Well hello people!!

Sorry about the lack of blog-i-ola we've been travelling a lot over the last month or so but I have a little bit of time to quickly update you!

So we're back in Kuala Lumpur after a two week stint in Sumatra, Indonesia. We were meant to stay there longer but the volunteering project that we were meant to help with fell through which was a real shame (especially as we'd paid out for our visa!).

Howev I shall talk about Malaysia first. Our first stop was Melaka after bussing it from Singapore. This was a small port town that I found quaint but Vicki disliked! We stayed in a place that had titanic style grates locking us in at night (I kid you not!) which wasn't the best especially as on the first night that we stayed there the owner nearly burnt the bloody kitchen down! (I kid you not again!!). Anywho we stayed a couple of nights, ate some really nice food and visited some temples and a ship museum (much more interesting than it sounds I assure you!). Next stop was Kuala Lumpur which was busy, hot and humid when we arrived especially as there was a massive Hindu festival going on right outside our hostel! We stayed for a few nights and tried to see as much as possible including the Botanic gardens (which were bloody huge and took about an hour to get out of!) China town, Central market, some nice historic buildings (sorry can't remember the names!) and a water park (which was a bit rubbish!). We also got the dead skin on our feet chewed off by fish which only cost a quid! (I'm pretty sure it's a new craze at home??). Next stop was the Cameron Highlands- which is surrounded by beautiful montane forest and lots and lots of tea plantations! Of course we visited the plantations which was really interesting and had a cuppa tea : )

Next stop was the the island of Penang where we were meant to be getting the boat over to Sumatra. However, the day we went to get the boat we were told that the boat service had stopped running and you now had to fly. How annoying! So cue airplane ticket buying and arriving in Medan by plane the next day.

We went straight to Bukit Lawang on a very hot, sticky, very old bus which took 4 hours to travel 80km. Yes that's right- 4 hours to travel about 60 miles-what a joke! We passed lots of oil palm plantations along the way before reaching the village of Bukit Lawang where we had to walk across a rickety old swing bridge above river to get to our hostel. The hostel was great and we took time the next day to chillax and sort out our trekking.

We decided on a two day one night affair in the 'Jungle'. The first day was trekking through the Sumatran rainforest in the hope of seeing wild Orangutans- and we weren't disappointed!Within a few hours we saw 5! 5!!! Two females with their little ones gripping onto their backs and one male lazing about in a tree (typical!). It was totally amazing - the females stayed around for ages and we were about 2-3 metres away form her at one point! Intense! They're used to humans so were not afraid or aggressive but just behaved normally. Totally surreal and amazing- the babies were the cutest things we've ever seen!

After a full day walking we got to our campsite which involved crossing a river in a big inner tube! Once across we swam in the river, ate amazing food and slept under a tarpaulin when the rain came in.

Unfortunately the next day brought really heavy rain and so we had to get back instead of trekking for a few more hours. The trip back was crazy- we were all in massive innner tubes that were tied together and off we went down the river into grade 4 white water rapids!! We got soaked- it was one of the most exhilarating things we've ever done (much better than standard white water rafting!). It was mental but we got back safe and sound. : ). The next day we went to the orangutan viewing platform which wasn't as good as seeing them in the forest but we still got to see two females with their little ones.

Next up was Berastagi. A typical Indonesian town where we climbed a volcano. When we got to the top there was steam spouting out from holes in the rock like it was about to explode!! It stunk of sulphur (rotten egg!) but was brilliant! On the way down Vicki slipped and sprained her ankle which was very unfortunate as we still had about an hour descent to go! She managed to hobble her way down though and was rewarded with a dip in the hot springs. Nice!

Next stop was Lake Toba- or the island in the middle of Lake Toba. We spent a few days here just chilling out and not doing a lot! We rented mopeds and zoomed round part of the island one day, stopping to have a dip in the lake and cool off as we went- it's the life I tell ya!

But now we're back in Kuala Lumpur where we begin our travel to the East coast. Tomorrow we're going to the Tioman islands to swim, sunbathe and snorkel. Can't wait!!

Sorry about the very quick entry. So much to say, so little time!

Anyway, love to you all and see you soon!

K and V.xxxx