Escape to Penang On check in the night before, I had asked the reception to ring the ferry company to confirm my intention to travel. She told me that the ferry didn’t leave at eight o’clock like I thought it did; instead I had to be at the office for eight thirty ready to get the bus for a departure of eleven o’clock. I was up early anyway so I had enough time to get ready and prepare for my long crossing. I’d only had lunch the day before so filled up ...

A Week In Taiping After an hour, the bus turned up and I hopped aboard to find many staring faces and chitter chatter, nothing I wasn't used to already. I remembered part of the drive to Taiping and after getting a taxi to Hotel Furama the receptionist confirmed that he remembered me too. Several Malaysians I have spoken to along the way, after hearing my name, called me Richard the Lion Heart and the receptionist was no exception taking up the nickname once mor...

Time for Tea We were to be up early for our action packed day and after a few introductions we set off in, of course, a Land Rover, at just gone eight o'clock. I hoped it wasn't the law to wear seatbelts in Malaysia as nobody seemed to, indeed, the Land Rover didn't even have any - I was sat in the front again. We drove for around an hour through hill farms full of heavily laden plants with fruiting bodies. With the removal of the rainforest and the sharp elevat...

Returning to KL I arrived at Kuala Lumpur Airport to what looked like an international medical emergency and in many respects it was. People everywhere had facemasks on and there were screens with doctors and nurses to look at anyone suspected of swine flu (H1N1). Staff gave out forms that we had to fill in declaring our health status but it didn't look as if anyone was affected. I marched on ahead to baggage reclaim where there was a booth to purchase tickets f...

The main tourist attraction of the Blue Mountains, Scenic World, was our destination for the day's activities. We arrived just after opening time to beat the crowds and headed inside where we bought our tickets and headed outside onto a precarious metal mesh platform where we were to catch the world's steepest railway to the valley floor. A grey cockatoo sat on a railing and immediately caught our attention as it preened in the morning sun. After a short burst of...