And so finally, we have decided we need to get our act in gear and bring you our final Asian adventures! They weren't exactly as we had expected them to be (unfortunately not in a positive way) however, in true traveller fashion we made the best out of the situation.
Following our arrival on Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, more recently renowned for it's array of 'street art', we took great pleasure in exploring the back streets of the French influenced city of Georgetown on somewhat of a treasure hunt. Despite the now ridiculous heat and the constant threat of a thunderstorm due to it being the monsoon season, the cuisine and culture behind the city meant we found ourselves in little cafés, Indian restaurants, batik galleries and plenty of nik-nak shops. The wide array of different types of art on display were a new phenomenon to the streets but have since become one of the major attractions to the place.
2 days into our Malaysian stint, Mair fell ill with an incredibly erratic fever, which initially we put down to being constantly on the move and being pretty exhausted. However after 5 days of being constantly unwell, with all the symptoms of Dengue Fever (have a google- it's a mosquito contracted tropical disease, that is also known as breakbone fever due to the extreme fatigue and pain experienced through out, unfortunately there is no preventative measures that can be taken nor treatment and can be fatal). After having spent many days in bed, sleeping nonstop and struggling to do anything, we decided it was time to go to hospital and find out what was really going on. After much deliberation, Mair really didn't want to go to the hospital, we arrived, were met with many a smiling nurse, and ushered to a waiting room to await our turn. 5 hours later, a blood test where Rach nearly ended up passing out, and a very lovely doctor indeed, the results showed that our previous self-diagnosis was indeed correct and dengue fever was the culprit. Fortunately the test results showed that she had one of the milder strains (there are 4) and so an overnight stay was avoided. After several tearful Skype conversations with Mair's parents, it was decided that we would leave Penang as soon as possible, despite her state, and get to Kuala Lumpur where we had family friends, so that she could fully recover with home comforts around her and be somewhere where we could be helped if she took a turn for the worst.
After a rather delirious bus journey from Mair, and a comfortable one all round thanks to the arm chair style, reclining chairs on offer, we arrived with the Wonderful Doughty's- we LOVE you! With spaghetti and meatballs consumed and a cup of tea in hand, things were on the up within a couple of hours. The novelty of a fridge, home comforts and a bustling family atmosphere, thanks to the 5 boys, Rob, Benj, Mikey, Jem and Nic, and Lorna and Stephen. Mair soon started to recover thanks to plenty of sofa days and homely meals, and a horrible 13 days from start to finish, we decided it was time to get back out and explore Kuala Lumpur.
We found ourselves at the top of the Sky Tower with tremendous views over the extensive city, a rather sophisticated lunch at the Islamic Arts Museum curtesy of Lorna, a trip to the National Mosque which we successfully hit at prayer time (so couldn't go in) and Central Market (and got henna, done by a lovely Indian man) and Petaling Street for a last pit stop of souvenirs. We also headed off to see the beautiful site of fireflies at night, which reminded us both of Christmas but was absolutely fabulous, as well as feeding a hoard of cheeky monkeys - a great experience! Whilst in KL we also had a great your by Nic and his girlfriend, where we saw the Petronas towers, went to a funny restaurant called chiles, and dropped in at Felisha's grandma's house.
After KL we left for Melacca, and spent three days in the picturesque town. Whilst there, we went to a maritime museum, located appropriately within an old boat. There we learnt about the history of Melacca, and how it was the old trading hub during the 19th century, and then seized and changed hands between the English, Dutch, Portuguese and French. We spent many an hour at cafés by the river, saw some other sights of the town, and went to a huge market in the China town area called Jonker Street.
Next stop - Singapore! We did our last overland border, hallelujah!! It's safe to say that it is definitely one of our favourite places, if you can, make a pit stop there! We were straight too it, paying a visit to the Singapore Flyer, basically the London Eye, however it was particularly spectacular thanks to it being night time, and the extensive sea of lights. The next morning, we got up early, and checked out Chinatown, with our own personal tour guide Dan (who we met before in Laos and thought we'd meet again!) where we were staying. We saw a Temple, a market with every live animal under the sun - frogs, turtles so many fish and lots of seafood, and a gallery with an interesting display of the history and layout of the country. We then saw Maria, a school friend who moved to Singapore a number of years ago. It was so great to have a tour of the city by someone who knows it well! We enjoyed going to the gardens by the bay... Some beautiful gardens with a huge tropical conservatory, and 'Supertree grove'. This was huge mechanical trees, with a walkway between them, which we returned to that evening to see the light show. Followed by the light show we sat by marina bay for some time with Maria, and then were treated to a a fabulous night out at the top of marina bay sands hotel - the best view to see the city from! After being very sceptical whether we'd get into the posh venue, Rach wearing flip flops and both of us being completely underdressed, we made it in!! Maria showed us such a good time, and we absolutely loved dancing away and laughing at the huge variety of people there too. The next day was fairly chilled. We went to the botanical gardens with Dan, and read our books under the shade of the trees, along with some delicious food from the food court by marina bay. We also met with Steve,who bought a package of warm clothes and chocolate from home, thanks! The morning after we headed back to KL and made it back successfully (it's always a bit hit and miss getting back to the Doughty's as the taxi drivers never know where they live).
On return to Kuala Lumpur we spent our time seeing more of the sights, and spending time with our fabulous hosts. We went bowling with Lorna, Benjamin and Rob - which was great fun! We also had a meal on banana leaves (an interesting array of photos being pulled in the pic) at a lovely restaurant after church, and popped one last time to central market. We were very sad to leave our KL family, but excited as to what our next part of the journey would hold...
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