Hello,

Sorry it's been a while.

I forgot to say that in Melaka I met some lovely people. I ended up going back to the same cafe's just to have a chat with some of the staff there. There was the Malayasian woman who has a Italian/German dad with a very interesting background who was always lovely to have a chat with over brekkie and the lovely singing bar man who would make me free shakes. Sometimes the places are really made by the people you meet at them.

Anyway onto Singapore. It was a bit of a confusing bus journey as you have to get off to get your visa, then get off off about 10 min later with all your bags to go through customs. I thought that as I had to get my bags that meant I was there and started to look for the metro. I couldn't find it so figured I would have to get a bus. It was only when I was hunting around to get a bus I saw mine and realised we weren't there yet and then had to board it again for another 20min. It was a bit confusing as no one told me anything and I was lucky I had been looking around or I may not have spotted it.

When I got off my bus I asked where the metro was, this guy kept teling me a bus number and after 3 attempts he gave up selling me a bus ticket and told me directions. The metro is so easy to use and I wasn't too many stops from my hostel.

That afternoon I went off to Chinatown to have a mooch around and see what is what. My firs impressions of the city is that I like it. It's so clean and open. Even though it's a city the streets are wide and your not overshadowed all the time by big sky scrapers. It's very pleasant to wander round and I feel really safe. That night I went for food near my hostel as I was recommended to try a local dish. I can't remember the name but it was chicken and vegetable wrapped in bread. It was tasty and you have a curry style sauce to dip it into to. It was also very cheap-yumo.

The next day I was meeting Kim in the afternoon. She told me to meet her at Starbucks and I replied with I hope they aren't loads. It was on one of the main places to shop so I spent the morning wandering in and out shops not buying anything and found what I could see as the only starbucks on this road. An hour later and no Kim I decided I need to find a internet cafe to check my messages and see if I am at the wrong place. Before I can find one Kim calls wandering where I am. It would appear I am at the wrong place and after her giving me directions to where she is, decides its best to find me lol. haha eventually we find each other- all fun and games. After a drink we head to the CBD so I can see what building she works in. It is so good to see her and she knows her way around the city. We had a lovely walk along to Marina with my tour guide filling me in on certain buildings etc. I don't think we stopped talking the whole time about anything and everything from the books we were reading to good places to eat in Singapore. We went to Clark Quays which is where a lot of awesome bars are and it's really great as it's inside but it's not. It has a slat style roof. So you feel the lovely fresh air but if it rains your not going to be soaked. We went out for dinner near where I was staying as she said there was a great place near me. It was a really funky little bar/restaurant with music playing and a really good atmosphere. Again the talking didn't stop from life at home, to life in Singapore to the places we have enjoyed on our travels. Seriously I think by the time we stopped rabbiting on it was almost 1am. Such a chilled night out in a great city with the best company- what more could you ask for on a sat night.

The next morning was check out time and check in time to the hotel. When trying to find a double room the hotels were as cheap as the hostels- bit bizarre but meh. I didn't do a lot this morning as I had to find the hotel, shower and then go get Darren from the airport. Luckily I left with lots of time to spare as he flight got in early and I ended up arriving just as his flight landed. Sooo good to see him and it was great fun navigating him round the city. I took him out to Chinatown because I knew he would like the vibe there. Then we went over to Clark Quays for some drinks. We went to a slightly wrong but funny bar called the Clinic. The bar is in a style of a hospital, so shots are in needles and cocktails come in drips. It was bizarre and very wrong but funny at the same tie. Your chairs are hospital beds or wheel chairs and you even have huge doctor style lamps lighting up the bar. After that bizarre experience we went to another bar along the river to listen to some music and chill out. It is so pretty down by the marina, looking out onto the river, you don't really feel like you are in a city at all.

Last night was awesome and today we were off to the zoo. It's massive!!! It's also very natural, it takes quite a while to walk round it all but they have some great animals. So pretty and at some points you literally walk around and there are monkeys swinging above your head. Great day out but takes a while to get there. That night we went out for dinner near the Marina in a certain area that Kim suggested. It filled with lots of funky places to eat and what is interesting at looking around is the amount of westerners there are. A lot of them are in suits so clearly work here but it was interesting to see the harmony of East meets West. I then really wanted to find a bar that is really high up and looks out over the city but we kept getting wrong directions and gave up in the end trying to find it.

I bloody love this city and could quite happily come back. We had a flight to catch to Borneo the next day so that morning we didn't do a lot, met Kim for a coffee then headed out to the airport.

Arriving in Borneo was a tad hectic as I hadn't realised how much money I had spent and hadn't topped up my card. Urmmmmm so it meant we didn't have a lot of cash on us. Then I lost my beloved Lonely planet book which I left on top of a atm in the panic of money. Oh dear anyhoo got the taxi driver to drop us off somewhere cheap and central. We didn't really know where we were but as it turns out we were central to everything whih was a relief. The room was basic but ok. The toilet/shower was interesting as in 1 the light didn't work and the other had bugs in it. So you could either have light and watched where you stepped or be in the dark, have the door open a bit to get some light and hope no one came in. It was ok though as I think we were some of the only guests. As we hadn't got in until the evening we just had a wander and decided the next day we were off to Bako NP to do some trekking through the forest.

Bako NP is awesome, it takes a bus and a boat trip to get there. You do feel slightly conned with the boat as they can charge you more because it's the only way to get there. Totally worth it though. It is beautiful and we did a great trek to this particular beach. Its well done and you get a map so you can pick a trail depending on time and they have to know which one your going on in case you get lost. It is a hell of a climb to the top and the humidity is quite bad so you are sweating like crazy, it was worth it though. We spent a good couple of hours trekking to the beach and it was beautiful. You come ontop of all these rocks to see the sea and you can sit there and take in the view before climbing down to walk on the beach. Darren took little dip to cool off before we started on the trek back. Sadly we didn't see any monkeys though but that was ok as we were off to see Orangatangs the next day. The only bad thing about today was Darren got sunburned- badly. Even though a lot of the time we had been under trees its obviously strong and he was quite red by the end of the day. That night we went out for food at a place that served marmite prawns- I must say I was very intrigued by this but stuck to a slightly more asian style prawn dish instead. It was a nice little place where we sat in the garden on low tables where you sit on cushions. It was a new experience for Darren but I quite like it- something very boho about it all.

The Orangatangs the next day was brilliant. They don't often come out from the thicket of the forest unless it's feeding time. We turned up at a good time as we saw the croc's they had (croc's freak me out) and then as we wandered down to the feeding zone we got to see them swinging out of the trees and zooming in for food. We had decided to stay in Kutching (kaa ching as like to call it) to see them as we got told it was a more natural habitat then the ones up north. I mean it is just an open jungle for them to swing about in. It was awesome to see them in a natural habitat munching away upside down and hanging of trees. We spent ages just watching them and then it started to rain so we swiftly moved on and back to the bus stop once it stopped. Another great day in Kaa Ching. We have a hell of a day tomorrow as we cacth a flight to KL tomoz at 6am before catching a connecting flight to Bali at 12.30pm. Yikes it means being up at 2:30am. Luckily our guest house owner was a nice guy and helped sort our taxi out for a decent price at that time. SOOO that night was food at a fab place where there are ponds that have stones in them that you walk across to get to your table, funky little place, then pack and attempt to get some sleep.

Oh boy oh boy busy day but will be worth it.

Hugs xx