Cameron Highlands - and our journey there...

We finally made it here - the cameron highlands. After a bus ride which was meant to last 4hours it took about 6.5 hours and through a bit of drama. We, being budget, opted for the cheapest bus from KL to our detsination. Along the way we made a 20minute stop in a bus graveyard where it looked like our bus was broken and they were trying to salvage spare parts. We then had to transfer from the bus to the local town bus at the bottom of the highlands in a town called Ipoh. The bus was so old and crappy, it was full of school kids and locals. It was a 69km ride up something like Paekak hill. Along the wasy we nearly crashed into an oncoming truck, we swayed on a bridge right across to the other side, the radiator overheated and fogged up the entire front windowscreen and water bottles were waiting in a basket (it must happen every trip), our original bus driver fell asleep at the back of the bus....it was quite a journey - but well worth it!! We shared the experience with 2 scottish girls and an Aussie guy which meant that we weren't the only foreigners on the bus.

We arrived at the local bus station about 2.5hours behind schedule and were greeted by about 6 different hostel/accom. workers. We all jumped in a minivan and headed the hill to 'Fathers Guest House'.

Its much cooler, there are so many trees and bush, and the town is small. 'Fathers Guest House' is on top of a hill overlooking the area. Its a lovely spot with gardens, a good little place to eat and hang out and the rooms are pretty god too! Wonderful owners too which helps (he wants to live in NZ).

We spent the whole day yesterday (Wednesday) on a tour around the region. We went in a range rover (me and Dave were crambed in the back facing sideways with a Swiss Couple) up a hillside which was fun in the mud. We did a three hour return trip to see the Rafflesia flower (a big red flower that blooms for 5-6 days once a year (good timing eh), swam at the base of a waterfall, and we stopped in at a local tribe's village where we had a go at blow piping - a method they use for hunting. It was dun, and surprisingly powerful, accurate and quick. We wanted to buy one to bring home but figured that it wouldn't get through customs :(. After that it started raining - which was good - and made us seem even more at home, as we drove to a Tea Plantation. Its one of the smallest at 600 acres - the largest is over 3000 acres. Its amazing how they grow all over the hillside. We just had to have a tea!! We then went to a bit of bush and went for an hour long walk through a 'mozzy bush' - where our guide (Francis) rattled of all these names of flowers and plants and all these survival tips. There were some amazing views and we got some good pictures. There was lots of moss - hence tha name. We also drove up the road a bit to the highest accessible point in the area where we climbed a tower. After a 10hour day we made it back to the guest house - boy what a great experience!!

We are currently making plans to go to Penang tomorrow (NW Malaysia) which will be our first island experience. As we can't upload pictures onto this blog please see facebook.

Adios

KL

Its 6:30pm ish local time - and everythings just starting to come alive. As i write this we are at a hostel bang smak in the middle of Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur. We got here yesterday afternoon and its soo hot, humid, muggy, chaotic, dirty....but its all part of the experience. We were in a windowless room last night with Colin (the English guy we met in Melaka). It only had a fan!! Both Dave and I woke up in the middle of the night and i asked him what the time was. he replied with '9am', so we got up and had a shower. Not thinking why it was quiet (with know one awake) i went to have a look out the window of our hallway - it was pitch black!! we re-looked at the time and it was 3:30am - know wonder we were tired, and ready to make the full day of it. In hysterics, im not sure what Colin thougt of it all. turns out Dave can't read maps or the time.

We got up at about 9am, after having another kip, and decided to have a day of walking around the town. We went up the KL tower (not to be confused as the Petronas Twin Towers) which had a fantastic sight - KL is massive and so widespread. We visited a coule of malls (gota love that air con) and a mosque - the largest in Malaysia. Fascinating, everyone was sleeping. We visited Cental Market again and got our feet munched on by Cute Fish - who nip away at the dead skin. Boy did it tickle and Dave was in hysterics!!! Somewhere along the line i lost my USB drive which had all my hotos of home, friends, family, CV and back up of documents.....not a good day all round. And a tip for those soon-to-be travellers - get lotsa cash out at the big cities or when you have a chance - not all banks allow foreign cards. So another long day, but so much fun! Tomorrow we plan to head to the Batu Caves (check it out online) and then head up to the cameron highlands into the cool mountains.

Keep those emails coming guys....
Dane, David, DaveOE

Malaysia

We are into day four of the journey and last night made it across the border to Malaysia. We caught a train, cleared customs in Singapore - but in terms of our passport being stamped into Malaysia who knows!!?? We changed our ticket to go to Melaka which is on the west 140km south of Kuala Lumpur. We caught a taxi into town with a very crazy man - who overtook a truck on a corner. We ahared the ride with an English guy 'Colin' and stayed at a hotel with him last night and are again tonight.

Melaka is a World Heritage City and is so rich in history, from the 16th century from when the Portugese ruled. We visited a couple of museums and walked the streets of ChinaTown, which is so picturesque! Narrow roads full of traffic with red buildings piled high and along the river. We are getting use to the food (me more slowly than Dave) and bahtering is fun.

And so it all begins...

Wow!! It all begins - after months of counting down we can say that we have made it safely to Singapore where we are now. We arrived late on Tuesday night after being on the road for almost 24 hours. The plane ride went off without a hitch and we even got upgraded on the flight from Sydney to Singapore. We spent 5 hours in Sydney with Dave's aunty Angie which was so awesome. She took us around to view the sights and sounds including the Oprah House, Harbout Bridge, Bondi Beach, the Manly ferry and Brookvale Oval (where the Manly Sea Eagles play). We then had a lovely lunch at her house before heading back to the airport. We had had some problems at Wellington airport because we hadn't booked anything to show that we weren't overstaying the 30 day visa, so thanks to Grant (Dave's dad) we manged to book a train to Melaka.

Singapore is an amazing place to start your travels from. Its mad city rush with a touch of everything - from poverty to the suits one block away make it a true sight. We went on a river cruise, went to Raffles Hotel, the Bugis street markets, Chinatown and various shopping malls where the air con was. We also spent half a day at Sentosa Island and crossed over there via the cable car - which was so far incredibly high up that you could see alot of the City. It was amazing to go over the top of a luxury liner which had a swimming pool, mini golf, tennis and bball courts and a hydro slide which overhung the liner. We saw the merlion (a huge statue) and went to the beach. Here we wanted to have our first beer but at a price of $12 we couldn't justify it. Probably the best buy was the hiring of a bike on the island for $5. We got to cycle around most of the spots and give our bodies a rest from walking.

yesterday we went to the Singapore Zoo which was so amazing!! We saw a couple of Kiwi's who gave us a free pass. There were so many animals and fences and concrete were scarce which was pleasant to see. We saw the Polar Bear and White Tigers being fed and went to a couple of shows. At night we went to the Night Safari which was right next door. We had our first Western meal. Over here everyone seems to be constantly eating but have incredibly small helpings - this may be a good thing! We first went to a show at the ampitheatre where they showed some of the animals off in a play like act and then went on a tram ride around the park. This was cool to see the animals but they don't get too much space. The park went on about its commitment to conservation and breeding programmes which was good to hear.

We caught the bus and then MRT back to our local station. The MRT is the most amazing transport system. It is incredibly cheap, quick and runs like clockwork. One of the best things about Singapore is just walikng the streets, particularly at night, taking in the sights of the locals. Everyone tends to go to the corner eatery each night for a meal and a beer, and the next morning things tend to be relatively quiet.

We are on our way to the train station where we will cross the border hassle free (!!) on to Melaka.

Hope everyone is okay and do join up to the blog.

Dane, David and DaveOE