Nothern Malaysia

Dear avid readers of this ludicrous blog. It has been two weeks now since our last entry and we are sure that tears have been shed and nails nibbled off in fear that something terrible has happened to us. Well wipe away those tears, put down the box of tissues, cancel the bouquet of flowers for our memorial service and have no fear because we are still here.....just about.

Much has happened in the last two weeks and we hope you can understand that when you are in the middle of the oldest jungle in the world, or marooned on an island paradise, the lesser spotted humble computer is not so easily found. So please accept our apologies and enjoy the next few minutes of life wasted reading this slop.

We left you after having just arrived in the melting pot of cultures and home to the best guest house in the world (Emily's incase you're ever in the area), in the rich Port of Melaka. It turned out to be rather uneventful. No wallets were lost and no horrible cases of sunburn to report. Infact our stay was fairly relaxed and enjoyable. Maybe the most interesting thing was spending Chinese New Year here in the middle of Melaka's Chinatown. Celebrating the year of the rat was really only an excuse for the locals to shop a bit more in the street stalls that stayed open long into the night. For Ryan, it was an excuse to sneak a photo with the Megastars of Malaysian pop ( don't ask us who they were) and also meet Governor of the area who was able to fill us in on the latest Irish rugby matches. Apparantly we beat Italy, hallelujah! A quick run around the museums was disappointing but thankfully a BBQ at Emily's was a great send off.

Arriving in the Cameron Highlands a few days later than expected due to the chaos caused by the hoardes of locals travelling during this popular public holiday, left us with no cheap hostel and instead squeezing 4 of us into a small room. Sleeping on the floor, although good for your back, is not a pleasant experience when sharing it with bugs and roaches. The following morning welcomed us with a refreshing cool breeze thanks to areas height above sea level. Maps of the area are to say the least tradgic but the sights are worth stumbling through the jungles and tea plantations to see. These were to be our last days together with our new found BFF. While Stuart and Phil had a guided tour of the surrounding area, we decided to venture on a discover the worlds oldest rainforest, Taman Negara.

After hours spents whizzing through the mountains in our mini bus we finally reached the town of Kuala Tahan, gateway to the National Park. A few days was spent exploring the long hot trails through the 13 million year old virgin rainforest (according to some scientists), fending off fruit bats flying straight at our faces as we delved deep into their guana lined caves, walking amongst the birds and animals of the forest canopy as we followed bridges 50m high and spying wildlife through the dense jungle leaves. Our accommodation was a jungle hide set beside a salt lick that promises to attract a variety of wildlife. Although the jungle is apparantly inhabited by Tigers, Elephants, snakes and rare Tapirs, we knew it was highly unlikely that we would see any of these. However we did see a giraffe sipping tea with a polar bear in the back of a london bus on a casual drive through the forest....... I think that would have been more likely. How anyone is meant to see anything in the dead of night, through the thick jungle branches and smelling as bad as we did covered in bat poop, I don't know. The lack of wildlife vouerism was made even worse by the beds provided in the hides. Hardwood bunk beds with not a bit of padding. Ah well what else should we expect really. Another lesson learnt in the forest is that Ryan truly is an incompetent boob. After deciding to cool off and wash some of the sweat and poo off in the idyllic river, he managed to drop his camera into the drink. Thankfully no damage done but it remains to be seen how long he can carry on being such an idiot and avoid any major consequences. Rory is left in charge of tickets, keys and any other important artefacts at all times from now on.

Anyway a long boat was our escape from the forest. From here is was a full day and a half travel to our next getaway, the Perhentian Islands. Famed for their crystal clear water, beautiful beaches and outstanding marine life, we were not left disappointed. Snorkelling with black tip reef sharks, huge green turtles and having peeling skin nibbled off you by shoals of tropical fish so brightly coloured that they could only be dreamt up in a certain Disney Pixar movie was an unforgettable experience. Only Ryan could ruin it by miss-calculating his money and how long it would last. Purse strings were tightened and after a hunt round the island we found someone willing to exchange our US Dollars. The sun also managed to leave us with more lines and more stripey than a zebra as our sun cream coverage was not particularly effective. Still much chillaxing done which was required after our past few days strenuous exploration.

From here we venture into Thailand and onto the famous Southern Islands with their huge parties before landing in Bangkok and the Northern city of Chang Mai. But thats another story as we're not quite there yet. Anyway much love from us both and we hope you enjoy our photos. Please feel free to keep in contact, make some suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Adios-amigos

Rory & Ryan xoxo