Day 193 : Time For Lime / New Year's Eve

• Took a cookery class at Time For Lime. The Norwegian owner gave a good overview of Thai ingredients and cutting techniques and also what ingredients we could get or substitute in European supermarkets. The actual cooking was taught by a Thai – we made Tom Yam Gong (spicy, sweet and sour soup), stir fried prawns, fish with coconut red curry. Lots to take in but a really good day!
• In the evening we had cocktails on the beach for the last sunset of 2011 before heading back to Sonya’s for a few beers. We met a German couple, Annette and Stephan, with whom we saw in the new year down at another bar on the beach. Lots of small fireworks, lanterns and an open jam session at the bar.

Day 192 : Escaped!

• Got up early to search for some new accommodation after getting little sleep in our hovel due to the bar next door. Most places are fully booked for new year so we had a choice between a nice-looking but expensive (1200 THB) bungalow or a double bed in a dorm attached to a restaurant (250THB) – decided to go for the cheap option as people seemed very friendly and dorm nice enough although it’s lacking a bathroom our bed has only a thai-style roll-mat in place of a mattress.
• After moving we caught a tuk tuk to Lanta Animal Welfare, a volunteer-run centre that looks after stray cats and dogs on the island. The centre was set up by the owner of Time For Lime cookery school where we’re going tomorrow. One of the volunteers showed us around; the centre is really nice and much more spacious than anything we’ve seen in the UK. We took a couple of dogs out for a walk to the beach.
• Spent the evening in the restaurant by our dorm, “Sonya’s”, chatting to the other guests.

Day 191 : Koh Lanta

• Took another ridiculous minivan. Eventually got to Koh Lanta via 2 car ferries, 4 hours later than expected.
• Staying at Khlong Khong Bay Bungalows. Our bungalow right near the beach but it’s not very nice – window panes missing, room is dirty and bathroom smells like something died in it. It has a/c but the electricity isn’t reliable – the lights hardly work! Not much choice though as everything’s booked up for new year.
• Amazing sunset and nice meal at Lanta Pavillion resort.

Day 190 : Lazy day in Ao Nang

• Geeked and mooched in our apartment. Organised a load of stuff for India.
• Lovely Thai dinner at the restaurant next door in Ao Nang.

Day 189 : Rock climbing

• Spent the morning in the apartment organising and ‘geeking’.
• Took a minivan and longtail to Rai Lay. Very rainy so started on a cliff with a large overhang so was dry.
• Did a very high climb with an amazing view. I didn’t know my eyelids could sweat!
• Did another 4 climbs in different spots – some really pushing my ability but was really good fun. Felt I’d achieved something.
• Scary longtail ride home – had to wade through mud to get to the boat and then we almost capsized!
• Nice cheap meal in the evening. Loads of choice of good, cheap food here.

Day 188 : Island hopping

• Took a longtail boat trip to Rai Lay. Watched the climbers.
• Next stop was a busy island – not so nice. Swam in the big waves and had a picnic of Thai green curry.
• Visited Poda island – beautiful sandbar and swimming but ruined by the occasional bit of rubbish.
• Snorkelled near Chicken Island. Saw big schools of unknown stripy fish and parrot fish.
• Got completely soaked on the way home as the water was quite choppy.

Day 187 : Christmas!

• Opened our little presents (featuring toothpaste, shower gel, genuine Prada wallet, keyrings, waterproof bag, sweets).
• Went for a quick dip in the sea.
• Walked past a small carol service at a cafe.
• Christmas lunch in the Irish Rover pub.
• Skyped family and watched a film in the apartment.

Day 186 : Ao Nang

• Had a look around town and walked to the beach. It’s a bit chavvy and touristy but surrounded by stunning limestone cliffs and forest.
• Dramatic rocky islands visible from the beach.
• Did a mini Christmas shop for each other.
• Had a drink in the Irish pub where we’re having lunch tomorrow and watched an Irish folk singer.

Day 185 : Penang to Ao Nang

• Epic minivan journey via Hat Yai to Ao Nang in Krabi Province, Thailand. We weren’t sure how long the journey would be or aware that we would have to change minivans in Hat Yai. After two hours of driving we noticed we drove past our original pick up point – the driver had just been running errands around Hat Yai! He then got lost around Trang. Finally, after 12 hours in the minivan we arrived at Krabi and got a taxi to Ao Nang.
• Arrived at our beautiful apartment (our Christmas treat!).
• Got stuck at the Thai border because the Malaysian officials didn’t stamp our passports with the correct date – we had to walk half a mile back to Malaysia and then he just fudged it with a biro! Everybody else on our bus also had the wrong date but they all got through.

Day 184 : Another mansion and temples

• Went to another Peranakan mansion similar to the last one but full of random stuff from over the years. There was also a temple which had lots of little bats roosting across the walls.
• Had a wander around, went to a chinese temple.
• Had lunch in Old Town coffee house (Malaysian chain cafe).
• Had dinner in the Red Garden again had nice simple chicken, veg and rice for £1

Day 183 : The Blue Mansion and the Red Garden

• Went to the Cheong Fatt Ze Mansion (or Blue Mansion) - the biggest of its kind outside of China. Had a really good tour and learnt lots about traditional feng shui. There was so much intricate detail and hidden symbolism in all the shapes (like ying and yang in the wooden shutters) and animal decorations. The floor tiles were from Stoke on Trent and the iron pillars from Glasgow as it was only the best for him. (couldn't take photos inside).
• Had a cheap eat in an Indian cafe and chose from a vast array of cheap food in the Red Garden night market which is suitably adorned with fairy lights and Christmas music.

Day 182 : KL to Penang

Got a coach to Georgetown (the coaches are cheap as there is a lot of competition, they are luxury, wide seat coaches in various states of deterioration). Checked into our hostel on love lane which seems nice.

Day 181 : Batu caves, Luna bar and foot massage

• Took a bus to the Batu caves – a cave that is up a huge flight of stairs and contains Hindu temples. The statues and temples are beautiful and the limestone caves and cliffs amazing. One of the monkeys on the steps tried to steal our alcohol hand rub and hissed viciously!
• Went to Luna bar which is at the top of a hotel, looked at the amazing views and had happy hour beers. Had such a cool seat in a enclave jutting out over the view.
• Had an amazing foot massage in one of the many massage shops in town.
• Had some roti and dips at the hostel – the Indian cafe next door pass take away over the wall – amazing and cheap!

Day 180 : KL

• Up early to get a ticket for the Petronus Towers. They have a limited amount of tickets each day and we got there just in time – we were the last people before they closed the ticket queue and were allocated a slot at 1615.
• Took the train to the central market – walked around there and the nearby Dataran Merdeka (independence square). There was a drift racing event going on there so I guess it normally looks a bit different!
• Went up the KL Tower – the tallest observation deck in KL – fantastic views of the city and the Petronus Towers.
• Took the Monorail to Bukit Bintang and looked around the shops.
• Went up the Petronus Towers skydeck (halfway) and the observation deck at the top.
• Back to Bukit Bintang for an evening shop – picked up some clothes for Thailand (our current stuff is wearing out quickly!).
• Played with kittens at the hostel.

Day 179 : Melaka to Kuala Lumpur

Nice breakfast in the Voyage cafe near the hostel. Travelled to KL via local bus (took forever) –> bus –> train –> train; got there in the end! Staying in Red Palm hostel near Bukit Bintang – v friendly place and right in the middle of town. Explored the local area by foot – endless shopping malls and street stalls. Christmas decorations almost as good as Singapore! Watched Mission Impossible 4 at the cinema in the evening (with a very enthusiastic Malaysian audience!).

Day 178 : Melaka

Wandered around Melaka. Went in the maratime museum inside a replica Portuguese trade ship. Walked up the hill to the beautiful ruins of St Pauls (1521). Walked around the shopping mall then back to our dorm in China town. Melaka is a lovely place with a mish mash of Portuguese, Dutch and Asian influence.

Night market along Jonker Walk was cool, there was a random bans singing Elvis, Malaysian style.

Day 177 : Singapore to Melaka

• Both felt rough after too much wine – not so good in the heat and humidity!
• Got on a huge coach (only 2 other passengers) got off at immigration to leave Singapore then a bit further down the road have to get off the bus again to enter Malaysia!
• Checked into our hostel seems nice dorm room ok – nice and cheap
• Melaka is cool. I had a lovely dish in a restaurant with coconut rice and fried egg and nuts and spinach was £1 yum!
• The architecture is a lovely mix, it is quite a touristy place full of I’m assumming Malyasian and Singaporian tourists but has cool shops and markets and amazing disco trishaws!

Day 176 : Pretend Christmas

• Wandered some more around Singapore – Little India then back to the water front to see the amazing space age buildings. Visited the bubble tea shop again for bubble coffee.
• Made pass the parcel for Harvey and Alice for the Christmas dinner.
• Picked up the visas yey! But Claire got called later that evening to say that they had forgotten to sign our visas so we have to go back tomorrow!
• Enjoyed watching a tropical storm – being in the house with air con and lovely Christmas decorations it feels festive.
• Had an amazing Christmas dinner – turkey and all the trimmings (as the family are going away at Christmas so the kids opened some presents etc) it felt really festive, it was great fun!

Day 175 : Chinatown and Marina Bay

• This morning went to Thai embassy to get visas. After standing in the line for an hour we then had to leave and run around to find an internet cafe in order to book some bus tickets then get back in line. Despite having a flight booked out of Thailand which is in less than 60 days from now, we had to buy a ticket into Thailand to prove we would be there for less than 60 days!
• Walked around Chinatown, had lunch in the market food court – very cheap.
• Still can’t get over the amazing Christmas decorations around the shopping malls and streets they are incredible!
• Met Tony a Singaporean friend of Adams. He very kindly took us out for drinks (Singapore sling at Raffles) and for dinner at a Peranakan restaurant. Walked around the amazing water side development. Had some bubble tea – all the rage here, its tea (hundreds of flavours and colours!) with balls of starchy jelly stuff of different flavours. Much nicer than it sounds. 

Day 174 : Perth to Singapore

• Had a nice flight to Singapore watched some good films. Managed to through more stuff away in Perth so our backpacks are getting lighter and smaller (although we do need some new clothes).
• Arrived at Claire (Helen’s sister) Matt, Alice and Harvey’s house in Singapore. A lovely place, quite central to town. They have a real Christmas tree and lovely decorations up, feels much more festive than Perth.
• Went to a food court in Holland village. It’s funny to see Harvey and Alice ordering excotic food. Had a lovely dinner and some beers.
• Saw the beautiful Christmas lights on Orchard road – amazing!

Day 172 : Freo and Symphony in the City

• Took the train to Fremantle – walked around the old town. Took a really nice tour of the Little Creatures brewery.
• The sailing world championships happened to be on so we grabbed some fish and chips and watched some of the ladies windsurfing and men’s laser (Ben Ainslie was out there somewhere).
• In the evening watched the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra and chorus perform a free, “last night of the proms” style concert on the waterfront. Impressive 1812 overture with the bell tower and the army providing the cannons.
• Back at the hostel, watched a full lunar eclipse.

Day 171 : Scarborough and Christmas markets

• Went to the beach at Scarborough in the hope of finding some surf. No swell, but had a good swim.
• Walked into Perth centre for the evening Chistmas food market and brass band carols.

Day 169/170 : Little animals in the moonlight

Left the Denmark YHA on a windy and rainy day with a lack of direction having checked the surf it had (messy slop) we drove through random towns in the wheat belt. Stopped at a random restaurant / cafe called Henry Jones in Broomhill Tambellup and had a muffin, coffee and bought a $5 sale bottle of wine from their vinyard.
Ended up in Narrogin and booked onto a night tour of a nature reserve about an hours drive away. The only accomodation  in the area was $100+ so we decided we would sleep in our tiny car. Whiled away the afternoon in a garden centre cafe waiting for the tour.

Drove to Dryandra reserve (in a secret location – they only put the signs up at 7pm!) saw lots of kangaroos on the way. On the reserve we saw southern brown bandicoots, a bilby, rufous hair wallabies and borrowing bettongs it was cool. Parled up in an empty conservation camp and slept in the little car.

Up early at 5 as not that comfortable! Drove to Perth, checked in at the Witch's Hat hostel then dropped off the hire car. Used the free internet in the library and had a little wander around the centre. The mock tudor mall (c. 1920s) reminds me of the genuine thing in Gloucester.

Day 168 : Day of trees

Yesterday drove around looking for surf and surf hire around Margaret River. All the surf looked scary and most you had to paddle far over reef to get to it. Had a dip in the sea.

Today we drove from our hostel at Prevelly via the surf beaches and watched some big waves. Stopped in Pemberton and climbed the Gloucester Tree (it was free yay) - a fire tower tree with metal poles stuck in it like a spiral ladder made in the 1940s. To think there is nothing to stop you falling 58 metres down but your sweaty hands gripping hold of a thin metal rung! I hadn't really thought it would be scary until I thought about it and when I was about 10 metres up! Anyway we made it to the top viewing platform and the views were spectacular – we then climbed the long way down.

We drove on to the valley of the giants and a tree top walk. Prob not worth the $12 but you can see why it costs – it’s an amazing construction. It felt very high up but compared to the Gloucester tree it was only a mere 40 metres at its highest point. Walked among the ancient Karri trees that become hollow (but still alive) due to fires and infestations.

Drove on to Denmark and checked into a homely little YHA (had a twin room yey). Hired the last Harry Potter film which we finally watched - he didn’t really die now did he? Was preparing for him to die then he didn't (which I liked)!

Day 167 : Margaret River Wine Tour

Spent the day on a wine tour around the Margaret River region with Wine for Dudes. As a region MR produces a high end wine so the wineries are generally small, family run affairs. The area is also famous for its big wave surfing spots so a lot of the owners of the wineries are surfers / former surfers. This time, unlike our tour in Marlborough, we had a full mini bus so it was a bit more fun. We visited:

• Windance wines. Very nice unoaked Chardonnay and Cabernet Shiraz.
• Hay Shed Hill / Pitchfork – buffet lunch and experimented with mixing our own blends of Shiraz and Cabernet wine. Really liked the Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.
• Gabriel chocolate – quite similar to Haigh’s chocolates that we went around the other day but much smaller (almost a 1 man show). They are the only chocolate company in WA that imported cacao beans directly and does every part of the chocolate making process themselves. Bought ourselves a very tasty  bar of Ghanaian chocolate. Interesting to taste the cacao beans themselves.
• Margaret river dairy company – a cheese factory.
• The Grove / Margaret River distillery – tasted lots of different liqueurs. Favourite shooter was butterscotch / Turkish delight / cream mix.
• Saracen estates winery and brewery. Very nice Cab Sav but too pricey for us ($85 a bottle).

Day 166 : Margaret River / Prevelly

• Early flight to Perth from Adelaidge
• Picked up hire car (some kind of Australian Vauxhall thing) and headed south
• Drove through Dunsborough (not much there and sheltered beach so no surf) to Margaret River.
• Staying at a hostel on the beach in Prevelly, just down the road from MR. They had some serious bush fires here just last week and lots of the landscape is charred – the grass has burnt up to the door of our hostel room and it still smells of wood fire.

Day 165 : Adelaide

• Took advantage of the free cycle hire provided by the city to cycle along the Trorrens  river towards Adelaide Hills – lots of pretty parkland and a koala climbing a tree :-)
• Toured the Haigh chocolate factory (also free)
• Found screws and superglue and repaired the laptop – no more duct tape
• Evening trip with the hostel to the central markets / Chinatown - sampled some free food and wine

Day 164 : Port Elliot to Adelaide

• Drove along the Fleurieu Peninsula to Adelaide, stopping at Victor Harbour and Aldinga Beach for a swim. Lots of wineries and pretty towns.
• Checked into the YHA at Adelaide and dropped off the car. Adelaide seems to be sprawling, a bit like LA but nicer. The city centre seems quite regimented; a grid system with wide roads between the blocks.
• Walked around the centre of town for a bit, visiting the Art Gallery of South Australia and the state Museum.
• In the evening we went to a comedy night in a random basement / cafe near the hostel. I think we were the only people in the (small) audience not related to the performers! A fun night though.