Malaysia

And so we make it into Malaysia. And it's the height of SARS, but we haven't really heard too much about it, apart form everyone at home telling us not to go to Signapore! I bought a mask, but really didn't need one. It seemed as though most people were not too concerned.
We corssed into Malyasia over the border from Thailand. We walked across, which for me is always a great highlight, physically walking across the border, having your passport checked and entering a new country on the other side.
Our first stop - the Perhentian Islands.

Perhentian Islands
We quickly found out that the only way to get to the Perhentian Islands is to take the (only) boat from Kuala Besut jetty, near the town of Kota Bahru, an.... erm .... interesting... working (read dirty), market town in NE Malasyia.
We stayed at possibly the worst backpackers of our whole 18 month trip - infested room with large cockroaches, dirty bathroom and mosquitoes everywhere - knowing that at 6am we would be out of there and on our way to the boat dock to get to the Islands. And it was worth it. The Perhentian Islands are amazing. The closest place I have ever been to paradise.



The Islands are located in the South China Sea 25 km from the coast of Kuala Besut. It consists of two islands, Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil. Both islands are surrounded by beautiful palm-fringed sandy beaches andcrystal-clear turquoise-blue sea. We headed to Pulau Perhentian Kecil, the more rustic of the two islands, with only basic accomodation.

Kuala Lumpur

Towers at night

Petronas Towers