Avillion Port Dickson

The following day (after the previous entry then) I packed up my...err...pack and headed to new areas of the city, using my compass to test my map-reading skills.
After two hours of wandering about with 14kg of equipment and consistently turning up in unexpected locations, I reached an information office and finally discovered why I seemed to be struggling with orienteering so much - my f*cking sh*t compass doesn't point true north!
I know it seems like an ...

We decided to go to Port Dickson because we were told that's were the locals went to vacation. After 2 buses we arrived there. The long and short of it is there is not much to do there. I walked down by the beach and sat and watched the waves for a while. I went back to the room and took a nap, when Jessie came back we walked for a while until we found a roadside café. Nothing on the board was in English and after much discussion with the restaurant personal, I just ...

... the 33 year old bull elephant from Burma to berth below. We climbed over his shoulders and sat bareback on a incredibly tough and bristley skin. Once under foot the awareness of power and strengh is amazing. We all had a very rewarding day and saddened to see a 36 month old orphan elephant who had lost a foot to a poachers snair. We were very glad to have visited as one of our charities is the World Wildlife Fund and on leaving rightly donated towards their cause.

... in with my good freind mr national geographic. ask me anything about honey badgers, thai elephants or snakes... I had lots of plans for this week...I should have been sitting on a nice quiet island on the east coast, snorkelling and watching amazing sunsets but im stuck in with the air con and the cats outside that have decided to make the outside of my house a knocking shop for those on heat. Got some antibiotics yesterday that ...

Had another wander around Melaka today. At 4.30pm I found a bar and watched the final of the Men's Australian Open - Federer vs Gonzalez. I was sat with a Malaysian salesman in the bar who was a bit annoying during the game. Since my guest house had no TV I had no choice but to grin and bear his point by point analysis. Predictably there was no ...

... geared to expats or tourists (a within Malaysia calling card commercial is the best example I saw). Traffic was absolutely terrible. In the city center, there are no signals and sidewalks just sort of die, to be picked up a few meters later, or on the other side of the road, or nowhere obvious. Every time I had to cross, I pretty much took my life into my hands and sprinted. Did the usual tourist things in Melaka ...

... on. Another guy came up and exchanged my ticket for another one. OKAAAYY.. what next? 4.30 came and went - no bus! When I asked the guy,"Where is the bus?" he held up his hand to silence me and nod as if to say "Everything is under control" His walkie talkie crackled and he turned to me "Singapore?" then gestured for me to follow some other guy, AWAY FROM GATE 23, outside the bus station - who handed me over to another guy in black t-shirt - with walkie talkie. Black ...

... few. As it was low season there were few people visiting the park and therefore few tours were available. I decided to join a tour leaving the next day for a two day and one night expedition trekking through the rainforest. Monika looked for other potential activities to indulge in while I was gone. The next day after a quick breakfast Monika was picked up for her canopy walk trip as I introduced myself to my new Dutch hiking companions. After speaking to the guide about ...

... 1. Played carrom a lot (won twice). Taught May card tricks. After dinner, did more than most of the dishes, pots, and pans. Played more carroms, then did little the rest of the night. Walked with Moshe, the boys, May, and Bee to have a soft drink at one of the stall. To bed close to midnight.