Nakhon Si Thammarat - Home of the shadow puppets

We crossed the border into Thailand and after a 7 hour journey, made it to the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat. They don't get a lot of foreign visitors in Nakhon Si Thammarat so as we went past, the locals came out of shops to look and wave at us.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is famous for being one of the last places left in Thailand where the ancient art of producing shadow puppets continues, they're produced by hand from cow hide. The shadow puppet master is quite famous and performed for the king of Thailand, we got to watch a short show.
Thailand's quite a culture shock compared to Malaysia where most people spoke English and the Malaysian language used the normal alphabet. Getting dinner at the night market involved a lot of hand gestures. Getting around is also a bit strange as they use săwngthăew, which are trucks with benches in the back and work like a cross between a bus and a taxi.

Penang - Last stop in Malaysia

Our last stop in Malaysia before crossing the border into Thailand was the small state of Penang, an island off the west coast where the majority of the population is Chinese not Malay and where the British invaded (is there anywhere we didn't invade round here?). We got to the Island by ferry but there is also a bridge, the second longest in South East Asia.

We got there in the afternoon and had a chance to wander around, there are hundreds (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) of temples and mosques dotted around the streets. I also went to the top of the Komtar tower to their viewing deck, but it started raining when I got to the top so the pictures weren't great.


The next day we had a tour round Penang starting with the old British fort. Next we headed to the Chinese Wharfs, there are seven along a stretch of the front and is where the Chinese immigrants arrived. Each is named after a popular Chinese family name so only those with that name could stay on that wharf, if you look inside you couldn't tell that they are a shack built above water as they all have electricity and TVs etc.


We headed to the Wat Chayamangkalaram temple, home to the reclining Buddh, then after a stop off at another chocolate factory we finished at Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest Buddist temple in Malaysia.

Sukasuka retreat - Day 2

Day two and we headed to the local village to see traditional Malay houses and to trek to a waterfall.


After trekking uphill for what seemed like miles, the pool was so good to swim in.



It rained very heavily that afternoon, before it started Joan (one of the group) had gone out in a kayak and had to be rescued by a passing boat when the storm struck. In the evening we had a traditional Malay meal, sat on the floor, only eating with the right hand and no knives and forks. We even wore traditional Malay sarongs.



The next morning we were catching the coach from Kuala Kengsar, the royal town in the state of Perak. Before we left we saw a few of the sights including the Royal Palace and the Royal Mosque (below).

Goodbye city, hello country

We left KL the next morning and got a coach to the state of Perak, then got a rickety minibus and a boat to our next stop, the island of Sukasuka in a man made lake created by damming a river to stop the royal town flooding further down. We stayed in cabins with a family who own the Island.

After being in KL for a couple of days and Singapore for quite a few days, it was really really quiet here and felt very remote. There were lots of mozzies around as well so we had to load up on the insect repellent and sleep with mosquito nets, which I was sure I would end up with my head sticking out of in the morning and bitten to pieces.



The huts did have electicity and toilet so it wasn't too basic though hot water and air conditioning was notably missing and it was a very sticky first night. Plus there were lots of bumps in the night including the Ghekos, which make noises like someone is knocking on the door and a very noisy bullfrog. We also had the the guest below in our cabin the first night.

KL - Day 2

On day 2 we had a guided tour round the sights of KL. We started off at the Batu caves, which is a Hindu temple in the side of a rocky hill with a lot of steps to the top. The caves are home to a hoard of monkeys, who are highly adept to getting food and drinks from the tourists. When we were climbing the steps up, they all came bounding down like something from Indiana Jones.



The caves are huge inside.


After visiting the world famous (apparently) Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, where they make all sorts of things including the F1 trophies and the worlds largest tankard.



We also visited the National Monument, a chocolate factory that had lots of free samples and the National Mosque.

Hello KL

A short three hour coach ride brought us from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur or KL as the locals call it, the capital of Malaysia. We had to walk from the bus station to our hotel in the midday heat (around 30 degrees) with backpacks on, which seemed to take forever.


KL is home to the worlds tallest flagpoll (above) which is where the British handed power over to Malaysia, next to the flagpole is also a cricket pitch and pavilions.



In the afternoon we walked to the KL Menara tower, the third tallest communications tower in the world (BT tower didn't make chart). After walking the long way round we went up to the viewing levels at the top, which had spectacular views across the city (see below).



In true Malaysian style, it started to rain just as we left so we had to get a taxi back, the taxi driver even managed to provide some entertainment and a bit of singing as we headed back. In the evening we went to KLCC, where the Petronas towers are located and had dinner before getting a few pictures of the towers lit up at night.

Start of the tour - Melaka

After crossing the Malaysian border, the first stop was at Melaka, which used to be the main port in South East Asia before Singapore took the crown. The red buildings are from when the Dutch invaded, before the British invaded.

London is a very long way away!


We had a trishaw ride round the town to see the sights including Chinatown and some beautiful temples, including the one below, which was build entirely from wood without any nails holding it together.