Same Same, but different this time.

Following Bali, the two weeks that we travelled from Kuala Lumpar to Bangkok involved returning to previously trodden paths, where individually we had visited KL, Phi Phi, Krabi and Bangkok in previous adventures. However, despite revisiting some of our favourite places, we were lucky enough to have different experiences adding to our memories and photo albums!

For the third time, we found ourselves in Kuala Lumpar. Here we stayed in a hostel, with hanging baskets and a Japanese-themed garden, which housed some interesting species. Several huge Chinese fish were competing for space with turtles with giraffe like necks and piranha like teeth in what was a clearly overcrowded fishtank. Further to this, Lottie performing her daily duty to request for towels was greeted by a monkey wearing a pink dress and being toyed with by the unusual hotel manager. We also spent some time shopping for a laptop, and further ventured around the city on the monorail.

The following morning, we caught a local bus to the Teman Negara rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world. Arriving at the riverside, we jumped into a longboat which took us on a three hour trip down the river to the village – beautiful scenery yet scarce wildlife proved to send us both to sleep during the journey, so much so that Lottie was least impressed when Paul woke her up to point out some water buffalos bathing in the river!

Our time in the rainforest was slow-paced, the highlight being a walk along the longest canopy walkway in the world – well, at least Lottie was walking. Paul, struggling with his fear of heights, succumbed to a protective crouch-like walk as he straddled 30-40meter drops much to Lottie’s amusement! Our walk back introduced us to some wildlife at last, several monitor lizards, two packs of monkeys, a owl-like bird of prey and a very rare (often heard but not seen) peacock like bird. We also had a dip in the orange-brown river which proved to be great refreshment and visited a local ‘aborigine’ village where we were shown how to make a fire and use a blow pipe, however the local villagers did not seem too happy to have tourists, maybe because they had to cover up there Gucci bags!!

With little else to do in the rainforest, we headed towards the islands in the north east of Malaysia, the Perhentians. On arrival, we were greeted with crystal clear waters, a curved white sand beach and a scenic backdrop of luscious green trees nestling against the hills of the island. We quickly found accommodation, and then dashed towards the beach to taste the waters. A second day of beach-bumming, some jetty-jumping by Paul and plenty of photo-opportunities later, and we were already planning our next journey - into Thailand and Ko Lanta.

Ko Lanta was a recommendation by other travelers, and it seemed that we turned up just as the season was finishing. The abundance of guesthouses were desolate from tourists, the many restaurants were sleepy if not closed, and the minimarkets were lacking in products on their shelves. Although this created the feel of a ghost town, it did also offer a 5km stretch of beach with less than a handful of tourists. Perfect! Well, it would have been had it not have been for the giant Jellyfish that were washed up on the beach. The diameter of a car tyre, these translucent alien-like jellies forced many people to avoid elongated visits into the sea for fear of a nasty sting. Anyway, lacking in activities, we were quickly restless and organized onward travel to Ko Phi Phi.

Having previously visited Ko Phi Phi, Paul had not stopped ranting on about the two tropical islands for weeks, and Lottie’s expectations were set very high. The crawl through town, a hugely touristic mix of bars, western restaurants, 7elevens and boutique clothing stores was shortly followed by a walk down to the beach. The stunning main bay on the island is a curved white sand beach, looking out onto a shallow and crystal clear bay, and seeing the natural curve of the islands limestone cliffs come in to form only a small opening out to sea. If you can beat the crowds as we did, it is bliss. Our first day also involved renting a Kayak, to venture to other local beaches. We may have underestimated the amount of effort required! No less than 1 hr of kayaking against the choppy sea and we were totally shattered, however we were well rewarded. The journey alone was a sight to behold, following the vertical faces of the gigantic limestone cliffs, but on arrival at our first bay, we felt like we had found heaven.

Hidden away from view, with only a small channel of water leading into the bay, we found a small beach no longer than 20m, set amidst colossal limestone cliffs, all adorned in a vast variety of flora and omitting the sound of the fauna that occupied the area. The crystal clear water led out to a spot of perfect snorkeling. We were greeted by a very friendly shoal of blue yellow and white fish that were happy to swim within a few inches of us, so much so that we almost lost each other in the crowds…

We spent a day at the beautiful Long Beach with a packed lunch in hand, escaping the crowds that flocked to the main beach. On our last day, we took to a longboat and visited the second island Phi Phi Don, the island that the film ‘The Beach’ was set on. This breathtaking island has the most dramatic of limestone cliffs offsetting against crystal clear waters, and is utterly beautiful, however tourism is taking it’s toll. The famous Maya Bay is overrun with tourist boats, and so the island is losing it’s charm. However, for some this is the place to be, or more so, the place to get engaged..........we were the first to congratulate an Australian who had just popped the question and got the right answer! How many of you held your breath at that moment??

We watched the Royal Wedding just as we arrived in Krabi, and were singing the national anthem along with our fellow Brits. Our one day stay in Krabi took us to the Railey Penisular via a bumpy boat trip (that proved too much for Lottie’s tummy!) and again dramatic limestone cliff views (boring!!). To reach a viewpoint of the peninsular, we climbed up a vertical muddy path for which we needed the guide rope to help drag us towards the peak. At times, this daunting climb without any harness was scary, but the views were worth all the sweat and tears! We then found a beautiful beach and vast overhanging cliffs (some which looked liked icicles) proved popular with the professional climbers!

Finally, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary in the charmless city of Bangkok. However, in order to escape the madness, we checked into a luxury hotel which had ‘the best bedsheets in the world’ – quote Lottie. We utilized the swimming pool and the sauna and treated ourselves to a lovely dinner of pizza and pasta – how the other half live!! We excited ourselves with thoughts of our next adventures....