SE Asia IX - Christmas Day in Burma

On Christmas Day I went to Burma. Kawthaung is a Burmese town on the opposite side of the river Perchan to Ranong in Thailand. It is a popular place to do the visa run. Most westerners arrive at the immigration hut, pay their money, get their stamp, and jump on a boat out of Burma. It is an intimidating chaotic atmosphere, which doesn't encourage lingering. In the guidebooks they actively encourage people not to have a look around and say that Kawthaung has little to offer and is just the same as the Thai town you just left. This is complete tosh. Kawthaung is quite different to Ranong and while it won't win tourist destination 2008 there are a few sights worth visiting.

Westerners do the trip to Kawthaung to renew their visa for Thailand. If you leave Thailand and then retrn you get given another tourist visa (although you can only do it 3 times consecutively before you have to visit a Thai embassy or consulate). It is called the 'visa run'. When you arrive at Burmese immigration in Kawthaung you pay the Burmese officials $10 (US dollars). They stamp you as a day visitor (you can stay 2 nights). The $10 has to be absolutely perfect, the notes cannot be marked or creased. I gave 10 $1 notes and the official checked each of them before stamping my passport. It is a dubious honour to say that you have given the Myanmar regime $10 of clean crisp notes.

I would recommend doing the visa run (even if you don't want to visit the town) just because it feels like something out of a bygone age of travelling. Ranong port is filled with long boats. Once you have boarded one and waited for more passengers ("We leave now" never means now but when the vessel is full) you head off to Thai immigration. Thai immigration is a hut on stilts in the river. Long boats crash into one another pulling up outside the hut. The boat man grabs your passport, hops between the long boats, and disappears into the hut. He returns with your stamped passports and the next stop is Thai customs. Thai customs is another hut on stilts next to a small island. When we left Thailand they waved us through. When we returned to Thailand they boarded the long boat and I had to empty my bag before the grinning army boy, who sniffed my ginger tablets, and helped me put it all back in my bag. It is then a 30 minute crossing of the estuary to Burma. It is practically open water. You are first met at another small island by Burma customs, who check some of the passports. The next stop is Kwantaung itself. The port is again filled with long boats and you crash into some as you make your landing at the pier. Once you get off the long boat you are greeted by all sorts of people selling you just about anything. For instance, after my tour around the town I was sitting in a long boat to return to Thailand. Two boys were chatting to me. One of them I had met waiting at Burma customs as he was working on another boat (he is the boy doing the 'peace' sign behind me in the top photo). He was 15 and his younger brother 13. The 15 year old boy tried to sell me a prostitute based on her being much cheaper than a Thai equivalent. His brother tried to sell me viagra and do a currency exchange on 30 Euro cents. Burmese immigration is in a hut on the otherside of a small bridge. The Burmese officials were very nice and spoke excellent English (I expected an American style immigration welcome where they want to kick you out as soon as you have arrived). The whole process is completely mad and well worth experiencing. Alot of Westerners pay big money to go in a big boat with other westerners and not mix with the riff-raff. If you do it that way you miss out on half the fun. The long boats I was in were full of smiley locals who seemed quite impressed to have a Farang in their boat.

I could have turned tail as soon as I arrived in Kawthaung but I wanted to have a look around. I had paid for a guide, Jung, to show me around for a couple of hours. It is possible to wander on your own, but I wouldn't recommend it. The area around the pier is swarming with people looking to make money out of you. The fact that I had Jung, a local, showing me around meant alot of people didn't bother hassling me and those that did I could ignore. Jung took me for a cup of tea with a mate of his Win. We chatted about Burma and Kawthaung. He gave me some options of what I could do over the next couple of hours. I choose the motorbike tour. We hired a bike, he drove and I sat pillion, and headed off to Victoria Point. There are statues of King Bayintnaung He is not popular with the Thais. He had a habit of invading Thailand and doing it successfully. The big golden statue has him pointing at Thailand. We then headed for the main road in town. The first thing I noticed was that there weren't any cars, just lots of motorbikes, and some very old trucks (possibly from the Second World War). Officially they drive on the right however this seems to very loosely followed. The Pyi Taw Aye Pagoda is stunning. It also has a great view over Kawthaung. We headed back into town and stopped at a few souvenir shops and the market. Thais visit Kawthaung for the shopping, everything is cheaper here.

The Burmese people, like the Thais, are very friendly and I was greeted by lots of smiles. The poverty in comparison to Thailand is noticeable. There was alot more begging than I had encountered in Southern Thailand. I was met by a little girl outside a shop who spoke excellent English. We chatted briefly and then she asked me for money. When I arrived I was followed by a young monk who had his begging bowl extended (Jung asked him to go away). When we went for tea piles of different food stuffs arrived on the table. I had a pastry. It seems that if you don't eat what appears infront of you you don't pay, and seeing me everyone wanted to get their choice morsels under my nose.

The whole experience can be intimidating and I wouldn't recommend trying to do it alone. I paid Kiwi Guesthouse in Ranong 400B for the whole visa run process. It made it a much more enjoyable experience. I also paid 300B for a tour guide (Jung) for 2 hours in Kawthaung who also accompanied me on the long boat trips. The hire of the motorbike cost an extra 150B. I would recommend the guide, you get a personalised tour where you find out alot more and see alot more then you would if you ventured out alone. I went through Kiwi House to arrange the guide. Alternatively Jung and Win are trying to setup an independent venture (very difficult under Burmese law). If you would like to call Win direct his mobile number is 0848436241. He offers a 500B 2 hour walking tour (minimum of 2 people), a 750B tour in a car including lunch, and a 2000B night in a hotel including a car tour and breakfast and lunch. If you go to Kawthaung under your own steam you'll probably be greeted on the pier by Win. He is an Indian guy with a withered hand. If you don't fancy a tour he'll try and sell you some viagra.

SE Asia VIII - Corrupted

The above picture was taken at Koh Panyee a Muslim fishing village in Ao Phang Nga. I didn't want this picture. I was strolling through the market when a monkey appeared under one arm, another on the other, and a ladyboy on the other side. It cost me 100B. I could have refused to pay, but I was impressed by their speed and dexterity. In Australia people pay 1000B for a picture with a Koala bear which craps on them, and they don't get a ladyboy in theirs either. The reason I have displayed this picture is because it illustrates how parts of Thailand have been corrupted by Western tourism.

On my travels I have met many people who have been to Thailand. They have all said how friendly the Thai people are. Once I got to Malaysia I met a couple of travellers who told me a different story. They found that Thailand had been corrupted by the tourist baht. They said that when Thais smiled at you they were actually cringing on the inside. The picture illustrates exactly what these travellers told me. However, it is not representative of the whole of Thailand. The corruption has taken place in Western ghettos. The amount of money has attracted Thais who want to get as much baht out of the Westerners as possible and the locals who have remained have become jaded by tourism. In Koh Panyee the local people would not make eye contact with you. If I said hello they would respond but they would not instigate it. A complete contrast to the way Thai people were in Trang and on the islands of Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn.


I was in Koh Panyee on an overnight trip into Ao Phang Nga. Ao Phang Nga is a beautiful area of limestone karst cliffs. The two main tourist attractions are Koh Panyee fishing village and James Bond Island. Boat loads of tourists visit both attractions each day from Phuket. I did my trip from Phang Nga in a long boat. There are two main tour operators in Phang Nga, Mr Kean and Sayan. If you get the bus into Phang Nga the first person to greet you will be Mr Kean. He speaks excellent English and is friendly (although he cools off once you pay for a tour). Sayan and Mr Kean charge the same money for the same trips. I had a problem on my tour because we were going to be left on a floating barge for an hour while 4 people in the boat went off kayaking for an hour. I phoned Mr Kean and complained. He got us moved to James Bond Island. He protested his innocence and insisted it had been a mistake and it would not normally happen. The other problem with the tour was that the boat man did not speak English. If you like your tour guides to keep quiet this is the tour for you. Also bear in mind that you will be sitting in a long boat on wooden planks for the best part of 7 hours and if you go to the outer islands it can get a bit bumpy in the long boat.


James Bond Island is an island that was used in the Man with the Golden Gun. It is a pretty island. Unfortunately it is covered in tourist stalls. These stalls sell the usual tourist tat and the only thing James Bond related is a t-shirt with James Bond Island written on it. The island gets extremely busy when the boats from Phuket arrive. A big tourist activity is kayaking. I envisage kayaking as a solitary or small group of canoes activity. In Ao Phang Nga there is one area where they have huge barges moored. A Thai guy sits on the end of your inflatable canoe and does the paddling, with hundreds of other inflatable canoes.

In saying that I thoroughly enjoyed my day and night in Ao Phang Nga and would recommend it. Koh Panyee is well worth visiting. It is quite something to wander around the village on stilts and it is better to stay overnight because then you get to see it when all the tourists have gone. I stayed at Panyee Bungalows and had an excellent meal while the sunset and a thunderstorm passed by. Ao Phang Nga is a big area so whilst certain areas get busy with the boats from Phuket in a long boat you can find places all to yourself.

If you do want to meet local friendly Thais all you have to do is visit Phang Nga (on the mainland). I was sitting in the bus station and got chatting to Bud. I'm not sure what Bud's job was but it involved being at the bus station. He had lived in Phang Nga all his life. Bud's English wasn't the best and my Thai is practically non-existent even when accompanied with a phrasebook. We still managed to have a very entertaining chat for an hour whilst waiting for my bus to turn up. We got talking about the King (I was wearing one of my 'I love the King' t-shirts). We were sitting in a cafe, the owner of the cafe brought out a picture of the King at a banquet with other monarchs. Prince Andrew was standing in the background beaming from ear to ear. We had a good long look at this. The cafe owner disappeared with the framed picture and then brought out the picture as a gift to me. Bud and I then moved on to talking about football, he is a big fan of David Beckham, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. (I might suggest bringing England footballer pictures as presents for the locals). Bud even spoke to the bus company on the phone to check what time my bus would be arriving. The reason why I mentioned that I don't know what Bud's job was is because he gained nothing from helping or chatting to me. He was just being Thai. He wasn't acting alone either. There were various Thai people who took part in the chat or were looking on smilingly (apart from the cafe owner who didn't say anything even after presenting the gift of the picture of the King).

SE Asia VII - It's a Thailand Trang

I decided to make Trang my first stop in Thailand only because Hat Yai wasn't meant to be nice and I didn't fancy landing straight in tourism central in Krabi. I didn't know that Trang has a great deal to offer in its own right. The islands haven't been overrun by Western tourism and it is still possible to find locals living traditional lives. On Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn I was made to feel like a guest rather than a visitor, and an honoured guest at that.

Trang hasn't been overrun by tourism. It means that the people welcome Westerners and see them as something of a novelty. I seemed to provide great hilarity wherever I went. I would walk down the street in Trang and be greeted with waves and hellos. Most people do not speak English in Trang, a few speak some words, and a handful speak somewhat fluently. The road and shop signs are all in Thai. It can make things a bit awkward when trying to find something. The Thai alphabet appears to be written upside down and back to front. I have also discovered that the English translation is not consistent. A Thai street can be written in one way on one map and another one on a different map. You are then faced with the problem of correctly pronouncing the name of the street to locals to see if they can point you in the right direction. In general I am struggling with pronunciation in South-East Asia. In Singapore I came up with a multiple of ways of pronouncing Bugis (only 2 syllables) all apparently incorrect. My English pronunciation also leaves alot to be desired according Malaysians. I went into a shop to buy a bottle of water. I couldn't find the water so I asked a shop assistant. He looked at me dumbfounded. I repeated "water", he said back to me "Watta?", I said "Yes, Water", he said "Watta?", I pulled out a bottle of water from my bag and his eyes lighted up, "Oh, Water". When I left the minibus office in Hat Yai for Trang the women in the office found it hilarious to repeat my pronunciation of Trang (one syllable) loudly and gregariously.

My Lonely Plant guidebook only gives a brief mention to Trang and doesn't mention the existence of islands along the coast here. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bustling town and even more surprised to discover a myriad of islands existing off the coast. I might be stretching the point to suggest that Trang and its islands are undiscovered. In all the restaurants I ate it in Trang whilst the waiter or waitress couldn't speak English they all had English translations of their menu. There are local travel agents geared up to getting you out to the islands, although again communication can be tricky.

The main islands off the Trang province coastline are Koh Libong, Koh Sukorn, Koh Ngai (or Koh Hai), Koh Mook (or Koh Muk) and Koh Kradan. I visited Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn. The great thing about Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn is that they have large local populations. There are a number of long boats running to and from the islands all day. It makes it a lot cheaper to reach them. If you want to visit Koh Ngai, Koh Mook, or Koh Kradan you have to charter a boat or go through a travel agency. Travelling to the islands with the locals means you are straight into local life and get a local perspective on the island. There isn't a barrier of us and them.

The first island I visited was Koh Libong. Koh Libong is the largest island in the area and is home to muslim fishing villages. There are three separate villages on the island. I caught a local minibus from Trang to Hao Mei pier to catch a boat to the island. The boat in question was a longboat. A long boat is a wooden boat with an engine mounted on the stern with a long pole attached to the drive shaft and a propeller on the end of the pole. The skipper stands on the stern. The long boat is steered by moving the engine on its pivot which in turn moves the propeller. Before we departed the passengers climbed aboard (I was the only Farang), we were seated on wooden planks under a tarpaulin. The front uncovered section was filled with various supplies and then more passengers jumped on top of the supplies. Life vests are not included. Once we left the river estuary the sea spray picked up so another piece of tarpaulin was pulled over the front of the covered section and the guys sitting in the front got soaked.

On Koh Libong I felt like the Queen. On Koh Libong wherever I went everyone wanted to say hello and wave to me. The people of Trang were friendly but nowhere near as friendly as the people of Koh Libong. There are 3 bungalow 'resorts' on the island. I stayed at the Libong Nature Beach Resort. It is a very pleasant place designed by Scandinavians as an Ecotourism venture to put money back into the local community. The local population is pretty big so they haven't become jaded by westerners. Alot of the Koh Libong tourists seem to spend their time on the beach outside their bungalows. They don't go into the interior of the island. I wandered over to a fishing village on the other side of the island and was made to feel like an honoured guest. When I left the village for the hour return walk a local guy offered me a lift back to the other side of the island. When we arrived I offered him money and he refused. I met an American retiree couple and we managed to invite ourselves to a wedding reception. We were looking for somewhere to eat and saw an awning with tables and chairs. We walked up and asked if they were still cooking. They didn't speak English and they seemed surprised to see us. Slowly but surely more locals surrounded us in curiosity at what we could want. We came to the conclusion that they must have stopped cooking for the night so we walked off, they called us back and then got us to sit down. They brought out the food, which was very nice. A guy then emerged who spoke a little bit of English, he said he was on the island for a friend's wedding. He invited us to a BBQ on the beach. We went to pay for our meal and they wouldn't accept any money. We then realised that we had somehow invited ourselves to the remnants of a wedding reception. The next day the awning and all the tables and chairs disappeared.

I went back to Trang after Koh Libong and then went to Koh Sukorn. Koh Sukorn is the main destination sold by the travel agents in Trang. It is a bit more civilised than Koh Libong. There is a concrete road running round the island, whereas on Koh Libong the roads are nearly all dirt tracks which are heavily pot holed. I stayed at Sukorn Beach Bungalows, which are very nice but expensive and a much cheaper (and still a nice place) is Cabana Bungalows. I went cycling around the island and ended up sitting in a shop in the village on the island chatting to the locals. When I passed through the village everyone waved at me and said hello. They were again genuinely pleased to see me.

While I was in Trang I stayed at Yamawa. It is the best value accommodation I have stayed in in Thailand. It was 200B a room. I had a TV, ensuite (cold shower), double bed and the room had a bit of character to it. On Koh Libong I paid 600B at Libong Nature Beach Resort and on Koh Sukorn I paid 800B at Sukorn Beach Bungalows. The people of Trang are very helpful, a particular travel agency went beyond even the high levels of Trang helpfulness. They ran through a whole heap of information with me without hard selling anything to me. One of them even came with me to a mobile phone shop to help me buy a SIM card (1-2-Call) because I had no idea on what I should buy. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the travel agency (it is probably in Thai anyway) but if you want tot find it walk from the station towards the clock tower, it is the second travel agency on the right handside with a sliding door.

SE Asia VI - Penang

Penang is an island on the West Coast of the Malay peninsula. It is famous for being an outpost of the East India Company. It isn't a relic of the past, it is a living and breathing city. There are jungle clad hills to escape to, an assortment of temples, and beaches. If you can only spend time in one place in Malaysia I would recommend Penang, because it has a little bit of everything.

Penang is centred around Georgetown, the colonial capital of Penang It is similar to Melaka, in having historic buildings lining narrow traffic filled streets, however, Georgetown is a bit bigger than the old town of Melaka and the architecture is a bit more varied. Georgetown does have a certain air of decay to it. The colonial buildings are falling apart and it seems that building new houses is more important than refurbishing the pre-existing ones. There is a building boom on the island in condominiums, apartment complexes. The three cultures of Malaysia; Malay, Chinese and Indian, are well represented in Georgetown. Little India is the most colourful and dynamic part of Georgetown.

I mentioned in a previous post the tensions existing within multicultural Malaysia, especially with the Indians. The Malaysian Government has recently banned a leading Indian political organisation from holding protests. While the tension exists it is not apparent to the tourist and no one ever mentioned it to me directly. From a tourists point of view the three cultures are thriving in Georgetown. A great aspect of maintaining the identity of each culture is the variety of food on offer. There are a number of excellent food courts in Georgetown. World Food Market north of Komtar is very good and cheap, and few westerners seem to be aware of its existence. Indian food in Penang is particularly good, especially the banana leaf meals ( you eat off of a banana leaf).


The establishments I generally eat at fall somewhere between the street stall and the restaurant, hopefully combing the cheapness of the stall with the hygiene of the restaurant. The staff at these establishments are not always the easiest to pick out. The guy sitting down eating his dinner is the waiter, the guy picking his feet is the chef, and the guy standing outside who looked like he was going to mug you is the owner. It isn't surprising to find by the end of your meal that everyone eating in the restaurant is somehow involved in the operation. I would often find at these establishments that I would try and order something. The waiter would look at me quizzically and reply that what I wanted was not a good thing to order and in actual fact I wanted something completely different. The waiters expertise was generally spot on.


The seemingly undiscovered gem of Penang is Taman Negara Pulau Pinang (National Park of Penang). It is just a case of jumping on the 101 bus from Komtar which will take you to the northern beaches. The majority of people stop at Batu Ferringhi which is pleasant but heavily developed, the next beach along is Teluk Bahang. There is a small fishing village and the people are very friendly, it is also the gateway to the national park. After an hour and a half walk (and wade) through the jungle you arrive at Monkey Beach. It is a beautiful spot, with few people and plenty of wildlife. When you walk through the jungle you come across Monkeys and even Goannas. A family of dogs live on the beach, and are very cute. They are extremely happy to sit around you without feeding or patting them, and they are photogenic. Although watch out for Dad, he wandered off with one of my sandals.

There are plenty of things to see in Penang. There is the world's third largest reclining Buddha. A Burmese Buddhist temple sits opposite the Thai temple (with the reclining Buddha) and is prettier. There is also Kek Lok Si another Buddhist temple this time perched on top of a hill. It is a beautiful spot overlooking the town of Air Itam. There are the expected tourist stalls on the way in but what I found disappointing were the stalls inside the temple complex. I can understand the sale of roof tiles with your name written on them to finance refurbishment, but stalls selling the usual tourist tat spoil it. Penang Hill is another very popular trip into the centre of the island. There are great views from the top, somewhat spoilt by the pollution haze. I choose to walk up with a hiker from the Cameron Highlands, Z. We went up the Jeep track, which is a road, but it is amazingly steep. It was a 6km walk up an incline that reminded me of Baldwin Street in New Zealand, the world's steepest street. I met plenty of friendly Malaysians on the way up, especially a couple of groups of school children who delighted in saying Hello to me. The problem with Penang Hill is that the funicular train that takes you down (and up) is very busy, the queue is about an hour at both ends and then you are packed in like commuters on the tube.

I stayed at Hutton Lodge in Georgetown. It is a recently opened guesthouse and not in the guidebooks yet. I only found out about it because of where I stayed in KL, Pondok Lodge, has the same owners. It is a renovated old building and has a historic feel to it even though it has been thoroughly refurbished. The staff are very friendly. I became Mr Steve for the week. Whenever I returned from a day out and about they would always ask me where I had been and what I had seen. One of the guys seemed particularly pleased to shake hands with me at any opportunity.


Penang was my last stop in Malaysia. I will certainly be back. Whilst there are tensions between the three peoples of Malaysia I found them all to be friendly and welcoming. The three cultures give the country great variety. The British seem to be very popular in Malaysia. There are a plethora of English football shirts (Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal). I was in a night market in KL after England lost to Croatia. I was walking passed a street stall with a TV showing a match report in Bahassa. The locals were shocked and genuinely disappointed that England had lost. (I don't know if the same sense of affection exists towards the Scottish and Welsh national teams.) I rarely got hassled in the country. The only regular annoyance were the taxi drivers and that was very mild. When walking passed restaurants and cafes you will get asked to come in but it isn't aggressive and there is generally a but of humour involved. For instance, I was walking through Tanah Rata when a waiter at an Indian restaurant tried to get me to come in, when I told him I had already eaten he replied "But you still look hungry sir". In short Malaysiua is an easy country to get to, straightforward to get around, there is lots to see, it is cheap, and the people are friendly.

SE Asia V - Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands are an oasis of cool air and calm rolling mountain hills in Malaysia. A complete contrast to KL. The scenery is stunning. There are jungle clad hills and tea plantation clad hills all around. There are also lots of Land Rovers. While I was in town I did some hiking and went to visit an Orangi Asli village in the jungle.

The Cameron Highlands have beautiful scenery. The scenery is not matched by the towns. The biggest town, and where most of the accommodation is, is Tanah Rata. Tanah Rata has the architectural quality of Basildon. The people are friendly and there are lots of good places to eat. I stayed at Father's Guesthouse in Tanah Rata. It is an institution on the backpackers circuit. The accommodation is in army style Nissan huts. They are basic (and a bit chilly at night) but at RM10 a night you can't go wrong. The toilet facilities are basic, but they do have hot showers and western toilets. There is a cafe which serves breakfast and dinner. Gerrard runs Father's Guesthouse and he is very helpful. I booked the tours he recommended and was not disappointed.

I did two tours in a day with Cameron Secrets (http://www.cameronsecrets.com/). I was up at 5.30am for the Morning Madness tour. We were taken to Gunung Brinchang the highest peak in Malaysia accessible by road. We were lucky enough to have a superb sunrise. We then did a hike through the mossy forest. Our guide Satya was excellent, he was an excellent source of information and funny with it. After that we went to the BOH tea plantation. The Cameron Highlands is famous for its tea. The tea here supplies the majority of what Malaysia drinks and they drink alot of tea. The tea hills are beautiful to look at.The British brought Indians to the Cameron highlands to create the tea plantations and to maintain them. It is only in recent years that wages have dropped and they jobs have gone to Indonesians on two year work contracts.

We spent the day driving round in Land Rover Defenders. The Cameron Highlands are packed to the brim with Land Rovers. I have never seen so many in one place before, and I have been to Land Rover club meetings. It seems to be one of the few parts of the world where the Toyota Landcruiser doesn't rein supreme. It is a legacy of the British involvement and the use of the Land Rover during the Communist insurgency on the peninsula. When the British left they sold the Land Rovers to the locals. They are used for absolutely everything. While you drive around the winding bends of the Cameron Highlands you see locals piled into the back of them, others with boxes of vegetables stacked high and the suspension giving under the strain.

In the afternoon we visted an Orangi Asli village. The Orangi Asli are the native people of Malaysia. Their way of life, like most indigenous peoples, is slowly dying out. The Malaysiuan government is 'persuading' them to leave the jungles and move into the towns. The tour that Cameron Secrets offers is special because you are taken to a village in the jungle, an hour and a half from Tanah Rata. The particular village only allows Cameron Secrets to visit because the chief has befriended the two guides. The village is therefore not inundated with tourists and we were treated as guests. Kumar the guide was full of information and we had a much greater appreciation of the Orangi Alsi by the time we arrived. The village is just what you would expect, bamboo homes on stilts, lots of kids, chickens and dogs running around. Initially I felt somewhat awkward in the village. Whilst there was only me, Z and the guide it still felt like we were intruding. I like to merge into the background when I travel, to observe rather than be observed. It is achievable in the Western world but once you are taller and look different to everyone else it becomes a bit tricky to not literally stand out from the crowd. When visiting a native village you are guaranteed to stand out. The villagers noticeably warmed to our presence and interacted more and more with us over the time we were there. The children ran around us. A group of teenagers spoke to me in halting English. We were taught how to use a blowdart. it was a bamboo tube a few metres long, you are given a dart, you put it in the tube with some cotton wool (natural version), focus on the target (a flip-flop) and blow. I was pretty good, though the chief didn't seem particularly impressed. He invited us inside his hut where we shown musical instruments and tools. We were given a nose flute to play. I pushed it up my nose and blew threw it, the correct technique is to play it just in front of your nose and then blow. We were given an excellent cup of herbal tea, some jack fruit seeds and tapioca. The jack fruit seeds have the texture of bark, taste like BBQ crisps and apparently if you eat ten you will die. After the meal we had a go at a string puzzle. It was a piece of string looped through a bamboo puzzle. I had no idea how to do it and the chief demonstrated how you solved it. When we left the chiefs hut the kids were skipping outside. Kumar thought it would be a good idea if we took part. I haven't skipped since the early 1990s, which was shown in my efforts.

The Cameron Highlands have a number of trails marked through the hills for you to do under your own steam. Me, Z, Margeritta and Ella, a group of Melbourne girls, attempted Trail 8. It was an extremely gruel climb up tree routes through the jungle to the summit of the hill. It was followed by an equally taxing hike down the other side. The Cameron Highlands may not be humid but I was still sweating like it was going out of fashion.