We found our way with no problems to the Thai border, but now it was the moment of truth - would our non-stamped passports prove a problem?? Of course not - one glance from the bored offical and we were out of Malaysia and on our way over the bridge to Thailand. We made sure we had a stamp this time. After a short what we were on our next train through some gorgeous scenery towards Surat Thani. This time there was no air-con onboard the train, so it was windows open and don't swallow any insects... Once we arrived in Surat Thani we had planned to get the night ferry to Koh Tao. We were told by some taxi drivers that the ferry wasn't running as the weather had been to rough. We didn't really believe them and tried to ask a tourist information guy. He confirmed the fact that the ferry wasn't running, although he was under pressure from the taxi drivers to agree with them! As we had no real choise we headed off into town for a hotel and the hardest bed we've ever seen for the night. We honestly wondered if they had forgotten to put a mattress on the bed.

 

Next morning we were up on the bus to take us down to the jetty for a six hour boat trip past Koh Samui and Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. Here we got a taxi to our first bugalow.This was very nice but, again, with an extremely hard bed. Still it was in a nice area with a nice, if busy beach. There was a great little restaurant nearby where we settled in on and off for the next two days. We decided (after a far bit of indecision) to leave this place (the hard bed and large number of scary looking spiders - four or five inches across (one of which fell on Xana's back!) - in our bathroom helping make the decision) and move onto another, quieter beach. When we arrived we checked into our wooden hut and wundered if we'd done the right thing. The hut was very basix so we decided to ask if there were any other rooms. There was a middle-costing room and a more expensive room that overlooked the beach and had air-con. Naturally, this was the one we went with! We later found out that the air-con didn't work, so managed to negotiate a bit of a discount. We then had four days of lovely doing nothing but sitting on the beach, with an occasional bit of snorkeling in the amazingly warm water. One of the highlights was seeing a guy being kayaked across the bay by two topless young women - that's the way to travel!

 

Yesterday we finally had to peel ourselves off the beach and onto another boat, this time bound for Chumporn and the bus to Bangkok. It had been great to just chill out in one place for a few days and not have to worry about where we were going next.

 

Last we arrived in Bangkok at around 1am. Luckily the place we were aiming for had beds (lovely, comfy beds) available and we checked in with no problems. Tomorrow we fly off to Phnom Penh and the next country on the list!

 

A  4.30 start saw us stumbling out of the hostel and into a cab and onto the station. We spent a while waiting and then it was onto the train and off to Malaysia. Just before we left Singapore, we had to pass through Singporean customs. Strangely we didn't then have to pass through the Malaysian ones as they were nowhere to be seen! As we passed deeper into the new country without a stamp in our passports, we were slightly concerned as to what would happen when we tried to leave! Anyway 6 hours later we were at the small interior town of Jerantut. Here we had planned to find a particular travel agency to sort out our bus and boat transfer to the Taman Negara National Park (a 150 million year old area of tropical rain forest). Sadly, the agency was closed when we arrived and the next bus onwards wasn't for another four hours! Luckily there was a small tourist information place and, just as he was closing, he agreed to take us up to where another bus was leaving for the NP. 30 seconds later, with much beeping and waving, we pulled the bus over from the side of the road and jumped on. An hour later we arrived at the riverside for our three hour boat trip to the NP. This was when it started raining. Luckily there was a shelter on the tiny motor boat and we didn't get too wet. When we arrived at the village across the river from the NP, we quickly found a really nice, relaxed guesthouse. The village was mostly crammed up against the riverside and had a few floating restaurants attached. That night we had a meal in one and sorted out some activities for the next day.

 

The first thing for the next day was a guided trip over to the NP and up onto a canopy walk, supposedly one of the highlights of the area. We walked into the NP, quickly building up a sweat in the extremely high humidity. We climbed up to the canopy, but it was a bit disapoointing - only half it's length was still useable and there was nothing much extra you could see from the 40-50 metres higher up - certainly no animals. We then climbed a couple of nearby hills for a bit of a view, but still no animals bigger than ants or mossies... After an afternoon shower we went out on what we thought would be a night safari through the jungle. Turned out to be a tour on the back of a truck through a nearby palm oil plantation - we did, however, see a wild cat...oh and a small snake. Then it starting chucking it down - no shelter, of course...

 

Next day, we decided to do things by ourselves and crossed over to the NP. Here we started a short walk up the river. This time we managed to see a huge millipede. I think the NP is only really worth coming to if you have the time (and the inclination) to do a three or four day trek deeper into the jungle where you stand a chance of actually seeing something. I think Xana and I have decided that we're not really jungle people - too hot and uncomfortable, with no real reward.

 

Anyway next day we got up for our boat and bus transfer back to Jerantut, where we once again borded the 'jungle train' north. As we arrived near the border with Thailand late at night, we decided to spend two nights in the small city of Kota Bharu doing errands and working out our next steps.

 

We had wanted to visit some island off the coast of Malaysia, but decided to use the time to spend longer on Koh Tao, one of the southern Thai islands. After a day doing errands, I decided that I needed a shave and, as most of the places we stayed in had no hot water and no mirrors, thought it would be best to head to the barbers and let an expert handle the weeks growth. After over half an hour of having a cut-throat razer whistling around my very still neck, I was considerably lighter and smoother. It was definitely an experience I would recommend any man to have once. The bit where he tried to shave my forehead was a bit strange though...

 

 

We got up early in the morning to take the campervan to the drop off point. We had to explain there about the window (as no one had thought to let them know what to expect...). They let us know how much the window would be to replace (and have since given us all the deposit owed back - so don't have to worry about that any more!). We then headed to the airport and our six hour flight to Singapore. Getting off the plane in the early evening, you immediately notice the difference in the temperature and the humidity - could be a hot and sticky two months ahead. We took a taxi to our hostel, which was next to the Chinatown district. After checking in we wandered down to a nearby food market with lots of food stalls and really felt like we had arrived in Asia. We seemed to be the only Europeans there and were paying next to nothing for some very yummy food. We then took a walk around the night market in Chinatown, getting a feel for the place.

 

Next day we walked down to the railway station to sort out our train ticket into Malaysia for Sunday morning. We then took the bus into the centre of the city and spent a bit of time wandering around the colonial district and went into the Asian Civilisations Museum. There was a guided tour of a temporary exhibit on the nature of beauty (images of beauty, what people have done to achieve beauty and spiritual beauty) over the centuries in Asian cultures, so we went on that for an hour or so, which was really interesting to see. After that we took time to see the rest of the museum, which was very good, but slightly spoilt by having thousands of school kids turn up half way through, who then spent the rest of the time running around sreaming at each other - this seems to happen to us every time we go to a museum!! That night we had a few snacks and a beer down in Chinatown.

 

On Friday we had to move hostels (everywhere in Singapore seems really full at the moment), so got on the MRT (the local underground network) and headed to Little India. We found our new hostel with no problems and then took ourselves off to do some laundry and for me to get a haircut. This was at an Indian barbers and after the disbelief that I wanted a grade 1 cut all over (it took several attempts to convince them that that was what I wanted!), the barbers spent some time trying to convince me that my 'beard' (well, a week's growth) was too scruffy and that they should tidy it up. I relented and they proceeded to give me a very Bollywood style trim - very smart. That evening we ate at the cafe next to the hostel, which was very over-priced and average food for tourists - won't make that mistake again.

 

Saturday morning involved breakfast at the hostel (do-it-yourself eggs and toast) and then a walk back to the colonial area via one of the areas Hindu temples. We got talking to an American Krishna guy there who enlightened us on some of the meanings and beliefs involved in the religion, which was interesting (haven't converted though...). We then stopped off at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. This is a very touristy thing to do (and expensive - one cocktail was 20 singaporean dollars - about the price of a nights accommodation!), but was definitely something we wanted to do as it was where my Grandad stayed during and after the Second World War. The building didn't seem to have changed much, but the bottom level is now full of expensive boutique shops. It was good to have a look at though and to think of him there over sixty years ago.

 

Carrying on the history theme, we then walked up to the Battle Box. This is the site of the British headquarters before the surrender to the Japanese during the war. It's an underground bunker and we took a short tour run by a 71 year old guy who was in Singapore when the Japanese came. He was still very bitter about the way the civilian population had been treated by the Japanese and, although he said that he would forgive, but not forget, I think forgiveness was still some way away. It was interesting to hear more about what happened there during the war, it still seems to be a big part of the psyche of some of the people here.

 

We took the MRT back up to Little India (which is a really good place to stay) and then had a great vegetarian meal up in one of the nearby Indian restaurants. It was a very manic place, but served great food. We then had a an early night as the next morning we had to be up at 4.30 to catch the train into Malaysia.

 

 

 

Right, have managed to get to a computer a bit sooner this time around...

 

We had a second day in Broome. In the morning we sorted out where we were going to spend the next few days and booked a tour in Coral Bay to snorkel with manta rays. We had hoped to snorkel with Whale Sharks there, but were told that they had already migrated out of that area for the year. ;-(

 

That afternoon we headed over to beautiful Cable Beach for a bit of a sunbath and then a few beers watching the sun set. We were then tipped off by an elderly couple that the 'staircase to the moon' was about to start over the other side of town. This only occurs for a few days around a full moon and is where the moon rises over the mud flats and creates a bright 'ladder' up to the moon. We rushed over and arrived just before it started. It was well worth the effort. The effect was beautiful - shame our camera couldn't capture it properly.

 

Next morning we drove down the coast Karrather. This is a town in a mining area and the campsite was full of mining types who were priced out of the local (limited) housing market. Slightly strange , 'trailer-trash' feel to the place!

 

On Tuesday we tried to see some local Aboriginal rock drawings, but couldn't track them down. We then spent a couple of hours driving around town to different car places to see if anyone could fix our broken window. Unfortunately, we had no luck, but we were eventually told by a nice man at the hire company that we had tried our best and to not worry about it for the rest of the trip and just enjoy our holiday! We then set off for Coral Bay. Whilst checking out this small town we overheard some people saying that the whale sharks had indeed left Coral Bay, but we still about hundred miles up the coast at Exmouth. Cursing our luck and thinking that we didn't have time to go up and see them there, we muttered and grumbled ourselves to sleep.

 

Next day we set off on our manta ray trip. Unfortunately, there were no manta rays to be found (despite a spotter plance looking on our behalf). We had a couple of snorkels over the coral and were told that we could go on the next available trip for free. This got us thinkinkg and looking at our itinery for the next few days to see if we could skip somewhere out and go and see the whale sharks up in Exmouth as well. We decided to wish out on Kalbarri further down the coast and managed to get ourselves on a whale shark trip the next day - result! It did however mean a 4.30 start and a two hour drive up the coast before dawn in kangaroo infested country. Fingers crossed!

 

Thursday saw the early rise and a safe passage through to Exmouth. We joined up with our crew and the other passengers and made our way out to the boat. An hour later we were out on the reef and had a practise run for when we were to see the sharks. This involved a near military style operation with each group bunched near the rear of the boat, ready to jump in a the call of 'Go! Go! Go!'. A successful dry (well, wet, actually) run later, we were waiting for the call. The spotter plane went up and saw the first shark a while later. We made our way over to the area only to be told that anohter boat had got in first and that we would have to wait our turn. We wondered if this would be our day when there was a sudden changhe in plan and we were going in! The first group dove in athen it was our turn. We sat on the edge of the boat and 'go, go, go' we were in the water looking around for the huge fish. And there it was - five or six metres below us, slowly gliding along was the biggest fish I have ever seen. It was around 5 meters long and looked a lot bigger! We could easily keep up with it, until we were told it was time to leave it be. We jumped backonboard, elated to have seen our first whale shark. Ten minutes later the call of 'Get ready! went up again and soon we were back in the water lookingbelow us for the next shark. This time we got a shock as it was swimming just below the surface and was heading straight for us!! We formed two lines and the amazing creature pashed directly between us. This was amazing. To be so close to such beautiful and harmless creatures was fantastic. This was how the morning progressed with us getting eight snorkels in total with six different sharks - between five and seven metres long. We had hoped to see one or maybe two, so to see so many was amazing. We then settled down as we were told that we had had our last shark swim and looked forward to lunch. Suddenly, however, the shout of 'manta ray!' went up and we were back in our suits and in the water again. This time there were at least eight manta rays swimming with us - and swim with us they did. With the sharks we just kept out of the way and let them do their thing. This time the manta rays (up to five metres wingspan) came and swam with us. They gave us a good look over and kept coming back for more. It was so breathtaking to see these graceful animals up so close. It was completely unexpected and really made the day even more special. Easily the best thing we had done in Australia and something we would definitely recommend to everyone.

 

We drove back to Coral Bay tired, but happy, and decided that the next day's manta ray cruise couldn't top that and decided to get a voucher for it instead. We later met a couple who had done the cruise in the same area and hadn't seen anything.

 

On Friday we drove down to the nice coastal town of Denham. On the way we stopped off at Hamelin Pook, one of the only places where you can stromatolites. These are rock like formations caused by sticky cyanobacteria trapping sediments to themselves and building up into stacks and mat formations. They are the same species of organism who were responsible,3.5 billion years ago, for changing the Earth's atmosphere from poisonous to the breathable 20%-odd oxygen we enjoy today. That is to say - without these creatures life as we know it today would not have been possible! Pretty cool.

 

Next morning we visited the impressive World Heritige site building to learn more about the area and then drove up to Monkey Mia. Here we got up early on Saturday morning to see the dolphins. Four of these guys came in right up to the beach to be fed. It's a bit of a circus with lots of people craning in for a look, but you do get to see the dolphins amazingly close. In the afternoon we drove to Cervantes for the night.

 

Sunday morning saw a trip to nearby national park to see the Pinacles Desert - lots and lots of wierd rock formations in the desert. We walked round the 3.5km track and were lucky enough to see a couple of kangeroos in the desert. We spent a bit of time watching them watching us! We then drove to Perth - our final Aussie destination.

 

Today we've spent exploring Perth and doing some last chores before our trip to Singapore tomorrow.

 

 

Bloody hell - is it really that long since I last updated the blog? Bit of catching up to do...

 

So, we went on our three day boat trip around the Whitsunday Islands. This was a smallish boat with twenty or so on board - 5 guys, all the rest girls... We had a really good time cruising around the islands. The second morning we went to Whitehaven beach. This is a very beautiful white beach with some of the purest sand in the world. We played a few games there, but didn't make it in for a swim as the water was too cold. Xana did her first ever scuba dive - and really enjoyed it. I went on the same introductory dive as her as I'd left my PADI card in the UK. It was a bit strange at first for her, but after a few excercises to convince the dive instructor that we weren't going to kill ourselves, we headed off over the nearby reef. We saw loads of different fish and corals (check out the photo section).  The weather so far was good, if not excellent, but the third morning was really cold and wet. We went in for a final snorkel and then headed back to shore over some very rough waters.

 

That night we met up again with some of the guys from the trip for a few beers.

 

On Tuesday we got up nice and early to catch our Greyhound bus to Townsville. It was supposed to arrive at 9am, but we were told by a driver from a different bus company that our bus had broken down on the way to Airlier Beach and would be a few hours yet! After several phone calls to Greyhound, who were completely useless in keeping us informed, we eventually (several hours later) found out that the bus would be five hours late. So we had to wait at the bus stop with all our bags for five hours waiting for the next scheduled bus to arrive. It did, but we had no idea whether or not we would all fit (it already pretty full with the people who were originally booked on that one). Luckily we did - even if a few people had to sit on the drivers bed at the back of the coach! So, we arrived in Townville five hours late and, fortunately for us, were still able to meet up with Cath's friends. Cath had given her the key to her apartment so we could stay there for the next two nights (Cath was up north in Cairns). We were very glad to arrive that night and relax!

 

Next day saw a lazy day in Townsville getting ready to spend the next four days on Magnetic Island. The weater hadn't improved much since Airlie Beach and was still very overcast and quite cold.

 

On Thursday we caught the twenty minute ferry across to Magnetic Island and checked into our resort in Nelly Bay. This turned out to be a semi-permanent tent thing - which leaked... It's all set up for sunny warm weather, with no indoor areas. Xana started her SSI Open Water diving course that afternoon as was blue by the time she came out of the water! It was bloody freezing that first night. We spent the evening wrapped up in our fleeces and waterproofs! We found out later that this night was the coldest ever recorded in the region!

 

The next morning we moved tents. Xana had another three days of dive tuition so I took myself off for a walk around the hills of Magentic Island and saw a few Wallabies. That night we went back to the mainland to meet up with Cath for the first time since Buenos Airea - it was great to catch up again.

 

On Saturday Xana's dive was in the morning, so that afternoon we went for a walk over to Picnic Bay. There wasn't much there (there wasn't much anyway by the looks of it on the Island! Mostly residential), so we went for a walk back along the beach at Nelly Bay.

 

Sunday afternoon, Cath came over from Townsville. I met up with her while Xana took her final diving lesson (she passed - woo hoo!). We went over to the other side of the island (Horseshoe Bay), which was a bit livelier and met up with a couple of Cath's friends who live on the island. We had a few drinks and lunch whilst waiting for Xana to join us. Afterwards we drove back to the friends place near the ferry terminal for a glass of wine before catching the ferry back to Townsville. We had booked (and paid for) another night on the Island and were supposed to travel up to Cairns the next day, but Cath kindly offered us to stay at her place for the night. We jumped at the chance to spend the night in a warm flat!

 

The next day Cath flew up to Cairns and we had agreed to drive her car up to her place in Cairns. It was a bout a four hour journey. The weather was still quite cold and very wet though! We ate out that night a nearby club.

 

On Tueday we had a dive trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The ride out to the reef was pretty rough, but no one succumbed... Once we were moored up we changed into our dive gear and jumped in. The water wasn't as cold as it had been further south, but certainly wasn't too warm... The coral wasn't as good as it had been further south (too many boats and people in the area disrupting the coral), but we saw a few fish. The second dive we didn't bother with a guide and headed out with three other certified divers onboard. We had a bit of a swim around and then headed back to the boat to try and warm up. That night a friend of Cath's came over for dinner and Xana cooked up some prawns and rice.

 

The next day we had a few hours to kill before our flight to Darwin, so we jumped in Cath's car and drove north to Port Douglas and Mossman gorge. Everywhere was pretty busy (school holidays), but Port Douglas seemed like a nice place to spend a few days. After that we headed to Cairns airport to drop Cath's car off and say goodbye. Our plane was delayed an hour or so, but we finally made our way over to Darwin.

 

On Thursday we headed off to the campervan depot to pick up the van that was to be our home for the next two weeks. After a long wait to be seen we checked the van over and headed off - the start of an over four and a half thousand kilometre drive to Perth!

 

Sadly, no more than three hours out of Darwin we were overtaking a road-train (huge lorries) when we heard a bang and realised that our back left side-window had been smashed by a rock flung up by the road train. The entire pain had shattered and was falling out, so we had to pull over and get rid of the rest of the glass. Big hole in the back of the van - complete nightmare. We drove on to the next town and called out hire company. They basically told us that has we hadn't paid an extra 40 bucks a day to reduce our excess to zero we would have to sort out the problem ourselves - nice. They gave us the phone number of a window company and that was it. DO NOT USE BACKPACKERS CAMPERVAN RENTAL!!

 

We phoned the window company and were told that there might be the right piece of glass back in Darwin or they could try Katherine, further down the road. As we didn't want to head back on ourselves (we had a pretty tight schedule to keep to), we drove on to Katherine. Unfortunately, when we got there we picked up a voice mail message (no mobile phone signal between towns, of course...) saying that they wouldn't be able to get the glass for another week - no good for us.

 

That night we stopped off in a random 'town' (read garage with campsite attached) and tried to fix the window up with some tarpaulin and gaffer tape.

 

Next day we drove off towards Broome, but we could only make it to Fitzroy Crossing before sunset (not a good idea to drive at night in the outback). We saw a few roos (Xana's  first), but managed to avoid them all (there was plenty of roadkill showing those who hadn't been so lucky). The scenary had been beautiful (in a very barren, middle-of-nowhere, kind of a way). There we were amoungst the hardcore caravaners and campers - I even saw one guy with his own dressing gown!

 

Yesterday we made the rest of the way to Broome and made some more phone calls to see what the situation with the glass was. Apparently the glass company doesn't have any of the right sized windows anywhere in Western Australia, so is going to have to ship it over from Sydney (by land), so it will be another week before it even arrives in Perth! They will then see where we are and try and match us up with it. Looks like we'll be driving most of the way to Perth with a big hole in the van - let's hope the tarp holds up! In the evening we went for a really nice curry by one of the bays, watching the moon rise over the sea. Beautiful.

 

Must remember not to leave it so long before updating the blog next time...