Apologies for the delay in updating the blog, we've been flying through places quite quickly and haven't really had time to catch up!

So we took the bus from Krabi to Penang island, via Hat Yai - where (thankfully, on account of the lunatic driver) we changed minivans, we also picked up a new friend who we ended up travelling with for about 10 days, Ramiro from Argentina.

For once we arrived in a country without a plan, our only commitment is to be in Bali in August to meet James's parents, so it gave us 6 weeks or so to play around with. We spent some time exploring George Town and checking out all the really cool street art. It was the end of Ramadan while we were there and had thought there would be some big celebration, so were a little disappointed when Eid came and went without so much as a firework. We were staying right next to Little India (although much cleaner, it was almost like being transported straight back to the streets of India!) and also quite close to China Town - from what we've now learned, everywhere in Malaysia seems to have both of these districts - so we've been back on the Indian food mainly and it's been amazing, a lot of mutton and chapatis have been consumed!

We picked up a Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei guidebook in the hope that we could formulate some kind of plan to make the most of our time in the area, especially as we wanted to have enough time in Indonesia as well before we fly to Oz the week after James's parents leave us. Timed well with a slightly upset stomach, we spent a day trying to work out what was feasible in our time frame…I've lost count of the number of times we changed our minds about where to go! One thing we hadn't really factored into anything was cost; everything was quite a bit more expensive in Malaysia (bed and beer noticeably more so) and most of the places we were looking at were going to eat quite significantly into our budget. For instance, we had initially thought we'd go across to Borneo, but cost of flights and accommodation pretty quickly stopped that plan from progressing. Also, neither of us are really in shape or equipped for jungle trekking and it seemed a shame to get kitted up for only a week or so of use. Then we started looking at the East coast of Malaysia - we were keen to take the jungle train, however from where we would be starting, we'd end up doing the whole journey overnight - so not really worth it as we wouldn't get to see anything!! Also, we couldn't really find any 'backpacker budget' accommodation on the east…that plan was also scrapped. With less of an idea than when we started, we decided to just get moving South and work it out from there. Onwards to Kuala Lumpur!

Being the capital, I'd expected KL to be slightly busier than it was, actually it felt quite relaxed. The public transport works well and we were quite close to the main metro links so we were able to get out and explore quite a bit. Our hostel was right next to China Town, so close for some cheap eats, which was handy when we first arrived as our bus had taken 3 hours longer than expected and we were starving hungry by the time we got there!! We are still a bit museum and templed out so we decided to (sod the expense) and go to the Aquarium - it's meant to be one of the best, and it certainly didn't disappoint! The highlight was definitely the 90m tunnel with great big sharks and rays swimming around, we felt like little kids when we came out, it was great! We saw (but didn't pay to go up) the Petronas Towers, they were pretty cool as far as buildings go, especially all lit up at night. In the evenings, there is a light and music show with the water fountains in the plaza behind and the towers definitely make a good backdrop. On our last day, we went up to visit the Batu caves with their Hindu temples. I was surprised at how 'built up' everything was, we'd expected rough steps up to the main cave entrance, but instead the 272 steps were all properly laid straight up there with hand rails and everything! It was nice, the main cave was huge and had a little temple inside. Halfway down was another cave called the Dark Cave, we didn't venture in as you needed to apparently hire a guide and you were more than likely to come out covered in bat poo and crawling with cockroaches (no thank you very much!!). We only saw one other one which was quite nice and had murals and figures setting the scenes for the story of Rama.

Our Argentinian friend was on a tight schedule and we were keen to get somewhere a little cheaper, so we all travelled on to Melaka. It was hot hot hot….but we got out and wandered around the old town, a UNESCO world heritage site. It's a really beautiful town, quite relaxed and the walk down by the river is really nice and peaceful. Our hostel was a little bit out of the main town, but quite close to the river and some local Malay eateries - we found one amazing local place quite a way outside of the main 'tourist' area, so I think they were a little surprised when the 3 of us sat down for dinner - James and I didn't even discuss where we were going to eat on our last night!! Ramiro left after one night to go to Singapore to meet up with a friend and it was time James and I actually worked out what we were going to do next as we were quite quickly reaching the end tip of Malaysia!

So, we spent another day looking at our options. Malaysia, as lovely as it was, was not going to work out cost effectively for us, so Indonesia was the next stop. The problem is, where?!! Indonesia is huge and although we had a few ideas, it was a choice between seeing everything we could or just picking and choosing. We chose the latter option. We'd have loved to go through Sumatra, Java, Bali and then on towards Lombok and Flores with the Komodo National park - but it was going to be too much. In the end we decided to head to Java and then take in the north of Bali before we head south to meet Colin and Annette. All we needed to do next was apply for a 60 day visa for Indonesia…and the only place we could do that close by was Singapore…and we were trying not to spend so much money…..oh well.