Malaysia Photos

View from Mum & Dad's apartment in Lumut

Iguana/Goanna outside Mum & Dad's apartment

Water village on the way to Pangkor Island

Hornbill on Pangkor Island

Lady cooking fried kway teow outside a stall/coffee shop on Pangkor Island

Monkey holding Suzie's hand at Taman Paya Bakau monkey park

Gua Look Kek Tong Cave, Ipoh

Tea plantations at Cameron Highlands

First course of banquet at Overseas Restaurant, Ipoh

Malaysia - Week 1

We had a great start to our trip in Malaysia. We spent a few days with Suzie's parents at their holiday home in Lumut (West coast of Malaysia), during which time we visited Pangkor Island, climbed the jungle hill behind their apartment (1 hour to climb up and 1 1/2 hours to climb down), and fed the very tame and cheeky monkeys at Taman Paya Bakau park. We spent a day in Ipoh (where Suzie was born) and a day in the Cameron Highlands (Malaysia's tea plantation area). Had a couple of fantastic banquets and drank loads of beer - only to keep cool and hydrated.

Squat toilets

Keith and I call them "starters' blocks". If you are a lady there is no way around this - you really need to be able to squat. It's much more challenging if you are wearing pants or shorts (as opposed to a skirt) because there is a chance that you will pee on the back of your pants. I have worked out a technique for this:

• A pair of non-slip shoes is essential. In Islamic countries, these cubicles have a hose and the floor is usually very wet and slippery.


• If you are wearing long pants roll them up a couple of times - that way if you splash your ankles, when you roll down your pants no one will see the evidence.


• A packet of tissues in a pocket is a must have - it's usually BYO toilet paper.


• Make sure that you can see the back of your pants at all times - that way you know that you can't possibly be peeing on the back of your pants.

Combination locks

A combination luggage lock is a must-have for any traveller - no rummaging around your carry-on bag looking for the tiny keys to your padlock - we've been using them for years. Because we lost a couple of them on our last trip - we needed to buy some new ones and of course Keith found one that was two thirds of the price that we normally pay!! However this time it was a lock that used letters instead of numbers (we usually use the numeric ones). Keith set the combination and was quite pleased by how cunning and clever he was in selecting an appropriate word. However 5 days ago I asked him what the code word was - and he couldn't remember. Since then we've spent hours trying to crack the code!! I've even emailed the manufacturer to find out if there was some other way of getting into the lock.