Malaysia
3rd Jan – 13th Jan

Malaysia is a cool country. Very friendly people, amazing food, clean and good looking in every dimension – the new, the old and the people! I spent only 10days there which is a big shame as I didn’t see half of what is on offer, but what I did see was brilliant. See pics.

I stayed with Haz in his spacious apartment in the North of the city, which is bubbling with activity. Bars and restaurants are full and there are “Hawker markets” everywhere (big halls full of small stalls) so you can eat cheaply all day long – good news!

During the week I took a bus to Pangkor Island, which was ‘deserted.’ There was no-one there – contradictory to many guide books I read before I got there! To entertain myself I hired a moped and cruised round the island’s one road, dodging 4 foot lizards on the way to see some beautiful beaches. I had a slight scare on one of the beaches when walking along I suddenly sunk 2 feet into the sand! Quicksand?! I don’t know but I was scared. Remembering a episode of Bear Grylls I rolled onto my stomach, spread my body weight and pulled myself out. A bit too close hey!

Back in Kuala Lumpur Harry and I headed out for a night on the town. We went to Changkat Bukit Bintang – my favourite name for a road/place thus far. Its full of pubs and bars all teeming with party animals. Good news after 3days on a deserted island!

Melaka was the highlight of my time in Malaysia. A small town about 2 hours from KL where the norm is to eat, and to eat some more, and more, and more, and more. You get the jist. We had a resident Melaka guide called Amelia courtesy of Haz’s friend, Koshini – she didn’t let us stop eating. With a stinking hangover and a few hours sleep, we were in need of a substantial meal so we ate as soon as we arrived…Nassi Lemak (rice, anchovies, peanuts and curry sauce), noodles, Laksa (curry noodle soup) and Cendol ( a weird ice drink with little flour worms in it!).

20minutes after that we were eating again. A whole roast chicken and rice balls with soup. I could hardly move! After a Frozen Yoghurt tasting assignment at a friends house we went for a seafood dinner. King Prawns, Squid, a Portuguese Big Fish, Garlic Crab and a few Tiger beers to wash it down. You would think that would do, but after a stroll on Jonker street market – one of the best I have seen, we went for Satay sticks in a famous eatery called Capitol Satay. You pick as many sticks as you want and plunge them into the bubbling satay sauce in the middle of the table – eat your heart out! – fish, crab, prawns, tofu, liver, cockles, octopus, clams, squid, etc…The manager fell in love with Haz and gave us free whiskies so that was an added bonus for me (not so much for Haz who couldn’t get rid of the guy!)

We ate all day the next day too, Won Ton Soup and Noodles, Cakes and a load more before seeing some sites left from the Portuguese reign and then left for KL about 5kilos heavier! The funniest moment for me was when Koshini’s mum asked us for an Indian curry when we got back – of course we said YES!

KL sites included the Batu Caves – temples built into caves, a reptile cave where I encountered an angry King Cobra, the Petronas Towers, the KL tower for 360degree views of KL, a science museum and another Animal Park. I’ll let you check out the pics for yourselves.

Singapore
13th Jan to 15th Jan

I arrived in Singapore aching from an evening of Rugby training with Haz’s team. It was the 1st exercise I have done since I left England, so when we had to run round the field 4 times and do hundreds of shuttle runs I wasn’t best pleased and it hurt – a lot.

Singapore is another place I could see myself living and working. Its buzzing and you can see the development before your eyes. As a tourist I headed for Sentosa Island – the adventure playground of Singapore. I went to the Underwater World seeing a load of Sharks and Rays plus an entertaining Pink Dolphin and Sea Lion show. The shopping here is awesome, malls dedicated to electronics, or clothes, or books, take you pick – so I did a bit picking up some portable speakers for 15quid. In the evening I visited the only (as I was told), Night Safari in the world. Apart from actually going to the African plains I guess! The best bit for me was walking in the cage with bats. I got a little scared though when I turned around to a see a foot-long guy hanging upside down in front of my face! Ahhh!! It was brilliant seeing nocturnal animals when they are actually active rather than seeing them sleeping in the day! On the downside I missed my bus back to the city and due to a lack of money had to trek back home. I managed to scrounge a lift with 3 Mafioso looking Russians half-way which helped, although I am now probably being watched by security agents from around the world after associating with these guys!

Anyway, reading this back it sounds like I am some kind of animal loving freak. Which I am in a way as they are so fascinating, but its time to get back to partying so I am now in Australia, starting a 2.5month journey here. Appropriately, I’m in a party loving town called Darwin and I intend to party...

Hope you have enjoyed this long one! Pics are up too…

Will