Grand Garden Hotel Narathiwat

... on the west of the peninsular) and it is not permitted to be seen drinking alcohol. On our way to Kota Baru I saw several illustrated signs on how women should wear their head scarves, you know the kind with the wrong way crossed out and a big tick for the correct way. Just as well I didn't have my headscarf with me because I would have done it all wrong. Elaine is a journalist for the BBC in Belfast and has been working in Australia for the past few months. She ...

... is a bit like getting into a warm bath, something I've only ever really experienced in Belize, which of course is the Caribbean, and perfect for snorkelling and diving. Today we have been reacquainted with an old friend, something we got to know extremely well 20 years ago, a dish called Roti Canai. The roti is best described as like flaky pastry chapattis and the canai element is a curry sauce that comes with it, yum yum. No doubt we'll have a few more while we're here. Laters

... the next 6 hours getting to the thai/malay border. We had to cross the border on foot and get a taxi to Kota Bharu. The whole journey took 13 hours in total. We were glad to be back in Malaysia, the atmosphere in southern Thailand was quite hostile with army checkpoints all over the place and army personnel everywhere. On crossing the border the malaysian border guards were very friendly to us and made some jokes. Malaysia definitely gets a thumbs up from us!

... skoraj nic nismo poskakovali - moja mosnjicka sta hvalezna). Potem sva na obali vzela teksi (tukaj je taksi teksi, bus pa bas, sola je sekolah. Ergo, ce znas Slovensko, znas tudi Malezijsko) do W(hatthe****)akaf Bharu, zelezniske postaje, ki lezi 5 km juzno od hudo muslimanskega mesta Kota Bharu. Bosonogi taksist je vozil na nacin, ki sva ga ze vajena, zato naju ni presenetil ...

... International Airport), which is about 10 minutes away. We had our lunch at KLIA, window-shopped for a bit and spent a lot of time at the bookshop where Argi picked up a brilliant book called "The Final Call" by Leo Hickman. Took the bus again to get back to LCCT just in time for our flight to Kota Bharu, which was only a short 40-minute flight. Kota Bharu (Night time): Night was ...

... actual waterfall where the rocks were wet and very slippery. Managed to get into the water but far before slipping and having to scuttle sideways to avoid afall and embarrassment. Managed to get down ok as did the others. Pleased to say I was not the slowest or the quickest. It was good fun BUT the organiser Yo managed to run down the waterfall on the dry section to about halfway and then pull himself up on a rope so easily. They must look at us lot and think ...

... the law for a Muslim to drink, or hold a licence to sell alcohol. We stayed at a great hostel, and when we showed up our host, who was nothing but smiles, asked us where we were headed next. "To the jungle" we replied. Then he proceeded to sell us on a trip to Perhentian Islands. We hadn't been swimming in ages, and it is hot here, so the idea of sitting on the beach for 2 days was just to appealing to pass up. We decided yes ...

... down to the next paragraph J The meat section was full of animals whose carcasses could still be made out. I am pretty positive that there were horse legs just dangling from hooks in the ceiling. The hoof still had the fur attached. It was pretty gross. Then there were the chickens who were de-feathered, but whole (including their heads). The fish section ...

... d'ailleurs au cas ou ca lui manque (creme a la chlorexidine et je ne sais plus quoi). On retourne alors attendre la bateau au bar du Tuna. La bateau arrive a l'heure et nous emme a Kuala Besut. De la un taxi nous emmene a Kota Bahru pour 40 Rm. C'est presque une heure de route. Le taxi nous offre un Klapamoda, c'est a dire un jus de noix de coco jeune, dans de la glace. Pas de risque d'intoxication alimentaire chez Killian car il refuse de gouter. Moi je n'ai ...

... yes I managed to get up.. to catch a 6am boat from Ton Sai to Ao Nang. From there I waited for a minibus to pick me up where we went to a town called Hat Yai, near the Malaysian boarder - yes its THAT boarder where all the military stuff it happening. Now that was a long trip in itself and we managed to get there around 1pm but I was lucky to meet an Australian guy who had done it a few times before so he helped me out by telling me what to do and ...