The journey to Pangkor was nice and easy, just two hours on a nice comfy bus, although super cold because of the air-con, and then we followed some German friends we met in Ipoh to the next bus station. We got there just in time for a mini Nasi Kampur lunch before another 2 hour journey to Lumut where we jumped on a half hour ferry to the island. Compared to the overnight buses we have been taking in the rest of south east Asia, Malaysia's short journeys seem a breeze! We managed to get a nice little room in a cool jungle location at the Nazri Nipah Camp, though it was only available for one night. The town seemed really basic and not really what we were expecting at all, but come next morning, when it turned out someone had checked out and we could keep out cute little hut, plus with the sun shining, it all looked a lot better. We had a full day on the local beach which seemed perfect, quiet and clean, until we found the next beach along the next day which was even more secluded and beautiful! There were hardly any restaurants and no bars, but our guesthouse was happy for us to bring drinks in and there was a good vibe plus they played the football for Ben so it was the perfect hideout for the 6 days we stayed there. We visited a psychedelic Hindu temple on the beach one day called Lin Je Kong Temple, with Donald Duck guarding the entrance and some other crazy statues like a mermaid and giant turtles, and one cloudy day we actually walked the circumference of the whole island which took around 5 hours,also visiting another Chinese temple called Foo Lin Kong with a mini version of the great wall of china, and a pond with the biggest fish we have ever seen! We met an older couple from Manchester too and it was nice to see them enjoying their travels, just as we will be still doing in 30 years! The island is inhabited by Hornbills, a prehistoric looking bird with a long, curved beak and a casque on the upper mandible. The specific hornbills here are known as Oriental Pied, and the large additional structure above the beak has no specific purpose apart from reinforcing the bill, or possible being a resonator for calls, as it is hollow. They are curious things, they look like they don't want the extra bit there as they are always scratching it against things, like corrugated iron roofs! The birds move their heads in a jolty way, partially to do with the added weight and also because they can see over it! They also have big thick eyelashes which apparently shade them from the sun. We went to a local feeding session and they are very delicate at taking the bananas from your hand for such huge birds!

We had a gorgeous sunny last day before taking the boat and bus to Melaka, a little city further down on the West coast. Unfortunately we had to wait until 4.30 at the port for the next part of the journey but we just laid on the grass and relaxed with our books, and when we finally got on our bus it was big and comfy and we started driving through a massive storm. You could actually can see the texture and weight of the clouds and rain water was splashing half way up the window from the puddles which was very entertaining! We arrived just after midnight and got a cab to Ringo's Place, a really cool, laid back hostel where we had a room for 35 ringitt a night. There was a big common room where everyone could hang out so we met lots of people to pick up advice on our next destinations, even a Spanish guy who worked in Ibiza! We took a walk around the town the next day to check out the blend of Portuguese, Dutch and Peranakan architecture, and bought some supplies for our fast approaching mountain climb, and went to the weekend night market on Jonker street where they were hosting a talent contest. I use the term "talent" loosely- think chinese girls singing bad karaoke, and overly made up children who have been choreographed by their mums. It was really fun! We bought a few quirky treats and ate some handsome street food, and watched an old kung foo master crack a coconut with his finger! We also overindulged to the max with Nonya pineapple tarts which originate from this area, buttery pastry and chewy, fruity jam in the middle. It was a great little town but we had bigger fish to fry in the Capital, Kuala Lumpur.

It was a simple 2 hour journey to KL central by bus, and then we picked up the Metro to our hotel which was situated half way between Little India and Chinatown. We explored both as soon as we arrived, stopping for dinner at the best Nasi Kandar we had come across so far, followed by an amazing atmosphere at Julan Petaling, the biggest designer knock-off market I have ever seen. We followed up the excitement with drinks in the Reggae bar and a win from Arsenal, KL was turning out to be very fun indeed.

We took a little trip to the Menara Tower the next morning, just a short walk from where we were staying. It used to be the highest point to view the city, but it was trumped a few years back when the Petronas Towers opened their top floors as viewing decks. It is 276 m high and was a great place to start out at to view the city and is set atop a forest reserve so has a real green vibe, just like the rest of the Capital. After this we walked to the Petronas Towers and killed the rest of the day at the mall there which was mostly designer shops with some high street favourites thrown in, there was a rain storm so apart from jumping on the free purple bus to another mall to stay dry there wasn't too much to do! The following day, with storm clouds overhead but dry weather, we took a stroll to the Lake Gardens and National Monument, as well as Merdeka Square where Malaysian independence was proclaimed back in 1957. It's the perfect sized city to walk around, of you do it in the right way, most sights are within 10-15 minutes of each other! With there being so many grassy, manicured areas, it makes it a pleasure to see by foot. We took a last trip back to see the Petronas Towers at night. They were a fantastic sight to end our journey on the Malaysian Peninsular.