Malaysia (1) - Borneo - The capital and the jungle

Sorry for two stories on the same day but this has been the first opportunity in a while...

We landed in Kuala Lumpar from Koh Samui; meaning we were in our ninth country, Malaysia. KL is kind of boring after you have seen the main sights...I think this is exaggerated by the price of alcohol (Malaysia is a Muslim state). On our first full day we joined up with Sam, Charlie, James, Steph and Daryl thus converting our four into a nine. The nine of us then headed to the Petronas towers and the sky tower; both impressive pieces of architecture.

The next day all nine of us got a plane to Sandakan, a small town on the island of Borneo. Our first full day we went to the world renowned Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary where wild orangutans that have been pushed out by deforestation and logging are rehomed with the hope of reintroducing them into the wild. We saw about 7 orangutans of varying age; they were pretty active, running for their food.

The next day we started a trek into the Borneo jungle with a company called Mr Tang. We drove south from Sandakan to the river Ringabatan and then caught a boat to our camp, deep within the jungle.

The same night we did a night boat ride where we saw crocodiles, a leopard cat and monkeys. After a night sleep in our spartan accommodation we did a morning boat tour where we were lucky to see gibbons and a wild orangutan...very lucky.

After the morning safari, I got involved in a tourist v guide football match...reminded of the good old ECGD Thursday night socials. I scored one goal...still got it! A lot of fun but far too much effort for this heat.

Once I had recovered from this mass exertion of energy and sweat we went on a hike where the guides showed us lazy lizards and flora. A lot of mud, in some places it was 12inches deep.

In the afternoon a few of us went fishing where I caught a few catfish...the smallest fish was caught by Dave. What a hero!

The evening was spent doing a night trek. The next morning we headed back to Sandakan and a chill out including a visit to the English Tea House...

As well as a history lesson at the Sandakan War Memorial which explains the Japanese atrocities against British and Australian POWs and the death marches across large pieces of jungle.

We will be going to Perenthian islands next...

Thailand (3) - Koh Phangan - The islands...and a full moon party!

Rest easy everyone I am now back in the editorial seat after a short stint away sorting out my career and life. This is the first of two very quick stories.

After leaving Koh Phi Phi we took a boat, a tuk-tuk, a coach, another coach, another boat and then another tuk-tuk to Chaweng Beach on the island of Koh Samui. The journey went smoothly except for another rummage within our back packs; my mobile phone was stolen! No problem really, just the violation thing! At Chaweng we really roughed it in a air-conditioned villa with a huge bed, big widescreen TV, fridge and lovely shower. We hardly did anything in Samui except sleep, drink and party with friends. The place is falling out of the backpacker highlights as package holidays are taking over. The picture below is of the beach area:

One night we went to a lady boy show. Some of them were obviously men others were too gorgeous to be men! Many mistake could have been made.

After a couple of nights in luxury we headed to the island of Koh Phangan for the world famous, Full Moon Party. We stayed at Easy Life Bungalows; to say they are basic would be an understatement, i think the correct term is spartan (I am not sure the spartans would have put up with it though). The bungalow was a wooden shack with a bed and shower, some people found lizards in their bathrooms as well as the complimentary spider. In the end we grew to love the place, which was helped by the proximity to a resort that was empty and a nice Lao guy called Ham who let us use the pool.

The resort was in a quiet part of the island which was useful with the pending mayhem of Full Moon. The party was brilliant with a lot of drinking, laughs and drama...one girl lost her toe on a slide...ouchy! The hangover was long...I did not sleep for 36hours.

After a hangover day we left for Koh Samui and the international airport. The airport was very plush and felt like a tropical resort; palm trees, exclusive shops and open space. Next destination was Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia.

Thailand (2) - Koh Phi Phi - Bangkok and a very long journey to paradise

On our last night in Chiang Mai we saw some Thai boxing. There were several matches including fights between kids (we didn't like this bit much). However the main event was an English guy against a Thai guy and we could appreciate this sport (however I don't think its my cup of tea). The English guy won! Another highlight was a match consisting of 4 guys blindfolded just lashing out. The referee kept getting accidentally floored which was actually quite amusing and no one got that hurt.

The next day we took it easy waiting for a night train to Bangkok. The journey was very easy and smooth. Me and Helen got excited as it reminded us of the Hogwarts express. We had a compartment with four beds in, complete with sheets, a blanket and a curtain. We also had dinner which was a nice touch. After a 14 hour journey we arrived in Bangkok, sorted out a taxi and arrived at the guest house. Me, Helen and Dave went for a massage whilst Paul went for a walk. After feeling chilled we attempted to get a tuk tuk to take us around the city for a tour. We saw a couple of temples however the tuk tuk driver insist they take you to a tourist office so they can get a fuel voucher. These are big scams as tourist offices charge through the roof and will say anything to make you book with them. Don't ever book anything through these if you go to Bangkok!!

That evening we went for a night out in Bangkok this included a ping-pong show (no pictures here I am afraid).

The next day we went to the weekend market which consists of 5000 stalls! This market was amazing, selling absolutely everything. I bought a couple of tops and Paul bought a lovely tie set consisting of a tie, hanky and cuff links only costing 2 pounds for 100% silk and he also bought some shorts.

We went out again that night and had a great night.

The next day, as we were hungover, we went to go a see X-Men at the cinema (great film by the way).  That night we tried to find a scene from the film The Hangover 2. Specifically the scene where they are on top of a big building, often in the posters. We ended up at this posh hotel but couldn't go to the correct floor (top of the building) as we were not in the correct clothing. We understood this but they let us up to the fourteenth floor which was still very upmarket. There was a restaurant here and swimming pool. The cheapest room here was $500 a night. My tea cost 4 pounds! Paul didn't feel like treating me to a night here :(

The next day we started our 24 hour journey to Koh Phi Phi.
When we eventually got here we had a meal and then a party on the beach. The day after we started to fully appreciate Koh Phi Phi's beauty by going down the beach. A monkey came to join in the fun as well.

 The next day we did some diving which was wicked and consisted of 2 dives. Between these dives we had the chance to go for a swim and we saw 'The Beach' from the film.

Today we are taking it easy down a beach called long beach after a heavy night last night. Tomorrow we head to Koh Sumui!

Hope you are all well! Sam xxxxxxx

Thailand (1) - Chiang Mai - Trekking and tigers

The flight from Luang Prabang was quick and painless; the airport consisted of two gates and a security desk so nothing to report on there! Once we had taken off we were given a sandwich; by the time we had finished and the stewardess was clearing away the rubbish we were landing in Thailand. The passport control was quick and painless as well; a short tuk-tuk ride and we were in the city. We wandered around the city for a while. Later that night I watched Manchester United v Barcelona; finally going to bed at 4a.m.  Up at 7 for an another 2 day trek though this one was going to have more people. We drove 3hours north of Chiang Mai to a small village for lunch before starting the trek; the kids tried to sell us bracelets but instead they ended up playing with us.

After playtime we began to hike the 3hours to the village for our homestay.

Once we had arrived in the village we began a football match of England v Thailand (plus an Irish girl). The mud was 3 inches deep and no one was left unscathed of the brown stuff. Later on in the evening there was a live dance performance followed by food and drinking. At 7 the next morning we were hiking again. By 10 we arrived at a pitstop where there was a waterfall. On this segment of the walk, Helen dislocated her knee cap and was in a lot of pain; however she did continue on and finish.

Afterwards we continued our walk to an elephant camp where three elephants carried us for an hour further up the path. Dave and I were allowed to ride as the mahout; on the neck of the elephant which was cool.

After the elephant trek we hiked another couple of hours and then had some Pad Thai for lunch. Dave had an incident just after the elephant trek where he went to toilet in the bush and was chased by the baby elephant; no one was hurt. The next activity was bamboo rafting which is punting down a river on a boat made of bamboo bars tied together, a lot of fun and very tiring. Water and cameras do not mix so no pictures exist. We finally got home at 6pm; absolutely shattered.

The next day we did a Thai cooking course which was a lot of fun. For 10 pounds we went to the local market with Mummy Thai and brought fresh produce and then cooked 6 different dishes; everyone will have to try some when we are back.

After the cooking course we went out for a night and got drunk...fact! With a hangover we headed to Tiger Kingdom the next day; the name gives you a clue whats there but I will let the photos explain what happens there...

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and recovering from a manic 4 days...Bangkok next stop! We saw the film Hangover 2 a couple of days ago...gives you an idea of what can happen there!?!?!?!