Chiang Mai, Thailand - 22nd to 28th July 2011

We arrived in Chiang Mai surprisingly refreshed and feeling awake after the night train from Bangkok. It turned out I was separated from Leanne and Amy and on a separate carriage where I met 2 American friends travelling together called Alex and Tracy. So we all went to the restaurant car and shared a lot of large Singha's and discussed the similarities and differences between English and American life.

We left the train and discovered the guesthouse we had reserved rooms in had over booked so we jumped into the nearest Tuk Tuk and went for some breakfast and tried to decide where to stay. We opted for the 'Night Bazaar Place' funnily enough because it was near the night bazaar and Thai boxing areas - little did we know that it was actually right on top of the bazaar and boxing stadium (I use the term stadium loosely).
We needed to get to the Chinese consulate to apply for our Visa's so we decided to walk, which was a bad mistake! as it suddenly became very hot and by the time we got there we where soaked in sweat and then they had stopped processing applications! so we would have to go back on Monday and re-apply.
That night we went to a Thai boxing event and we treated ourselves to VIP seats which was basically plastic patio chairs and a plastic table near the ringside and a free bottle of water. The night had 6 or 7 fights of different weight categories - the lighter weights where basically kid's gaining experience of fighting in front of a crowd. The fight of the night was the 70kg weight category and Leanne and Amy both took a shine to the fighter in the blue corner. There was a good local presence at the fights so there was a good atmosphere and plenty of shouting and gambling taking place which made the whole night a lot more enjoyable. Also between rounds the fighters in the blue corner (all from the same gym) stretched out their backs by being held in the air by their trainers, needless to say Leanne and Amy thought this was hilarious and reminded them of a kid being picked up by their dad (yes we got a few strange looks from nearby tables).
We decided to look around the bazaar in the evening and there are too many stalls to describe but they sell everything and I mean EVERYTHING! So I picked up an early birthday present in the new white LFC shirt - for 12 quid so I am very happy.
Sunday came and we decide to take part in a Thai cookery school at the 'Thai Cottage' and it was really amazing - they took us to the local market and explained all the ingredients used and how they made Thai curry paste. We then selected different dishes and prepared them from scratch and between us all we made hot and sour prawn soup, veg and tofu soup, and coconut and chili soup for starters - then spring rolls - a red, green and yellow curry (we made the curry pastes from scratch) and Leanne made sticky rice and mango for dessert. It was hosted by a brother and sister and they both had a good use of English, could tell a good joke and made the whole experience fun.
The next morning we said goodbye to Amy who had been with us for nearly 6 weeks and we will miss her a lot - but I won't miss her farts!
Leanne and I then moved to another guesthouse called the Kavil Guesthouse and went to the Chinese consulate to drop our visas off AGAIN!
We then rented a scooter for the last few days and went to see temples that are further out of the city and enjoyed a few more different coffee houses.
Today came and we went to collect our visas from the consulate and we are now very happy we have them and it was relatively stress free and cheap (we had heard some horror stories about trying to get visas for China).
We are now sat in a tiny coffee/bakery opposite Chiang Mai train station waiting for the 5.55pm train to Ayutthaya and hopefully we will be there by 6am.

So next stop Ayutthaya....

To see our photos from Chiang Mai please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/ChiangMaiThailand22ndTo28thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGSs4_Ljcr7xwE#

Bangkok, Thailand - 19th -21st July 2011

What a lovely sleep we had on the train to Bangkok. I was raving about the Vietnamese sleeper trains but i would definitely say that Thai trains slap them right in the face!  They were so comfortable and with our terrible Hangovers were a very welcome luxury.

We arrived in Bangkok 2 hours late as we had some delays at the other end. We jumped into 2 Tuk Tuk's thinking that so far we haven't really even seen them! Generally the taxis are covered Ute's with sideways slanting seats which hold up to 12 people. We helled off with me and Amy in one and Dave and Gemma in another. It was definitely a race between the 2 drivers to see who could get there first! Dave and Gemma's tuk tuk had an obvious hole in the exhaust (brrrraaammmmmm) plus they kept doing wheelies off the traffic lights. Our one was a little more tame and goes to show that slow and steady really does win the race, despite the random torrential down pour!

Our hotel was sweet but much to Gemma absolute disgust there were no carpets on the floor. I had the theory that it was in with the Aztec theme but Gemma had other ideas presuming that they couldn't be bothered to lay it in the first place! ha ha! The lift was definitely interesting! Old style and I'm sure health and safety wise not good (god i am turning into my father).

We hit Ko San road as soon as because Gem had such little time left and she needed to finish her souvenir shopping. I have to say it wasn't what i expected. It was hyped up as this huge crowded shopping street with loads of food stalls and a mass of clothing stalls. I wouldn't say it was bad shopping but as with typical south east Asia it was 'same same' just an array of Chang and Singha beer vests and wooden croaking frog after wooden croaking frog (which Gemma did buy!). We tired ourselves out pretty quickly and soon found a little bar to relax in.

We found a little gem of a cafe just opposite from our hotel called The KC cafe. They served a mixture of western and Thai food so we were all happy. I think it did the best Tom Kah i have ever eaten!

The following day was one that needed to be nice and relaxing for Gem as she had her long flight home that evening. We opted for an hour river cruise which turned out to be one of the best things we did in Bangkok. The four of us rented out a longtail boat for the equivalent of 5 quid each and off we went speeding along the river at full pelt. The little wooden boat was smashing down so hard off the waves i honestly thought it was going to snap in half!! Because the Skipper was calm and collected Dave didn't see the need of worrying and i only stayed calm so that Gemma would stay calm. Amy just sat looking herself.
It wasn't long before we saw these giant Lizard's (monitors) our guide had a very good eye and kept seeing them on the banks sunbathing. Some were seen sneaking into the stilt houses more than likely to steal eggs. They swam just like dogs in the water and honestly were bigger than most dogs i have seen. It was something very unexpected especially as Amy piped up at the start of the trip "i doubt we will see any wildlife in the city" lol.

After Gemma went for not one...but 2 massages getting her fill before she went home! We sadly waved her off on the bus to the airport. It was an amazing time and I'm so glad she came! I hope she remembers it for years to come and now i can say ' i travelled with my little sister!'

Next stop Chiang Mai and another night train (kinda like them though!).......

To view our pictures from Bangkok please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/BangkokThailand19thTo21stJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-g4sPLpfb-Ww#

Koh Phangan, Thailand, 15th to 18th July 2011

When we left Ko Samui we where crammed onto a large catamaran without 200 other people - the weather was fine until we left the port!
All of a sudden the biggest storm came and slowly the sea became rougher and rougher! after about 30 minutes all you could hear was people pushing their way through to the nearest toilet to be sick - and towards the end of the crossing nearly every one's bags that had been neatly stacked on top of each other where all over the place!
Once we where at Thong Sala on Koh Phangan the storm stopped....

The girls where feeling a little worse for wear after that and it didn't get any easier as had a nice 25 minute winding taxi ride through the islands countryside (in case you hadn't guessed or know already the girls suffer from travel sickness). We arrived at our hotel/resort and we where greeted by what I can only describe as a pregnant lady boy!!
Luckily we where right on the beach in a nice little area called Hat Yao and the beach was sheltered by nice rock pools and the water was really clear.
We decided to just chill out on the island and get ready for the full moon party which was on the 17th.

The next day we rented an awesome 4x4 'ute' and went off exploring the island and searching for party gear - after a lot of shopping we where sorted and that evening we headed to an amazing restaurant in Ban Chaloaklam which was Italian but run by Thais - either way it was pretty awesome.

The 17th came and the girls spent the day having their usual massage before we jumped in the taxi and headed to Hat Rin for the full moon party. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised at how much of a good time I/we all had. Luckily we met up with Will and Christian two Aussie guys we met on Samui and 2 other Aussie's who they met on Samui. So we ended up with a nice crowd of people and started on the buckets of Thai whisky (which are lethal!) before Will and I beat everyone at beer pong in a nearby bar. We then spent some time walking up and down the beach enjoying people skipping with giant skipping ropes that where on fire!
We all inevitably got lost but we fortunately found each other later on and headed home.

As you can imagine the next morning was not pretty as we left the resort to get a 4 hour ferry back to Surat Thani where we then had to wait 5 hours for the night train to Bangkok only to find out it was delayed! so we eventually boarded the train at 12.40am and we all passed out...

Next stop Bangkok.

To see our pictures from Koh Phangan please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KohPhanganThailand15thTo18thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_z9Yyvl6mC5wE#

Ko Samui, Thailand - 12th-15th July 2011

This was the part we had been waiting for. The idyllic Thai Islands. After our bus trip from Phuket we boarded a pleasantly smooth ferry to Ko Samui. As soon as we arrived it started piddling down! Luckily it was just a bit of the passing daily monsoon and it soon stopped!

Our hotel was amazing we had our own little bungalows which were just a few meters from the beach!

The beach was a welcome site with its beautiful sands and gently lapping waters. Amy would have no worries swimming here after her experience in Kata beach when she was thrown to and fro in the sea for around 5 minutes before finally finding her way out of the white horses. If only you could have seen it!

Although the beach looked idyllic the water i have to say was disgusting. It was full of black sludge which made it so murky you couldn't even see your hand! Plus there was a lovely layer of suntan lotion floating on the surface! ewww. Again another area spoilt by pure tourism. The beach did have some amazing little eateries though and we did spend alot of time grazing! We also managed to have a much more relaxing massage right on the beach listening to the waves gently lapping on the sand. Sorry for all those who are reading this after a hard days work. We have forgotton what that feels like!

For the day we decided to rent mopeds. Me and Dave shared and Amy and Gem did. Everything was going swimmingly until Gembo had a little blip which resulted in a bruised knee for Amy and Ego for Gem haha! Everyone was fine though and we soon set off again. We must have covered around 30k that day which on tiny seated mopeds isn't the most comfortable of rides. We did see a beautiful waterfall and the Big Buddha though so was worth the sore bums. On our return to the hotel we did get caught in the biggest Monsoon yet! Driving the mopeds was rather amusing but definitely an experience i would want to repeat!

We headed in to the Main town on Samui Island, Chaweng, for the evening. Me and the girls went out for a lovely tea while we left Dave to watch the Liverpool game with some Aussies. It was similar to Patong with stall lined streets and touts everywhere. We were in our shopping element and all went a bit mad especially Amy and Gem with their souvenirs.

It was then time again to move on and the following afternoon we boarded a ferry to Ko Phangan......

To see our pictures from Ko Samui please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KoSamuiThailand12thTo15thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCObB8eeM9-vAjgE#

Phuket, Thailand - 9th-12th July 2011

It was like a sea of white. Even at Singapore airport on the Jet star check in to Phuket i was very aware of how many white people there were. Defiantly more than we had seen in a long while.
We had a mad rush to the airport after failing miserably to flag an available cab we had no other choice but to get the train. We 'literally' (word of the month) just made the fight with around 10 minuites to spare. Never been that close before. Thank god for Amazing Singapore public transport!

So on arrival to Phuket we were treated with a very hot but non humid air. The queue through immigration was just ridiculous and the longest wait we have had so far. We were nicely greeted by our gorgeous hotel. We have been booking our stays through Agoda.com and have been getting some excellent discounted luxury rooms.

We went to explore Patong which was the absolute tackiest of tacky beach resorts i have ever seen. It was like being in Benidorm. With western meals available galore and Aussie rules football playing in almost every bar it was truly a boys holiday place. Really great shopping though! Dave and i brought a couple of new vests at a steal!

We had our first taste of Pad Thai mmmmmm... lots more to come which we are very excited about. Dave is on a mission to find the best Pad Thai in Thailand.

Me and Gem decided it was time to treat ourselves so we went off for a Thai massage and left Amy and Dwilly to bond over a few Chang's (6.4%). At just 4 quid for an hour massage we were chuffed, however, afterwards we were in need of a beer too, (well Gem was in need of a Malibu and pineapple juice) it was quite a stressful experience! Being traditional Thai massage i expected it to be rough but, ouch....a bit to pokey for my liking!

We were a little way away from the beach but we found some amazing local restaurants just over the road from our hotel. This guy was serving up all sorts of Thai cuisine from Pad Thai to Green curries and all the yummy things in between. The menu was rather baffling but it made such a nice change from fried Malaysian rice and noodles!

The following day we decided to take a trip out to 'Kata' beach which was much more our cup of tea! Me and the girls lazed on the beach for most of the day and Dave went off to be sociable with the locals and find some good coffee. After enough sun we met back up and decided to treat ourselves to a Fish Spa. They have them in the UK but i think they originated over this way. And for 4quid for half an hour compared to 15 quid we were more than happy to oblige!! It was the funniest sensation ever! I thought it would tickle but it was more of a pinching! They loved Amy's feet! All i could here was Dave screeching with Gemma as they shared their tank! Great fun! There were fewer people here and mostly familys which made it a much nicer environment!

After another amazing local meal that night we then relaxed with a few Singhas on our balcony and watched some of the on coming storms. We did find the the road next to our hotel did, at night, double up as a mass of openly obvious brothels!

We needed to think about getting up to our next destination to get over to the island for the full moon party so we headed into the main town of Phuket the next day in search of some bus tickets. A 4 hours bus ride to the ferry port to Ko Samui was nothing and surprisingly easy to find the bus station. We all went for a lovely smoothie after. We all had a banana one only to find that it was heavily doused in rum.....cocktail smoothies...maybe we should have read the menu. But at 40baht each ( under a quid) we couldn't grumble!

So it was time to move on and even though we enjoyed the beach and the food i don't think it would be somewhere i would come back to. Just to many Westerners spoiling the beautiful scenery!

Next Stop Ko Samui......

To see our pictures of Phuket please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/PhuketThailand9thTo12thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCJef0bno7_2ARQ#

Singapore - 6th to 9th July 2011

Being the only Male with 3 Females is not as good as it sounds!!!

OK so we arrived in Singapore fully refreshed and I for one was overly excited to be back in Singapore!
For those of you who haven't been it is like stepping into the future where everything is modern and everything runs efficiently and people can speak 3 languages and function without any problems.

We left the airport and jumped seamlessly from the airport train to the SMRT (Singapore metro) we arrived near Chinatown and headed to our hostel the 'Rucksack Inn'.
We had a 4 bed private room - which was lucky because there where only 2 of these and the only other option was a 24 bed mixed dorm!
The hostel was/is the nicest I have ever stayed in with free tea/coffee/filtered water and toast available all day (I know this doesn't sound much but for us travellers this is amazing!)

We dropped our bags and then went exploring (as usual) but we where immediately drawn to the nearest shopping complex which was selling everything really cheap (except for alcohol) and we where happy to fall victim to the new and shiny western world after our time in Malaysia.

We managed to drag ourselves away and Leanne went to meet Gemma from the airport while Amy and I passed the time playing guitar hero on the wii (I rocked).
Amy then surprised Gemma when she came into the hostel room and after a bit of a catch up we headed for dinner and ate at a weird fancy kebab place where I had the worst vegetable noodle dish I have ever eaten! We where once again taken aback by the glitz and glamour of Singapore life and walked around looking at bars, shops and brands that we haven't seen for nearly two years!

The next morning we awoke to a really weird almost mould like smell in our room - we told the staff who had our air conditioner inspected but apparently nothing could be done! but we managed to have all of our clothes washed and dried without charge as compensation (bonus!).
We headed out to visit more of Singapore's shopping mecca along Orchard road but we didn't really buy anything at all (typical) although we did have our pictures taken with Snoopy!.
We then headed to CHIJMES or chimes as it's pronounced to look at the old convent and monastery as well as Singapore's Cathedral before moving onto Raffle's City and the legendary Raffles Hotel - home of the Singapore Sling!
So I had to have one and even though it was 15 quid, it was money well spent. That evening we went to a rather strange Japanese pasta restaurant where they had hundreds of bowls on display with plastic food in to show you what they sold - it was pretty surreal.

The next day we headed to Sentosa Island, which is Singapore's playground, it is full of resorts and Universal Studios but we stuck to the beach and had several amazing runs on the Luge.
That evening we headed to the Marina Bay Sands hotel and headed to the roof garden to watch the sunset over Singapore and had an amazing view of the city (see the pics as I can't do it justice here).
We then caught the SMRT to little India and enjoyed a rather nice if somewhat of a strange take on a banana leaf curry before heading back to the hostel to pack for our early flight.

Next stop Phuket and Thailand!

To see our pictures from Singapore please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/Singapore6thTo9thOfJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMig9NiG-pLmAg#

Kuching , Malaysia, Borneo - 27th June - 6th July 2011

Possibly the worst bus journey ever. I thought a sleeper bus in Vietnam was a bad idea but a sitting bus for 12 hours is not comfortable. Especially with a snoring Arab sitting behind Amy!

We arrived at 6am and it was Hot. We hopped onto the local bus into the main town (after sitting for 30 Min's at the wrong bus stop). After a quick breakfast we found after a long search 'John's Place' We booked into a triple room which for 80 myr was a good price. 10 minutes later (after Dave had christened the toilet) the woman came and told us we had to move to 2 double rooms. We didn't mind this but later on when checking out they demanded more money for the two rooms. With our terrible Malaysian it was a massive communication error and the arguments were flying! We did however resolve the situation by walking out. We finally found a lovely place called Ajung right in the middle of many shops and cafes. We have quite a few days here so decided to take it a bit easy and enjoy.

We took a day trip out to Bako National park which was recommended by a few people who have previously been to Borneo. We had to book our accommodation in advance and were pleasantly surprised by how cheap it was. We hopped on a local bus and headed to the boat jetty to take us there.

We have noticed so far on our travels that it is very rare to find a really smelly Asian Person. I think in Malaysia that Islam has a lot to do with cleanliness and with so many cheap toiletries (excluding sun cream) there is no excuse to be a smelly bugger. Of all the people I think the Whites smell more. This could not be more true than a French family we shared the boat to the park with. It was foul. The wind was luckily blowing in their direction so their foul odour went out the back of the boat.

Anyway off track a bit there. We arrived at the National park and we were amazed at its beauty. It was so hot though! We had been given a warning about the Macaque monkeys stealing stuff and when checking into our rooms we were told to keep the door shut at all times.

Our little room was perfect (no Air con which did worry us). After escaping the heat and having some lunch we decided to go on a little walk where we were told we were almost guaranteed to see some of the famous Proboscis monkeys. Little did we know that it would be one of the most amazing experiences (and scariest) ever!

We started out on a rickety old board walk snaking out over the edge of the incoming tide. Every step we took felt like we may get wet! We slowly got further and further into the rain forest and what we were told was a flat, easy walking track turned into an over grown root scattered mountain trek . Withing minutes we saw one. Just sitting above us on a branch. Amy's eyes were definitely sharp that day. We stood in awe just looking at this creature. Maybe the size of a 9 year old child just sitting looking at us like we were looking at him with avid curiosity. He was chewing away on leaves his odd looking nose flapping. We could hear the slow, low groan of other monkeys calling (mmmeerrrrrr) and once movement started it was actually quite scary to think they were swinging right above our heads. After all these are wild animals and can be extremely dangerous. We decided to return back to camp after our fill of the creatures. We were casually walking along when all of a sudden out of no where helling towards us down on the path was a 5ft something fully grown proboscis monkey. Apart from just making us jump briefly the fact that it continued to come towards us before mounting a tree was just petrifying. Amy immediately turned to me stiff with fear and it was when Dave screamed like a girl that i actually got so scared that a bit of wee came out. I cant describe how close it was....but be could smell it....and we still can. I don't think i will ever be so close to such a beautiful animal in the wild again!

Shakily we returned on the rickety board walk back to camp. When we reached a jetty Amy was ranting about tourists leaving there rubbish everywhere and then we realised that a little monkey (we thought a macaque) was rummaging in the bin. Being quite tiny maybe just below knee height we weren't overly intimidated so approached him.....WRONG!!! he headed towards us wide eyed and we soon backed off. (Later we learned that you are more likely to be harmed by a little macaque than a proboscis). We headed down onto the beach and were stalked by loads. The sun going down obviously starts to bring them out! There were everywhere. Getting into open windows and stealing peoples food off their plates.

The other thing that made us jump slightly whilst relaxing at the hut was giant Bearded pigs. Bloody huge things like warthogs almost! there were everywhere and were often seen huge tusks and all digging through the mud for grubs. Harmless and stood their ground with the little monkeys.

The evening rained and rained and rained...the hardest I've probably ever seen. We got a good nights kip and went to catch out ferry back the following day. Early that morning you could hear the monkeys on the roof. On tweaking the curtain you could see them. At least 10! Some stupid person had left there room open and of all things to leave they left oranges on full display. The monkeys where everywhere and we just had to make a run for it before being attacked. Quite an adrenaline filled couple of days!

On our return back to Kuching we went back to Ajung. Me and Amy spent a day exploring the markets (very smelly, fishy) Dave enjoyed his Malaysia Coffee!

One uninteresting trip was to the Cat Museum. Kuching is the city of Cats so we felt we had to go. It was quite a waste of time though and we got really hot!

Another interesting day trip was to another Orangutan sanctuary which was only 3 myr to enter! we saw a huge fully grown male (Richie) over 100kg right in front of us. Around 5 meters or so way on the ground. Another time where a little wee escaped me! It was stunning to see it so close. Some tourists are so stupid though and i saw them way to close for their own good! the keepers must get so pissed off with us. We weren't allowed umbrellas as they look like guns apparently and they scare the apes. Another amazing wildlife experience. Borneo is the place to see amazing creatures!

Food wise we have to admit we wernt overly impressed. With a lot of fried rice and egg noodles the choice was bland after a while. There was only so much Nasi Goreng and mee goreng we could handle. And the serious lack of veg played havoc with poor Amy's tummy! We felt like the hawker stalls were the better choices for cheap grub as it was quite pricey in Malaysia. We are looking forward to the choices in Thailand!

So its goodbye to Borneo.We are sad to see you go but we are ready to move on.

Next Stop Singapore!

To see our pictures from Kuching please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KuchingMalaysianBorneo28thJuneTo6thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNz085TQ3bf6jAE#

Bander Seri Begwan, Brunei - 25th -27th June 2011

If we knew what we know now we would never have gone overland to Brunei. We were picked up in Beaufort still full from our amazing dinner. We were glad to see that our specially reserved front seats were still available. Funnily enough some Malaysian woman looked at us in disgust and pointed to the back off the bus (this tends to be where all white people are seated) we just laughed and went about our business. The bus ride was long and not just that it was on, off, on,off for immigration checkpoints it went a little some thing like this :

Exit Sabah - Enter Sarawak - Exit Sarawak - Enter Brunei - Exit Brunei - Enter Sarawak - Exit Sarawak - Enter Brunei........oh lord. Unfortunately the country of Brunei spreads itself over the Malaysian state of Sarawak so you have to enter and exit more times than we would like to remember.

Finally we arrived and found our accommodation which was recommended in our rough guide (our experience in KK didn't deter us from the recommendations). It was a youth hostel which was available per night to travellers and for just 5 quid a night we couldn't grumble especially as all of the accommodation in Brunei is so expensive! Boys and girls are however completely separated. This was fine but i don't think Amy enjoyed my sleep walking alone!!!

We went to explore the city and found it deserted! Not a large city at all just some high rises. We did find the most spectacular Mosque. A photographers dream. We went to do some exploring inside, donned in our long dresses and cardigans (including Dave) and there was a polite sign outside stating ' Non- Muslim people are not permitted to enter the mosque"......could you imagine a sign for a London Cathedral saying "Non-Christians bugger off" ?? Please discuss quietly amongst yourselves.

There wasn't to much to do and after doing a brief river cruise to see the Sultans Palace (disappointing views from behind a hedge) and some far off monkeys we spent most of our time coffee housing and eating. Even though it's more expensive here it is still much cheaper than England.

2 days was plenty to explore and after a spectacular feed at an amazing Curry house we hopped on yet another bus to Miri (Back into Malaysia, Sarawak). This was a stop off point to continue our long journey to Kuching.

Next stop as above!

To see our photo's from Brunei please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/Brunei25thTo27thJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNXw1OOq4LjrhwE#

Kota Kinabulu,Kudat, Kota Belud, Mt.Kinabulu, Ranau, Beaufort - Malaysian Borneo - 19th to 24th June 2011

We arrived in Kota Kinabulu or KK as it is known locally, after a very long 12-14 hour coach ride! during which we had to change buses twice and a local man hid in the toilet of the coach to avoid the transport authorities (rather him than me as it stunk REALLY badly)

Once we got off that coach/bus we realised we needed to walk to another place to catch a 'local' bus to get into the city centre. We found this and after paying 25p for the ride we didn't moan but we soon realised we had been tricked when we realised it was a pimped out private bus with home made speakers and it started pumping out Malaysian hard rock - and in case that didn't give it away we saw the real 'local' bus pass us several times along the way.
Anyhow we made it safely into the city and made our way to the highly recommended place in the rough guide book only to realise it was a complete dive, and after a bit of a walk in 33 degrees we found another place that was a lot cleaner and nicer (even if the rooms for 8 people where actually only big enough for 3!
We then set about exploring KK and what it had to offer - we had heard there was an amazing curry house in the city that did curries for 2 quid so we made our way over there in the evening only to find out it was Father's Day and everything we had ordered was sold out! fortunately we found another place that was equally as nice (if a bit more expensive) on the water front and filled ourselves on curry.
The next morning we headed to the near by islands to top up our tans and have a little snorkel around - the islands themselves are amazing and we had a nice morning on the beach until it reached about 12pm and it was too hot to do anything at all! so we headed back to escape the midday heat. that evening we decided to try and find the KK night life which is pretty non existent or at least it was at this time of year, we stumbled across a bar called BED which stood for best entertainment destination and despite there only being 5 people in the place there was a band playing who where really good! They sat the 3 white people at the bar and used us to get other people to come in and within an hour of us getting there the place was rammed. The drinks where pretty pricey but after Leanne and Amy bought a cocktail each, they where given free drinks to stay in the bar as they do not get many white women in there - so by the time we left they had obviously had a few too many, which made for a interesting walk home!
The next day I left Leanne and Amy to explore the smelly markets while I went for a walk and enjoyed a few coffee's out of the heat, we then decided to go to a fresh seafood restaurant for dinner where I had a mantis prawn and the girls had an array of cockles, mussells and I think they where sea snails!
We then hired a car and decided to drive to 'the tip of Borneo' which is near a town called Kudat and is Borneo's most Northerly point - there where amazing beaches and not really a person in sight - in the town itself there was a massive laughing Buddha statue which brought us great amusement.
We tried to make it to Mt.Kinabulu that night but it was a bit too far and after getting slightly lost we ended up bedding down in a town called Kota Belud - the people where really friendly to us and I think we where the only white people most of them had ever seen. The next day we made it to Mt.Kinabulu and found a nice guesthouse on the mountain side before we went to the national park to enjoy the views of the mountain. The girls went for a little trek but where disappointed not to see as good views of the mountain as they where hoping. We then went to explore another local town called Ranau, where again we where the only white people a lot of the locals had seen at least for a while. We went to a local restaurant and the owner welcomed us with open arms and made us some very tasty meals so we where all happy.
We then went to return the hire car to the train station and as we where almost there a guy on a scooter hit us and marked the back parking light! but luckily the woman from the company didn't see it and we got our full deposit back.
We then sat in the station cafe waiting for the afternoon train to Beaufort, once we where on the train all the locals where staring and probably asking why we where on the train.
We arrived in Beaufort which is basically a small town with a huge Mosque! we found somewhere to stay as again it was incredibly hot, the girls in our hotel had adopted the American way of speaking English and we had a good laugh with them. We ate at the best little local Chinese restaurant and enjoyed a few beers for about 3-4 quid each! We then retired for the evening as we had to get up early to catch the coach to Brunei.
So obviously next stop Brunei....

To see our photo's from KK and around please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KotaKinabuluMalaysianBorneo19thTo23rdJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCJWQx5P60uy15QE#

Sandakan, Sepilok and Turtle Island, Malaysia Borneo - 15th June - 19 June 2011

It was kind of emotional leaving Vietnam. We had grown to love the way of life and the food. Plus we had met some amazing people. It will be a place that we will definitely revisit one day.

We flew back into Kuala Lumpur to meet Amy. We got there in good time. Not the best of flights and as we hadn't flown in at least a month Dave was palm sweating the whole way. Very bumpy on the way down with screaming children.

I was looking out for Amy on the forecourt. Wasn't too sure when she would get in as she had to transfer from the international to the domestic LCC. Then i saw her!! We bounded across the taxi rank in slow motion fashion. After a 2 year awaited embrace we found that i had completely gashed a chunk out of her shoulder with my brand new casio watch! oops!

On board another flight we left mainland Malaysia and headed right across to the other side of Borneo ( The eastern island of Malaysia also occupied by Brunei and Indonesia). We arrived in Sandakan and settled into The Hotel London (ironically for Amy!)

We ventured out not really knowing what to expect. The streets were bare with shutters galore. A Ghost town. We did walk past a small bar and when a Malaysian Guy shouted HELLO me and Dave immediately were on guard....not at all what we have been used to over the last month! Maybe people are more friendly this side of Asia.

The next morning it was hot. Hotter than we had been. We ventured out after a good nights sleep. Much needed after Amy's long flight. We mainly spent the day getting our bearings and working out a plan for the next few days. Sandakan was transformed in the daytime to a bustling town. I felt naked in just shorts and a vest top. Being in a Muslin Country pretty much every woman was in headdress. Not any full veil that we saw. However they were all so friendly shouting Hello from cars driving by and ladies in shops even telling us that they loved us! Everyone was wiling to help. We had a wonderful lunch and admired the views from the harbour.

The following day we headed out of town to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation centre. We caught the local bus from town (4mr) after about 45 mins we arrived with whords of other tourists. After taking our money and putting our bags in lockers we were shunned down a board walk and stood with hundreds of other people waiting for the Orang utans to come to the feeding platform for there dinner.

Sepilok is full of protected forest which allows orphaned and injured orang utans to be safely introduced back to the wild. Some just never return after they are strong enough to fend for themselves. Others feed daily and even come back when they are pregnant to get the keepers to help them with their young.

It was a scorching hot day and we were all sweltering! It was amazing to see them all come down from the trees to feed. I think they were used to humans because they sat with their backs to us. There were just far to many people there and all making to much noise i felt like they were hassling the poor things. After the feeding there wasn't to much to do so we had a coffee and waited for the bus back. We did feel that it was a tourist trap but hope that our money goes to a good cause. Its a UK run charity so gives me a little faith. Hopefully they wont get tax taken!

The next part of our trip has to be the best. I am actually excited about writing about it because i get to relive it again.

We went on a trip to Turtle Island reserve. It had been recommended by a few people and even though it was slightly more expensive than other trips we had been on we thought it would be a one time experience.

We got the boat over early in the morning. I little speed boat which did unnerve me and Amy slightly. An hour later we were approaching one of the most beautiful beaches i had ever seen. Gorgeous white sand and the clearest waters. A little wooden club house stood surrounded in camouflaging palm trees. The beach was dotted with giant holes made by turtles from the previous nights nesting. We were greeted by our guide and showed to our rooms. We were able to relax on the most beautiful beach and swim in the cleanest water all day. So nice to relax.

After our dinner we were briefed about what would happen when the sun went down. We were split into groups and were told to prepare for a sudden movement to the beach. The rangers at the island (its a national park) watch the ' mother turtles' arrive on the beach and watch them drag their way up to their spot where they start to dig their hole a meter deep. When mummy is about to lay they call for us to quietly (most people where not!) go to the turtle and stay to the back of her whilst she is laying her eggs. The first sight we got of her was stunning. I really didn't expect her to be so big. A green turtle. She reminded me of a stuffed turtle shaped poof i had as a kid. Mother will know what i mean. I think her name was Clare...anyway...

laid 50 eggs. We were able to go round to the front and take so photos. I felt like we were distracting and crowding her and she snorted pretty loud so we left her to it. She started to cover the eggs over with sand and this is when the rangers took the eggs from the nest and took them away to the hatchery.

We then got to see the eggs being buried in the hatchery and dated. After this they released some freshly hatched turtle babies into the sea. They scurried away towards the light (held by a ranger as it was very cloudy with no moon) I was amazing to watch.

40 turtles layed their eggs that night and 2000 babies were released freshly hatched into the sea. Of that amount only around 15 turtles will survive. :( I'm glad we contributed to keep their numbers as high as possible.

Next stop Kota Kinabalu....

To see our pictures from Sandakan please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/SandakanMalaysianBorneo15th19thJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPLKvuOCo-vAxwE#

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - 11thJune - 15th June

Our bus ride from Mui Ne was not overly interesting. As usual we (the whites) were shoved to the back of the bus. We realised that this is because it gets rather hot here due to the engine! Unfortunately some selfish Russian girl decided she wanted a breeze on her face during her journey which meant every other bugger lost the air con out of her window. Even after i shut her window and told her about the air con she still re- opened it. As long as SHE was comfortable bugger everyone else! Backpackers pahhh!

After arriving in HCMC the rain started. It was strange being in such a big city again. I expected it to be similar to Hanoi and i was right however the city does hold its own charm and the streets are slightly wider.

Our hotel was pretty decent we shared a 4 person room with Alex and Holly which was an experience with my sleep talking antics. After our long journey we had an awesome Indian.mmmmmm!

After a good nights sleep we all decided to explore the markets! it was mayhem! As soon as we were seen by the little Vietnamese ladies it was all go...miss miss...sir....you buy......discount for you! god it was just a headache. The actually grab on to your top and pull you to their stalls. Unlucky for those who grabbed my arms to high there were greeted by a sweaty pits and soon released me! We brought a few bits and bobs and headed off for our after noon of beer!

I cant believe that on the last few days in Vietnam we discovered Bai Hoi. Home brewed slightly cool beer served for around 30p a pint! Why did we not know about this before?? You could however see the Bia hoi stall a mile off as it was the only one packed to the brim with backpackers.

The boys got started and i went for a much awaited wax...i wont go into much detail but this face may give you an idea :S

The following day we decided to visit the war remnants museum. Even though i wouldn't say 'i enjoyed it' it was a big eye opener. I learned a lot about the war in Vietnam and the treatment by the Americans. Worth a visit but not for the sensitive or actually the Americans as i imagine there would feel quite disgusted on many levels with their own people.

Alex was celebrating his birthday and we all went out for a little celebration. We went for Mexican. Me and Dave got him a little cake (which we walked for hours in the rain to find...your welcome) and it was a jolly time. Me and Holly had a bottle of famous Dalat red wine made in Vietnam. It was delicious and has added greatly to my wine experience! mmmmm wine

It was then time to say goodbye to our new found friends. They were off to cross the boarder to Cambodia and we were flying to KL the following day.

We moved hotels as we had pre booked and spent our last day just enjoying the city. Not to much not to little just a perfect day. Do we really want to leave?

Next Stop Malaysia.

To see our pictures from HCMC please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/SaigonVietnam10thJune15thJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCP2vwJH43vLPwwE#