Countdown To New Zealand!

So I haven't updated for quite a while but I have just been very busy and have found it hard to find to find the time in between buses, taxi's, Ferries, and new country's. We left Ko Phangan the day after the night after the full moon party on a night ferry to Ko Lanta. We were just going to go straight into Malaysia but decided to make the best of the "cheap cheap" Thailand and spend my remaining days on my Visa on a beach. Once we got there though we realized that there is basically nothing to do on the entire island so we made the best out of it by paying way more than we are used to to stay in a resort with and pool and whatnot for a couple nights to try to amuse ourselves. So besides laying by the pool in the sun and the odd dip in it to cool off we did absolutely nothing but eat and sleep which pretty much sums up those couple days. We woke up on the morning of

the April 8th to catch yetnother transportation combo when the dreaded Thailand sickness hit me. After spending almost three months here I thought I was going to be one of the few the escape but no on my last day the country gave me a going away present. Needless to say I spent one of the most uncomfortable day traveling in my life down to Pulua Langkawi, Malaysia. When we first arrived there I was very impressed by how clean it is compared to Thailand. Its very strange that you can jump on a hour ferry and you seem to step into another world more than just cross a border. The second you see Malaysia you can sure tell its a much more wealthy country and there are actually people out cleaning the streets and picking up garbage. WOW! I pretty much only seen as much of this island as it took to drive from the pier to our guesthouse because once I got the I was honestly bedridden for the next two days and only stepped outside to have a very occasional smoke. After three days of nothing but H2O it was Easter and I decided to treat myself to food and finally started to recuperate slowly. The last day there I did get out for a few hours and do some exploring with a motorbike and took a cable gondola up the biggest mountain on the island for a fantastic view (the picture is the suspension bridge on the top of the mountain) and an unreal ice cream (it could have been so good because it was pretty much the only thing Id had eaten.) And just like that we were off again to Penang. Penang is another island in Malaysai but its not the little tropical Paradise most people picture. It is home to the second largest city and skyscrapers lining the ocean for as far as the eye can see. Sara, Stacey, and I decided that we would get our full of the city life in the short days to come so we headed north of Georgetown (main city on Penang) to a more resorty area, found a decently priced guesthouse, and again threw down our bags for a couple days. Once again as on any island in Asia there isn't an over amount to do if your working on a backpacker budget and seeing as my stomach wasn't quite up to par yet we did a lot of relaxing in the day and shopping at night. The first evening we were there we just went for a little walk for something to amuse us and stumbled upon a goldmine for cheap anything and anything ripoff. It was great seeing as I was in need of some new digs and a few other things. This market was by far the cheapest place I have seen thus far here's a list, for all you back home, of what I bought just to give you an example:
2 Billibong Tshirts
1 Quicksilver Tshirt
2 Quicksilver Board Shorts
1 Billibong Board Shorts
2 Quicksilver Belts
1 Billibong Camera Case
1 Rolex Bling Bling Watch
Oakley Sunglases
D & G Non prescription Glasses
Lacoste Cologne
Timberland Leather travel bag
Billibong Leather Wallet
Total: About $85.00 Canadian
So thats what amused our three nights there just wondering around and bargaining with the local Malay people was a blast. Besides me being sick the only minor mishap we had in the last couple weeks was while Sara was taking a swim in the ocean she got stung by a jelly fish on her leg but shes a tough girl and after a little tea tea oil and a couple uncomfortable hours she was good as new. And now that brings us to today which is Friday the 13. After waking up at 5:45 am and walking about a kilometer in a pouring tropical rainstorm with all of our gear we arrived in Kuala Lupur which is the Capital city of Malaysia. As for tonight I am not too sure what we are going to do but I am sure we will find something to amuse ourselves. We have a very limited amount of time here because we have to be in Singapore on the 15 but we will have just enough to see a few things, do some laundry, and be off again. Well that's all for now but I will be sure to make more time for updates on here cause this short novel made my eyes hurt. Talk to ya all soon!

Life On The Road

Sara and Stacey Laying on the sidewalk outside 711 waiting for another bus

Ko Lanta, Thailand