We're spending the night in a little port town called Mersing as we arrived too late to catch the boat to Tioman island so thought i'd keep on top of the blog to kill time, doesnt seem like theres a lot to do round here in the evenings!

After getting absolutely soaked through getting out of the train station in Sungai Kolok at the Thai/Malaysia border we hopped in a cab with two other westerners and were driven the 5 minute walk to the border checkpoints. In hindsight I dont know why we didnt just save our money and just walk there, we were already wet! Crossing into Malaysia was probably the easiest one yet, first to the Thai office to get our departure card stamped, no 'stamp fees' unlike Cambodia.. 2 mins to do that, then a careful choice of footsteps past a convoy of cattle trucks that were spilling suspect brown water out of the back onto the floor, glad i didnt have any cuts on my feet! Once we found the Malaysian office we headed straight for the counter and got our stamp for 30 days stay - no charge. I was beginning to like Malaysia already. The visa fees have added up over the course of our travels so it was refreshing to get such a long stay for no charge.

We then headed for the bus station to board the bus to Kota Bahru and found that the coaches werent running for another couple of hours due to it being Muslim prayer time. We ummed and aa'd about what to do and decided that as we were too wet and cold to just sit around waiting we'd get a cab. We set off in what must be the worst downpour I've seen in a long time! As I mentioned previously it's rainy season here right now and we were in the thick of it! On the way I glanced at the clock in the taxi and checked the time on my watch and then realised that Malyasia is one hour ahead of Thailand, the coach would have turned up sooner than we had thought. Oh well, we were already on our way..

It started to get a bit chilly in the cab and Ciara noticed that the driver had the aircon up full blast and we soon realised why, he was nodding off at the wheel and using the aircon to keep him awake, eek! I made a point of talking to Ciara loudly just to keep the guy awake enough to get us where we needed to go. After an hours drive he dropped us to what must have been his friends guesthouse in Kota Bahru, a smallish town on the east coast. We were on our way to the Perhentian islands and the boat's go back and forth to the islands from Kota Bahru.

What we didnt bargain for and probably should have realised was that as it is monsoon season the boat service that usually runs can get affected. They are only longtail boats that carry 16 people and it can be too dangerous to sail and whats more you may run the risk of getting stuck on the island if they cancel the boats altogether. This was confirmed by the guesthouse owner 5 mins after we booked in for the night. We had come all the way over to where we needed to be to get the boat and it was off. Bummer. After a rethink of our route, we decided not to be too disappointed and just head to Penang instead on the opposite coast. Our original plan was to visit Penang but we decided on the Perhentians instead.

We went up to our room, dropped our bags and headed out to get some food. We opted for KFC as it was the nearest place and we just needed to eat. We didnt appreciate how cold the aircon was while we were sopping wet, it was still raining hard and we saw no point in putting on dry clothes for the wander. After our meal we had a look around, booked our tickets for the journey to Penang the following day and I went looking for a beer or two to soothe me after such a soggy day. I had no luck as Malaysia is largely a Muslim country and the 7/11's and other minimarts just dont stock it in Kota Bahru. Even the sausage in the Mcdonalds mcmuffins isnt real sausage, its chicken. McDonalds in Malaysia also deliver with no minimum order. I wondered how far I could get them to deliver a single cheeseburger If I were to call up, lol. Defeated on the beer front, I headed back to the room where we strung up our soggy clothes to dry and watched some South Park on my Ipod whilst scoffing chocolate before getting our heads down.

Next morning we boarded what has to be one of the most comfortable coaches we've travelled on so far. It had just 3 seats in a row with an aisle up the right hand side, the seats were pretty comfy and we had loads of leg room, result! After a few hours drive we stopped at the halfway point which I cant recall the name of. One thing I do remember is the bite to eat I ordered at the roadside restaurant which was supposed to have passed for food. I didnt fancy the buffet so opted for a burger instead. It was thrown on the hotplate for no more than 25-30 seconds, the bun was coated in 3 types of weird smelling sauce with a bit of salad and then passed to me. Ciara ordered one too. I was the guinea pig and took a tiny bite. It was still pink and the sauce came dripping out the sides of the bun so I thought better of it and binned it! Ciara didnt even entertain the thought of eating hers. Back on the coach..

We arrived in Butterworth which is the town on the mainland which is linked to Penang by a huge bridge. After crossing the bridge we arrived in Penang bus station. We then caught the local bus up to Batu Ferringhi in the top side of the island, a popular spot for all kinds of tourists, travellers and families alike. The buses in Penang are great and put UK buses to shame, they're very clean, all with aircon and whats better, they run on time and very frequently. After getting off the bus we were driven to a guesthouse by a travel agency guy who was clearly on commission. The owner of the guesthouse didnt want to have to pay him anything and we wanted to stay there for less so we had to go and hide in a beachside bar and have a Coke til the agency dude went away, ha ha. Then we got our room for a decent price.

That evening we got the bus down to one of Penangs massive shopping malls and spent literally 4 or 5 hours wandering round the place before getting the bus back up to our end of the island. On our way home we stumbled across a cracking food court with all kinds of food, Chinese, Malay, Indian, Pizza stalls, even an English kebab stall, all priced very cheaply and the food all cooked fresh. The bonus of the food court was that Ciara and I didnt have to spend time debating on exactly where to eat or which type of restuarant, we just chose what we each wanted from each stall and had it brought to the table, magic. Mind you, that particular night, I think we both opted for a curry anyway, ha ha.. Later I grabbed a much looked-forward-to couple of beers from the 7/11 and we retired for the night, South Park, sleep...

The next day was spent in exactly the same way, the sun was too fierce so we sought refuge in the malls once more. From the looks of things on the leaflets we were given on arrival theres loads to do in Penang but we just kind of let the days unfold of their own accord. I think we did two malls that day. In the evening we went to one of the cinemas that they have in every mall and watched a new Aussie horror film, Dying Breed for a couple of quid each. Gory and very cheesy, just what we expected really.

The next day was spent at the snake temple in the southern part of the island. It was apparently built around 1850 by a Chinese monk who wanted to give the snakes of the forest somewhere to live. I would have just built some small but really long bungalows with little doors on each end but I suppose a temple does the same job. After passing what have to be the largest incense sticks I've ever seen on the way in we had a look around. It wasnt immediately obvious where the snakes were till Ciara pointed it out. They were nestled and perched in bonsai trees with little signs warning you not to touch them as most are venomous. We went into the next room where a guy wanted to charge us 8 quid to have a picture taken with a Burmese python round my neck. Even wanted to charge me the same amount if i took it on my camera. I just got a shot of the python for free sat on the desk and we moved on.

After walking through some beautiful Chinese gardens we went to the snake farm where they have many different species in individual tanks, each with some info on the potency of their venom as well as other info about their habitat and so on. The highlight of the place for me was coming face to face with a King Cobra. It was housed in a cage within another cage, presumably so that stupid people dont come a cropper trying to pet it. They can raise and stand up to one third of their length, 3 feet in most cases, amazing. I kept waving my arms up over my head and sinking down and up again to see how far it would stand but all it did was look angrier, flick its tongue out and hiss at me while flexing its hood.

After the snake farm we headed back and ate at the food court once more. I had a pizza and Ciara had a kebab roughly the size of her head which she polished off no trouble, ha ha.

Our last day in Penang was spent trying to top up our tans. We felt ready to face the sun again after the burn from Koh Phi Phi had worn off. Our guesthouse was pretty much on the beachfont so we spent a couple of hours chilling in the heat. Afterwards, I headed to the barbers for a pretty overpriced haircut and a scowl from Ciara when I got back to the room. She misses my hair as it was before we left the UK and it shows, lol. The evening was spent writing the last blog entry from Thailand.

Next morning we checked out of our digs and spent 6 hours on the coach to Kuala Lumpur. Another comfortable journey with big seats. We arrived in KL and were escorted to our lodgings for our 3 nights in the city by a couple of different guesthouse touts, one of which was a Malaysian guy called Sean who as it turned out, spent his student years in Co Kerry, in Killarney, the next town to Ciara's home town of Killorglin. She noticed his accent and asked him why it sounded Irish. After first checking another room in a different place we opted to stay at Seans place, the Birds Nest in Chinatown. Quite cheap, more of a hostel to be honest but a very friendly place all the same. The room was the smallest we've stayed in so far, Ciara could touch both of the walls whilst lying across the two beds!

It was only early afternoon so we took a walk up to Times Square, one of the biggest shoppin centres in KL, it has 10 floors! For those that dont know, Kuala Lumpur is renowned for its shopping and it shows. Found some great clothes shops as well as a toy shop selling every collectable figurine you can think of, they even had some old skool original Transformers in there. There are so many different malls, we only covered maybe 3 or 4 during our stay. We spent 4 hours in Times Square alone before realising how late it was. We fancied a splurge so went for a pizza at the Papa Johns restaurant before we headed back home for the night.

The next day, my birthday, we covered another two or so malls as well as Times Square and we were out from midday til midnight. Ciara was great, spoiled me, bought us tickets for 2012 at the cinema and took me to the Hard Rock cafe for dinner. I felt bad eating there as we're away together on a budget but she insisted on it as my present. I had beef brisket with BBQ sauce and Ciara opted for a cheeseburger and fries. The beef in my dish was cold and Ciara's fries were cold too. We sent them back, no point shelling out loads on food if it's not even hot. I suggested doing a runner while the food was in the kitchen and going elsewhere but thought better of it, ha ha. After that we hopped on the tube two stops and went home completely drained from the days walking and stuffed full of food. It was my only birthday I can honestly say I remember as the beer was so pricy in the Hard Rock that I paid for my own, only drank one and nursed it all night.

On our last full day in KL we visited the Petronas twin towers. The majority of the two buildings is mainly offices of large corporations and so on but they allow you up to take in the view from the skybridge that adjoins the two buildings.We were too late for the free tickets that get given out every morning that allow you up there, they had reached their allowance. It looked like it would have been a great view from up there from where we were stood but we'll never know. Still, we got some great pics from the ground. There is also another shopping mall next to the twin towers that we had a little look round too.

That evening we went to watch 2012 which had been sold out everywhere for the previous night. Afterward we went and ate at Kenny Rogers Roasters! I never knew he had a theme restaurant and was amused at seeing his big beardy face on the side of a building when we arrived in KL so insisted we had to eat there before we left. Its a chicken restaurant mainly and they claim to serve the worlds best and healthiest chicken too. It was a bit surreal eating there as they play his back catalogue while you eat and all around are cheesy pics of the man himself as well as (probably copies of) his gold discs displayed on the wall. The meal wasnt bad to be fair, I reckon if old Kenny would have ate it it would have ended up all over his beard though..

We left Kuala Lumpur today and arrived in Mersing a few hours ago. As i mentioned at the start of this blog entry,we're due to get the ferry across tomorrow but after checking the weather just a while ago it looks like the forecast is bad for Timoan for the next week or so, all the time we plan to be there. Looks like another detour may be on the cards but hey ho, you guys have storms right now in the UK so its the same difference I guess!

Tatty bye!