Malaysia - Singapore, Sarawak & Sabah

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Overview

Unfortunately we had to miss the east coast as it was still monsoon season, but the west coast and Malaysian Borneo more than made up for it. Penang was my favourite place of the west coast, perhaps because we saw it first, but more probably because it was so relaxed and easy going. After Thailand and Cambodia, one of the most striking features was the extent of European influence – the result of years of imperialism. Another noticeable thing is that absolutely everyone spoke English. The food was unexciting and remarkable only for the number of MacDonalds in Kuala Lumpur but fortunately we moved on to Indonesia where the food is excellent.

Despite the efforts of David Attenborough, I was quite unprepared for the size, beauty, colour and sound of the jungle in Borneo which were awe inspiring . The caves in Mulu were also spectacular and it makes make you feel small and insignificant to see so much natural beauty on such a magnificent scale.

21 February

•   Tomorrow morning we are heading to Kalimantan in Indonesia.

•   We had our celebration meal today, prawns and an entire kilo - as we have no idea about weight, so just ordered and it was loads - of fresh crab in a pepper sauce. It was absolutely delicious. Messy, but lush.

•   We're just back from Mulu National Park - at the other end of Sarawak - one of the two Malay states on Borneo. It was fab and well worth the hideous overnight bus we had to take to get there – air-conditioning was stuck in the on positions and it was absolutely bloody freezing for the whole FOURTEEN HOURS!

•   From Miri, we then took a tiny plane (a 19 seater twin otter apparently, for the fanatics!), which was more like a minibus with wings. Clearly it was not designed to fly but we managed to there in one piece and the views as we flew over the park and over Brunei were pretty impressive - a sea of green as far as the eye could see, with occasional gashes of logging trails through the rainforest.
The park is famed for its caves, and they have set up a number of wooden plank walks to see the "show caves". Although I'm not much of a cave or rock person, these caves were truly incredible!

•   Deer Cave is the longest cave passage in the world, about 2km long and not less than 100m high and wide at any point - it really is huge. Clearwater Cave is the longest cave in SE Asia and has a river running through it, which is v.v.v. pretty (I don’t think the photos will do it any justice). There were a couple of other smaller caves with the rock formations specially lighted to show them off to best effect and they were also very impressive.

•   There are apparently some 2.5 million bats living in Deer Cave - tiny little things, only a couple of inches long. I didn’t actually count them but every day at about 6pm, they swoop out to hunt for food – an incredible sight – a huge black river flowing out of the cave, and it just keeps on coming and coming and coming!

•   Apart from the caves, and the bats, there are millions of butterflies, a few snakes and some hideous big bugs. I saw the biggest cicada I've ever seen fly straight into a fan and get chopped in half making a horrible noise

•   Then we did some serious jungle exploring trekking through dense jungle and swamps to a waterfall. After that we took mountain bikes over to the local hot spring, which was just kinda there in the side of the river (very odd, but very hot!!) and then biked back down what appeared to be near vertical cliff face! All great fun!

•   One strange thing was that the restaurant attached to the park where we were staying always had the radio tuned Capital FM London complete with local news and traffic reports, and competitions offering prizes in pounds! Very surreal sitting in the middle of a rainforest in Borneo listening to London news and traffic reports and competitions offering prizes in pounds!

•   There were so many more treks to the further flung corners, and some of the even more impressive caves, but we were running out of money so we had to pass. Still, that means we have a bit of "spare" cash to splash out on a meal to celebrate our last day in Malaysia tonight

15 February

•   (Editor's note - In response to Jenny’s suggestion the she had to try some durian fruit) Ooops - there was a durian tree at the longhouse we've just been staying at in deepest darkest Borneo, but i didn't know! OK, will try some here (we're still in Malaysia) or Indonesia.

•   The jungle trip was pretty fab - we went to visit an Iban (local tribe) longhouse, which is like an entire village living under one roof. There were 26 families in the one where we stayed. Each family has its own apartment, and then there's a huge veranda-like area out front for work (bamboo weaving, carving, jewellery etc) and for entertaining.

•   On our way there we got soaked - the heavens opened just as we got on the longboat (like a long rowing boat, with a motor). After drying off and having some dinner, we were treated to traditional dance in full traditional costumes. . Then we had to have a go - we were sooooo crap. The women's dance is a very elegant, graceful dance and doesn't actually DO much.

•   Then we had to sample the local rice wine (tasted a bit like sherry, but it's potent stuff) and the chief kept challenging me to down it. Well you know what I'm like when challenged!

•   On day two we were woken early by the loudest cockerels in the world – it must have had a megaphone, and been right under our beds! (The houses are built on stilts to protect them from the floods, and there are loads of floods - it poured down almost all the time we were there and apparently that's quite normal!)

•   Then we went on a riverboat ride, ate lunch cooked in bamboo shoots - it was quite ingenious!

•   Tonight we're off on the overnight bus to the other end of the country to visit Mulu national park. Mulu has billions of different species of plants and animals (apparently, there's 8000 different types of fungi) and the largest natural cave in the world. So I may not be able to email again for a few more days, but don't worry.

10 February

•   We're now in Malaysian Borneo with plans to visit some of the local national parks, and the worlds largest flower - the Rafflesia has just bloomed in one, and then we're off for another local tribe visit in the rainforests - I can't wait!

Overview of Singapore

•   The land of shopping and cheap electrical goods has plenty more to see besides! We were only there a couple of days, but managed to squeeze in plenty of sightseeing and the night safari was probably my favourite bit! The only thing missing was any kind of atmosphere - it's kinda hard to describe, cos everyone was friendly enough, it's just that there didn't seem to be any soul to the place. Maybe I'm being too harsh cos we weren't there long enough

•   There is a much stronger Muslim presence in Malaysia than there had been in Thailand, so in the more provincial places, we're having to keep covered up a bit more, but so far we've avoided any abuse (one of the girls in our guest house was yelled at all the way down the street for baring her shoulders).

9 February

•   Then we popped into Singapore for a couple of days, where it turns out we just missed you Jo, maybe next time! We didn't have long, but I liked what I saw and the night safari was fantastic. I didn't even know red pandas existed!

•   Unfortunately, we haven't timed our trip too well as it's still monsoon season on the east coast of the peninsular, so all those wonderful islands are pretty much shut down until mid March. Guess I'll just have to come back one day.

3 February

•   From Penang, we went over to Pangkor Island, because we hadn't been to the beach for weeks and the tans were beginning to fade a bit! It was lovely - everything we'd read said Malay beaches didn't compare to Thai ones, but I thought it was fab. The beach was in a gorgeous little cove. It was clean with cool clear water (and there were no biting fish either!). The only downside was that it was a bit pricey and so we could only to stay for a couple of days. This also explains why we didn't email from there - too expensive.

•   From there we went to Kuala Lumpur and did all the usual touristy things there - the lake gardens, the national art museum (we needed some culture!) and the twin towers of the world trade centre, where the views were again pretty impressive. It was Chinese New Year while we were there, so lots of Chinese lanterns around, dancing dragons, - very colourful and lively. However most of the shops were shut (we were staying in Chinatown). Although KL - as it is affectionately known - was a bit pricey we managed to save some money when we found the local reggae bar (there's one everywhere, they're like the ubiquitous Irish pub at home!) where they had free drinks all night for the women on ladies nights - what a fantastic idea. Sitting there getting quietly pissed for free! There should certainly be more of that back in the UK!

•   We're now in Melaka, which is a lovely little town on the coast between KL and Singapore but it's pretty quiet at the moment because everything is shut for Chinese new year. Melaka has been colonised by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Brits each leaving their own little legacy; the Portuguese cuisine, the Dutch buildings and erm, fish and chips!

•   First thoughts on Malaysia, are that I love it! It's very different from Thailand - there's such of a melting pot of cultures (Malay, Chinese, Indian) and heavy European influence after all the colonisation - Thailand is the only country in the area never have to have been colonised - which makes speaking English that bit easier. Unfortunately that means we're being lazy and not learning any Malay. The only thing I won't miss is all the hawking and coughing and spitting. It's so gross.

25 January

•   Penang was fun - not that we got far out of Georgetown which was gearing up for Chinese New Year – 2 February – and the streets were decorated with lanterns everywhere. Georgetown is a lovely, laid back little place and everyone was very friendly (apart from the not so ladylike ladies of the night! Not that we ever felt threatened, in case any of you were worrying).

•   Because there's such a melting pot of cultures, we visited temples - Chinese and Indian – mosques and, although we naturally didn't go in, we saw the Catholic cathedral too.

•   The views from Penang Hill were quite something (although it was a bit cloudy so I doubt the photos when you get them will do it justice).

•   We're now in Teiping but it's only of a stopping point on our way south and there's not much to do.

•   Also according to the owner of our guesthouse it rains here everyday. As if to prove the point, the heavens opened just as we got off the bus, so thinking it was one of these tropical storms, we thought we'd sit it out in the bus station. We were there for an hour!!

•   As it's been at least a week since we were on a beach, I think we will be heading over to one of the islands on the west coast tomorrow.

•   Then we have to work out how to see the rest of the peninsular and Malaysian Borneo without making getting to Indonesia too tricky.

•   Tough life eh?

23 January

•   Arrived in Penang after a quick and hassle free journry – unlike getting in and out of Cambodia

•   Loving it already although to be honest, we've not seen much so far.

•   We've visited the national museum to get a preliminary feel for the country and culture.

•   Also up taken a scary funicular railway up Penang hill, which is about 700m above sea level and has fantastic views.

•   After a couple of days here, we will be heading south to Singapore along the west coast of the peninsula.