So we crossed the border into Malaysia and left the sparkly clean streets of Singapore behind us. The first place we would come across in Malaysia would be Melaka.

We were soon aware that Malaysia is a complete contrast to anywhere else in South East Asia that we have previously visited, the main thing being of course that it is predominately a Muslim country. Therefore the culture, food, dress, everything was completely different. It took some getting used to especially having to wear clothes which covered your shoulders and knees in such a hot country. Vikki almost fell of her seat as we sat down to our first Malaysian meal and saw the locals eating their curry and rice with their hands.

MELAKA

Melaka was a very strange place which also took some getting used to. It was a historical place with old building, museums, monuments and ruins at ever corner but directly surrounding these sites it was all newly built up, it all seemed a bit fake and surreal. The usual pleasant old tuk tuks had even been replaced and now they seemed as though they had come from an episode of 'Pimp my ride'- covered in plastic decorations and complete with a hard core stereo system pumping out Pdaddy, just didn't seem right as you walked through the historical sites.

We gave it a good chance and walked around the sites and museums feeling a bit perplexed by it all, we were about to give up when we entered China town and wow that changed everything. It was also very old and full of history but had been relatively untouched and had managed to retain all of its original charm. It was such an exciting and interesting place to walk around, the streets were packed with so much going on from hundreds of food stalls selling delicious snacks to fortune tellers (although terrible, worse than Julian Caruso).

We filled our bellies with local food such as Laksa - a fish broth with mint and noodles and Char kway teow - anoodle with shrimp dish, all really delicious. We later found ourselves in a Chinese bar celebrating a locals birthday with them and trying desperately to avoid being dragged up on the karaoke!

We spent a few days in Melaka, mainly samplaling all the new culinary delights -always a good way to get a feel for a new country (well that's our excuse), Vikki still staring in amazement at the locals mashing their food between there fingers- and to think we had just mastered chop sticks!

KUALA LUMPUR

Next port of call the capital of Malaysia- Kuala Lumpur (KL) as with most cities it was built up with high rises and traffic galore. We decided to stay in the budget area in yet another China town. The backpacker's accommodation was really low standard here, mostly resembling prison cells but eventually we managed to find somewhere half decent.

It was easy enough to find the city centre as this was where the Petronas Towers were situated. They were formally the world's tallest skyscrapers until 2004, magnificent buildings in modern Islamic style with a sky bridge on the 41st floor joining the two. The towers also contained some lovely shops, as we browsed around Louis Vutton and Prada there was no pretending that the three backpackers from Stoke just didn't belong in this type of establishment- maybe one day girls!

KL was quickly filling us with frustration as we wanted to find the area of the city where all the shops, bars ect were but we felt like all the high risers and huge building were keeping us from finding it and if you asked anyone they would say the city centre is there and point to the towers aghh. We did however find the Menara Kuala Lumpur tower which once at the top of the viewing deck at 276m it provided spectacular views of the entire city. Again we searched for the place where it was all 'happening' and just couldn't find it so we eventually gave up and had a meal in a nearby restaurant. We got a taxi back to China town where we were staying and low and behold five minutes from the restaurant we drove through a really busy area full of shops, bars and people having a good time - dam, but at least we saved some money!

Just out side of the city is Batu caves, it is a site of worship and contains Hindu shrines it is host to one of the hugest golden statues standing along side the hundreds of steps you have to climb to get up to the caves. Everyone uses the statue as a reason to have a breather and pretend that they are stopping to view the statue! The only down side to the caves is that those horrible dreaded monkeys have taken up residence, as usual stealing everyone's fruit and snacks, even sunglasses and cameras. You would think we have learnt by now but obviously not as they managed to steal all our lunch-horrible little things!!!

CAMERON HIGHLANDS

We were getting a little cited out so made our way to Cameron Highlands which seemed to be a complete contrast. The journey was a bit hair rising as we meandered through the mountains on thin bendy roads and looking down at the clouds beneath us, but the views were a good distraction. The landscape was shaped by continuous tea plantations running up the slopes of the mountains. The climate was a bit of a shocker although being called the Highlands should have given us a clue, but we were glad to still have some warm clothes left from Australia.

We found a beautiful place to stay, it resembled an old English building and was run by the grumpiest old woman but it was probably one of the cleanest and nicest places we have stayed. It was getting even more English as we sat in the cottage style garden and had a pot of tea and freshly baked scones- how bizarre. The British had certainly left their mark here from the colonial days. It seemed we had forgotten just how rich English cakes are as soon after we were unable to move and felt really sick!

We wanted to make the most of the spectacular scenery and so got kitted out with a map and walking shoes and caught a local bus to take us out of the town and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the tea plantations ready to start our walk. As soon as we stepped foot out of the bus the heavens opened, it wasn't just a trickle it was a full on down pour. We kept our spirits up and continued on the start of the walk trying to be optimistic. After two hours soaked to the bone and thoughts of hyperthermia running through our minds we decided enough was enough, so now it was just a matter of finding a way back which didn't involve walking the reaming three hours! We were so relieved a passing taxi let us three shivering soaked girls in, another pot of tea and a scone soon sorted us out!

DROPPING LIKE FLIES!

Just as we were all getting used to Lisa's departure and it being the three of us it was now time for Steph to say Avoir voir and head back to England. It was another emotional farewell as he packed her backpack for the final time, and we walked her to the bus station it was another teary farwell but we just kept rminding ourselves that we would all be seeing each other again. Now we knew how it must of felt for our family and friends when we left!

Carols calculations for you Steph; Places 41, Beds 54

PULAU PANGOR (Pulau meaning Island)

So the now some what smaller group of the two of us decided to visit a small island called Puluor Pangor, we hadn't heard much about it and only a few sentences in the Lonely planet but we were feeling a bit adventurous and ready for some chilling out and sunbathing. We arrived at the port where the boat left and we realized that there didn't seem to be many western tourists around at all, in fact not one. We were also aware that we were the only females that were not covered up from head to toe, as we had been seeing since we entered Malaysia the women definitely have to dress conservatively but here they were completely covered only revealing their eyes.

The boat that would take us across to the island was no different with not a single westerner aboard, we started to ask around to see if we had come to the wrong place but it seemed we were heading for the right place but it happened to be the local holiday. The locals were even reluctant to even sit near to us so for once on the cramped boat journeys we had some space. It was a little daunting standing out so much and no one wiling to communicate with you, what a place to come as our first time just the two of us!

We set off for the beach with our beach towels under our arms and sun creamed up but soon realised that it was not going to happen. All the local women were huddled in the shade and a few in the sea but all still fully dressed. We didn't think it would go down well or very respectful if we turned up in our bikinis. So we sweated it out with the women in the shade and sat and watched all the men enjoying the cool sea! Thank god those women burned the bras!!!!

PULAU PENANG

Next stop on the Malaysian west coast was an Island called Penang, this was the first place on the Malaysian peninsular which was colonised by the British and again there were reminders of home everywhere, not only the architecture but also the fact that for many locals English was there first language. Georgetown is the place we headed for, we stayed in yes you've guessed in another China town.

What Georgetown lacked in beaches it made up for in places to visit, atmosphere and most of all food!!! It is well known as Malaysians best place to eat with so many different restaurants, stalls and food centers. It is a really good place to stroll around admiring the sites, museums, temples, mosques and history whilst at every street corner stopping and sampling another local dish!

One of the strangest but most popular dish with the locals is a desert/snack called Cendol or ABC, its layers of crushed ice with coconut milk and sugar syrup- sounds quite nice so far but then they add kidney beans and sweet corn and some obscenely brightly colored bits and bobs with strange textures and it all becomes a bit weird. If you close your eyes it tastes much better!!

Penang seems to be a magnetic for wild and excentric people but all good fun so after some brilliant nights out, our livers were twinging and our bellies swelling with all the food we thought we had better move on.

LANGKAWI

The whole of the west coast of Malaysia was actually in monsoon time now, although up until now there hadnt been much evidence of it- until the day we left for Lagkawi!!! We woke up on the morning we wee leaving Penang and the sky was grey, we had already brought our ticket for the boat journey across to the next Island which normally only takes two hours. The boat journey started quite normally although it had now started to rain outside, after an hour the boat was getting more and more rocky and people started to look a bit pale. It quickly progressed into the boat being thrown in every direction, waves coming over the top and people unable to make it to the toilet to be sick as the queue was a mile long.

It was obvious we had hit a really bad storm, now everybody on the boat was being sick except me andan Irish lad who were designated to hand out the sick bags. Vikki was in full panic mode and was ready to jump off the boat, it all got even more worrying when they stopped the engine and the staff ran up to top deck. Anyway they say your not a true traveler until you've had a near death experience, so now we have had two so we are hard core!!!

After we unloaded our soaking backpacks and masses of sick bags off the boat it was a huge relief to be back on land, the storm however was still in full swing. Unfortuately it lasted for much of our time in Langkawi on and off heavy rain and thunder storms. In the dry spells we made the most of it and hired a car and went to see the local attractions. One good side to all the rain was that the waterfall we drove to was in its full glory! There are also soom brilliant cable cars which take you to the top of the mountains, scary ride but well worth it for the views out onto the ocean and surround islands.

Another plus point to Langkawi is that it's a duty free Island, so at last we could get to afford some wine!! We had no choice but to head back to Penang on the boat as we had booked a flight from there, Vik was almost hyperventilating at the thought but it was a breeze this time.

BACK TO PENANG

We had a few days in Penang whilst waiting for our flight, the nice accommodation we had stayed in before was unfortunately fully booked but it must have been fate as we then came across the best guest house ever! The owner is one of those eccentrics mentioned earlier; he was Malaysian and called himself Jim or his preferred name 'The black angel' ha! He was probably the best (for us) but worst (for him) business man ever, there was a café and bar below which we sat in in the evening. He took us to buy some food from somewhere else and ate it at his as he said it was nicer food, he took us to get some alcohol from a shop and bring it back to drink it at his as he said it was cheaper. He was full of stories and a really charismatic guy; you can get a better idea from the pictures!!So we were to catch our flight to our next destination on the South East Asian map to a place we had never even considered going to - Borneo.

Thanks to Julie Morrall/ Treth as we were trying to plan our route a few weeks back and she happened to mention Borneo so we read up on it and asked some other backpackers and this is the result. So Borneo it was and what a fantastic tip, as you will see shortly from the pictures and blog it was like nowhere else we had been to- how exciting!!!!

So if you have made it to this point -well done, that was a long one, hope not bored you too much!! Don't forget to leave a message!!