Lifes a Beach...

The Gulf of Thailand...  we have definitely been looking forward to this part of the world for a while.  With high hopes and without any hesitation it was time to dive right in.  There are three main islands which make up The Gulf.  From South to North, and descending in size are Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.  From Surat Thani on the mainland we were just an hour and half ferry ride to our first island, Koh Samui.

On arrival at Koh Samui we flagged down an ‘island bus’ or songthaew, which is essentially a pickup truck with two benches in the back.  We chucked our stuff in followed by ourselves and made our way round the island.  We found a nice place in an area in the north called Bangrak, and got ourselves a huge room with a balcony, connecting lounge and ensuite.  If you don’t stay directly on the beach there’s some bargains to be had, and we got this place with aircon, breakfast and wifi for just 400 bhat (£8) a night.  We spent three nights here and rented a scooter so we could get out and see all the different beaches.  It’s a surprisingly large island, and we never got around to seeing all those beaches as we kept getting distracted along the way by those very same beaches we were looking to find.  We did however also track down some very strange shaped rock formations and one very big Buddha.

As the saying goes, ‘when in Rome...’, so where better in the world to get a Thai massage than on the beach in Thailand.  An awesome experience and a world away from your traditional massage as the masseuse works away at you and literally rolls you over her knee extending and stretching muscles and tendons you didn’t know you have.  It really is too easy to get distracted here!

We did however find Koh Samui a little overdeveloped, the roads a bit manic and the island itself largely polluted by the influx of tourism which has led to resorts, restaurants and all manner of buildings being thrown up wherever there’s room.   There are obviously pockets of nicer areas on the island but how long they stay that way remains to be seen.

After three nights we made our way for the island of Koh Phangan, known as Coconut Island and home to the infamous Full Moon Parties.  Our timings were unfortunately a bit out for this, although the next one was scheduled for August 4^th, Adam’s birthday.  Koh Phangan is a bit smaller than Koh Samui and a lot less developed (it lacks an airport for one), so it retains a lot more island charm and has plenty of quiet and postcard picture beaches to discover.  We spent a couple of nights in a nice little beach front bungalow and spent a few days exploring the island and night markets on the scooter again.  From here we decided to go truly rustic and spent a few nights on Koh Phangans east coast.  Getting there was only the start of the adventure, needing a four by four which had to crawl over rocks and boulders, and up slopes that did not look physically possible.  The reward however was well worth the trials of the journey as we had a beautiful bungalow looking out over The Gulf and a stunning cove with a white sandy beach.   Due to the remoteness of the location we only had electricity for a few hours in the evening, but we did have as many fresh coconuts as we could manage!

Time still though to squeeze in one more island, as we ferried our way over to the minute (just 21sqkm) island of Koh Tao.  Famed for one thing and one thing only, diving.  More than likely the world’s largest concentration of dive centres per square mile.  People come here to get their Open Water diving certificates, and that was our goal too.  It was back to school for three and half days as we had to watch the videos, pay attention in the classroom, do our homework and pass the test at the end.  None of it is particularly difficult, and after not working for ten months it was good to be ‘learning’ something new.  We of course got to put that theory into practise and spent half the time out on the boat and did four professional dives, whilst learning all manner of scuba skills.  We got down to 18 metres and are now certified divers meaning we can do fun dives all over the world as we choose.

We saved ourselves three nights to recover from the exhaustion of diving by staying in what can only be described as a ‘quaint’ little bungalow in the south of the island overlooking the very cool ‘Shark Island’.  Quaint in the sense that we had to share it with a couple of creepy crawlies and one very large but relatively friendly lizard.  They don’t usually rent this one out but we managed to persuade them to for less than half the price of their newer bungalows.  They made it up for us and we managed to make it homely enough for a short stay.  A final chance to relax on the beach for a few days before heading to Thailands crazy capital, Bangkok.

Sawadi Khap!

Country number 14, Thailand. Needing to fly in to get our full 30 day passport stamp we opted for the South Western city of Krabi. It's low season in this part of Thailand as it's classified as 'monsoon season' on the Andaman Coast. For us that meant taking a risk with the conditions but hopefully catching some great low season prices. It is this corner of Thailand which is famed for it's 'James Bond Island' (Man With The Golden Gun), and the setting for the film 'The Beach' on nearby Koh Phi Phi.

When we arrived in Krabi it was quite overcast and there were definite signs of persistent rain. The rain however failed to materialise and we had a couple of nights in Krabi to sample the local cuisine at the night market and the culture at the nearby temples.

 

The food in Southern Thailand has a reputation as being the hottest in the country and the dishes they serve up at the market can quite literally blow your mind. When they supply a side plate of green veg (cucumber, green beans, spinach) you know you've got something spicy coming and these are here to offer your mouth some respite. It was on the other hand a chance for us to tuck into the not so spicy but very flavourful 'Pad Thai', the perfect mix of noodles, bean sprouts, lime and crushed peanuts.

From Krabi we made our way to the nearby island of Koh Lanta. Here we were luckily treated to some awesome high season weather as the clouds dispersed and the sun shone down on us. We opted for a small bungalow set in quiet surroundings with a nice swimming pool to cool off in. The islands about 30km long with beaches down the West Coast and local fishing communities on the East side. To really get to see the island we rented a scooter for 200THB (£4) filled it up with £1 worth of petrol and spent a couple of days exploring (and getting quite lost) around the island.

As well as the usual Thai road hazards to contend with; family sized human pyramids and eight year olds driving scooters, we also needed to slow down and pull over to avoid an elephant traipsing along the road. It is Thailand after all. The scooter did however provide a very quick and easy way for us to see the whole island without having to pay the cartel prices of the local tuktuks.

From Koh Lanta it was time to make our way across country to the east coast and Gulf of Thailand via Surat Thani. A very frustrating combination of minibus, long wait, minibus, long wait, coach, and another minibus, had us finally arrive in our destination. A journey we could have done so much quicker, easier and cheaper by ourselves. After just five days in Thailand we have vowed not to use another so called 'agency' and will just be making our own way across this beautiful country.

Big Markets, Big Malls and Bigger Buildings

Leaving Borneo we made our way back across the South China Sea to Singapore.  This time however we were to actually venture out of Changi Airport and into the city state itself.  We based ourselves in ‘Little India’, quite possibly the cleanest Little India on the planet.  This is Singapore after all, a country where the sale of chewing gum is prohibited, jay walkers can be imprisoned and failure to flush a public toilet can result in a hefty fine.  Ok, maybe some of these statements are a little outdated but the overriding premise of Singapore being one of the cleanest cities on the planet stands true today.

We stayed just for a few nights and enjoyed a long weekend with a couple of friends who had flown in from Hong Kong (thank you Karine & Samy, so great to see you!).  This also offered a chance to take advantage of the lounge access at the more stylish Swissotel than our backpacker hostel!  First up on our list of things to do was to check out the incredibly impressive Marina Bay Sands, the three towering structures holding aloft a boat like structure housing a bar, restaurant, rooftop gardens and an infinity swimming pool.  A very remarkable structure which is even more striking when all lit up at night.  We made our way up to the top, and managed to sneak our way in without having to purchase the obligatory $25 drink.  The views from the top are equally impressive as you gaze down over the marina to the looming skyscrapers of the Central Business District. Another great night spot is Clarke Quay with a whole array of international bars and restaurants, we went for a mix of shisha and mojitos!

 

From Singapore we made our way across the kilometre long causeway bridge to pick up a bus to the town of Melaka.  Melaka is a town steeped in history.  As one of the busiest and most important trading towns of the 15^th and 16^th centuries, it had enormous value and has fallen under the rule of the Portuguese, Dutch and British Empires.  As a UNESCO world heritage site it’s a nice colonial town built along a river in Peninsular Malaysia and is rich in culture from its historical proprietors.  We spent a few days checking out the awesome night market in China Town, eating ‘the best naan in Malaysia’ (this is true, the Kashmiri is incredible here), looking round the old Portugese/Dutch/British fort and colourful house art on the riverside.

 

We read somewhere about Melaka Zoo, and the variety of animals, all for 8 MYR (£1.60), a snip compared to Singapore zoo.  Situated a fair way outside of town, it’s not on most peoples to do list, but we decided to brave the irregularity of the local buses to make our way there.  Without too much hassle and a bit of uncertainty as to whether the second bus would actually arrive we made it, and the sticky humidity of local buses was worth it.  They had all manner of big cats and primates, as well as white rhinos, elephants, black bears, the local hornbills a whole host more.  As an attraction it’s a little rough around the edges but the animals seem to be have as much space as at any other zoo, and look to be well looked after.

From Melaka we made the short two hour journey up to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.  Another big city, and this one home to the very remarkable and unforgettable Petronas Towers.  The tallest twin towers in the world, and also THE tallest building in the world between 1998 and 2003.  Here we did the local free city tour, donned some robes to check out the mosque, visited the planetarium and started to make the most of our last few days in Malaysia (it will be nearly seven weeks by the time we leave).  Kuala Lumpur is a great mix of contrasting local markets and giant shopping malls, anything Singapore can do, KL wants to do better!  It certainly offers a very strong sense of diversity from one part of town to the next.  The development around the East part of the city around the Petronas Towers houses several shopping malls all next to each other which make Westfield look like a convenience store.

 

As it was our last destination in Malaysia we were making the most of the local meals, Nasi Lemak, rice served with a boiled egg, anchovies, chilli paste and cucumber.... for breakfast.  As well as lasts, it was also a place for firsts, as we tried the trending ‘fish pedicure’ which started in this part of the world and made its way over to the UK last year.  For just five MYR (£1) we had the extraordinary sensation of having some very extrovert fish nibbling on our toes and cleaning off any dead skin.  After some serious giggles (you can’t help but laugh nervously at first) the sensation starts to become more tolerable and with less knee jerks you soon have hundreds of fish munching away at you.

 

Kuala Lumpur marks the end of the road in Malaysia for us, we were planning on bussing it up to Thailand but you only receive a 15 day visa exception with a land entry, so we will be flying in to get our full 30 days.  The last seven weeks or so in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia have been a great starter to South East Asia, the people have all been so friendly, the food awesome and the backdrops incredible.

Scuba Dooby Doo

After time well spent in KK, we were ready to hit the road again and make our way down to the East coast of Malaysian Borneo.
Our first stop Sandakan is the second largest city in Sabah. We used it only as a stopover to the south however Sandakan is the main port of entry to the Turtle Island and the Kinabatangan River. We decided not to explore them as we have either already done similar things or we are going to in the near future. Being on a budget means we cannot afford too much repetition of the same activities.
Sandakan doesn't offer much as a city but a couple of temples, a nice market, lively waterfront and an english teahouse overlooking the city where we ended up sharing a very welcome banana split (in 32c heat you dont have much time to savour it before it turns into a banana melt). A bit of western food to change from the rice and noodles.

After a few nights in Sandakan we made the last leg of our journey to Semporna, gateway to the diving islands. Semporna is used by tourists either as a base for diving on day trips (its coast is scattered wth 25 different islands) or longer stays on one of the larger islands. We opted for the latter and booked a 3 days/2 nights trip including a dicover scuba diving package on the island of Mabul. The island is located an hour away by boat from Semporna.

An impromptu backache for Geraldine the morning of our departure for Mabul island, forced us to postpone our trip with Scuba Junkie. They were however really helpful and aloud us to be completely flexible with our trip. After a day in bed with little movement, we decided to go to the island and just see how things go, not being sure whether Geraldine would be able to dive or not, but maybe do some snorkelling. We left Semporna and arrived on the island under the rain but that was to be it for the rest of our trip, only blue sky fortunately. People come to the island either to snorkel or dive therefore the pier and lodge are always bursting with people coming and going.

We decided to snorkel for our first two days. It was a very rewarding experience as we saw plenty of different fish, all very colourful: trigger, trumpet, angel, squid, clown (as well as half the cast from Nemo)... and some giant green turtles.

After a few snorkelling trips, we were ready to do the Discover Scuba Diving and make the most of our last day. The backache luckily had now relatively eased itself and didn't affect any of the snorkelling or diving.
For our diving we had our own instructor and assistant which was reassuring.  After a quick brief on the  rules, we put our gear on and were ready to go.

Going underwater was not easy first time round and a few attempts were needed but once in the water everything went ok.  Its certainly a surreal feeling that you are exploring somewhere that physically you shouldn't be able to.  Some calm nerves and steady breathing are required the first time you fully submerge yourself and start breathing underwater. We started with some safety exercises in the shallow water to give us some confidence.  We were then ready to go deeper and start exploring around the depths and even a shipwreck. We recognised a few fish we saw previously when snorkelling plus a few others and had the chance to watch a turtle eating some squid right in front of us. On our dives we went as deep as 14m.

After a quick break we started our second dive this time around the corals, therefore a bit more precaution to be taken not to kick any.  After two dives of around an hour, we were hooked so went for another dive in the afternoon, this time off of a boat.  The backwards roll needed to enter the water with your equipment is fun. We explored the reef from the bottom up allowing the current to guide us.  We saw a few turtles swimming with us then stopped to watch two humongeous turtles resting on the ocean floor, at around 2m in length they are really impressive to observe in their natural habitat, esspecially from so close. For us it was a moment of sheer excitement, a large intake of breath at spotting these creatures has you ascending, whilst a steady exhale of breathe is required to keep you from floating upwards and away.  We also saw a seahorse, conger eels, and some tiny shrimp who run up your fingers if you hold them still.

First time diving was a fantastic experience for both of us and we are really keen on doing some more on our travels.  It offers a truley unique way to observe the goings on under the surface of the water.

It was time to go back to Semporna and hit the road the following morning back to Kota Kinabalu, a long 10h bus journey plus a few mini buses ahead of us.  Just a few days left in Borneo before flying to Singapore on Friday to meet some friends.

Kota Kinabalu

Setting out from Miri to Kota Kinabalu was a tedious bus journey taking near fourteen hours and requiring ten passport stamps.  The reason for this is the small matter of Brunei which more or less splits the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, not once, but twice.  This coupled with the fact you need to be stamped to change state in Malaysia had us on the following itinerary;  Sarawak - Brunei - Sarawak - Brunei - Sarawak - Sabah.  With exit and entry stamps completed ten times it was a welcome relief to arrive in Kota Kinabalu, known more commonly in these parts simply as KK.

In KK we set up in the heart of Chinatown, Jalan Gaya.  This gave us a great location to check out most of KK's attractions.  The promenade along the riverfront, the many markets, including the night market where you can choose your fish or seafood from the market and they cook it up right there in front of you.

 
KK also coincided with the start of Euro 2012 and the crunch game between England and France.  Luckily it was a midnight kick off (and not 2.45am) so we found a sports bar to watch it in.  Despite being relatively quiet, approximately ten people trying to watch the game the 'sports bar' proceeded with a Malaysian Cabaret act belting out the likes of 'Greece Lightning' and 'Mustang Sally' throughout the first half.  This must have proved distracting enough as 15 minutes into the game we realised we hadn't seen any football and the bar had FanCam on instead.  Luckily (or unluckily) they managed to find the right channel just in time for us to see Milner miss a sitter.  In the end though a favourable result for both of us so neither can hold any bragging rights over the other.

We left the stifling heat of the city for some R&R further along the coast near the small fishing town of Kinarut.  We didn't see anything of the town however.  We spent three days by the pool, overlooking the beach or watching the sunset behind the islands.

 
A great place to be when its 35c outside, at least for a couple of days to allow some recovery time after ten lines of immigration.

Gunung Mulu

Heading East along the Malaysian coast of Borneo we undertook a labourious 14 hour overnight bus journey. The level of comfort is a far cry from the buses in South America, and the chances of getting any sleep on it are pretty slim. It did however serves its purpose, just, and delivered us safely to our next destination, Miri.

The 1st of June marks the Gawai Dayak or harvest festival, and for lucky Malaysians meant a four day public holiday. For us it meant the town was a bit on the sleepy side (for sleepy read hungover on rice wine). Still we had ample time to check out the local markets and hawker stands. It's been over two weeks now in Malaysia and this is the longest we've gone without cooking, the closest we come is putting bread in the toaster in the morning. We've been randomly working our way through the local dishes; Laksa, Rendang, Tom Yam, Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng, Nasi Soto, Kampungs and Belacans. All in all a lot of different types of rice and noodle dishes. So far we haven't come across anything we don't like, but we definitely have some favourites.

With the city asleep we made our way to the star attraction. As seen on BBCs Planet Earth, Gunung Mulu National Park, home to the worlds largest cave system. Buried so far into the rainforest a 30 minute flight is required, or a two day river crawl... we opted for the flight.

Return flights are only 290 MYR, that's less than £60, but that equates to 50 odd meals here. In a bid to recoup a bit of cash we spent our three nights at Mulu outside of the park at a homestay with a local family.  Very basic accommodation, but we had a room with a couple of beds, cold shower and electricity for three hours a day, what more could you ask for.

We were here for the caves, and there's a whole heap of relational facts they can throw around.... x number of football pitches, x number of jumbo jets, even a St Pauls Cathedral can fit inside these cave systems.... the largest single cave system, the largest underground river system, the largest natural chamber, none of this really matters, these caves are just B-I-G BIG!  We started with the Deer Cave, one of the biggest, but also home to between two to three million bats.  They all come flooding out just after dark in a snake like procession so you just need to take their word on the number of them.  It takes about ten minutes for the bats to exit the cave and is quite an extraordinary site as they corkscrew out in batches for a bit, before a five minute constant stream comes pouring out in what can only be described as a well executed synchronised display.  They are of course going off to feed, and the stats say that each bat consumes 10 grams of insects a night, doing the math that's upwards of 20 tonnes a night.... that equates to a big mess on the cave floor each morning.

We also took a boat downstream to the Clearwater and Wind Caves.  Clearwater is stunning and as the name suggests has an almost magical charm with a clear water river running through it.  It is another monster of a cave in terms of size and walking around inside can be a bit disorientating but the sheer size of it and the sight of the lush green rainforest when looking out is sight to remember.  The Wind Cave as you can probably guess took its name from the wind blowing through it, however didn't seem particularly windy to us.  All the caves did however offer a nice cool respite from the heat and humidity of the jungle outside.  Of course there was also the obligitary 'jungle trek', this time we were lucky enough to pass right under a viper snake who had made himself at home above the trail.

The caves are of course full of hundreds of beautiful rock formations that have been formed over millions of years.  Stalactites, stalagmites, even a face that resembles Abrham Lincoln, however its the sheer unimaginable size of these caves that sticks in the mind.