I was just having a nice peaceful nap on the beach (in a hammock) when I got woken up by a flipping monkey jumping on my head!!! Done with those animals Hahaa trustttt mi! So now I'm staying awake and writing this blog post to keep my eye on the animal.

My last post was in Thailand. Thailand was such a strange place. The picturesque southern islands are now party islands like Ibiza and you have to go out of your way to find a nice beach that's not pumping electro music. They are a very westernised country. A main issue with the Thais was the obsession of being white. In the supermarkets they had plenty of shelves that sold whitening products - creams, deodorant, scrubs, wash you name it. In the mornings it was usual to see women with whitening cream on their faces. Very sad to see.I loved Thailand as I did the other places but there are defiantly some places I wouldn't visit again due to being too touristy!

Monkeys aside, Malaysia is definitely one of my favs! It is so harmonious and has really nice food! My vegetarian stage is almost over I reckon. I've had chicken 3 times in about a week. That's a lot of chicken.

Kuala Lumpur was a very interesting city. Full of high rise buildings and religious houses. Malaysia is mostly populated with Malays, South Indians and Chinese which results in the many religious buildings scattered around the city. I went on a free walking tour which took us around a special area of KL and gave us some good information about the history of the city and the people.

One of the days we went to the Bantu Caves and climbed the few hundred steps to the inside of the cave where a temple stood. Some people were climbing in traditional dress and giving offerings to the their deities in the temple. We made friend with a chicken with about 40 mins which sat on the girls lap like a cat while she petted it - I obviously didn't touch it.

(I can see the monkey in the sea with its "owner". Not sure why people think they can make wild animals as pets cha)

Not coming home yet was the right decision. I wasn't ready for the cold and still want to explore for how long I can. Asia is a really incredible place.

I'm currently on Penang island staying in George Town. We went to the other side of the island today and hiked through the forest for a few hours to get to monkey beach. Very scenic place.

George Town is pretty fab too. It's a unesco site and has lots of historical a buildings. We visited churches. Mosques, Buddhist temples and Hindu temples all in a few hours. The walls in George Town are scattered with incredible street art (i'll upload some photos) and quirky cafes and restaurants.

In a few days it is the Hindu Thaipusam festival where followers trek to the temples pulling religious carriages attached to their bodies by hooks and chains. I'm hoping I catch some of the festival and experience it first hand.

Alsooo my visa for Myanmar was approved so I'm off to Yangon next week! So excited to head up to Bagan. A plusss is that I'm meeting my friend I made in Cambodia