So it's the 26th July, and we have landed in Kuala Lumpur. We opted for one night in the city before heading north to the island of Penang, although after checking into a hostel, up there with the worst of the trip we kind of wished we hadn't. It's surprising, how well we dealt with sleeping in such squalor. It was the kind of night where I wrap myself in a sleeping bag, not to touch the sheets and politely skip breakfast which looked vile. We checked out China town, which was quite overwhelming having come from Cambodia, thinking what will Sharon and Martin think of this? Anyway we survived the night and jumped on a bus to the world heritage site of Georgetown, Penang. We found an amazing hostel which would be home for the next 11 nights!! Longest stint ever. The building resembled an old warehouse, with exposed brick walls and metal girders, semi outdoor showers and most importantly a kitchen where we could finally cook. Well by cook I mean scrambled egg on toast and jacket potato cheese and beans! We stayed in a double bed dorm, which at first sounded a little odd but we loved it, and being there 11 days, we shared the room with Koreans, Germans, Americans, English and Chinese travellers.

Penang was beautiful, we spent our time wandering the old cobble streets, eating the street food which James loved, sitting in coffee shops, listening to local music, drinking free rum (ladies only) and pretty much living life like locals. We explored the island visiting the national park and monkey beach, being attacked by monkeys more than once, not fun and also a short visit to the amazing shopping mall, with a budget of £15 each! Needless to say we didn't buy much :). With news that Sharon and Martin were on their way we headed to KL (Kuala Lumpur). They had volunteered themselves for a two week endurance holiday complete with jungle treks, island camping, river cruises, accommodation resembling garden sheds and much more! But first, we hit the city. Me and James decided that basic accommodation would be sufficient for the two nights before they arrived, however we ended up in some filthy cupboard like room with a sliding door, but being in a city, our budget didn't stretch!

So it was off to the airport for a meet and greet, little to their knowledge, but was worth it for the look on their faces and families faces they were, which was lovely after nearly 6 months of traveling! 3 hours sleep later we got stuck into the sightseeing, exploring museums, markets, famous buildings and finally being mobbed for photos by the locals. The next day entailed more sightseeing, not before me and James got stuck in the fire escape stairwell, for much longer than I would have liked! This was however the first of many many mishaps during the short two weeks! We started the day with a long walk to Petronas towers, taking the scenic route, seeing how the locals live. We got to see the Malaysia Grand Prix, cars whizzing through the city which was pretty cool and had lunch in a very posh mall, definitely not backpacker style. We introduced Sharon and Martin to Asian food in the evening, which was great, particularly when the men had to drink their beer out of bowls. Whats more they got to experience a tropical storm, it rained and rained and rained!

Our final day in KL was spent with a short trek to a local park, however that wasn't straight forward mind. We decided it would be fun to hire an inflatable type boat to go on the lake. Unfortunately for them I was the designated driver and was given a lesson by a local guy. 10 minutes later, I had accidentally steered into a huge water fountain, resulting in James and Martin getting absolutely soaked. Though panic and laughter I struggled to move away, so more wet we got. Needless to say they were a little untrustworthy for the remaining time, particularly when the boat decided to break down, and we spent an extra 20 minutes in the water before being rescued (not my fault...this time). As a surprise we had booked a table for 4 in a restaurant where you didn't actually get to see what your eating. A whole 2 hour dining experience in the pitch black. The waiters were also blind and the experience was amazing as well as super funny! Every course came with 3-5 small plates, and we were taught how to move around the table and eat without tipping our drinks. Amazing experience, definitely recommended! We spent the remainder of the night with drinks overlooking the main strip and even had fireworks :)

What a city, KL has it all, but it was time to head into the jungle! First stop Sandakan.....but not before another big mishap, we missed the flight. Me and James have have not even come close to missing a flight during our 6 months in Asia, and the first one with Sharon and Martin, resulted in a 5 hour airport wait and a lot of money to buy new ones, oops! Having missed out on 5 hours at the posh hotel we had booked it was straight to the bar then bed (a clean, big comfy bed, not what me and James were used too) ready for our early morning trip to Turtle Island. Having being dark on arrival waking up an opening the curtains to see the view was amazing!

Nothing like a crazy speed boat ride to wake you up. With only 8 people on board, as the island camp only accommodates 10 people, we pelted across the sea for 40 minutes, it was wild, but great fun. Sharon was the top turtle spotter, well if only it was turtles and not seaweed. We arrived on the tiny island, inhabited by only a few hundred people, to be met by our accommodation for the night, tents! It was more glamping than camping though, it was amazing. We spent our time, walking to the island villages, amazed at how they live such basic lives, meeting locals and their netball team and having a cool off in the sea. At 9pm we were called to release baby turtles who were ready to start their journey into the sea. They were so cute following the torch lights into the dark waters, and quite sad to think it's highly likely they won't all live. What we didn't realise when we agreed to go on 'turtle patrol' was it consisted of an hours trek of the beach in the pitch black....to spot no adult turtles at all. Camping on a remote island was an experience in itself and a big achievement for Sharon and Martin, well done on surviving, particularly as the island was patrolled by police with huge guns, due to pirates, you done well!

Another crazy speed boat trip, this time with a race against another, meaning we went even faster and Sharon screamed even louder, we were back on mainland and in a taxi heading for the Orangutang sanctuary. We arrived in time to watch them being fed, swinging around in the trees some carrying their young, all in their natural habitat which was pretty special, means as they are only found in this part of the world and becoming less and less every day. After thinking we had missed our bus, and were jinxed, luckily we were fine and on route to the Kinabatangan river where we would be staying for the next 3 nights, on safari!

On arrival we were allocated our' digs.' The little cabins resembled B&Q sheds, very used sheds. Sharon calmly unpacked her case onto the shelfs provided, whilst we're were thinking how are they going to cope! Within minutes we were off on our first river cruise to spot crocs but only saw monkeys. Me and James decided to do the night jungle trek, and gave Sharon and Martin a well earned break. It was pitch black, with only jungle noises and the odd scream from me, particularly when our feet were covered in fire ants after stepping on a nest, Ouch. Our guide informed us half way through that the 'jungle spirits' had taken over his mind and we were lost. He had to do a special calling noise to locate a fellow guide to get us back..great!! The remaining two days consisted of 5.30am wake up calls, by a dong, on the river by 6.30am whilst watching the sunrise, another cruise at 4pm and afternoon jungle treks, and lots of food and alcohol consumed, pretty full on. We did get to see crocs, birds, lots of monkeys and snakes, all spotted by our amazing guide who could spot the animals a mile off, unfortunately no pigamy elephants came out to play! A very different but amazing experience for me and James let alone Sharon and Martin. They did very well!

Yet another flight, yes we made it this time, but not before afternoon tea at the sandakan hotel with again an amazing view, and then a stay at 5* hotel banji, complete with steak! The first for 6 months :) Next stop Langkawi. 6 relaxing days....well that's what they thought. The hotel was lovely right on the beach, so we headed to the main area, to find it was pretty shabby and it rained lots. After a stint under a beach umbrella for the wrong reasons, thankfully the area near our hotel was much better. James then decided to lock us out of our room, whilst Martin found a brick in his toilet cistern. An army of security were called, things were going well. The remainder of the holiday went pretty smoothly, oh apart from the Monkey attack. We spent the majority of our time drinking at happy hour, one pub in particular we stopped for 1 drink at 4pm and left at half 10, pretty wobbly. Thinking, we had better be a little more adventurous we headed up the mountain on a cable car, a very high one. The first time in my life I was actually frightened to death, very unlike me, luckily Sharon didn't get vertigo! The views were amazing and well worth the ride.

We though we would introduce Sharon and Martin to sea kayaking. Myself and Martin took one and Sharon and James another and we headed to an island, unbeknown to us was full of monkeys who were not keen on our arrival. They jumped in our kayaks as soon as we got out, hissing and showing their teeth. The sea and beach however was stunning, turquoise water so clear and crystal white sand, and luckily the monkeys allowed us leave quietly. The row back was tough, particularly for James as Sharon the cox gave directions to the shore. She did however have a little try, 5 meters away and still managed to run Martin over. This part of our trip and Sharon and Martins holiday was nearly over. We finished off with a relaxing massage whilst James and Martin rode push bikes in the crazy heat, needless to say they drew the short straw. It's been an amazing 16 days and great to have shared part of our adventure with some of our family. If 6 flights in 16 days wasn't enough, our final hotel was designed as the inside of an aeroplane! Great! Next stop Bali, where we will be working, yes actually working but only for a short time, before heading to the land down under!!

Much love

Roanna & James xxx