The Cameron Highlands + New Year

29^th December – Teluk Bahang – Georgetown – Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

This morning I witnessed a first, the grand opening of the new Nutella jar to the hummed O Fortunait was a spectacle to behold and will stay with me as an abiding memory of what camp madness of both varieties can do to you. Along with the humming of this powerful tune were the actions of holding the jar skywards as if giving thanks for all things chocolate and hazelnut, this was topped off by facial expressions showing such emotion and thanks to the one who had invented and then shared their wondrous creation with us mere consumers.  We were up with the larks and packed up to the sounds of Michael Jackson and then headed back to Georgetown. As we were riding along at a fair pace many cars would hesitate to go round us, spatial awareness is not part of the driving test if there is a test at all. I suddenly heard the following ‘ Mr Mitchell, your package has arrived at the Blue Mansion’, now come on that is seriously cool for one the staff from Choeng Fatt Tze Mansion to have recognised my behind and made the effort to get her husband to slow down and deliver such a message. We now knew that the parcel we had hoped would be there for Christmas was only 4 days out.

This made our plans even easier as we decided to see if we could use the Mansion as our base for loading the hire car and when we come back to G’town to begin riding proper again, stay the night and set off after a very hearty breakfast…Not your average overnight accom but the most relaxed place we have stayed at.

I went off to pick up the car, unknowingly having passed the 2 people who were heading to the mansion to drop off the car, 20 minutes later however I was in our automatic Toyota Avanza complete with blinged wheels and a viewing area within the frontscreen tinting that now gave me greater insight into wearing a burkha. Obviously I was asked if I could drive, had a license and all of the standard things when hiring…umm maybe not then! Loading was easy and we then headed off via Tesco’s ( to pick up some alcohol – not easy to come by but a necessity for new years eve) to join the expressway south. The knowledge gained from cycling in Malaysia was invaluable for first time driving here, you knew that there was always unpredictability and that owl vision was still required. We took the Penang Bridge which delivers you to a toll booth and then onto the expressway south, neither of these options were open to us as cyclists as the bridge is a motor vehicle only road. We chose this route also as we did not want to repeat what we would later be doing under our own steam.

First challenge was petrol station, just from the point of view that they have marked bays for cars and people to both direct, fill, take your money, put air in your tires, clean your screen and generally have conversations. £18 to fill the tank from almost empty…I now hear it may be different in the UK and cycling may become a more popular way of commuting.

The journey south to Ipoh was incident free, we tried out the services just because we could and what a difference they were, with prayer rooms, spotlessly clean ablution blocks and more types of food and drink than I have seen in many restaurants. Once off the highway we then headed on the single carriageway road through the forests and up, and up and up in 2^nd and 1^st gear for 60km. The maddest of driving, tailgating as you would normally expect in a peleton not from cars, but overtaking on blind hairpin bends could be a regional sport! I was shattered by the time we got to the welcome to Cameron Highlands sign and entered a world of series 1,2 and 3 landrovers from short to long wheel base, 90’s, 109’s and 130’s and very occasionally a rather tired Discovery. This is where landrovers come to do there duty in the name of strawberry farms and more importantly the tea plantations which cover the terraced hillsides barely visible in the dusk and clouds. I was in landy heaven…

Now one thing we didn’t come prepared for was cold, well chill, well 20 degrees and the car’s ability to heat. There is no such luxury fitted, aircon yes and now it went to off and we hoped that somehow our combined body temperature would make it more bearable. Arriving in the dark up a steep track we came to Fathers Guest House, an old monastery on top of a hill overlooking Tanah Rata in the heart of the highlands. We were staying at there second property – Giraffes, a newly refurbished 6 bed apartment with slate floors and now shoes allowed. Mum you were a life saver…the Christmas pressie of cycling socks supplied for me and scarf for G were put to immediate use!

Dinner that night was back at the main Guesthouse served up by the grumpiest, stressy and probably rudest chef I have ever had the misfortune to get food from, but it was late, we were tired from our first day with a combustion engine and needed food and sleep. It was chilly though and despite the sheet and blanket we ended up getting dressed sometime in the middle of the night for a more comfortable sleep.

30^th December – Day 1 in the Cameron Highlands

A laundry run was followed by breakfast then off to find some warmer clothes for G. A search of the 2 biggest towns revealed a massive gap in the market for the likes of Fat Face of Weird Fish and G settled for strawberry decorated toe socks and a very bright pink pashmina – not your average set of cold weather clothes but the best we could do, other than buying one of the many second hand (unwashed, with crawly contents) jackets that were piled up in some of the market stalls.

We were now ready to explore the Butterfly Farm. Many tourista’s here have to rely on landrover based tours which take in a multitude of sights in a day including this farm but to be honest we spent 2 hours here and whilst the butterflies were ok, the reptiles and insects were much more fascinating. The 2 main standouts for me were the moving leaf and dead leaf insects. Awesome to see and actually think that evolution has created these creatures which you could pass a 1000 of and never know. The tour that we saw spent 20 minutes here before being rounded up to their next site…ummm.

Mr B'fly in action

A moving leaf insect..I did not believe such a thing existed either

I am just sitting here watching you...what are you looking at?

Beautiful colour and now met many of its cousins

Then onto the Boh tea plantation, it was G’s turn to take the wheel for this single track mountain clinging, sheer drop, wet road into the heart of where Boh tea, Malaysia’s largest and best known brand comes from. Cake and tea were the order of the afternoon and stopping to pick up to Dutch hikers and give them a lift the final 3km to our shared destination.

The tour of the tea plantation factory was over for the day so we decided on a return visit, not solely dictated by the tea and cake experience, so we could understand more how the leaf comes to be in the cup. On our way back we stopped at the honey farm and malaysia’s largest indoor maze, had to be done and after 10 mins we emerged, laughing at how ridiculously easy it was only to be violently gesticulated at as we had come back through the way in. 40 minutes later we emerged victorious and meekly collected our prizes of bracelet pens from the gift desk and headed back to base.

We stopped at a couple of places to see how we could best bring in the New Year, the Old Smokehouse, modelled on the one in Mildenhall! And also the Cameron Highland Resort a five star plus luxury hotel that under any normal circumstances I would have been staying in, if budget allowed. Dinner was Southern Indian and a wander to Starbucks – open til midnight – and the mocha topped with baileys was a treat (our recipe)

31^st December 2010

What better way to start the last day of 2010 than with a trip back to Boh and to see how tea is refined in the factory on site. It is a step by step process that takes the leaf from the bush to the cup, the less refining the better the tea and to prove it, after we had seen the machines, many of them which have been in use since 1935, was to sample some more with scones. This gave us the sustenance we needed for our next exploration of the highest road in Malaysia at 2000m. It was a road that many would have and probably did consider twice in taking a car up, but after many hairpins, potholes, avoiding trees which had fallen overnight and 1^st gear manoeuvres we arrived at a little cut out in the hill and parked up. We then went up some stairs which due to mother nature were missing many treads, supports and stood in the clouds listening to the sounds of the jungle far below us. In true Dora the explorer style we then decided to head for the footpath which would take us up to the highest point in the Cameron highlands. We understood within 20 mins why you needed (a) boots (b) gaiters (c) a guide, and made the sensible decision to turn back rather than getting completely lost or having any mishap that may have jeopardised the rest of the trip. 

Boh tea plantation

just after a nice cup of tea

Why would I want to pluck a bee?

Highand Fashion - zoom in on the socks

At the top of the highest point in mainland Malaysia

Very high

Our trusty steed

Dancing Prawns...awesomemungus

The temperate climate of the highlands, no frost and an average of 18-23 degrees means that this area is an important one for the growing of all the vegetable staples that you might find in the UK. This also extends to strawberries which in SE Asia are both a rarity and novelty. Many of the strawberry farms are tourista attractions and when in as they say, do as. Tea and scones with awesome pure strawberry juice drinks was followed by a trip to one of the largest fresh veg markets in the area. The stalls are on top, behind and infront of each other, there is no pressure selling and it is the first time we have seen this much veg in one place in SE Asia. To sample the steamed corn on the cob and freshly made potato crisps on skewers seemed to be the right thing to do!

A quick look at the Chinese Sam Poh Temple and back to base to freshen up, dress up and get ready for a the eve of 2011.I have to say neither of us brought fancy clothes to dress up for an evening, but G looked absolutely amazing. We drove to the Cameron Highlands Resort, were met from the car by the fantastic Selena who manages the front of house and taken into a world of luxury. Shown to our table, which we rearranged to have a better view of the stringed quartet and then settled into 5 courses of food that chef had prepared to make this evening memorable. Dancing prawns, lobster, and beef so tender it melted on your tongue were washed down with fruit juices and coffee before we headed back to base to open our bottle of bubbly and toast each other on a pretty amazing year and awesome start for 2011.

January 1^st 2011 – rest day

This was a day we planned in to cope with the aftermath of the previous night but to be honest it was a great day just to get ourselves sorted, more blog, email and admin along with a good 3 hours of route planning before we needed to think about packing up and moving on. We spent some time talking with another dutch couple and their 3 year old whom G had given some gloves to when she bought her socks. He had not taken them off since and would not leave the apartment without them. They are travelling for a year and we wish them well for their journey. We also meant  a newly arrived English couple on an extended trip back from living in Sydney for the last 3 years, they were very interested in what we were doing and had done and it was good to have some conversation about other people’s lives.

It is so different being with someone 24/7 especially when you think about ‘normal’ life and relationships where the most you would spend with a loved one, other than sleeping, is breakfast and an evening other than maybe a holiday for 2 weeks. I guess it takes a pretty special relationship to be able do what we are doing, only to have mild mardy pant moments and laugh more than we strop. It is a test of physical, emotional and psychological strength of mind which I had read about, listened to stories of but never experienced and I now realise why it is so important to be open, honest with feelings, thoughts and actions. On a trip like this there is no reason or place to hide because you learn to read each other completely. I feel different to who I was when I left Heathrow on the 30^th October, physically I am stronger than I have ever been, emotionally I feel satisfied with how I am and psychologically I am understanding much more about how people work in challenging situations. G is a very special person to me and I am so unbelievably proud of what she has achieved to date and know that she will go on to achieve much more personally and for others.

2^nd January – Tanah Rata to Georgetown

For some reason when the alarm sounded at 6.30 this morning, tiredness was in full throw, we packed and got on the road towards Ringlet, a different way back to G’town so that we were able to experience the whole length of the highlands. The road was to put none to finer point on it…horrendous, Fallen rock and tree debris, pot holes and pitted road surfaces and switchbacks for the best part of 60km, all going down through clouds. Add to this the craziness of other drivers overtaking at 50mph round hairpins into oncoming traffic meant that we needed to share the journey down as it was utterly exhausting levels of concentration. We now understood more fully the use of landrovers to get the tea from the plantations to the laybys lower down the mountains where they would unload into the lorries that would not be able to make it up here. We also had a far greater appreciation of why there are so many road fatalities up here and the main culprits being coach drivers, taking the roads to fast or falling asleep due to the excessive levels of concentration required. It has taken a major coach crash in the last 3 weeks for the government to insist that coaches to the highlands now have 2 drivers…

Clear skies and warmth awaited us as we joined the expressway again to head north to Georgetown and begin our cycling again. Traffic was much lighter than on the way up here and the greetings we got on arrival back at the blue mansion would have been on par for the return of long lost loved ones. We decamped into ‘Fragrant Poem’ room, dropped the car back and watched whilst the son of the owner looked all around the car then got in and tested the electric windows…all seemed fine and deposit was returned. We had covered 650km since we left G’town. Lunch was back at the base of the Komtar and then we spent the rest of the afternoon planning where we would be to celebrate by birthday, an important task that enlisted the help of most of the staff at the mansion with thoughts and advice on routes to take and best places to be. Dinner at the Passage thro’ India did not disappoint. Tomorrow we ride south.

The Beauty of Nature

28th December 2010 - Jungle Trek - Penang National Park

Day sacks packed, water supplies purchased we set out on our first real jungle trek to Pantai Kerachut (or Turtle beach) in Penang National Park. The trail was concrete and slab for the first 500 metres then branched off onto the old buffalo trail used when the jungle was less than protected and wood a profitable source of income. Nature was everywhere from insect ochestra's, through flora and fauna as well as moving branches high above us disclosing that we were not alone. It was steep with hundreds of steps either cut in through foot treads of others or rainwater and roots, for some parts ropes provided an element of safety, slippery, hotter and sweatier than I have ever experienced in terms of just walking and an hour and 40 minutes later we emerged onto the beach, across a suspension bridge and into the deepest sand I have waded in to date. A swim , watching the troop of monkeys that came down for a breath of sea air behind us with a wariness born of our Cambodian experience, then the beauty of a sea eagle, talons extended swooping from its airborne perch to catch a fish dinner and with all that excitement and a packed lunch I nodded off. I think the trek, whilst short, had taken its toll on me.

Floating fishing village @ Teluk Bahang

The path

for 1/2 km Mr Butterfly seemed to be leading us

'Hammerheaded Wormy'

Suspension bridge to the beach



The view from our little spot of beach



Actually had the beach to ourselves

Waking up an hour later, we packed up and speed marched back through the jungle to be the last couple bar one across the canopy walk. Now speed march is a term that I had not intended to use but 1km in the jungle can take the best part of 40 minutes purely because of tree roots, subsiding tracks and boulders. Undeterred we became mountain goats in our quest to make the walk in the tree tops after realising we still had 1 click to go and 20 mins to do it.

We returned to our steeds and cycled back to camp, and decided that a dip in the freshwater pools was required, only rudely interrupted for us and everyone else by a troop of 20 or so dusky leaf monkeys crashing through the tree tops. Back into town for another dinner at the seafood restaurant on the beach and this time the food was even better than last night which took some serious doing however the sweet and sour chicken was utterly divine.

Home to camp and this time our neighbours could not disturb us as sleep seemed to come very quickly. Tomorrow we head back to G'town, pick up the car and will be driving for the first time on this adventure to the Cameron Highlands and altitudes of over 6000ft. Brrrrr

27th December 2010 - Georgetown to Teluk Bahang - 19.74 miles, 9.5 av, max 23.9, ride time 2hrs 3mins

We have decided to spend New Year in the Cameron Highlands. In order to do that we are going to hire a car as having met fellow cycle tourists who were hospitalised in their attempt to climb them fully laden as we are, caution dictates that as we will have another 800 or so miles to ride, we will let a combustion engine take the strain. With a few days to wait until the holiday hiring season is over and we can get our 4 wheeled chariot, we are off to Penang National Park, the smallest in Malaysia and one of the smallest in the world.

We followed our tracks out of G'town as we had on Christmas day, almost had a major altercation with a motorist who decided talking to his passenger whilst on the phone was far more of a necessity than looking at the junction he was approaching, however I have now developed the ability to have 'owl' vision and swerved my chariot around the offending car whilst G made some interesting gestures and none to subtle lip reading words.

Back past the beach we spent Christmas afternoon on and into Teluk Bahang...ummm this place may not have seen better days but with rundown and empty high rise hotels I hoped that the National Park would add some much need cheer. It did as far as the entrance and the firm but polite no cycle rule...knobs x a million. We were advised that we could camp on the beach for free (if we had cleared a patch of litter big enough!) I then remembered reading about an eco park and we set off to find it.

About a mile and a half outside the town is a turn off into a forest reserve with a river tumbling through man made pools full of people enjoying the shade from the trees and the relative cool of the water. After pitching the tent once and then being politely asked to move camping ground (there was no one else there but being westerners they wanted us further away!...not really...) we settled ourselves into the forest. The cost of our 2 night stay - 10RM - to use the toilets and showers (malay style - bucket and a pan)

Pitched and Proud

We rode back into the town to get supplies for breakfast and fill up water bottles from the awesome street machines that cost less than 10p for a litre of filtered water and no plastic environmental damage as a result. Dinner found us a little seafood restaurant just off the beach. OMG it was the best seafood we have had to date with beer half the price of G'town. Back to camp in the dark and it was pitch was followed by an invite to join our new malay tented neighbours, shower, coffee, peppermint tea and double fill Oreo's. What a great day.

3.30am, finally our 'friends' have decided it is bed time, first time I have had to use ear plugs...

UNESCO World Heritage Site No. 1

26th December - Georgetown
Just made it to breakfast with 10 minutes to spare, dont know quite what happened but it seems everywhere we go and stay for over 2 nights the 3rd one wipes us out. We decided to take a wander through the city in the opposite direction and discovered some of the many markets and bizarre shopping centres that sit next to and tower over this world heritage sight.
We had a number of key items to purchase which included Nutella and by lunchtime mission accomplished much to my relief. Then we both decided that we really should stop talking about waht to do with our hair and get it cut. We sat side by side whilst all sorts of language sprinkled with English went on and after 30 mins and £8 of scissor work we emerged impressed that they had taken the same time for each, concerned at what it really would look like in the morning. A meandering stroll back saw us take in Campbell Street, the place to get your Chinese medicines and we conducted an impromptu fashion shoot.

Home to the mansion and part of being a guest is you are the only ones allowed to take photos within the mansion itself, so our own tour of an hour was great to actually touch, admire and ponder over what is a place stay in a lifetime. Back to the same restaurant as last night for the most melt in your mouth sumptuous chicken tikka I have ever had. Then packing...boo hoo.



25th December - Georgetown

Breakfast was preceded with gift opening, one from the hotel for each of us and despite insistence on not buying pressies by both parties involved a gift for me from G!
I also opened the pressie and card I had carried from my mapa given to me on the 31st October which meant that I now had 2 Commando comics to read...

After breakfast we joined a tour of the mansion to learn more about where we were staying and what made this building so special. It is a truly amazing story of a Chinese Henry VIII type character but with none of the madness and all of the guile of a skillful trader and philanthropist. On the death of Cheong Fatt Ze both the English and the Dutch flew their flags at half mast. The mansion is designed to the laws of Feng Shui not that I had the first clue really of how until it was explained in terms of layout, heights, numbers of steps - 28 being the most prosperous of numbers (this led to much counting of number plates after to see who believed in this - surprisingly a great many). The mansion had been occupied until the late 80's by many families of workers who paid rent to the wife of the last owner. It was in a very sorry state of repair and the work done to restore the mansion is awe-inspiring. The tiles are original, imported from the Potteries and the steel structures and columns that underpin the main body of the building are from Glasgow. Water from the gutters runs through copper pipes in the walls, the wings of the mansion are identical in layout and of course the opening to the sky to be at one with nature is impressive, a feature that I now both understood and have seen many times since.

We had spoken about going to a beach on Christmas day as it would be a first for me so with that in mind we intrepid adventurers set off to the hire place for a scooter. Now Christmas day is not celebrated by all of the world and in Malaysia it is a public holiday. However after a few test runs my driver was ready. Now would you pick what is essentially a bank holiday, having never had a passenger on the back of the scooter, or been a passenger on the back of a scooter, or ridden/driven on the roads of a very compact one way system driven city to do all of the above for the first time... the roads were gridlocked I was given strict instructions on how to handle myself and G learnt as we went the difference when having a pillion passenger. Add in the hairpin turns, hill starts and you will appreciate that at my first sight of a stretch of sand I was mad keen to disembark and wring out my shirt!

It wasnt the best so, gritting many parts of my anatomy we continued across the top of the island to the big touristy beaches of Batu Ferringhi, rode down to the beach, off and without much clothing removal into the sea. Lunch at a beachside cafe was followed by a wander down the beach watching the parascending Santa distribute sweets from 50ft in the air along with much ice cream munching and many nationalities trying out water sports activities for what must have been their first time. Sitting on a banana being towed out to sea one guy looked as though he still had his suit on

Much quieter ride home although we did have 2 very near misses and then out to dinner at the 'Passage through India' which sits in the old servants quarters/stable block for the mansion. A feast of flavour marked this as one of the best meals I have ever had and it was back to the mansion to skype one and all. What a day.

Ok so this place does feature in the lonely planet and footprint but not necessarily on a shoestring and rightly so. We are not talking a fortune for bed and breakfast and a room the size of most people's entire apartments but it is not the same price as the grotburger hotel in Satun.

The 24th was spent touring the UNESCO part of Georgetown including Little India and Chinatown. The latter way smaller than expected and the former a wake up of Bollywood music, Indian sweets, sari's and salwar-kamese all explained in a way that I understood from my excellent tour guide on most things Indian. Georgetown still retains many of the footprints of those intrepid Englishmen and women who set foot here in the 1800's. It feels quintessentially English in one step then a world of colour, sound and smell the next. All good smells though from the many restaurants and hawker stalls on the side of the road, in the road and on every corner. Temples, mosques and churches co-exist alongside each other and after a feet pounding day we took to a chinese restaurant in the evening and then to bed awaiting a very different Christmas day. My thoughts were with my munchkins who along with their mum were in Norfolk with my parents for a no doubt sumptuous feast on Christmas Day.

Langkawi to Georgetown, Penang

23rd December - From beach to city - 14.62 miles, ride time 1hr 35 mins, av. 9.1, Max 30 + 3 hours by boat.

Very sad to leave what truly had become a home from home, well sort of, actually no not at all but I think the relaxation has got to me. I can so understand why people come for a couple of days to this amazing island and leave 3 weeks later however our Christmas home awaits and I am a tad excited.

It was great to be back in saddle, bizarrely, and we chose the squiggly line on the map which followed the southern coast back to Kuah and the port. Oh my the ups and the downs, there was not a bit of flat until we actually reached the port road! Rounding one corner at about 25mph came across a group of monkeys sitting in the road, they moved very casually out of the way to watch us pass from the safety of the road guard rails. The Malaysian navy has a base here. If anyone is thinking of joining the navy you need to check you eligibility for the Malaysian one first as their base overlooks and is surrounded by the bluest of seas and majesty of cliffs.

Fell for McD's when we got to Kuah, wrong and should not have been done but the arches of gold lured us both in and we succumbed. Then to the port and the confident walk through the security search area meant we did not have to unpack the bikes and put each pannier and bag through the screening as everyone else seemed to. And there was no one looking at the screen I am not sure what the purpose was other than to create a queue. Met a Finnish family who were very interested in our endeavours and achievements to date.

Our boat is behind the covered jetty, the other is a cruise ship

We loaded bikes and luggage on the front of the boat as inside was awash with backpacks and suitcases. G lashed the bikes down and I did the bags and pretty pleased we did as this boat rocketed out of the port and into the sea. Watched the Prince of Persia on the boats dvd system until we began to slow and were able to watch the emerging island of high rise hotels that is Penang. Our bags were off loaded and we did the bikes, reloaded everything for the walk through customs and out into Georgetown, Penang.

With a roundabout negotiated we were then 0.6 miles later approaching a barrier to our oasis of lowrise and history in the middle of major over development. Wow on so many levels is the Cheong Fatt Ze Mansion or if you look at the following awesomemungus Blue Mansion. Steeped in history, Feng Shui and Chi, but more on this later.

So Christmassy

We were met by Poh who having lived in London for 30 years is the first person we have met and spoken to who has such a eloquent command of the Kings English. Our room is Nangyong, large, high ceilings, and a bathroom that has the essential ingredients of its name...a bath. A kettle, fridge with juices make up the little anteroom between the bedroom and bathroom. It is such a find for us for Christmas and I am so very very chuffed we have decided to stay here. Dinner post unpacking was in the Red Garden next door, an open courtyard surrounded and bisected by many many food stalls from around the universe with the dominance of Chinese very much in evidence. Crispy duck and pork rice dishes with 2 Skol's (at 5%!, am I wrong to think that in the Uk it is 3%) to flush it down was a great way to finish the day. A quick wander in the rain as a thunderstorm lashed the island helped the digestive system and back to the Blue Mansion.

Little Sweden

18-22^nd December 2010 – Langkawi or ‘Little Sweden’

How delightful it has been to have had 3 days of complete unadulterated relaxation. We read the guides, looked at the maps, heard about the tours on offer and decided that after blasting through southern Thailand we need to just chill and relax. So that is what we have done. I have even finished a book, one I exchanged in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Distance travelled has involved around 5 mins of walking to the beach, back from the beach, to a restaurant and back to Palms. Until the 21^st most days were overcast with a late glimmer of full on sun towards 5pm followed by between half an hour and an hour of rain. This is a good thing cos when the sun does come out in its full glory shade is at a premium. The sea has been so still, very warm and oh so incredibly inviting.

The food we have had deserves its own reporting as does the impact on waistlines. There is an real eclectic mix and some of the highlights are as follows. A late evening curry on day 1 was awesome, the restaurant bedecked with swathes of material from the ceiling and hanging lanterns making allowing my imagine to think of the interior of Arabian tents. Day 2 breakfast at the Red Tomato Garden Café lived up and beyond the reviews. Lunch when we heaved ourselves gracefully from the beach loungers to the main street was a chance encounter with middle eastern wraps. The chef was Palestinian but had spent most of his life in Dubai and now ran the ‘kitchen’ at this tiny little place, if you had blinked as you passed you would have missed it. These have to have been the best wraps in the universe and served with garlic mayonnaise (is that allowed SP?). They were so good that I consumed a beef and lamb one whilst G had the chicken, washed down with exceptionally good fruit shakes. That evening so me dine on Barracuda and observe chicken in mango being consumed in silence, we flushed this through with a half decent bottle of rose – oh the life of a cycle tourer…

The view from my lounger

day time = our beach

The following day saw us breakfast on our terrace with cornflakes…the first for 6 weeks for me and 10 weeks for G. That evening saw us tucking into pasta back at the German owned Red Tomato. The following evening saw me try Bomkaise fish at Chumphour Chumphour an Indian/Swedish owned restaurant. Wow the flavours and mix of ingredients meant that G and I spent most of the meal guessing at them as we knew we had had them before at some stage in our lives but darned if either of us could remember quite when and certainly not in the way that the food was inspirationally concocted. Coffee and peppermint tea to follow this meant that this would be the restaurant of choice for our next and final evening. Uma’s famous curry was indeed worth a day of taste bud activity.

I am however as I write this very concerned that if this is the experience of one Malaysian islands cuisine then I am both going to love it and turn into the size of a house. So balance will be key.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the world go by, some of the world still believes in speedo’s and for some this is very wrong. A set of lime green pouch style were lying behind us on our last afternoon and then they would be up and standing a little too close of either of our levels of personal space comfort especially when stray escapee hairs were then twiddled with in full view. Really that is just so disgustingly wrong on every level known to mankind. Then there have been the speedo/lycra trunks on torsos that they should not be hugging, I could go on but am getting to a peckish stage and don’t want to spoil mine or any others dinners.  Lying reading, talking and laughing has been so wonderfully restoring of chi that I know I will remember my stay here for a long time to come. I am now reading the ‘Monk who sold his Ferrari’ and remembering the wise words of Nic, Simon, Bob, Clayton and Lani who have listened to my wittering and rambling over the last 6 months.

Oh and the reason for the title of little Sweden is due to the many (6000) that come over here just for Christmas.

Tomorrow we head for the port again, a different route back and then onto to our Christmas destination of Penang.

Pantai Cenang. Langkawi

18^th December Part 2 = Pantai Cenang

We arrived at our new home for the next few days, don’t know why but the junction I stopped at just felt right and 2 mins later we were there – Palms Guest House to be greeted by Sue the English but born in Malaysia owner. It is off the main drag so going to be quieter and we only passed one set of tell tale loud speakers so I guess a morning and then 4 times during the rest of the day call may impact on our sleep Most welcoming arrival so far and fabulous room with our own little terrace out onto the courtyard of palms. There is even a shared kitchenette – whoop for coffee in the morning and a fridge in the room.

I have decided that package holidays whilst convenient are not necessarily the best. This room is costing us just shy of £20 a night for 2 people, me thinks that all future explorations need to be better planned with either the assistance of Lonely Planet, Rough Guide or on occasion Footprint. We unpacked, showered and headed out to explore – lunched at a Mexican woah woah hold those cheaper thoughts as food is going to be more expensive than accommodation but it was pretty good. We wandered down to the ATM attached to underwater world, a place that is well past its best and has seriously mixed reviews, past countless stores selling everything you need to be a tourist, and into the duty free world of Zon.

A wander back along the beach revealed that Langkawi has 2 distinct shifts in terms of those who worship relaxation. The daytime til 5pm shift mainly consists of westerners eagerly lapping up the rays, white sand and blue sea. From 5pm onwards this is the time for Malays and all nationalities who wish to swim fully clothed and not be hampered by the pesky sun. It is around 200% busier in the evenings on the beach than the day.