Langkawi to Ao Nang

Langkawi is a small island up on the Northern tip of Malaysia, to it's West and sits in the Andaman Sea. We spent I think 4 days there at the Lankasuka Resort, and would recommend it as a budget choice without hesitation, around 28 sterling a night for a huge (biggest room I've ever stayed in) premium king including breakfast. 

Sadly, and much to my dismay you couldn't use it's seafront due to Jellyfish warning signs - we never actually saw one - and to be honest it's not the thought of being stung that would bother me... I'm just not sure I want to give Miranda an excuse to use her Shewee on me from great high, actually, I can see her smirking face now! You'll hopefully have taken a look at the beach sunset shots of the palm shacks, and writing in the sand , it was a nice beach.

We hired a car on the last day, the dodgiest/best car I've ever hired, depending on how you look at it. I walked down to the airport, basically with 100 RM (17ish sterling), my photo ID and license, it wasn't until I'd bartered them on the price and settled a deal that I realised I'd picked up Miranda's photo ID. Fearing I was onto a loser, I carried on with it anyway and just produced my counterpart (paper bit), she glanced at it, and gave me the key... So there I was, Toyota Vios, 17 pounds for the day, zero deposit (no card swipe) and asked to just park it at the agreed location (the other side of the island), leaving the car open, and the keys under the floor mat.

Anyway, the car worked out really nicely. We did a decent lap of the island, stumbled on the bustling market you saw in the photos (the one with the food that non of you liked), and then watched the sun set at Pentai Cenang beach, and after some Chicken Satay and a badly mixed cocktail headed back to the ranch for our last night.

We departed from the Kuah Town jetty, bound this time for Thailand via the port town of Satun. Arriving there we got the (pimped out) bus directly to Krabi, and from there a collectivo of sorts to Ao Nang, from where I'm writing this.

Ao Nang, well it's Ibiza town/Magaluf kind of affair, lots English, everyone hassling for you to grab a taxi that you don't need, to buy some chince from them, to eat at their restaurant. But actually once you come to terms with the place being touristy, commercial and lively, it's not as bad as it first seems. With that said, if it weren't so well located for getting to the islands of Phi Phi Don/Leh, James Bond Island and Phuket, we'd have more than likely moved on to somewhere nicer. The other draw are the beaches, Ao Nang's is fine, but a longtail boat can get you to Rai Leh (West), Phra Nang, Ton Sai in a matter of 5-10 minutes... so like I said, it's easy to get places from here.

One of my personal goals of Thailand was to get my diving certification, and yesterday after visiting every dive shop in town decided on doing it with a UK fronted firm called Scuba Addicts (established for 6 years, unlike a few of the newer outfits). I enrolled on a 3 day SSI (not PADI, equally respected, though less known) course, and today was my first day. So after spending about 4 hours reading yesterday, today I was back at school, and learning new things in the classroom and swimming pool (24 skills). Tomorrow, I'm going on my first outing to the local islands, and the following day have a day diving at Phi Phi and the exam. All being well, I'll be a qualified SSI Open Water diver, certified to a depth of 18m by the start of the new week. Unfortunately, Miranda decided against it, largely I think due to her concerns over Asthma (which can kill you underwater), and her cold which was still lingering in her inner ear/sinuses over the last week - I'm sure they'll be other occasions if she were to change her mind in the future.

With that said, I reckon she'll be happy with Thai guys pouring attention over her on the beach as she reads her new book, and trying to rival my (mediocre) tan.

Anyway, just a quick update, hope you're all well and good. We'll see you in 6 weeks (sweet baby jesus) and 2 days... I look forward to Miranda supporting my lifestyle as a professional Diver/Playboy/Skydiving/IT Geek for the weeks after we return, bless her!

See you soon!   

  

Our 10th Country

As some of you already know, we flew out of Australia on Feb 22nd, bound for Singapore.

Singapore (meaning Island City) is typical city in many ways and probably most of what you'd expect, but it is remarkably clean, not so much in a clinical way, but there's zero litter, and clearly well looked after. It's also one of the safest cities in the world, mainly due to brutal policing, expensive alcohol and that a womans word in court gets you locked away, so ladies, you can walk alone and won't be hassled.

Singapore's major points of interest are the CBD, China Town and Little India, the botanical gardens and rainforest (one of the worlds only prime rainforest within a city) and it's Zoo.

The first night, we headed to Little India for a curry, which was pretty good, and certainly what the doctor ordered. After that, we made a near fatal mistake, we went for a massage. I went for a 30 minute back and shoulder massage, Miranda 40 minutes of reflexology. A small Chinese lady stepped out and directed me to a room for my massage, two minutes later she was going to town on me... No not that. She literally beat me up for 30 minutes, elbow in the spine, punch to the kidneys, just two of her favoured techniques. If I wasn't so proud, I'd have started crying like a little girl, but I manned up and rode it out. Occasionally, my focus was broken by Miranda letting out yelps from across the corridor, though interestingly they diagnosed a bad stomach, and water retention, all from touching her feet (which she's now very proud of, pedicure on the joint account...).

The next day we chose to see some of the city via an open top bus tour (you can see most of it in under an hour, as everything is in easy reach). Electing to jump ship at the main commercial area, Orchard Plaza, where we roamed the shops (if you like malls, Singapore is for you) for a while before heading into a food hall, we settled on a place called Teppenaki - Beef chilli stir-fry, vegetables, rice and miso soup for £5. Around about this time I realised these chilli's were particularly warm, actually, that does them an injustice, they were like a rocket up the arse! Thorough dehydration occurred in the form of head sweats and watering nose, luckily it was a good eat! Miranda got off more lightly with a similar dish with John Dory, but, with less chilli :-)

Earlier in the day, we were walking in the 35 degree sun, so we thought we'd head to the Raffles Hotel, for, guess what? Yep, a Singapore Sling! After they'd relieved us of £12.50 a piece, we headed off... Far too rich for our sort!

So, Singapore in a nutshell, alcoholic drinks are expensive, very expensive. Food is reasonable, and of good quality. The city is clean, and the people friendly. Ultimately, for me, it just felt a little disappointing and not something I can easily put my finger on. It just wasn't in your face enough to be memorable, nor did it have any obvious trace of it's roots. There's things we didn't see, but I saw enough to know it doesn't (for me) have the same appeal as London, or a lot of other places we passed through since October.

Today, we took the 6 hour bus ride to Kuala Lumpur, and after guessing an anonymous Wifi networks password (1234567890, tut tut), was able to bring you an update. Much the same for KL really, I've heard it's more of a 2 day place than somewhere to get comfy - Thailands beaches beckon!

For those not in the know, we uploaded our Skydiving photos yesterday, proof we did (despite Miranda's trepidation) jump from a plane.

In other news, big congratulations to Katy for becoming a mum, to her baby girl Isabel (9lb 13oz). Well done!

Speak soon, bye!