We had a long day of travelling in order to get to Penang in Malaysia but the trip went without a hitch even at the border. I find border crossings very imtimedating experiences, I don't really know why but you always feel like you have done something wrong and going to be pulled over for something. The border crossing is very well organised here and you have to have all your bags scanned before being allowed into Malaysia.

We arrived Penang around 6pm and we had left at 8am so quite a long day and Malaysia in one hour ahead of Thailand. The hotel in Penang was pretty grim to be honest but was very close to Georgetown, which is the main historical part of the island.

The next day 3 of us went on a walking tour whilst the others stayed in bed. This was our only full day here so I decided to make the most of it and get walking although by 9am we were melting. Our guide took us to several Chinese Budda temples in the China Town region. We then took a walk along the river to see the clan jetties which have been passed down through generations of Chinese people. They were not as exciting as I thought they might be but was still interesting to see. We then took a walk through Little India towards the colonial area. You couldn't mistake being in Little India due to the loud bollywood music that was being played from every shop! The colonial area was my favourite with the Cornwillis Fort, a clock tower and the town hall. (Mum and Dad - think Willamsburg in America!). Other than this there really wasn't much to do or see here and so sort of wasted the remainder of the day walking a bit more and watching the election results come in.

A new guy joined us here - he was not allowed to meet us in Thailand because he works for the US airforce and his commander would not let him travel to Thailand. Crazy over hyping of the situation....if 15 young girls can survive then I am sure a US airforce officer can.. Paranoia me thinks.

We went out that night for food in a local market which is where many locals eat. It is also the cheapest way to eat as the restaurants charge quite a bit more than the local stalls. It is funny how different the people look here in Malaysia. In Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam they all looked very oriental but here they are more Indian looking (not probably the most PC way to describe this but it's true!). The english here is very good and the food is very different. not quite got used to Malay food yet as not always sure what I have ordered! After our meal we headed out for a few drinks, which has been a rare occurrence on this tour. We met some Aussie army boys here on training for 3 months and to be honest they were just foul creatures. Considering they were the first Oz guys I have really ever met they did not give me the best first impressions. One of them threw a pint over one of the girls in my group for no reason and one said I was a beautiful man! Could have punched his lights out quite frankly. We tried to move away but they kept following us and then when they realised they were not getting anywhere with us they went to a local brothel!!! ew.........! None of them could hold a decent conversation and I don't even think that is because of the alcohol. (Sorry to any oz men reading this).

Anyway the next day we were all quite glad to be leaving Penang and make our way to the Cameron Highlands. Saying that the drive was horrid mainly because our driver insisted on taking the sharp mountain corners so quickly we were basically on two wheels. We asked him to slow down which he did...to a snails pace so everyone over took us and then he blaimed us because he could not change gears at a slower pace. We had no seatbelts so were being thrown around the back like ragdolls. We got to CH at around 4pm and our little guest house is amazingly cute and english country cottage like.

Today we spent the morning visiting a rose centre, tea plantation, butterfly farm, honey bee farm, a local market and a strawberry farm. the best bit was the butterfly farm and the tea plantation. We managed to get a cream tea here but to be honest they need a bit of practice with their scones (give me M&S anyday!). The scenery up here though is fantastic and very atmospheric with moody clouds covering the tops of the mountains. The tea plantation is huge and accommodation, places to worship and schools are all provided to the workers on site. Traditionally CH is where the english people came on holiday in Malaysia and therefore it is very colonial looking as well.

Some of the others have been on an all day hike to see various local villages but I was quite keen to try the local tea so decided to have a chilled day. Saying that we had many many stairs to climb to get to view points so we feel we earnt our scone and tea.

Tomorrow we have a 4 hours local bus journey to Kuala Lumpur. We then have 1.5. days there before moving to Meleka. I am looking forward to visiting the Batu Caves hopefully and the night market, which KL is famous for...so more shopping :)

One strange thing is that in Malaysia you get stared at a lot more...not by the locals but by other tourists. At the rose centre today some guys from somewhere asked to have their photo taken with me and Rachael, one of the girls from the group! Strange!

Bye for now xxx