The Majestic Station Hotel Ipoh

... Victorian/Moorish building with wide open veranda areas and actually operates as a hotel. We had read several horrific stories about it (rats running across beds etc) so had not tried to stay there. However, we met a well-travelled Aussie who showed us his room which was clean and adequately furnished, opening straight onto the long gallery looking right over the surrounding park and town. This view has not changed substantially since Edwardian times and we realised ...

... the worst fisherman on the island (population 16) but quite likely one of the worst in all Malaysia! Made up for it by Kayaking around the island, in a two man Kayak with a friend. Herons fluttered by and a vast collection of lily pads with pink flowers enchanted us... it took an hour in total and was worth every minute. What an experience, which was, in the absolute literal sense, away from it all.

... so he would have been slightly sheltered from the rain, I had nothing! After 10minutes of waiting, we realised that the storm wasn't going to calm down, we could only see blue rain clouds above us for miles around. "**** it", I said, and just started walking into the rain. I was soaked head to toe, dripping wet, after 10seconds or less. It was mental. The roads started to flood towards to pavements and we had a 10-15minute walk to the nearest bus stop. I think I was more ...

... the burka clad women often appeared to be quite curious of us in a smiley friendly way. They loved for me to photograph them. We arrived in Ipoh mid afternoon with the temperature still up in the mid 30's and checked in to yet another really nice hotel.'Regalodge'. (Lordy, am I going to be doing it hard when we have to start camping!) We headed off for a walk around this very old town, the ...

... final round (only knocking down 5 pins and then getting a gutter ball on the second throw) because I was distracted by the 2 people either side who decided they'd feckin' bowl at the same time that I was! Either way, it is a score that Sam and Rob are hopefully happy with, haha! (Tom: Rich - you are soooo sad detailing the scores on the internet...!) We played some more cards and decided/planned what we were going to do for the rest of our time in Malaysia (other than ...

... and hang out here for the week as we were also inundated of requests for things to do. We bumped into Hanz heading back into town; he was staying in 100 Cintra Street with us and cycling down Malaysia so he joined us for beers in ...

When I stepped off the bus in Tanah Rata I felt a wonderful rush of cool air. In addition to wonderful hiking trails and a relaxed atmosphere, one of the appeals of the Cameron Highlands is its year-round cool weather. It never gets much above the mid-70s, even in the middle of the summer. This was a very nice change from the smoldering heat and humidity I've experienced for the last couple of months. In the evenings it was even cool enough to ...

... windows open, which have no screens, and were attacked by mosquitoes, until half way through the night I woke up, closed the windows, and killed the ones left in the room. I woke up not feeling in top form, and Soh took us to the Chinese pharmacist. Immediately he asked me about my bowels, or more correctly he asked Soh, who asked the lady behind her how to say it in English, who told me, and then it was all translated back. I was constipated. He ...

... The tea plantations were amazing to see, and we got to see pickers harvesting the traditional method (shearing) and by the mechanical method using a huge hedge trimmer thing. Our guide talked us through the process and explained how much the workers need to pick each day - 120kg which will earn them 24RM, 4 pound for a hard days work. Then ofcourse we went to the Boh Tea Estate to sample the tea. Going here reminded me of my gran, drinking tea ...