A five hour journey out of Kuala Lumpur aboard an overcrowded bus with asthmatic air conditioning brought us to the Cameron Highlands area of Malaysia. Whilst the air quality inside the old rattler of a bus was no better than on the streets of KL, it was all forgotton when we stepped off and filled our lungs with the fresh mountain air in Tanah Rata, a small town at the heart of the Cameron Highlands. Not only was the air clean, but the days were cooler, around 1...

Arrived safely in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, after a 6 hour train journey from Singapore. The fare was 10 quid - our cheapest day for months! After a long time in the relatively safe environment of Australia, battling through KLs traffic on a white knuckle taxi ride and then on foot choking on the polluted air, dodging lunatic locals on scooters, and all the time declining street hawkers offers of food, drink, pirated dvds and fake clothing, jus...

Not wishing to rush Singapore, we spent a week in what turned out to be a great city. Lisa's parents were with us for the first couple of days and we spent the time seeing some of the attractions and enjoyed drinks at Raffles Bar and meals along the Singapore River. A few tears were shed on their final night and we were, once again, on our own. After the holiday of a lifetime that was our 4 months in Australia, Lisa was a little nervous of the forthcomi...

After staying with Mum and Paul at their hotel in Cairns for 2 weeks our arrival in Perth meant that it was now time to move back into backpacker accommodartion. To say that it came as a bit of a shock is an understatement. After walking out of one possible place to stay due its condition, our highly recommended hostel was just as disgusting. I really had forgotton what living on a budget is all about. Perth itself is a great city. Clean, modern with a great...

SIMON GOES WALKABOUT Whilst I have had an absolute ball on the East Coast of Australia, I was itching to get into the outback and see the real Australia. As Lisa felt that she would be unable to function in the heat, I was on my own. My route took me overland from Cairns through the rainforest and bush into the desert, travelling mostly on dirt roads, and dodging the iconic road trains. Arriving in Alice Springs 3 1/2 days later, I then spent the next 4...