TravelStream™ news feed for member tomandcharlie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tomandcharlie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:31:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1240482420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1240482420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1240482420/tpod.html Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:31:26 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

Happy Birthday to my Mum back in England.Lots of love from Tom, Charlie, Percy and my afternoon Kindergarten 2 class xxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1213593660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1213593660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1213593660/tpod.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:35:54 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Sisophon, Cambodia

We finally, and very reluctantly left Borneo after another great couple of weeks. If anybody is thinking about going here then, in the words of Sting in the Police's gibberish classic... DO DO DO!The flight to Bangkok hit a bit of turbulence - one guy got a cup of hot tea all down his back courtesy of the woman in the seat behind him - but we arrived safe and sound in Thailand. Upon arrival we were met with some of the rudest, most surly airport staff yet; deliberately being unhelpful and at times even obstructive. The funniest part was that one of them, the lady at passport control was sitting behind a Thai tourism poster emblazoned with their famous 'Land of Smiles' slogan. The sad truth is that the smiles we've encountered during our time here have invariably been associated to money changing hands (I.e. our money into their hands), not at all like the honest, genuine and at times heartwarming smiles beamed at us in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and even Malaysia.With Charlie's big toe dressed up in its Tom & Jerry-style over-sized bandage, we set out to sort out a few bits n bobs before heading off to Cambodia. We met up again with 'Bangkok locals' Pip and Jane for a few drinks along the Khao San Road in an evening where the highlights included Jane listing her 'top ten OCDs' (she has to have 3 toothbrushes at any one time and will buy a new one each week, and came over to Thailand with 100 PAIRS of knickers - leaving 300 at home!).We also took our camera in to an internet café to make backup DVDs of all our photos so far. Unfortunately we chose the two most incompetent dumbasses in Thailand to burn the discs, and we returned from collecting our Vietnam visas to find they'd only put half the photos onto disk, had wiped two of our cards and, not content with that had also infected them both with a virus! When I asked Dumb & Dumber what they were going to do about it, they just giggled and shrugged their shoulders.After easing our frustration with some tasty sweet chilli chicken (nothing like a good bit of street food to comfort you!) we set out in search of a geek in shining armour to save us. When we walked into a camera shop and found this chap playing Civilization and eating his packed lunch we knew we'd found our man!!After a frustrating but eventful few days in which we also befriended a tramp with skin like puff pastry, we finally managed to escape the sticky glue of Bangkok and take the bus to the border. We were glad to be leaving our hostel which seemed to be staging a how-loud-can-you-slam-your-door-at-ridiculous-times-in-the-morning competition and came 'manned' by a miserable, rude and overly effeminate guy (we think!?) on reception we nicknamed 'Ray' for the little ray of sunshine he/she was.I must say Cambodia was one of the more impressive border crossings (I know that doesn't sound much of a compliment, like saying "well he's one of the funnier Germans I've met" but it is meant as praise, honest) with a fantastic granite and gold gateway welcoming you into their Kingdom. The 'no man's land' between the two borders saw a cluster of casinos and as we entered Cambodia memories of India came flooding back as the dusty dirt-track roads came alive with ox-drawn carts, and cars and trucks that looked like they'd been made in an old warehouse by the A-team using only a ball of string and a crate of empty Orangina bottles. Street kids dressed in fake Man Utd shirts covered in dirt and god-knows-what-else buzzed around and smiled and waved whilst in the air the smell of charcoal and barbecued food fused with exhaust fumes and sickly sweet rubbish hit the nostrils like a jackhammer. Aah bliss!Everybody else seemed to be heading straight to Siem Reap and it was much to the confusion and bemusement of the guy at the bus stand when we asked for tickets to Sisophon, a smaller town on the road to Siem Reap. The guy tried to convince us that Sisophon was quiet, no travelers went there and it isn't a tourist spot, whilst we tried to convince him that's exactly why we wanted to stop there. Eventually and reluctantly he gave in and we were on our way along the bumpy pothole-ridden dirt road. The reason for coming to Sisophon was to visit Banteay Chhmar, a small derelict temple that is largely overlooked in favour of the more renowned Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, and we almost had to promise the guy we would be visiting the Angkors eventually before we could board the bus!The scenery in Cambodia is unspectacular but very pleasant, its roadsides littered with lily ponds and small farms and the air is filled with hundreds of butterflies. Its lush, green and very flat land is reminiscent of parts of England in some areas which was a strange feeling... luckily there are enough mopeds carrying basket loads of live pigs, and tractor engines towing carts overloaded with people, bikes and chickens to remind you you're still in Asia. The roads could also pass as a real-life car advert as seemingly everyone drives a Toyota Camry. It's not just the car in front; it's the car behind you, the car next to you; the car with 8 people in the back; the car with the guy riding on the bonnet; the car with 2 tonnes of luggage piled up on the roof...We arrived in Sisophon and, true to the bus guy's words, found we were the only Westerners in sight. The locals seemed happy to see us, particularly the girl in our hotel who looked overjoyed to have us staying with her. The next morning, word had obviously travelled pretty fast along the Sisophon grapevine, as we awoke to find a veritable army of motorbike and taxi drivers camped outside the front gates, waiting to pounce on their new prey. And so the auctioning war began...Finally, after a prolonged and sometimes heated discussion that lasted almost an hour, it was decided that we could get to Banteay Chhmar by car (despite the motorbike guys telling us the road was too dangerous and only accessible by bike) and Gom, a very smiley man with a funny little giggle was going to take us. The thing is, we took almost no part in this great debate at all and instead just stood back and watched these guys argue amongst themselves until the hotel owner got fed up with a front room full of angry taxi drivers and kicked us all out.It isn't too far a drive to the temple grounds - only 60 kilograms according to Gom!? - but the roads heading up that way are terrible, worse than those from the border and this meant for a VERY bumpy ride as we were tossed around in Gom's car (Toyota Camry of course) as he bounced in and out of puddles, ditches and craters. Amazingly Charlie actually nodded off at one point, dozing silently as her head rolled and rocked around on the back seat. Around us Mad Max-style lawnmower engines strapped to chopper forks drove along trailers loaded up with anything and everything, while locals on pushbikes hitched a lift by holding on to the back.We finally reached the front entrance where the gateman got himself into 'official mode' by getting out of his hammock, putting on a fancy cap and asking us to write our names down on his clipboard.Banteay Chhmar is a huge great area of temple ruins, large areas of which have been destroyed throughout the years by invading armies and more recently the Khmer Rouge. It has been partially restored in places but is largely untouched and has been left to nature which makes for a great place to explore and you work your way through, round and over the piles of rubble, scattered stones and knee-high grass, discovering beautiful carvings and stonework amongst the snakes, spiders, butterflies, bugs and lizards. It's a very peaceful and desolate place - our friend on the gatehouse had only 8 people signed in on his clipboard in the past 3 and a half weeks - which really gave us a great taster of the Angkor temples in Siem Reap to come.Banteay Chhmar's slightly less illustrious little brother is Banteay Torp, a very small section of temple ruins that are barely accessible - the only route linking it to the road is a very narrow and deep-rutted dirt path used by a farmer. It proved to be a little disappointing after Chhmar, but we didn't dare tell Gom that after his Camry took one whole of a beating getting there. Never mind, there'll be no shortage of spare parts knocking about round here...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212904380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212904380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212904380/tpod.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:55:29 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

We loved Kota Kinabula, especially the general vibe of the place and the friendly locals, and this showed by the amount of times we ended up there (4 in total!) during our time in Sabah.With all its hidden treasures and plentiful markets (as well as all the mobile phone shops you could wish for!?) you could easily waste the day walking around looking at stuff that you didn't need to buy and then buying it. The sunsets here were also some of the best we've seen, really golden and we always made sure to go down to the harbour front to catch it setting everyday.On our first flight into KK from Bali we were welcomed with Korean couples all dressed in matching clothes - very odd! We have seen this before in Australia with the Romeo and Juliet lovers but never queues of couples all dressed the same as their partner, right down to the same shoes and make of clothing!A real treat was the wet market which we came across on our first day in the city. We don't think may tourists go here as the locals were dumbfounded and watched us walk all around the slippery, smelly stalls, calling out to us and asking our names as we did so. One local took a complete shining to Tom and kept on shaking his hand (eew slimey fish hands - I refused to hold them until he washed!). As we've found in most of the parts of Asia the locals love to chat with you but their conversation can be a little limited as to what they understand. Tom can always have a longer conversation with the men than me as he just talks about football - they just go through naming random footballers although we've still not met anyone who has actually heard of Jason Chewins!At night the area next to the wet market turned into a seafood bbq market for the locals to go for dinner. They offered a wide range of seafood including plate-sized tiger prawns, sting rays, squid and lots of other fish which Tom felt the need to try as much of as he could!Dave and Jen were due to arrive on our second day and after consulting the map we decided to go and meet them at the airport, and to save a little money we thought it would be a good idea to walk there - big mistake! The map was all out of proportion and what looked like a 30-45 minute walk went well into 2 hours! We were talking to locals on the way who would ask us where we were going (as we walked along the motorway!). When we told them they would all look in surprise and say "wow, airport... long long way!" Yes, we know that now!We celebrated Dave's '30 something' birthday with a trip to the Mamutik Island which is well-known for snorkelling and, since he received a snorkel set as a present it seemed perfect! Jen also has an waterproof camera which she hadn't yet put to the test. Ooh I was so excited - underwater photography...The reef life at Mamutik was good and I spent nearly the whole time in the water, as Jen let me have a go with her camera so you find yourself following fish around trying to get a great photo, and now I really want one! There were a lot of clown fish (Nemo) here but they don't like to stay still so getting a photo was a little tricky, there were also lots of other very colourful fish, too many to name!Eventually we had to leave the island as a thunderstorm was heading our way and we still had a 20 minute boat ride to get back - didn't fancy this much in the storm! Although this did mean that the only thing left to do when we got back was celebrate Dave's birthday with beer, beer and more beer (and curry)!The Gaya Sunday Market was another highlight of this already charming city, with its normal handicraft stalls mixing together cats and dogs in the smallest of cages, fish being sold in plastic bags (just like the funfairs!), water-starved terrapins, 'holy stalls' selling religious tack and then of course the odd little man selling some sort of liquid in an unmarked bottle! (he was surprisely popular!)After our whirlwind trip to Brunei we came back to KK during the Harvest Festival - we both expected to have to go to the shop and buy some tinned tomatoes or a can of spam but things were done a little differently here!The harvest festival was held in a field with lots of girls dressed in beautiful costumes ready to perform a dance for all the waiting locals (and a few tourists). After waiting for the music to finally begin which took about an hour to start the girls danced for about 10 minutes! A rehearsal was needed one thinks, although the dancing was lovely and the girls were so excited - so it worth it in the end (And Tom and Dave were happy - number 1 spot in the 'National Hotties' list confirmed apparently!).When we returned from the mountain we decided that a celebratory drink was in order so off the boys went down the shop and came back with 'Mountain Pop'. On the label it stated that this drink was 'fizzy carbonated alcohol'... it tasted like caramel in a bad way and had the most disgusting after taste - basically it was harder to finish than the mountain itself! Our final night in Kota Kinabula also saw us meet up with Kate and Darren for the last time :( we had some farewell drinks and said our last goodbyes, this became a little emotional on Kate's part (the big wuss!). Oh bless her - it was lovely to meet and travel with them and I'm sure we will all meet up again one day soon.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212732720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212732720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212732720/tpod.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:50:53 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia

After the magical marine life of Mabul and Sipadan we headed back across to Semporna for the night and were delighted to find that the fair was in town. We headed off with dreams of candy floss, 'scream if you wanna go faster' rides and freak shows giving us bearded ladies and wrestling midgets... what we found made Manor Park look like Disneyland: a couple of very old and very tired rides, a few tombola's and not a single pikey in sight.Next morning we took the early bus that smelt of Play Doh and headed up to Sandakan on the East Coast of Sabah. Once again Borneo treated us to some fantastic scenery - this really is a stunningly picturesque part of the world whether you're trekking, snorkeling, climbing or just sat in a bus. It's so green and clean you feel yourself mesmerized by the landscape and its fantastic ability to constantly change. As we approached Sandakan the natural beauty was blighted somewhat by the very tacky large plastic animal figures on the roundabouts - I imagine an enormous smiling crocodile in a baseball cap pointing you in the right direction does come in handy but surely a nice blue sign would suffice.We only had a couple of days in Sandakan and, after finding that all accommodation on Turtle Island was booked out we made our way to Rose B&B upon the recommendation of the lovely lady at the Turtle Island booking office. When we arrived we were greeted with 'Auntie', a very exciteable Filipino lady with a fantastic witch's cackle laugh and the ability to talk even more than Charlie!! Upon hearing of Charlie's sore toes and my recovering ankle, she ordered us to rest up and let her look after us and, after a fantastic but very tiring few weeks we were in no mood to argue.The following morning we awoke to find the table in the reception fully laid, and the second she heard we were awake Auntie sprang into action, preparing us fresh fruit, a cooked breakfast and laying on endless tea and toast. Charlie mentioned that she liked the peanut butter and chocolate spread... so she went out and bought us a jar (she got the wrong jar and bought us strawberry jam, but it was still lovely of her)!After a day of being force-fed an entire loaf of bread we made our way down to the bus station to head back to KK one last time. There we met Jen and Dave, who had decided to take a trip down to the orang utan sanctuary. We'd given it a miss after seeing the orange ones in Sarawak and wild in Bukit Lawang but were soon made to regret our decision as Dave ran us through his up close and personal photographs of the very 'adult' show the male and female orang utans had put on for the visitors...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212559740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212559740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212559740/tpod.html Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:16:41 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Pulau Mabul, Malaysia

After the climb we (Tom, Dave, Jen and I) had a week left before our flights to Bangkok so we all decided that a beach was needed. We headed for the Semporna area which is well know for its excellent reef life and dive sites. We travelled over to a Island called Mabul which is inhabitted with floating villages and longboat houses, the community we walked through to get to our homestay accommodation was very basic and traditional, the locals were extremely friendly and ran out of their wooden homes to say hello to us.After a flash storm Jen and I decided to snorkel off of the main jetty in search of turtles, which are supposed to be everywhere around this area. The current was extremely strong - or was it that my legs were still so sore from that climb?! We got in the water to discover a beautiful coral garden - pink, blue and purple with lots of colourful fish and Jen even saw seahorses! As the current swept us back to the jetty I was lucky enough to see a blue spotted stingray. He was very beautiful and it wasn't until after I'd been following him around and probably pissing him off, that I was told he was actually dangerous!!That night the general hype and main talk between everyone at our homestay was about an island called Sipadan - apparently one of the best dive sites in the world! ooo! We saw some photos that another traveller had taken there and all of us instantly wanted a piece of the action. It turns out that Sipadan is so good and so well protected that only 120 people are allowed permits to go there each day and to top this off there is also a one month waiting list - boo! The only way to get around this is to talk to the locals and get them to pull a few strings so that's exactly what we did...Sipadan Island is highly protected by patrolling armed military guards that can request to see your permit at any time - at gun point! As well as the army the island also has a Malaysian Navy war ship constantly monitoring it, warning off fishermen, huntsmen and Filipino pirates that have in the past been known to kidnap tourists for ransom! The next day started early and I ran into the bedroom shouting at Tom to wake up - he was not amused, but when he realised that I was waking him for the big turtles that had decided to join us for breakfast he came round very quickly! The turtles were swimming around our jetty, bopping up for air and the water was so clear you could see all of them!The rest of us (Dave, Jen, Natania and I) left Tom with the turtles and to rest his slightly swollen foot as we made our way to Sipadan...The first site was called Mid Reef and we all got in the water at the 600 metre drop off at little nervous as we'd been told that hammerhead sharks had been spotted here a couple of times! We buddied up Jen and Dave, Natania and I for safety and its alsways better snorkelling with a partner. The fish were all very colourful and the coral was very good, but all I really wanted to see was a turtle. The moment I saw my first turtle I was so so happy I even started to well up in my mask, they are just so beautiful and glid through the water really gracefully - I have been waiting a long time to see one and I couldn't of been happier.The second site - Barracuda Point - was my personal favourite of the 3 we went too. We jumped off the boat and as you put your head under the water it was like the opening scene from 'Finding Nemo' the water was now clearer and the visablity was amazing. We saw so much at this site and there were so many turtles I simply lost lost count, everywhere you turned you could see them either gliding through the water, coming up for air or sleeping on the surface. I never realised that I had a love for these magnificint creatures until now, each one I saw stilled wowed me. It was then we saw the first shark of the day just cruising past, a little scary to begin with but we soon realised they were all harmless enough, even the ones that swam at us! Natania and I perfected talking to each other under water and we could swim along chatting about what we were seeing. The drop off was a little daunting so we spent most of the time in the water holding hands! It was so much fun swimming alongside the turtles and I really don't think I would of done this if i'd been on my own, sometimes they were so close just an arms reach away.Already feeling like the little mermaid and we still had one more site to do - Coral Garden.This site really lived up to its name, the coral here was absoulety fantastic with lots and lots of colourful fish to look at. Sharks were everywhere at this site (white tip reef sharks) we began to get use to them until we saw the biggest one, nearly 2 metres this was scary - didn't follow him!We came back from the Island and met up with Tom who'd been on a tea drinking, pus removing (see photo!) mission all day, he didn't need to ask me if I'd seen turtles apparently my smile said it all.........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212213960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212213960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1212213960/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:53:20 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

So after the ' Brunei Blitz' we set off the very next day to tackle Mount Kinabalu , the highest peak in South-East Asia - no time to rest or chicken out! The photos from on and around the summit as well as the climb up there and back speak for themselves so I'll try not to blab on too much, especially as Charlie keeps telling me off for that and Jo accused me of being poetic and drunk in the Brunei blog!! We started nice and early and I think the bus ride to the park got us all excited about the climb as we meandered through the beautiful forested mountain scenery of Sabah . It was similar in parts to the Nepali countryside we'd fallen in love with as the landscape was littered with villages set deep in the valleys, houses, farms and shacks overhanging on the hillside and fluffy white clouds suspended in mid-air. It was a great way to relax before the climb, although the ticket man on the bus obviously found it too relaxing as he nodded off and forgot to tell the driver where we were getting off. A 1km walk back up the road was an unwelcome warm-up. At the park, we signed our lives away on the insurance forms and in return received glossy, laminated mountain passes with our names on them... deal! So, armed with a packed lunch and a few 'energy snacks' (i.e. sweeties) the climb began as we passed through Timpohon Gate, the start point at an altitude of just over 1,800m. Mountain ground squirrels darted around us between the bright colourful flowers and thick vegetation as we made our way up the trail. After a kilometre or two it was obvious our pace was quite a bit slower than that of seasoned mountaineers Jen and Dave, so they decided to plough on ahead whilst we ambled behind - no problem, more sweeties for us! As we entered the cloud layer there was an eerie lack of scenery behind the tree layer, and the visibility was really poor as a thick grey mist washed over us. As the thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled all around we began to meet some climbers on their way down, and the contrast in their clothing and equipment kept us amused as they ranged from the ultra-prepared in brand new Millet's trousers, trekking boots, walking sticks and body-warmers, to some old fellas in Hush Puppies! Made us feel better about our beach shorts and sandals anyway... Throughout the climb, porters came jogging/running past us with huge great rucksacks, bags and even gas canisters strapped to their front, back and head. After 6km of land covered, 1,400m of altitude climbed, 7 long hours, a few downpours and (amazingly) no arguments we managed to reach our accommodation for the night. Charlie's '50 steps then stop for a breather' snail's pace and growing dislike for everything and everyone as we got higher wasn't the greatest motivation, but with the help of a lot of through-clenched-teeth 'you're doing well honey, just keep going' we reached the Laban Rata huts at a height of 3,200m.The temperature had dropped to about 5 degrees above freezing as we rolled in to the cheers of Jen and Dave and sat down for a well-earned curry and some steaming hot tea. Despite hitting the sack nice and early and piling up the blankets on the bed we managed to get next to no sleep - the idiots in the hostel shouting, singing and walking around on the wooden floors in hiking boots didn't help! - before our 2am start the following morning to tackle the last part of the ascent: to reach the top at Low's Peak and watch the sun rise over Borneo. It all started well as our happy little group made its way up the slippery wooden steps and ropewalks, following the trail of torch lights which was winding its way up the mountainside above and below us. Some of the walks/climbs were pretty frightening as you clung on to a worn-out old piece of rope and shimmied your way along a strip of granite overlooking a sheer drop of hundreds of metres. Half a kilometre in to the climb and Charlie's sandal straps snapped as she slipped down a rock. I did my best to tie it up to her foot with my bandana but it kept slipping off and slowed us down even more. The other climbers passed us as we stopped every few hundred metres to tighten it up and it wasn't long before we were way behind everyone else. We carried on regardless and emerged from the cloud layer and above the last bits of vegetation and were able to spot the shooting stars amongst the constellations in the crystal clear, twinkling sky above us. The moon was beginning to rise above Tunku Abdul Rahman Peak (AKA 'The Face') to our right as we reached the huge open face at the foot of the highest peaks. The Donkey Ears were also perfectly clear and as the moon continued to rise the sky began to turn a brilliant blue as sunrise approached. Behind us, and beyond the 3 main peaks a burnt orange sun emerging from behind grey clouds revealed a thick soft purple/blue blanket of cloud below us. It was a spectacular sight and a very special moment, made even better by the fact that everybody else had gone on ahead. We might not have been able to reach Low's Peak in time but we did sit ourselves down and watch this amazing spectacle together with nobody else around. The thought of serenading Charlie with 'Just the Two of us' ran through my mind but I was worried my killer dance moves would be too much on the slippery rockface and I'd go tumbling back down for an early breakfast. As the sun broke St John's Peak and Low's Peak were bathed in light and the South Peak looked awesome behind us with a backdrop of soft white clouds breaking over Sabah . Unfortunately the broken sandal, sore and slightly ingrown toenails and thinning air finally took its toll on Charlie as she reached her limit at the foot of Low's Peak. She was disappointed in herself for not reaching the top but I think she did fantastic to cover 8 and a half km and reach a height of almost 4,000m in such a short time and I was very proud of her (despite her whinging!!), and also very happy that we'd done it all together. She sat down for a well-earned rest and some peanut brittle whilst I clambered my way up the final few hundred metres to the top. The views were stunning and it was a fantastic feeling watching the clouds clearing as I hung on for dear life, teetering over the edge with only a flimsy little fence holding me back. Once I'd done my bit as 'token Westerner left at the top' and posed for enough peace sign photos with the Asian climbers around me it was time to head back down and face up to the prospect of getting back to the bottom. I think it's known as 'Chesney Hawkes Syndrome': you're still reeling from the heady heights and have hardly had the chance to take it all in when before you know it you're sinking back to where you came from (although in our case it was flat ground and thicker air, not stacking shelves at Tesco!) On our way down the clouds continued to break, unveiling some breathtaking scenery although tiredness really did begin to kick in during the last 2 kilometres or so. We worked out that, of the 28 hours from us passing in through Timpohon Gate at the start of the climb, to when we passed back through at the finish, 19 and a half were spent walking. We were also given THE worst mountain guide: everybody undertaking the climb is assigned a guide for safety reasons. Ours turned out to be an arrogant, immature little prat who spent the time he bothered to walk with us demeaning Charlie and doing his best to deter us from carrying on, even telling us that the last part of the climb up Low's Peak wasn't possible as we were too late and Charlie wouldn't be able to do it anyway. Add to that Charlie's broken sandal and sore toenails and the fact that I'd only been walking properly for about a week after the scorpion sting ordeal and I don't think we did too bad!Unfortunately Percy wasn't able to join us on the final part of the climb - he had a bit of altitude sickness from the first day and so stayed in bed with a nice bit of pussy he found...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1208944740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1208944740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1208944740/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:37:01 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Georgetown, Pinang, Malaysia

So all the time spent of beaches in Thailand gave us plenty of time to think about our trip so far, and all the places we wanted to re-visit. To hell with the itenarary, we decided that it was time we started forgetting about 'where we should be and when' dictated by pre-booked flights and just wanted to go as we wished, even if it meant going back on ourselves... a lot!We found ourselves back in Penang en route to North Sumatra, a place we really enjoyed during our 24-hour flying visit a couple of months before, which gave us the magnificent Kek Lok Si temple, fantastic tandoori and our friendly hammer-wielding mechanic friend by the roadside! The plan was to just spend another couple of days, relaxing in the very quaint backstreets of Georgetown as we stuffed our faces with tandoori. Mission accomplished on both fronts but unfortunately a bout of illness for both Charlie and Kate in the first few days meant we stayed a little longer than we'd hoped, making sure the girls were fit and raring to go for jungle trekking in Sumatra. Once they were patched up and hot to trot we went out for our 'final dinner' with another trip to the tandoori house. It was only as we talked about taking the boat the next morning that we realized we'd all forgotten to change up some US Dollars for the Indonesian Visa. We were too late to get to any money changers so we were faced with another day's delay and one more day in Georgetown, perusing the 'dead man shops' (filled with old jewellery, furniture and personal letters which were clearly picked up in house clearances of the local deceased), dodging the short-sighted old men on pushbikes (who think that ringing their bell loud enough and often enough makes up for the fact they can't see more than 5 feet in front of them) and avoiding the transvestites, hookers and transvestite hookers walking the streets at night.The next day we changed up our money, got ourselves sorted and went to book the boat tickets... only to be told that the ferry doesn't run on a Friday. Another 2 days in Penang was forced upon us, so we took the 'get drunk one day, recover the next' option, one which has served us well in the past!That night our efforts were rewarded with quite possibly the most bizarre live music I've ever seen. A Malaysian guy in full 'John Wayne-style' cowboy gear sat on a stool with the mike at waist level, forcing him to bend over double as he talked and sang with a terrible Mexican accent and attempted to play freestyle jazz/blues guitar. The drummer tried to keep up but looked as confused as the rest of us at times, and the songs were awful: through the drone we managed to make out 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash, 'Rhinestone Cowboy' by Glen Campbell and bizarrely 'Imagine' by John Lennon which was THE worst cover of any song I've ever heard. Ever.Our time in Penang also afforded us the luxury of a stay in the 75 Traveller's Lodge: a very strange little place which seemed to serve as a calling beacon for all lonely souls, the misunderstood and the 'out there', social lepers and downright mentalists! The place was run by a highly exciteable and infectious Chinese-Malaysian guy called Loh who leapt up, flashing you a wide toothless brown-gummed grin and positively bounced around you every time you came through the front door. His enthusiasm for and knowledge of English football was incredible (he vowed to keep an eye out for the Shots in the future after getting an entire run-down of our 16-year history!) although he seemed to have a general enthusiasm for everything and anything, from his 'open sesame!' EVERY time a door, drawer or book was opened to his fits of uncontrollable laughter pretty much every time anything was said.The other guests there seemed to have to pass some kind of 'weirdo test' before checking in and the cast of 'Hostel of the Damned' was as follows:- An Aussie guy in his late twenties who wore the same red shirt and green trousers the entire 6 days he stayed there. We even found out from a girl who stayed in the same dorm as him that he slept in his little elf costume too. He spent his days sat on the sofa in the hostel reception, reading the newspaper and complaining he had no money.- A thin, very weedy and slightly psychotic-looking German in his 50s who would also spend much of his day on said sofa, preaching the beneifts of tantric yoga, and educating anybody who would listen (and keep a straight face) on the importance of 'self-pleasuring' as a means of practice before attempting to pleasure the opposite sex. His message was clear: 'if you can't sort yourself out, don't even think about trying to sort her/him out'...- A camp, whiney and heavily-tattooed Canadian who has been travelling for 20+ years and made it his mission to tell everybody and anybody every SINGLE travel anecdote he'd picked up along the way, most of which were about as funny as a Lenny Henry sketch.- An English guy in his 70s who hasn't been home for over 40 years and spent his days very slowly shuffling around the hostel with his zimmer frame, dressed in a '1940s PE kit' of white vest, baggy white shorts pulled up around his chest and a white Tetley Tea-style flat cap.- A straggly-haired middle-aged guy who only ever seemed to wear a towel or an unbuttoned shirt and shorts and spent his days and nights sat in his room playing the guitar very badly and wailing along.- And last but not least, Gareth - the pastey-white Irish 'Full Moon tag-along' from Thailand whose social skills made John McRirick look like a silver-tongued charmer - after listening to the guy from the guest house in Koh Phangan explain how he ran the business along with his mother and brothers and sisters, Gareth took a few seconds to contemplate before asking, "so is your Father dead then?" He followed this up in Penang one morning by listening to a few people exchanging travel stories and the usual 'where do you come from/how long have you been away?' questions before cutting in to ask if anybody knew if there was good wind-surfing in the area. VERY strange indeed!This motely crew decided to adopt the small balcony area outside the toilets/showers on the first floor as a general meeting area - you'd amble down for a pee and find any number of them drinking tea, practicing yoga, sleeping on the floor, discussing preferred 'self-pleasuring' techniques and on one occassion doing headstand push-ups against the wall. Needless to say the people-watching was a particular highlight during our time here...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1209467340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1209467340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1209467340/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:55:49 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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In the jungle!, Sumatra, Indonesia

We decided to come back down to Indonesia with Kate and Darren in search of the wild orangutans and to see Lake Toba. We had been told many good things about the lake last time we were in Bukittinggi but the 18+ hours bus journey complete with sick bags to get there put us off. There are only 3 areas left in the world where wild orangutans can still be found and in North Sumatra it is estimated that there are just 2000 left in that region. Bukit Lawang is a very cute little village right on the river, the locals enjoy tubing downstream and chilling out on the banks.We stayed in a massive lodge with enough room inside for 10 people, the only downfall being we did have to share - it just happened to be with a family of hungry, noisy rats!The plan was to go jungle trekking to find monkeys and orangutans. We thought that a days drinking by the river first would prepare us nicely.... the weather obviously agreed as it chucked down with rain the whole of the next day - perfect pub weather!! Also Kate cut my hair for something to do...That night we went to a little cafe for dinner, we placed our orders and the waitress went away happy enough then came back 5 minutes later looking a little distressed to tell us there was a problem."I'm sorry we don't have enough chicken for 3, because the cat come in kitchen and jump up and take chicken, now only chicken for 2". Poor Kate had to make do with vegetable noodles again!! The next day we set off on our trek with Percy, Kate, Darren and our guides Amar and Amre.My first big task for the day was the bloody big bridge that took you over from the main village to the jungle side: I spent the whole time to the bridge feeling sick but to mine and everyone else's surprise I was relatively quick going across (Kate and Darren had relaxed for fags breaks at the other end - after seeing my bridge efforts in Nepal they were probably expecting to be there for a while - but they hadn't even finished by the time speedy me got to them!). We walked through the village rainforest with its rubber plantations, chocolate pods and many fruit trees.We entered into Gunung Leuser the 8000km2 national park and straight away the Thomas-Leaf monkeys came across to greet us. These monkeys are so, so cool with punk hair cuts and huge eyes. Amar took out a banana and drew the monkeys closer to us, although obviously these monkeys are wild so we only were able to give one banana so that they won't become dependent on free food. The monkeys came so close they were eating the banana from the top of our heads - not mine though I was far too scared!!After a hour of walking through the jungle we saw a mummy orangutan with a little 3 month old baby who came so close up to us it was truely amazing.We watched them for quite a while and were able to see the mummy teaching the baby climbing skills which was excellent - another orangutan came over to see what was going on and proceeded to pose for us and even spoke with Amar (this orangutan we were told was not as wild as the others and had spent a lot of his time in the rehabilitation centre also connected to the park, so therefore he was more used to humans).Another wilder orangutan came over but he was alot shier than the others and only the boys got to see a glimpse of him. On our way through the jungle we saw many different types of plant life, vegetation and wild life, including; Huge fungi the size of dinner plates, Chameleon, a pair of love struck rather randy ladybirds! anti-Malaria trees and the biggest tree in the world!Our first break we stopped for some fruit and 5 minutes in Amar spotted another orangutan in the trees a little distance away, we were all trying to be quiet in the hope that she'd get closer as we didn't want to scare her off - we needn't have bothered though as within seconds she had leapt through the trees and came crashing down towards us. Amar told us rather hastily to grab our bags and move, we all did so as Amre ran off in the opposite direction to cause a diversion. I was unaware of the potential enormity of the situation, until Tom pushed me and told me that I needed to run - I was too busy trying to get the camera out for some good close ups! As we looked back down the path and saw a huge 300lb orangutan striding towards us I soon realised what was going on and my pace picked up somewhat. We were all still holding mangos so naturally I threw mine back down the path to distract her, Tom did the same, but Kate was obviously still a little hungry after the cat ate her chicken and ran along eating hers!! We found out once we could take a rest that the orangutan is called Mina and she'd just had a baby, so the need to feed and protect her 1 month old, meant she made it very clear that vistors were not welcome. She also is notorious in pretty much the whole of Sumatra for her bad temper and every one of the guides we'd met had a Mina scar. After lunch by a waterfall, there was a massive downpour which meant the rest of our trek up and down the hillsides through the jungle was considerably harder as the rain made a mud bath of the floor - it was like Fun House obstacle course but without the go-carts! A few more hours of trekking and we arrived at camp greeted with hot tea and cold river washes! Tom had a case of burning balls which was to the amusement of the whole camp as he cooled them off with his river soaked bandana.That night we settled down for the evening drinking Whisky and watching the fireflies dart about over the river.We slept in open tents with only a sheet of tarpaulin between us and the rocks (it still wasn't the most uncomfortable bed on this trip!). I was a little worried about snakes and giant spiders and thought that i'd never be able to sleep - Tom of course was asleep within minutes, typical!We woke in the morning freezing cold and wet through from the moisture in the air and Kate complained there was something wrong with her head and asked me to look at it for her - I dismissed it as bugs and even the boys said it looked like clay or mud. It was only when Amar came over and gasped that we realised it was a leech that had sucked on her brain blood in the night and her hair was matted by blood clots!! Back in the tent her sheets and pillow were covered in blood and when taking the tent down this little bad boy turned up....That day the trek was a lot harder, up and down very steep jungle but unfortunately we saw less and our search for the gibbons failed, which was a little disappointing but 6 orangutans on the first day more than made up for it. The camp was again by a river which was home to lots of monitor lizards and long-tail macques which enjoyed stealing our food! The shower was a waterfall and the toilet again just a bush.The next day we rafted back down the river on giant inflatable tubes through the rapids back for a few well earnt Bintangs and guitar jamming!(to the tune of jingle bells!)'Jungle trek, Jungle trek in Bukit Lawang, see the monkeys, see the birds, see orangutan ooo ooo ooo!! 'xxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211959140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211959140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211959140/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:20:54 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

With accommodation on the mounatin unavailable for a few days we had some time to kill in Kota Kinabalu so decided on an impromptu 2-day trip to Brunei - it's close by, it's one of the world's smallest and richest countries and Charlie had seen a Brunei bank note in Penang which she really liked... seemed good enough reasons to us to pay it a visit, and to drag Dave and Jen along with us!We took the early ferry from KK and as we pulled out of port a magnificent sight appeared behind us: above the Sabah coastline and emerging from the morning mist was Mount Kinabalu in all its glory. It was an awe-inspiring sight as this majestic and domineering presence towered over Borneo like a great protector. The wispy white clouds seemed to wrap themselves around to form a protective cotton wool blanket - maybe somebody was keeping her safe until our return.It's just a shame this beautiful moment was ruined by one of the boat staff chucking a couple of plastic bags full of rubbish off the back of the boat once we've left the Marine National Park area...We took the bus into the capital Bandar Seri Begawan (or BSB for the sake of airports and lazy blog-writers) which gave us a chance to catch our first glimpses of Brunei, and we weren't disappointed: absolutely stunning buildings and architecture, both modern and traditional lined the roads whilst grand mansions and stately homes sat side by side with beaten-up, rusty shacks surrounded by scrap metal. The people seemed friendly and there was a very relaxed feel about the place - not at all what we'd expected after hearing stories of the strict and deeply-Muslim way of life that is supposedly forced upon the people by the Sultan.Having arrived in BSB we checked into a cheap (well, cheap by Brunei standards!) room and the four of us immediately set out on our whirlwind, see-as-much-as-we-can-in-just-under-24-hours trip!First port of call was Kampung Ayer, reputed to be the world's largest water village with over 30,000 people living in stilted houses on the Brunei River estuary. We hired out a boat taxi with our trusty guide Sopi, who assured us his licence was clean... BOOM BOOM! The village is a fantastic place - very quaint and basic but also home to an unbelievably developed and advanced infrastructure: there are whole communities set up on these floating wooden buildings, from police and fire stations to schools, shops, restaurants, mosques and even a football stadium, with a complete network of paths and walkways linking them all together.As we made our way around the village we were also treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets we've seen to date, as the sky above the Sultan's palace melted into a stunning mixture of blue sky and soft white clouds, topped with a golden coffee-coloured blanket. At the same time the sky behind us was a brilliant pink above the village whilst the water rippled with the reflection of all of these colours.Next stop was the Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, considered to be one of the most spectacular mosques in Asia and again it didn't disappoint. Unfortunately there was some renovation work being carried out so some scaffolding was up around the large golden dome but it was still a beautiful sight, lit up green and gold with the moat around it acting as a reflection pool.From here we headed to the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque (trying saying that after a few too many rums!) which is one of the grandest and most expensive mosques in the world, paid for entirely out of the Sultan's very deep pocket. The domes and minarets are all made from 24-carat gold whilst inside is decorated with Austrian Swarovski crystal chandeliers, Italian marble and English stained glass windows. The Royal entrance even boasts a SOLID GOLD escalator!? It was a mightily impressive sight.We fuelled ourselves up with some yummy 1 dollar food at the night market before continuing the 'blitz' with one last stop that night at Istana Nural Iman, the palace over which we'd earlier seen the sun setting, which just so happens to be the largest residential palace in the world with 1,788 rooms (I've just realised this blog is starting to go a bit statistics-crazy, sorry!). The grounds around the palace were immense and we had a wander around whilst the Sultan sat inside with his feet up enjoying a chicken pie and chips and a re-run of Eastenders... at least that's what we'd like to believe. Again, the sky wanted to take centre stage and followed up the golden sunset with a lightning storm above the dome of the palace, illuminating the entire sky and the palace below. Hopefully it didn't affect the Sultan's TV signal...The next morning we awoke early and set out of the final leg of our 'Brunei Blitz' with a trip to the Tamu Kianggeh morning market, where we gorged ourselves on some pretty damn tasty food and wrote the last of our 'we were here but not for long' postcards. We also paid a trip to the bank to see if this mythical square bank note that Charlie swears she saw in a money changer actually existed (it doesn't, and never has!) before heading off back over the border to Malaysian Borneo. On our way back we were given a special mention as the captain extended a 'very warm welcome to the English passengers we have on board today'. How can we go back to the anonymity of life back home when we're getting the celebrity treatment on a daily basis out here?!Q. Who is the richest piece of dried fruit in the world?A.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211088840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211088840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomandcharlie/a_year_with.../1211088840/tpod.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:04:51 -0400 Quitting our jobs and leaving our flat. Off for a year (or more) and that is that...

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Legian, Bali, Indonesia

WARNING: The following blog is medical and, in some parts, pretty disgusting and/or factual (i.e. boring!). Please do not read if you are sitting down for your morning cornflakes - kill a few minutes on Facebook and come back later. Believe me, when you see the pictures you'll thank me!After our jungle adventures with the orang utans and a spot of relaxing on Lake Toba, we left Sumatra for Bali in search of a generous helping of good beaches, sprinkled with a shaking of culture flakes and topped off with a nice nightlife wafer. Unfortunately our 'ice cream sundae' dreams were left out in the sun to melt, licked by a rabid dog and trampled on by a big-footed drunken oaf!I'd picked up a sting during the first day of our Jungle trek (see the part about 'burning balls' in Charlie's blog!) which at first looked a little nasty but nothing to worry about. Over the next few days it got steadily worse and by the time we came to leave Lake Toba the sting itself had grown bigger and the area around it had become puffy and sore. The morning we left Medan for Bali, my entire foot was red and very puffy and the sting was now a protruding purple bullet! We attempted to reduce the pain in the waiting area at Medan airport by holding a state-of-the-art, Harley Street-approved 'KFC ice pack' - a few ice cubes and a dribble of Coke left over from Darren's Zinger meal in a plastic bag - on the ankle, which lead to a few girly yelps from me, much to the amusement of the locals. It was nice to see them react to something at last - the fire alarm which had been ringing for the past five minutes had gotten no more than a few sighs and caused one guy to move seats away from the noise!After arriving at stupid o'clock in the morning in Bali we got straight to bed, but the next morning it was obvious that not even Charlie's tried and tested 'antiseptic cream: the answer to everything!' could sort this - my foot was so swollen I could barely move my toes. The guy from our guest house called for a doctor and soon enough the very swish all-singing, all-dancing 'mobile clinic/Batmobile' turned up. The lovely young doctor took a look and diagnosed a scorpion sting! Now THAT'S a tropical travelling injury - all them crappy worms/parasites in my back... ha, you can get them anywhere! She then told us that we didn't need to go to her surgery - she would be removing the sting there and then on the porch, the crazy cow! After digging out the sting and filling quite a few gauzes in blood and stinky discharge, she cleaned up and flew away in Thunderbird 1 (OK, so it wasn't that swish but it did have a fluorescent green stripe down the side!), leaving me with a course of antibiotics, some fancy looking anti-inflammatory cream and an obscene medical bill (about time we used that insurance!).The next morning I awoke at 6am to a sneezing fit, with my hands all puffy and a 'parasite ghost town' on my back, where all of the wounds left by the little buggers from a month or so ago were inflamed and brought back to life like a mini version of Pompeii. We both assumed it was due to my body's wimpy dislike of dust and dirt and was caused by the uncovered mattress. Nevertheless it was still a nasty allergic reaction and we were out of anti-histamines so Charlie the super-trooper set off out in the pouring rain to get me some.She returned an hour or so later, soaking wet, missing a flip-flop and looking thoroughly cheesed off - as it turned out, all of the '24-hour' pharmacists and doctor's surgeries were closed and the nearest place open was a long walk away. Unfortunately in Bali the backstreets around Legian are very narrow and aren't great at the best of times, all uneven and lined with potholes. It was as Charlie trudged down one of these that she happened to step in a large puddle, which turned out to be a open drain. She fell down it, losing her flip-flop and chucking away her umbrella in anger... and all for the love of a good man!The tablets seemed to do the trick for the rest of the day, but the next morning was one of our scariest moments: I woke up barely able to open my eyes as the swelling was so bad; my hands were puffy and sore to the point where I couldn't make a fist; my body was covered head to toe in blotches and swelling; and I was literally sweating buckets. We headed straight for an Aussie-run private hospital (the 'insurance pillow' again proving to be very comfy!) where I was given a injection so strong it left me floaty and somewhere far, far away!We returned to the guest house (once I'd returned to Earth) and faced up to a few days of absolutely nothing! My foot was so sore and swollen I couldn't manage more than a quick hop to nearby cafes and restaurants, which took even longer as I stopped to answer everybody's questions on what happened. In the end I gave up and Charlie became my very own 'takeaway delivery girl'. She refused to wear the uniform though, spoilsport!Luckily through all this there was an older Australian guy called Bruce staying opposite us who became our kindly saviour, lending us his DVD player to kill time and even bringing us food. When Bruce checked out to move to a quieter guest house up the coast (away from the noise of traffic and incessant Offspring music coming from the bar on the corner) he asked us if we'd like to move with him, so we tucked ourselves even further under his wing and duly followed!After 5/6 days of boredom, frustration, cabin fever and fighting the urge to eat my own hands, the foot seemed to be on the mend (I'll save you the details of all the 'side effects' of my recovery, although strangely a LOT of toilet roll was used despite the fact I had an appetite smaller than a supermodel with a belly ache) so we headed back to the hospital. The doctor said he was pleased with the way the swelling had come down and so he removed the dead skin and ulcer on my ankle, leaving a huge crater which looked like a jelly mould for Ayer's Rock!He told us I was now able to begin walking again and no longer required the grubby, worn-out bandage which was a shame - we'd grown quite attached. Once out of the hospital Charlie and I decided to take a slow hobble down to the supermarket and celebrate with a whole roast chicken and a French stick... we're such Bali party animals!Our final few days were spent getting more rest for the foot and rediscovering my appetite. We did have one day out when Bruce took us for a trip around Bali to show us a few highlights which was really nice, although to be honest if he'd taken me to the public toilets I'd have been pleased - anything to get out of that bloody room!So, there we have it - 2 weeks in Bali and only a bandage and a few medical tales to show for it. Still, I'm probably not the first person to spend their whole time in Bali taking a cocktail of drugs and spending hour after hour lying in bed sweating...We're off back to Borneo next as we loved it so much last time round. Charlie will tell you we're going back for the beautiful scenery, the huge diversity of wildlife and the chance to climb the highest mountain in SE Asia... me, I'm just looking forward to seeing more Malaysian women, currently number 1 in the 'National Hotties' listings - for the record, there have been disappointing showings for the pre-tournament favourites Australia (stunners on the beaches and jogging counteracted with butch, shouty he-she's in bars) and Thailand (very pretty girls let down by their whiney accents and ten-year-old-boy figures), whilst languishing way down in last with less points than the UK in the Eurovision is Fiji: the 'natural steroid' plants of the South Pacific leaves their women looking like Lionel Ritchie with Elephantitis!
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