Malaysia

Malaysia, first stop Kuala Lumpur. We arrived shortly after 10pm completely unsure of any bearings or the area we couldn't refuse the 'taxi?' 'where going?' offers. We knew of a few hostels in Little India so we got dropped off right in the middle of it on a street that was supposed to have several. After wandering the street a little we found the hostel we had been looking for, unfortunately it had closed. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise though as the same place was now a new hostel which had been completely refurbished by the new owners who were also offering a new hostel discount making it phenomonal for the price. As it was late we only went on a short walk around our area, the only things of note was the abundance of cockroaches and homeless people. After some food it was time for a well earned sleep.

The next morning we decided to stay organised and head to the train station nice and early to buy our tickets for our next stop Butterworth. After waiting about half an hour to be served we bound excitedly up to the counter and made our 1st class sleeper cabin request. Sold out. Luckily there were still some seats available in the lowest class so we had to take those.

We spent the rest of the day sampling some more of the city through our eyes and bellies (Nandos has some different menu options here). KL is lots and lots of hustle and bustle. The people are usually a mix of trendy, young, fashion conscience teens rubbing shoulders with people who don't have a Ringgit (less than 1pence) to their name.

In the afternoon we hopped on a bus headed for the Batu Caves. These were fairly spectacular with a huge golden goddess to welcome you to the 500 odd step climb. Once at the top we enjoyed watching wild monkeys descend from the inner cave walls trying to get food from bins and people. The inside of the caves wasn't nearly as impressive as the outside which was nothing short of jaw dropping.

After seeing the city's more familiar sights, the KL Tower and the Petronas Towers, which are surrounded by high class retail outlets; it is clear that this city is the epitamy of dichotomy. It looks as though a few incredible buildings and banks were built in the centre of a large slum making it seem modern and visually stunning however, the city is still surrounded and inhabited largely by very poor people. It wasn't quite enough to look down on the poor people from the street so we felt it necessary to head to the highest point, the top of the KL tower. The views were great as expected and it was nice to be so close but so far away from the busyness.

The day before our train was a long one as we left the hostel around 8am and wouldn't be getting the train until half 11pm. It was spent in the same way; lots of sightseeing.

The 'sleeper' train was ridiculous. How anyone could sleep is beyond me...maybe i should have asked Matt when he woke up. Not only did it continually reek of new and horrendous pish, the power kept going out so it was a mix of pitch blackness and blinding brightness but it also broke down twice and stopped in the middle of nowhere for ages at a time. Finally though just as the sun was rising the driver announced we would soon be arriving in Butterworth. He said this again shortly after as we were approaching a stop so we got our things together ready to jump off. Wrong stop. The driver was a moron. I was able to practice my haggling with a taxi driver to get him to drive us to the correct train station, once there we grabbed a quick ferry ride across to Penang-wicked. We walked quite far to find the 1800's hostel that we were after but when we found it it was closed-for good! Not to worry as we had passed several others on the way up to the one we wanted so we picked one and booked up 2 nights.

Penang island is cool, much of the island is largely touristy with the resorts and beaches being the draw. On our first day we headed to the north of the island to go to a nature park. This was essentially a gigantic trek through the jungle and with 100% humidity it was a killer. We passed through 'monkey beach' which sounded great when we read it on the map but was slightly terrifying as it was in the jungle and the monkeys were following us around in the trees throwing stones at us. Needless to say we hurried along to the actual beach which was spectacular. Being so exhausted we treated oursleves to a boat ride back. This came pretty close to complete euphoria, who needs pills when you have beaches and boats! The rest of our time here was spent exploring and seeing a snake temple, a few shrines, big Buddhas and eating local dishes. As a warning for anyone considering a visit the snake temple is the worst thing in Malaysia.

Next Stop Thailand for Ko Phi Phi.