And yes we are here in country number 5; Malaysia. And our first port of call was the touristy island of Langkawi famous for its spectacular 97 surrounding islands and beautiful jungle-beach settings. Famous too for its ridiculously cheap booze (A litre of Smirnoff is only 3 quid!, even more ridiculous is the fact that the 80% of its inhabitants are Muslim and so can't indulge in this most wonderful of pastimes!). And much more infamous for the 97 duty free shopping malls, the jungle-beach settings interspersed with man made hotel resorts, man made dual carriage ways, man made water features and man made cable car rides... you get the picture!! Compared to the idyllic paradise islands of Thailand, Langkawi was different - much more catered for the rich sun seeker and duty free shoppers not really for the lowly budget backpacker! And so after traipsing the strip of 4 and 5 star hotels we finally managed to find a chalet that was suitably grimy, insect infested and stank of piss! But with so much squeezed onto the island our next few days were gonna be jam-packed with activities to keep us away from the cess pit! We hired a bike and took to exploring, taking in unspoilt waterfalls, eternally long beaches, playful monkeys, wondering snakes and lizards. All the man made stuff paid dividends as the heavens opened (apparently its rainy season here!) and we visited the great Sea Life Centre and went up in the breathtaking cable cars to take in the most stunning sunset so far! We even stumbled across a Reggae bar (they're universal apparently!) and had a few nights bopping to a local band and enjoying the cheapest booze and food yet! But on that score we've been having a few difficulties - food may be dirt cheap but we think it's because they save costs by not providing cutlery - yes Malay's eat with their hands! Fine when you're tucking into a tasty curry with a helpful naan bread to spoon it with but when you're sat next to a table full of people shoveling their dinner with curry up to their elbows its hard not to choke with laughter! We thought chop sticks took some getting used to but there's not getting used to this - even with the handy hand washing sinks that line the restaurant walls!! Today we stocked up on booze (well its only fair that we take a few bottles for temptations sake!), we checked out of our pish ridden chalet and James maneuvered both me and 2 backpacks on the back of our scooter (no worry, we were suitably equipped with helmets - a necessity for falling coconuts!), and now we find ourselves on our way to the Perhentian Islands - which promises to be like the Thai islands that we hold so dear to our hearts and more! (Fran - Kecil here we come!!) So if you don't hear from us in a while you can rest assured we are doing what we love best; lying on white sandy beaches, swimming in crystal clear waters and making the most of island life in our hammocks...xxx