Malaysia

A world away from India we began our tour of SE Asia in amazingly clean, calm, and peaceful Singapore and then Kuala Lumpa. However, in an apparent oversight in planning it appears that we arrived during the tail end of monsoon season...oops! So whilst I would love to take the mick out of you all stuck in wet england - I finally made good use of my rain jacket. The craziness of India behind us, we took the opportunity to have a well earned break in the Malaysian highlands. High above the clouds we paid visit to Fraiser's Hill and the Cameron Highlands; appropriately named partly due to the tea and strawberries that grow on the surrounding hills. It was also somewhat odd to find tea rooms offering scones, strawberries & cream, alongside stunning views. All rather rah rah!

Heading northwards towards Thailand we decided on two further Malaysian experiences. We began with a visit to Penang Island; a busy fun place with a cheap China town, and paid visit to a Buddhist snake temple with attached snake and monkey farm. The guides kindly pointed out how the King Cobra would like to poison me, how the Giant Python would like to eat me (and how I would nicely fit into his mouth), before giving me two Monkeys to hold. Having always wanted a pet monkey I was thrilled... that was until they both started nibbling my nipples.

My other ideal pet would be of the Penguin variety... currently very much in touch with the animal kingdom I got my chance to see a large number of them being fed in an awesome aquarium on the island of Langkawi; our next and last stop in Malaysia. We rented a car with some fellow English girls Sophie and Jess and explored the island, adding crocodiles, an elephant and plenty more monkeys to my nature experience. Unsurprisingly the monkeys continue to torment me with their cheekie ways, by chasing us and trying to steal Jess' Christmas hat.