Things I have done since leaving Lee in Kuala Lumpur;

My solo voyage was not off to a good start as I just missed the bus from Kuala Lumpur and had to wait 5 and half hours for the next one, luckily there was another English guy in the same boat and we travelled together to a place called Jarentut. This is a small town and as we got there late I just had time to watch the final Premiership matches in a roadside restaurant with a lot of overly-excited Malaysian men.

We were up early the next day to go to Taman Negara, the oldest rainforrest in the world. The guy I was with called Piers was an experienced hiker so we treked all around the rainforest, navigated the longest rope bridge in the world and stumbled accross and indigenous tribe who seemed very surprised to see us, even though the resort run tours there so they must see white people relatively regularly. I was knackered and soaked in sweat by the end and could have murdered a beer but no where sold alcohol, until we started chatting to a local tour guide who drove us in his kitted out car, blasting out Eifel 65 'I'm blue' to a hotel where we could get a can of Tiger and a game of pool.

I had enough of the rainforrest after one full full day trekking and go a scenic 11 hour train through the jungle to the far North East of Malaysia. The scenery was amazing, especially the mist that descends at dusk and loads of locals got on at the most remote stations i've ever seen (makes Westenhanger look like a bustling interchange). I eventually arrived in Kota Baru and got in a rusty car with 3 other guys, having to hold the door as it didn't shut properly to the dirtiest hostel I've been in yet, no other travellers save an English guy who must have been 70 and looked like he was dying, he was still asleep when I left at 2 the next day.

I did'nt stay in Kota Baru long and made my way to the Parenthian islands, I ran into a Canadian girl I get in the jungle on the boat and I shared accomodation with an English guy to save costs. It was cosy with one doule bed in a wooden bungalow but the beach was so idyllic with crystal claer warm water, white sand and a relatively unpopulated beach it didn't matter.

The island isn't that developed which was nice, we still had some drinks in the evening, they sold a strange liquor called monkey juice that tasted a bit like spiced rum and was pretty lethal. I spent 3 nights listened to reggae bands and watched one fire show, meeting lots of travellers on their way to the Full moon party. THe only bad point was that I got eaten alive by mozzys and sand flies and got stung by a jellyfish!

After 3 days on the island I had run out of cash (no ATMS) so travelled accross country, unfortunately overnight to a place called Penang. I travelled with an American girl called Prachi and we saw the sights of Georgetown the capital of Penang including a steep hill railway up Penang hill and an old British fort. Georgetown was the original settlement of the East India Company in Malaysia so I bored her with all my history knowledge. On my last night we went for a beer in what the guidebook descibed as a sports bar but was actually something far more seedy. When we walked in everyone got up to give us a seat and as Prachi is Asian they assumed she had brought me there for more than a drink as apparently after dark activities commence through the back. There were no other girls in the bar, and she was told not to come back alone. After chatting to some very drubk Malaysians I felt it was time to leave when one fat old guy kept telling me how handsome I was and pushing himself up against me! It was definately an experience and glad I left when I did, off to Thailand tommorrow on a stupidly early bus and should meet up with Lee there.

I do have photos of my travels but my computers skills do not streach to uploading them so that might have to wait until I meet Lee.