Monday 18th October Sorrento-Bari I got up at 6 and was out of the hostel by 6.45 as I had to catch a train from naples at 8.55 to get me over to Bari and the overnight ferry to greece. Unfortunately I had a little dispute on check out regarding a breakfast the previous day which I had already paid for then I somehow walked past the station without noticing it! This made me a little late then the train I did eventually get on sat in the station for a good 20 minutes before leaving. This combination of misfortune and incompetence made me miss my train from naples by 5 minutes. I did a bit of research at the station and confirmed what I had been told, but not really believed, the next train wasn't till after 3! I then checked the bus station and trips to Bari were thin and far between there too. The train would get me to bari around an hour before the ferry sailed and at this point I hadn't booked a ticket and my accommodation in greece was still not confirmed. However, I couldn't really delay the trip any longer as my rail pass, which was also valid for the ferry, ran out that day-leaving it for another day would have cost me about 120 euros. After some consideration I decided I wasn't in the mood to do any site seeing in Naples and after getting some food then reading in the station for a bit I got a train around 12 which took me to the town east of naples where I had to change for Bari. The one that left at 3 would have given me about 15 minutes to wait for the connection and I decided that the way my day was going it was best to get there with a bit more time to spare. I sat around the station there for a couple of hours then eventually got on the fast train to Bari. I'd already decided that it was best to get a taxi from the station to the ferry as my time was so short and as I got off the train a bloke on the immediately offered me a lift. I managed to negotiate the fare with this unofficial taxi driver down to 15 euros and we left for the terminal. Once I got in, after originally going to the drivers side, I realised that this was the first time I had been in a car for 6 weeks! Anyway with his basic english and my basic italian we managed to have a chat about the port of bari (which actually looked like a very pretty place) and the various english footballers who had played in bari over the last 20 years! Apparently Paul Rideout, who, if my memory serves me right, used to play 5 a side at brock college with my dad, also once played for them. He didn't have much success if I understood correctly! With some gesturing of bodily parts we agreed that he was good with his head but not so good with his feet, which didn't really suit serie A, or the footballing purists of brock college for that matter. Anyway, once he dropped me off I managed to find my way to the ticket office and onto the ferry without further difficulties, much to my relief. By 7.30 my arduous day trip across italy was over I was finally on my way to greece but I had 17 hours to kill before arrival in Patras. Once we got going I was able to use their wireless internet and I found an email confirming that I had definitely not made a booking for the hostel in athens but the connection was too slow for me to make a new one and when I tried to call the hostel direct I couldn't get through! Eventually I gave up, got some dinner then found some recliners to sleep on. Tuesday 19th October The Adriatic-Patras-Athens When I woke up in the morning after a surprisingly good sleep I found that we had hit a bit of a choppy patch. I did manage to speak to the hostel and belatedly book a bed in Athens but I spent the next few hours going in and out of the toilets, horribly sea sick! We eventually got into calmer waters which were shielded by one of the islands (possibly Kefalonia) and we arrived in Patras on the west coast of greece only slightly late. I'd managed to book a coach through the ferry company while on board and the coach took me and one other passenger (!) right into the heart of athens. The scenery of the Peleponese which we went through en route was lovely and the weather was good again. The driver abruptly dropped us off then drove away and I didn't have much of an idea where I was! Using a basic map I had in my book, the directions from the hostel and a bit of help from the locals I eventually made it to the hostel. I checked in 36 hours after leaving Sorrento, and had a well overdue shower! It turned out that the hostel wasn't very far from where I was dropped off at all and was very central. I went out to get some supplies then cooked dinner. The hostel has a much vaunted view of the acropolis from a roof top bar, I went up to check it out and it was indeed impressive. Later on, I went up the road to the sports bar owned by the hostel and watched some champions league football. After that finished I went back to the hostel, chatted to a few people in my dorm then went to bed. Wednesday 20th October Athens I got up and had some breakfast then decided to do the walking tour of the city which the hostel organised. Although this wasn't quite as good as the pisa one it was still interesting and helped me get my bearings in the city. We saw several ancient greek ruins, including some from the roman era, the national gardens, the original 1896 modern olympic stadium, the palaces of the president and pm, the parliament/memorial to the unknown soldier, the main shopping district, some byzantine churches from the early middle ages and finally we ended up outside the acropolis. We didn't go in as it was 12 euros but our guide told us all abot it and from here you also get a fantastic view of the enormous, sprawling city and some of the surrounding coastline/countryside. From a few things I'd read I wasn't expecting an awful lot from athens but I wanted to go to see the acropolis. In the end I was really pleasantly surprised, the city centre was lovely, laid back and full of greenery. It didn't have the feel of such a big place and still possessed the famous greek charms of friendliness and tavernas. The weather was great while I was there (25 degrees and sunny) and hence it was a very relaxing place to end my european leg. In fact I was so relaxed that on returning from the tour about 1 I did precisely nothing all afternoon. In the evening I'd arranged to meet a couple of people from the tour on the roof top bar for happy hour. We got chatting to a few more people including a bloke from toronto who was an absolute spitting image of Twig, my old mate from uni. His name was alan partridge which me and the english bar man found amusing! We stayed at the bar until around 11 when the barman took a load of us down to a local bar/night club. I grabbed some dinner on the way. The international group consisted of aussies, kiwis, europeans, canadians and americans. We stayed out until finally my travelling from the previous day caught up with me about 2 and I nodded off on a very comfy sofa on the terrace! Old habits die hard. Thursday 21st October Athens I got up late with a hazy recollection of the end to proceedings the night before and missed breakfast. Once I'd made myself some brunch I spent a while sorting out my arrangements for Dubai, my next stop. By the time I'd finally sorted all of that it was early afternoon and I headed out to see the acropolis. It turned out that I got free entry as an eu citizen holding a student card (courtesy of STA travel) saving me 12 euros, which was nice. The acropolis is on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city chosen for its defensive qualities. It was a place to retreat to when the city was under threat but only contains temples of worship, the oldest of which are around 2500 years old and the largest of which is the famous pantheon. Its quite a remarkable place although it looks more romantic from a distance when you can't see all the cranes and other machinery which are up there as part of the ongoing protection/restoration. Interestingly, a lot of the columns, statues and friezes on site are actually replicas with the originals housed in the museum next door and/or in the british museum, stolen by the victorians, we really should give them back. I then went down to another ancient site to which my card allowed me free entrance, the roman era agora (market place) which was built a few centuries after the acropolis but formed part of the processional route up to it. They have actually fully and faithfully reconstructed the main, 2 storey shopping arcade and filled it with statues, column capitals and busts which have been collected from around the site. The rest of the area consists of dozens of ruined buildings and infrastructure of which not a lot remains above knee level excepting one beautiful, almost perfectly preserved temple, like a mini pantheon. The whole place has been landscaped with beautiful mediterranean plants and was a lovely place to spend the afternoon. I then had a look round the shops as I'd decided I needed a hat, a new pair of sunglasses, some more t shirts and swimming shorts to prepare for the better weather ahead. I have lost a bit of weight and the swimming shorts I have are virtually falling off my waist! I wasn't successful and after picking up some food I decided to head out to the edge of the city to see the stadium where they held the 2004 olympics and hold major football matches. Only after I'd bought my train ticket did I realise that the line was shut for renovations! I could still have got there by a more roundabout route but I decided to cut my losses and head back to the hostel via the scenic route all the way around the base of the acropolis hill. This passed through the local markets and some more nicely landscaped ancient ruins where I spotted a wild tortoise! I picked up some food on the way back and then rustled up some dinner. About 8 I headed up to the roof top bar again where many of the people from the night before were and we did it all again! This time however, there was karaoke involved. Fortunately for them, I didn't make anyone suffer my singing. Friday 22nd October Athens-Dubai My flight was around 4 so after surfacing a little late again I met up with a girl called Dani from Brisbane who I'd met the night before and who was also going to the airport. We had some lunch then got the metro out to the airport which actually took a fair while. I checked in and after some waiting around then I left Dani, arranged to try and meet up when I was in Brisbane, and headed to my boarding gate. The flight was very comfortable and we landed on time at about 10.30pm. Once I'd collected my bags etc I went outside to get a taxi. It was like walking into an oven! I got to the hotel easy enough, checked in and went to my room. They don't seem to have any hostels in Dubai so I had to book a hotel, the one I got was one of the cheapest, a holiday inn express, but it was new and it was luxirious compared to what I had been staying in! I was still on european time so watched a bit of tv in my room before I fell asleep about 1. Saturday 23rd October Dubai I'd arranged to meet up with Lorna, my friend ellis's sister, in the afternoon. Lorna has lived in Dubai with her fella Gareth for 4 years, they got married in Bournemouth just before I headed off. After filling up on the generous breakfast buffet I went out into the furnace with the intention of finding the beach which I knew wasn't far away. I got a bit lost and found it impossible to get anywhere on foot! I was getting a bit hot and bothered by this point and decided to jump on the nearby metro and instead see the recently completed burj Khalifa, now the tallest building in the world. This was only one stop away and was visible from outside the hotel, towering over the other skyscrapers of the city. Although it was impressive, I couldn't help thinking that it looked like something darth vader would have called home. On arrival I made my way over from the metro, there is also an enormous new shopping mall next door but, again, it was very difficult to find my way in by foot. Eventually, after taking some photos of the enormous tower, I got into the mall through the car park and had a look around inside where there was also an public access to a viewing point in the tower. I'd arranged to meet Lorna back at the hotel but I was running out of time so I tried to ring her to meet me at the mall. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the bloody phone to work and I had to rush back to meet her and Gareth by taxi! I got back just as they arrived and we set off to see some of the sites in Gareth's car. We saw the beach, the famously exclusive burj al arab hotel and then we drove on to the 'palm' one of the areas of reclaimed land off the coast. We had a drink next to the marina which is in the newest south western part of the city and is surrounded by enormous towers, with yet more under construction. Then we had a look round a shopping/leisure complex built around water and finally we went for some dinner on a lovely beach front bar/restaurant while we watched the sun go down (which happened very quickly!). They dropped me back at the hotel around half 7 and I was quite content to spend another relaxing evening enjoying the luxuries of my room! There are some quite amazing sights in dubai but also some quite naff bits which could have come from the hand of walt disney. I found the climate too hot and can understand why everyone gets from place to place solely by car but I did feel that consequently the city lacked any quality public spaces and places. I'd never realised it was quite so big either, it is spread out in a strip along the coast for miles which makes getting around quite time consuming. Sunday 24th October Dubai After breakfast I decided to head to the older part of town around the creek. This area lacked the obvious wealth and modernity of the other parts but had much more life on the streets. As the older buildings were much closer together you also get shade from the sun which was very welcome. I had a wander through the souks and down to the creek. About 1 ish I started to overheat and I decided to head back to the mall I had been at the previous day. I bought a ticket there to go up the tower then had some lunch. There were a really interesting exhibits relating to the tower on the way up, at the top and at the bottom. I spent over an hour there. Once at the viewing level which is actually about 2/3rds of the way up (despite being advertised as 'at the top') you can look over the city, the desert and the sea from inside and out. It was noticeably cooler on the external viewing platform than it was at ground level but unfortunately the haze limited the distance we could see. I could only just make out the collection of towers around the marina where we had been the day before for instance. However, it did give an understanding of how the city has grown up and just how huge the building is. Once I came back down I had a look round the shops and the aquarium in the mall and I managed to pick up some t shirts and a new pair of sunglasses but I didn't have any luck with the shorts or hat! As it started to get dark I took lornas advice and went outside to the large pool between the tower and the mall. The day before I had caught the end of a fountain show there but I was promised that the dusk show was the best. I was not disappointed as the show is absolutely fantastic, set to music and lights all the way up the tower. I walked back to the metro station and went back to the hotel where I watched a film before preparing my bags and going to bed. Monday 25th October Dubai-Kuala Lumpur I got up early, had some breakfast, checked out and got a taxi out to the airport. I picked up a new book at the airport and boarded the plane about 10am. Had another good flight and landed in kuala lumpur (malaysia) about 9.30pm local time. I got over to the hostel by train and was checked in by 11. I checked a few things on the computer there before going to bed. Tuesday 26th October Kuala Lumpur After breakfast, I booked another night at the hostel then I had a look round the city. The area around the hostel was an older part of town near the smelly river/open sewer, it was quite run down but was full of life and character with busy shops, cafes and street markets lining the roads. I took a walk over to the new centre with the modern high rise buildings, shops and parks. En route I passed through a forest park right in the middle of the city which was full of exotic trees and plants. The modern centre was attractive, lively and nicely landscaped with more beautiful greenery. It also had a more formal park with lakes and places to relax whilst admiring the skyline. I managed to pick up some shorts from the shopping area but still no luck with the hat. I also had a very tasty but incredibly cheap curry for lunch! I was making my way back around five when I came across a specialised 'it lifestyle' mall. I went in to see about getting a new camera and maybe a netbook(like a mini laptop) which a lot of travellers I have met find useful. As I went in I saw a phone stall and I asked if they might be able to unlock my blackberry so I could use it with my international SIM. After some toing and froing they said they could and we agreed a price but it was going to take an hour. I therefore spent the time wandering around this mall which was 5 storeys tall and jammed full of indian/malay/chinese versions of derek trotter selling all sorts of electronic equipment from market stalls. It was quite a crazy place actually! After doing some looking and some amateur bartering I found I couldn't get the bargain netbook or camera I was hoping for. I eventually managed to find my way back through the noisy, labyrinth like mall past dozens of traders touting for my business to where I started. There I found my successfully unlocked phone waiting for me. Then I couldn't find my way out! Finally, I did re emerge onto the relative peace of the street and I made my way back to the hostel following my nose as I had lost my map! Back at the hostel I did a bit of research on the net and bent a few peoples ears about where to go as I hadn't really planned this stage of my trip properly. Later on I went for another bargain curry with a guy from my dorm, we had a few drinks then I went to bed. Wednesday 27th October Kuala Lumpur After a distinctly ropey night's sleep and some breakfast I headed across the river to see the parks and gardens of the east of the city. En route I passed the national mosque and independance square where the union flag was symbolically lowered in the 50s and replaced by the malaysian one which has flown ever since. I then wandered around the beautiful gardens, parks and lakes before visiting the national monument and adjacent sculpture park where I picked up some welcome refreshments. Later on I headed back into the city and visited the train station to enquire about buses the following day. I spent the rest of the afternoon back at the hostel confirming my plans for the rest of the trip. I decided to make my way north to a place called Tanah Rata in the cameron highlands (jungles, hills and tea plantations) then further north on to the island of Penang (off west coast of malay peninsular) before crossing the border into Thailand where I will visit one or two of the more southerly islands. I booked accommodation for my next 2 stops and a seat for a plane back south from phuket to singapore where I will have a few days before catching my previously arranged flight to Sydney. Once this was all sorted I went out for a bite to eat. I decided to try out one of the local chinese restaurants which was cheap but not particularly nice! I then went back to the hostel and read my book for a bit before nodding off prematurely. Unfortunately, once I wanted to go to bed I couldn't sleep at all, I think I'm suffering a bit of jet lag! Thursday 28th October Kuala Lumpur-Tanah Rata I checked out of the hostel about 9 and headed over to the bus station from where my bus was due to depart. Although it was a bit rougher round the edges than I was expecting, I liked Kuala Lumpur. Its friendly, multi cultural, densely populated and full of life but its also packed full of beautifully lush and colourful tropical greenery. Once I got to the bus station I realised that it wasn't yet finished! A helpful local showed me to a booth that sold me a ticket for the bus I wanted and he then got me on the local bus that took me to the temporary out of town station. I got on board the rather knackered old bus to tanah rata with all my bags and shortly we set off. It was unfortunate that we were headed for the highlands as the bus struggled to reach 20mph at the merest hint of a hill. After passing through much jungle and some tea plantations we arrived in tanah rata around 3. The air was much fresher here as we were so much higher up. There wasn't really a lot there to be honest, although I'd read it was a travellers town there wasn't a lot going on either. After I'd checked in to my guesthouse I had a wander around and I have to say I did wonder why I'd bothered coming! Later on I had a really nice indian meal and then went back to the guesthouse as I was tired and I couldn't think of anything else to do. Then we had a thunder storm and I nodded off too early whilst reading and then couldn't sleep at night again. Frustrating! Friday 30th October Tanah Rata After I had a shower I felt a bit better and after looking at some stuff in reception I decided to do some 'jungle trekking' on a local route. This was quite good in the end although the mountain streams and waterfalls were a horrible brown colour which I wasn't sure was due to sewage from the town or the colour of the local mud. The route was quite difficult in patches and it felt like I'd done a bit of exercise. The scenery is nice but not spectacular, it was mostly forest/jungle on hilly terrain with the odd area of vegetable farms on man made terraces. I got back about 3 and picked up some fresh mango for a late lunch then I pottered around at the guesthouse for a bit. We then had an almighty downpour for an hour or so, when it eased off I headed out for some dinner and found some more lovely southern indian food served on a banana leaf. There was a bar next door which looked promising until I realised there wasn't anybody in there. I trudged back to my room packed by bags and eventually managed to get to sleep just after midnight.