To avoid several immigration checkpoints we decided to take a ferry from Brunei back into Malaysia, via Pulau Labuan (duty free!). After a cheap hoegaarden on Labuan we were told that there were no more ferries but that we could take a speedboat instead and continue by bus to KK... After this hair-raising and back-breaking journey we eventually arrived in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah, Borneo. We were here stocking up on gear and high-energy s...

We'd been looking forward to Singapore since we left home but after hearing some mixed opinions we arrived with an open mind. Our friend Caroline who we met on Tioman Island was kind enough to invite us to stay in her lovely apartment close to the centre of the action. Simon whipped up a yummy meal in the kitchen and made me realise how much i miss home cooked food! Singapore was a clean, modern and efficient haven after 6 months in Asia, we can see how some peop...

So after 6 months of backpacking you'd think we'd be getting used to squatting for the toilet, hard mattresses and mosquito bites... but no, we're probably just having too much fun to care! After another 15 hour boat and bus haul we arrived in a very rainy Georgetown, Penang. New timezone, new currency and a new mix of people. We arrived late and a lot of places were full so we opted for the characterful "love lane inn" with a couple of pet hamsters and...