shopping centres. Peggy took us out for a lovely dinner with her daughter Kimberley, and we tried all sorts of Singaporean dishes including the delicious chilli crab. She then took us for a driving tour of the city by night.

Our next stop is Java, where we plan to spend about 11 days before going to Bali and flying out to Australia.............