Kuala Lumpur. Second time around.

Twenty four hours later at 5am, after a boat, coach, two minivans and a taxi we arrived in Kuala Lumpur's China Town. To my surprise all the hostels were fully booked but one agreed we could wait in their lounge until two beds became available. We met a guy who had been attacked so badly by bed bugs it looked as though he had chicken pox all over his back. The hostel had given him a room for some respite from their feeding which he said he didn't need anymore so we exchanged him for some anti-histamine cream!

A few hours sleep later we were ready to take in the sights of KL. K had never been before and I was happy I now knew the way so we took in the National Mosque, Museum of Islamic Arts and the National Monument. K bought a bouncy ball and I bought some pineapple with sour powder. Yum.

On our way back we planned to stop off for a quick drink before showering and heading out for the evening. Although Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country we were shocked at how hard it was to find a bar in a city as cosmopolitan as KL. After an hour of wandering we settled on the Reggae Bar. It only took me five seconds to find the sign on the wall that said 'Free drinks for backpacker girls. 6pm-11pm.' I called over a waiter and checked out the logistics: 'How many free drinks? Do you have to be staying here to get them? Can I get them today?' We were good to go so grinning I turned to K and said 'I'll get the first round in then!'

We stayed at the Reggae Bar until 11pm chatting to an English/ French couple who had just got back from the Philippines so I racked their brains and came away with a napkin full of more precious travel advice than ten Lonely Planets.

For my final day in KL I wanted to check out the Batu Caves as I had missed it out last time round. We boarded a train and arrived at 4pm (late arrival due to nursing hangovers). We climbed the several hundred steps behind the huge golden deity to the entrance of the caves. The sign at the top promised us 'No more exercise'!

The tavern inside was full of mischievous monkeys and we watched as they persistently stole the Hindu religious garlands and dragged them up the cliff walls to have a good chew on them. They weren't deterred by a religious man throwing rocks at them; he invariably missed. Some music started to play and we were witness to a Hindu ceremony although I wasn't sure what it was for. For a few moments though, it felt as though we were in India.

We stopped off at a reptile centre and jumped on the train back to the city. K wanted to go to the part for sunset so we got off at a random stop hoping to find a taxi. Anytime you walk anywhere in Asia you are constantly shouted at; "Taxi, Taxi", "Tuk Tuk, Tuk Tuk", but the only time we actually needed a ride it was impossible to flag one down. We had a rough map with no scale (the maps are always wrong anyway) so decided to head on foot in the rough direction until we found a lift.

KL is a great city to get lost in. Many cultures and religions all live happily side by side (Muslim, Hindu and Chinese being the main ones) which brings an eye-catching variety to the streets. After an hour or so of walking we eventually managed to flag down a taxi who told us the park was just across the bridge we were stood on - map reading genius!  We had missed sunset but the view of KL rising out above the lake was breathtaking. The KL Towers and skyscrapers - their billowing lights stretching up into the warm hazy night sky.

We grabbed a burger and headed up to the Petronas Towers for a panoramic bird's eye view of the night city-scape. Through the binoculars you could peer at people on the streets, in gyms and going about their ant-like routines.



My flight to Manila was at 7am so I headed back to the hostel and tried to get a couple of hours sleep before the 3am airport shuttle bus. I can never sleep if I know I have to get up early but the excitement of going to the Philippines gave me enough energy to get to the airport and on the plane.

Koh Phangan

One of my favourite things about travelling is never knowing where you might end up tomorrow. As such, I tend to shy away from booking things in advance. Unfortunately this was New Year peak season so prices were inflated and accommodation was scarce so I opted to book three nights on Koh Phangan before I arrived. My only option was to book a double room so I hoped to bump into someone on the ferry who would be up for sharing. As luck happens I sat next to two worse for wear girls on the ferry - one of whom was asleep underneath the chairs. 

A and H were from Bournemouth and had been at a part the night before. At the ferry port, we boycotted the touts for a while as the girls had a number to call when they arrived on Koh Pangan. Their number yielded no response so we all decided to share the room. A shouted "Taxi, taxi" in the middle of the idling group of touts and we were on our way to Ham Salad (aka Haad Salad).

It wasn't a problem convincing the frond desk that there were only two of us staying in the room and our other friend was just 'dropping off her bag'. We checked out the local reggae bar, took a swim and piled into the double bed for a nap.

J and A were already on Koh Phangan and informed me that the Black Moon Party (Experience After Party) was that night and the line-up was going to be good! All we needed now was transportation. Although it is commonplace to see three plus people on a moped in Asia, they wouldn't allow it in the rental shop. It was going to work out cheaper for us to rent a jeep between three for 24 hours than to get a taxi to the party and back so we bought some refreshments and clamboured in. I was more than happy to be the designated driver. A bottle of Samson, several toilet breaks and an hour later we were outside the party. The only thing left between us and dancing all night was how we were going to avoid paying the 500 baht entrance fee. We parked up and scouted around but breaking in wasn't looking likely. A few people were leaving the party so we took their wristbands for 200 baht and were in!

It turned out to be another amazing party. I bumped into some people I had met on Koh Tao and it was a perfect way to end my New Year on the islands before getting back to doing some proper travelling! After a safe journey back - including some of my legendary dodgey parking - we all settled into a deep sleep.

The next day I had arranged to meet K (a friend I had bumped into at both parties) in Haad Rin to book tickets to travel to Kuala Lumpur together as he was flying back to Slovenia and had a flight to the Philippines. It was raining on the island anyway, so no fun for touring the islands beaches as we had originally planned. The evening ran smoothly, no crashes, tickets booked, a few drinks and a movie in a bar. Although we did get majorly lost on the way back and ended up in the wrong part of the island but luckily our late arrival was overlooked. We are obviously better navigators after a night of partying.

The next morning at 5am I was travelling again! The journey from Koh Phangan to Kuala Lumpur was a killer 24 hour mission! The worst part of the journey was the minivan from Surathani to Penang. Cramped into the back it was too bumpy to read and there was no chance of sleeping. K gave me some Slovenian wordsearches to do and was very patient in responding to my questions of what every word meant in English while he battled on with his 'Very Taxing' sudoku.



Koh Tao

A little worse for wear from our journey, we avoided the mass of touts at the port and set up camp in a bar to take stock of the situation over an ice coffee. A had already booked accommodation on Koh Tao for her and her friend, J, for the duration of the festival. As J wasn't arriving until the next day I agreed to share accommodation with her for the first night. An open-backed jeep ride across the island's dirt tracker later, i was glad of a decent shower, meal and a bed to sleep in.

In the morning I made my way to the festival site to get a good camping spot while A went to meet J. This was it. Four days of dancing to ceaseless psychedelic rhythms amongst a crowd of amazing people welcoming in the New Year on an island paradise. It certainly couldn't get any better. The location was perfect, the decor stunning, and the music really reached a peak on 1st January 2011.

The festival finished on the 4th and I checked into a hotel in town to recover. Team America was on the movie channel; ideal post festival viewing. I learned that three girls I had travelled Laos with had just arrived on the other side of the island and had persuaded the hotel to throw in a mattress in their room for me at 100 baht a night (about two pounds). It was amazing seeing them again and I felt as though I was catching up with old friends. We chilled on the beach together, went window shopping, danced to the cheesiest music and messed around for a couple of days.

My visa for Thailand was running out and on the recommendation of several friends (plus the rumour of a festival after party) I decided to head for Koh Phangan.

Bangkok, second time around.

Second time in Bangkok and it's still not my favourite place in the world. We found a great little Israeli guest house tucked around the corned from the noise of Khao San Road; Secret Garden Guest House. Although it wasn't the cheapest, we decided it was okay considering we only spend $1 on the previous two nights accommodation. We spend the following evening pottering around Khao San; N buying T-shirts while I chatted to a guy who made bamboo saxophones and (selflessly, of course,) helping him with quality control.

The next day's agenda consisted of buying a tent for a festival I was headed to, which proved more difficult than it should in such as huge city. We took a local bus to another part of Bangkok where we were advised there was a market where I could purchase one. After hunting around for a while and receiving numerous opinions we ended up at Tesco (ahem)! 270 baht, job done. We jumped in a tuk tuk back to Kao San Road as I had a girl to meet who would be joining me on the night bus. The rush hour traffic was heaving with cars headed in a chaotic and directionless cloud of smog. We made it back to Kao San just in time for me to grab my rucksack and head to the bus stop where N and I, after a month of travelling together, parted company.

I was meeting a girl, A (a friend of a friend of a friend on Facebook), and we were travelling to Ko Tao together for a four day psytrance event: The Experience Festival. But as the traffic in Bangkok was so bad, A was nowhere to be seen. After pleading with the travel agent and a phone call between her and the bus driver, it was established that she was only 5km away; but who knew how long that would take. This is Thailand though, nothing ever leaves on time, so I didn't doubt that she would make it. 15 minutes later I received a call from an unknown Thai number: both our phones had run out of credit but A had been lucky and found someone who had lent her their phone. The travel agent again conversed with a guy at the end of the phone and gave him the name of a bar nearby. Through the language barrier I wasn't sure what was going on so 10 minutes later after no A and much pressure from the bus company, I left my backpack and headed there on the off-chance. Armed with the memory of Asia's Facebook profile picture and limitless optimism I got to the bar and said her name very loudly. As luck would have it, a girl matching her description turned around and we were on our way. That is, after a 30 minute wait for the bus to show up!

A and I got along really well and swapped travel stories as the bus headed south. After the final dinner stop everyone started to snooze so I headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Pulling the door aside, there were too Welsh boys in there drinking and smoking: great. I went back and grabbed A and we joined in the toilet party! The morning bought another bus journey and then a boat ride via Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and finally to Koh Tao.