Koh Tao, Perhentian Islands, Taman Negara and KL

I left you the last time running off to catch my overnight bus which dropped me off in the wee small hours at Chumphon Pier in the dark for a 3 hour wait for the boat to Koh Toa - but the sunrise made the wait worthwhile.

So I arrived in Koh Toa and was not disappointed to be allocated my chalet (part of the diving course package) right on the beach. The room itself was pretty basic but lovely view and no one else about most of the time.

Then I got to meet my Diving Instructor - well no one else was brave enough to go underwater with me!!

Only kiiding - this is Ian my real Dive Instructor - and luckily for me (and definetely not for him) there was no one else on the course - well I am certainly not a natural in the water so needed all the help I could get!! Here I am practising my underwater hand signals.

And in I go - don't I make it look sooo easy???

Oh and I survived the dive this is us coming back out!! Should say the dispare on Ian's face probably has something to do with the fact that this was my navigation dive where I had to practice using a compass underwater - mmm - not that great at using one on land and when I forgot to kick my legs for 5 minutes and didn't move forward - just upwards as was so busy concentrating on the compass I forgot to keep in control of my breathing which keeps your buoyancy in check!! Told you I wasn't a natural at this :-)

I enjoyed diving so much that I stayed and did two courses so I am now a certified (yes I know you all know that bit already!!) Advance Open Water Diver and plan getting lots of practice. I saw lots of interesting underwater creatures on my course but best was getting up close (a few metres) of some Bull Sharks.

No underwater camera yet so you are only getting photo's of the land options - this doggie was supposed to be guarding the red hot chillies!!

Ok so if you haven't guessed already I like sunsets - these two were taken at the same beach on Koh Toa.
I did think about moving onto one of the bigger islands after my courses were finished but I wasn't really looking for the party scene then someone told me that Koh Sumui now has a Tesco's – decision made – few more days on the beach in Koh Toa with some books.

Fishing boats at Chumphon Pier.

The overnight train to the border town of Sungai Kolok.

You could see the difference as you passed through the towns in the South of Thailand – more Muslim population – lots more mosques and the way people dressed – traditional but some traditional but still fashionable!!

Chom Poo Moo got excited at the Border Crossing as it was the first time she had left Thailand.
The border crossing went smoothly – no 'unofficial' fees or overpriced taxi's!!

The first night in Malaysia was spent in small fishing town off Kuala Besu – unfortunately due to a broken down bus I got here a little later than expected and all the resteraunts were closed. I eventually found a small shop and bought some crackers and a tin of Tuna Mayonnaise – now that did remind me of Malasia – long story but those who were on the Raleigh expedition to Sabah in 2002 will know what I am talking about and no doubt have a laugh at my first meal on my return.

Long Beach on Pulua Perhentian Islands – beautiful white beaches, clear waters and forrested islands which as yet are not overly developed. I can see why they are advertised as Paradise Islands.

I stayed in the Rock Garden chalets – basic bamboo huts uphill from the beach – this was the view from the balcony – oh it's a hard life!!

Ali the guy who ran the Rock Gardens – can understand why he is always happy living there.

Ben – not sure what sort of Eagle he iss but he was on the beach most days and was pretty friendly – he had a broken wing so didn't go too far. Though Chom Poo Moo started feeling uncomfortable when he was getting too close – she didn't fancy being his dinner!

There really were things that went bump in the night here though – you could hear things moving under the hut (probably lizards like the relatively small Monitor Lizard in the photo), on the roof (squirrels I hope), noises in the toilets (Prince Charming the frog I shared the shower with) and one night I woke up after something fell on my leg – it was too heavy to be a bug but as the generators are turned off at 4 am it was pitch dark and by the time I found my torch there was no trace of whatever it was!! I decided it was probably a gekko as I hadn't heard any scurrying noises of something running away!!!!!!!!

The friendly family run shop.

I did a couple of dives here and went snorkeling – as the water was so clear there was lots to see including – Turtles, Sting Rays, Moray Eels, Yellow Box Fish (one of my favourites so far), a Black Tip Shark and when we were diving we had a cleaner fish follow us and it swims along your legs and arms sucking off anything it finds – it was quite tickly. At one point snorkeling a 2m sting ray decided it was wanting to pass out of the rocks right where I was – I decided the rocks were a safer option than getting in it's way and quickly moved out it's way cutting my leg – glad there were no sharks about at that point!!

Back on the main land when the bus stopped for lunch I found the Roti cook – Roti's are sort of like big pancakes(but better) filled with various savoury or sweet options and very different from the Roti's you get in the likes of India. I had forgotten how scrumptious they were.

Kuala Tahan the village across the river from Teman Negara National Park where most people heading to the park stay.

Collecting rubber from the trees.

Taman Negara is 130 million year old primary Rain Forrest. You can do a 9 day trek into the mountains where you are much more likely to see some big wildlife – but with Monsoon coming in fast, the cost of hiring a guide (which is compulsory for that length of trek) on my own and the fact I was feeling lazy I opted to stay in the village and just do a couple of one day treks on my own along some well signed routes. Chom Poo Moo was excited at what she would find in the forrest.

First thing we saw was some monkeys out gathering their breakfast – someone needs to tell this fellow though that is not his best posing position!!

So as expected no Tigers or Elephants in the areas of the forrest where we were trekking but lots of intersting insects, beautiful birds and butterflies (unfortunately most were too quick or far away for photo's). The advantage of not trekking in a group is that I can spend as long as I like taking photo's – which also means short treks take a long time but I love looking for all the little bugs. If anyone can tell me the names of these guys you get a prize???

Also lots of unusual and colourful flora.

Chom Poo Moo was a little apprehensive about doing the canopy walk – 45m high and 530m long it is the world's biggest canopy walk – certainly not for anyone with Vertigo. But once she was up there she loved the views and getting to see the different species of birds that live at the top of the big trees.

View over the Rainforrest – and yes I was as hot and sweaty as I look but I blame it on the humidity and not the fact I had just spent over 2 weeks lazing about on beaches!!

Should I try it or not??? After being told about the dangers of eating wild plants that you don't know CPM decided to wait for her rice and veg!

There are still a number of Orang Ali (original people/Aboriginals) live in the rainforest. They can be traced back hundreds of years and know the forests well and live off the natural resources around them. I came across this village when out trekking but the villagers obviously didn't want to interact so I didn't take photo's of them as it would probably have offended.

I went exploring the Gua Telinga cave which was about 80m long coming out the other side of the hill than you went in. As you can see it was full of bats – and they weren't all sleeping – it was a crawl, climb and get wet experience but good fun.

Chom Moo Poo enjoyed her trekking but was happy to get back to town and make some new friends and tell them what she had been up to.

I don't think I have mentioned the entertainment on the buses in Asia yet – you either get Karaoke, or some random movie (and it is funny when it is in English and also has English subtitles which don't always match what is being said) or some really odd comedy show that you don't want to understand!!

The crazy, fun and wacky side of Kuala Lumpar.

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple - a Hindu temple in China Town area of KL built in the 1870's with a 22m high gate tower.

The monorail along is one of the best ways to get around - other than walking of course.

The celebration decor from the recent Hairi Raya festivals is still all around the city - this one is inside one of the big shopping complexes.

The KL tower.

The Petronas Twin Towers - which were the world's tallest twin tower buildings until 2003. Not been up there yet but going later in the week.

Masqid Jamek - 100 year old mosque - the oldest in KL. I had to put on a robe to go around the mosques here.

Meredaka Squaere where in 1957 the Union Jack was replaced with the Malaysian flag and the country became independant from Britain.

Lots of tall office buildings shopping complexes etc in KL make for an interesting skyline.

Me at the National Monument.

Chom Poo Moo makes a new friend in the park.

The National Mosque - this building is huge and can hold up to 15,000 people for prayers. I got quite an interesting talk here and learnt some interesting facts about Islam and the differences/similarities to the bible - the guy telling me had obviously read both - two more than me!!!

The old railway station.

Well as you can tell I have been busy (well maybe not all of the time on the beach but most of it) and loved learning to dive and will definitely be going shopping either here in KL or in Singapore for an underwater camera before hitting Australia and New Zealand.

Loving being back in Malaysia – beaches/rainforests and cities – completely different state than Sabah where I was before but the people here are so friendly – they smile and say hello and freely offer you help if you look lost – with no underlying motive. One big bonus is that most places have fixed prices and you do not get charged more because you are a tourist – a few markets etc where that is an exception but even there the mark up is not significant like in some of the other countries I have been.

KL is probably my favourite city so far(though I haven't finished with it yet). Normally I want to rush the big cities and get back to smaller places but for a big city it is pretty kicked back and friendly and has lots of open space, a good mixture of old and new and surprisingly enough it is clean and doesn't seem too polluted and there are quite a few things to do – and I haven't even hit the shopping centers yet!!
I did think about heading back over to Sabah as I have another 10 days to go before I want to go to Singapore – but decided I wouldn't be able to visit all the places I wanted to in that time – also think it is somewhere that I had such a good time that I want to go back there with someone to bore them with all the stories :-)

Ok going to get this published now as this is my second attempt at it tonight as the last Internet cafe had a power issue (some idiot turned it off!!) and I lost most of what I had done – but as a wild thunderstorm came on I decided to stay and finish it off tonight (well morning now) rather than get wet and I know you are all keen for the next installment (and I had limited/no access on the island and rainforest).

Anyway, anyone wanting anything picked up in KL or Singapore let me know ASAP – can get almost anything here and I can ship it back home for you – either e-mail or text me (mobile seems to be working ok here ( I even got a text in the middle of the rainforest!!)
Bye for now
Jack xx