We were sad to leave the Cameron Highlands but we were also looking forward to our next destination. We were headed for the remote Perhentian Islands on the north east coast. The Perhentians are part of a National Marine Park and are stunning! They're probably as close as you will get to an island paradise in South East Asia without stepping so far off the tourist trail that you're simply stranded on island with nothing but coconuts. Our journey there was ard...

It was a 5 hour journey from Penang, across the bridge to the mainland and through peninsular Malaysia by mini bus, to the town of Tanah Rata. The town is one of the more popular with backpackers and the hub for visiting the tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands. The bus carried us through winding foothills and the views along the way were spectacular. The early rains had ceased and left the hills in a fine mist floating in and out of the jungle peaks and betw...

After an almost unbarably rocky 3 hour boat journey through the Straits of Melaka, we thankfully arrived in Georgetown on the island of Penang. It was late when we arrived feeling seasick and broken to be greeted by a ravenous pack of taxi drivers ready to pounce on new arrivals. We accepted the 15RM fare (£3.00) to Chinatown and were dropped off at the infamous backpacker haunt of Love Lane. After checking out a couple of guesthouses we were drawn into the Owl ...

We took our seats on the boat and headed for Malaysia. The boat ride only took about one hour. Although the island is Malaysian territory, it is closer in geography to Thailand. We were both really looking forward to Langkawi and were both just happy to be backpacking again. We arrived into Kuah jetty late in the afternoon. Our arrival was the antipathy of our departure from Thailand. It was friendly, quick and easy. We were stamped with a 90 day visa (we double...

We stepped out the door of our apartment and returned our bags to our shoulders. We said goodbye to our landlord Niels and made our way via Songtheaw to Krabi Town bus station. There we caught a bus heading south to Satun. As the bus went south it passed through countryside that got gradually more tropical and rural. The limestone karsts gave way to foothills and temples gave way to mosques. After a number of hours we reached Satun, having passed through a rathe...