Nipped away from Bangkok for a spot of relaxation at Ton Sai Beach, near Krabi. Met the lovely Joahan and Caroline on our way down. They were going to climb the stunning limestone peaks so we hung out with them as Gen was keen to finally use her climbing shoes! We stayed just a few hundred metres back from the beach in a hut. The hotel provided a big buffet breakfast and allowed us to make sausage sandwiches for lunch. Genna spent a few days climbing and I wrot...

Chiang Mai was still as amazing as we'd remembered it. Spent our time relaxing in the beautiful Blue Diamond Health Cafe with it's stunning organic and gluten free (for Genna) foods with Kat and Paul Hart, cycling to the best 'Wat' we've seen - Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and wandering the streets of the walled old city. Mum loved the cooking school at Ban Thai, but found the chillies a bit on the hot side!

In Kuala Lumpur we stayed at the amazing Reggae Mansion Hostel....maybe the best we've ever stayed in. The dorms had ac, a booth with a curtain, double bed, electrical socket and locker and personal mirrored locker. Great stuff! Mum did a day trip on the bus to catch the sights of the city and loved it...despite her achy leg! Gen and I were able to use a gym for 2 days, which helped our flabby bellies. On one evening we witnessed the incredible pilgrimage of o...

Took the bus from Ipoh to the relative coolness of Tanah Rata, in the Cameron Highlands. The area is famous for being one of the largest producers of tea. We were here only for a day, but loved our hostel and adjoining verandah (with masses of frogs croaking at night). We snuck in a tour into the hills, visiting the BOH tea plantation and sampling their delicious fresh teas! We also saw a butterfly enclosure and some incredible hibiscus flowers!

Arrived by bus from Georgetown and caught a taxi via a friendly old Malaysian fella to the Shanghai Guest House. The owner for 42 years, a Chinese gentleman, was incredibly helpful with assisting us with our travel plans. We visited A shopping mall, trying the delicious local food in the food court, including ABC- a strange desert consisting of crushed ice, beans, grass jelly and sweet corn, with a blob of ice cream as a crown! Strange, but we all liked it. On t...