Missioning Malaysia

Due to the length of time i ended up staying in Myanmar i only had 10 days to see the sights of peninsula Malaysia.

Flying back to Bangkok i headed straight for the train station to catch the 23 hour train bound for Butterworth. The train turned out to be pretty comfy and surprisingly enough i managed a few hours kip before entering Malaysia early the next morning. The first greeting was a board saying 'strictly no hippies' and then a list defining what a hippy was. Already liking this place.

From Butterworth its a short hop on the ferry to Penang Island and Georgetown. I teamed up with some guys from Glasgow and some American girls on a visa run. We headed for the nearest hostel and knackered i decided to relax with a few beers. This was spoiled by the fact there is a 200% tax on alcohol in Malaysia which made it very expensive. Instead a shared bottle of vodka was called for and we had a fun evening playing drinking games, before heading out on the town.

I was really worried about how much time i had before I had to be in Singapore but Penang really didn't have much to offer. I spent one day walking around and going to the snake temple but that was really it. The food on the other hand was incredible, the best indian i have had anywhere!! Also cheap 2 quid for half a tandoori chicken with naan and salad. Happy happy days, anything to get away from the fried rice i had been eating for the last month.

I left early the next day for the Cameron highlands to do some walking and get some exercise. The highlands as you might expect are pretty high and were freezing cold. This wasnt helped by the wet weather which turned the trails into mudbaths. I managed one day hiking through lush rain forest and tea plantations before heading back into the middle of another drinking session. My alcohol tolerance since russia has declined rapidly and a few 'down it' cards later meant i was ready to call it a day. The weather deteriorated overnight so i just used the next day to book some flights for the rest of the trip as well as plan my next few days.

I now had four days left two of which i spent in KL and the other two in Malacca. Both were ok but one full day was enough in each. Plus a Christmas spending session in the Petronas towers mall had me spent out. Its really weird building up to Christmas in the warm as everything is so un-christmasy. Listening to carols and slade while sweating buckets does not get you in the mood. Despite this i managed a photo with Santa and his assistant.

I left Malacca after much stress having missed my earlier bus as the guesthouse had neglected to inform me there is no public transport on sundays. Malaysia really is the worst place for public transport. In just the few days i was there i had so many issues. Fortunately there are quite a few buses to Singapore so i jumped aboard and six hours later i was on the island.

Singapore is a very sterile place as everything is illegal and it has very little atmosphere save for the indian and chinese quarters. After dumping my stuff i headed on the metro to raffles hotel for cocktails with beav. It was so odd seeing somebody i actually knew for a change. Anyway Singapore slings down the hatch we had a walk around for the next couple of days as well as blagging a swim in the pool. There are some things its worth having somebody else pay for.

Two days in Singapore was plenty and then it was time to catch my flight to Perth, WA where the fun would really begin.