Right then, several people have complained that these entries are getting too long so I shall aim to try and shorten them a bit to appease the readership and also, to give my weary (and not particularly capable) creative side some respite! This leg deals with the trip up to and including Taman Negara National Park via Singapore, KL and onward!

I got back to Singapore, overjoyed to be out of Indonesia and decided to spend a few days recovering in civilisation before I exposed myself to Malaysia again. Not that Malaysia had been unpleasant but Singapore is easy to be in and I feel very at home there so that was my thought. I also had planned to meet up with the son of my Mum's godfather (a tenuous link I know), which I didn't manage that time, and also to see some more parts of the city that I hadn't seen as yet.

I had about 10 days to kill before Ali arrived and I wanted to make the best of it as I knew that she needed to rest up and also the fact that we weren't going to have time to see everything I wanted to whilst together so why not do it now?!

My first port of call was to head to Sentosa Island. This is an amazing place, completely manufactured by the Singaporeans as a leisure resort. It used to be a 'lepper' colony and then became one of the outposts for the British Army during our occupation. Indeed, my first sightseeing venue on the island was to visit Fort Siloso and take part in the contrived (but informative) tour of the Fort. It was all that I had come to expect from Singapore but with a hint of American Disney in terms of the saccharine nature of the presentation. Sentosa really is like Disneyworld and when the new World Resort is finished, it will be even more so!

I walked around the fort and headed to the beach next for some lunch before venturing to the southernmost point in Continental Asia. Now I am not sure that it actually was but they had a big sign for pics and everyone else seemed thoroughly convinced so I played along. I think if you tell most people things and put a big, impressive bridge in the way, people are gullible enough to go with it!

The rest of the afternoon was spent 'doing' the tourist sights of the Island. I did the luge (actually great fun) went up the Carlsberg Tower for some amazing 360 degree views of Singapore and the Ocean. It makes you realise quite how small the place is. I also went to a horrendous '4D show' which involved 3D glasses and badly timed water jets, wind machines, noisy Indians talking all the way through Eric Idle's First Mate dialogue with Leslie Neilson's Pirate Captain and worst of all, whiplash. Honestly, they threw us around so much that I cam out nauseous from inertial sickness and in need of physio on my neck!

I headed back to the mainland and as I couldn't meet the guy I wanted to, decided to cut short my time in Singapore and headed north to KL and onward.

In KL, the ubiquitous rice wine reared its ugly head once again and I met a great pair - Hilevi (pronounced Hillary) and Chris and also another guy whose name I can't remember (I told you that rice wine affects my memory) and we headed off to downtown KL for some more party time! That night was fun as none of us had a clue where we were meant to be going and actually, I only worked out the layout of KL in my head the day I left! Needless to say, we went to a few bars and the next thing I remember is a blurry recollection of the young girl who worked in the hostel stifling a scream as she ran away from me as Istumbled down the hallway to the loo (I realised when I woke up later on that I was naked lol) and then I had to conquer the sites of KL.

I got myself up (it was 2pm) and by the time I had managed to get dressed, eat something and headed out; I decided to get the bus to see a hill temple in the mountains about 30km away. I got to the bus stop and it was 4pm and came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to get there before it closed anyways and hell, I had seen more temples than most people EVER will so this one didn't matter so much! Needless to say, I got no sympathy from Ali via text as I explained my predicament!

The next day (you see how quickly I skipped over that one) I was determined to see everything in the city so I woke early and headed out with a girl in the hostel to see the Petronas Towers. I had wanted to see these ever since I came to Malaysia and had seen them in films previously. Guess what? When we got there, it was bloody closed for some reason. Apparently, Mondays are essential maintenance days or something so my hopes were dashed! We did, however, manage to wander around the tranquillity gardens and also went up the KL tower. Actually, the views weren't all that spectacular because the weather was a bit grey and dreary but I got some pics as you can see. We also got to have a personal guided tour around the rainforest. You remember I said that Singapore is one of two places in the world where there is remaining Primary Rainforest? Well KL is the other.

Next we packed out bags and headed up to Taman Negara which means 'Park of Peace/Relaxation'. Quite how anyone is meant to relax in this place is beyond me! The journey there leaves you exhausted as you have to get a 7 hour chicken bus from KL which then drops you in the middle of nowhere before you then board a deafening and horrendously uncomfortable long boat for 3 hours journey upriver to the place where you get off. All the way, you are bombarded by the sun and struggling to breathe in air that is nearly 100% humidity. Very relaxing!

Actually, I do jest a bit because the journey was filled with amazing views and the boat ride was quite frankly, one of the nicest I have done (and remember I have spent more than 2 days on a boat!). The scenery was awesome and the driver was quite hair-raising at times which always adds to the excitement!

We got off the boat at the floating restaurant and amazingly, the vouchers which we had exchanged for our hard earned cash, became different vouchers that could be swapped in exchange for food and accommodation. We then got ferried to our hotel which was on the other side of the river and were immediately welcomed with cold flannels and drinks. 'All good' I was thinking. We had also been approached on the bus and told that because we were the only 2 people the bus who were going to the resort we had booked, we were being 'upgraded' to the resort where everyone else was staying and it had a/c!

When I was handed my cold flannel and took in my surroundings (cottages with verandas, cocktail bars, plush restaurants), I thought I had landed well and truly on my feet! It was at this point that the lovely lady in reception explained that we were staying in the hostel part of the resort and she crinkled her nose, removed our flannels from us and herded us to the other end of the resort where we checked in at the 'alternate' reception! Actually, it wasn't all that bad. A bit dingy and the beds were the highest I think I have ever seen (3 bunks high) but the a/c worked and the company was good; I was still travelling with the random Swiss-German, Yvonne but had met a great guy named Matt who had given up a job trading in London to see the world for a bit and we got on very well - he liked beer too!

I spent the next 3 days in Taman Negara having a great time. We went on a night safari and saw all manner of beasties and we also signed up to do the 'Canopy Walkway' which is meant to be the longest in world. Whatever, it was hugely impressive. I then had the joy of mountain trekking in 40 degree heat with 100% humidity which is not easy. It is kind of like being on a running machine in a hot shower whilst standing in a sauna. It really is that unpleasant and sticky. My t shirt was soaked in minutes and my shorts followed. Our guide was a young guy who didn't break a sweat once throughout the climb and he told us that he was involved in the Malaysian National team for a 112 mile RUN over 20 something peaks in the area later in the year. Needless to say, we were impressed!

The final day in Taman Negara was spent 'Rapid Shooting' which basically involved getting in an extremely unstable long boat and heading upriver with the 5bhp engine straining for its life and us bailing water out as fast as possible. It was also this day that the weather, which until now had been blazing sunshine all day with the obligatory afternoon shower, decided to change and we found ourselves in one of the heaviest rainstorms I had experienced so far. It went on for nearly 24 hours too and everyone got soaked. Indeed, we ended up swimming in the river after we visited the aboriginal village and it was warmer there than standing outside in the rain. We couldn't stay in the river forever sadly and had to get in and endure the trip downstream, soaked, where we cursed the a/c for being so damn cold!

On to the Cameron Highlands next!