G'day Cobbers,

here we are "down under" and are currently trying to get back into a decent sleep pattern after our travels. Pen's going to post a comment about OZ so far, a nd I thought I'd do a reflction on Malaysia and Singapore.....so here goes...

Many aspects of M felt very similar to Thailand, although more people speak English well in S, being a former colony. This made things less tiring/frustrating/confusing as you can imagine! We also noticed that whilst people in T were very friendly there was often a hidden agenda such as wanting us to buy somthing/go somewhere. In M people were incredibly friendly and helpful and almost always it was simply because they wanted to help rather than gain anything. How lovely!

We were told several times that tourism is generally a lot slower at the moment in M, which is sad for them but good for us, given that we had more choice/cheaper prices etc. We also noticed a change in the weather - M & Singapore were both far more prone to torrential rain and thunderstorms, happening almost daily - usually late afteroon to early evening and lasting up to 4 hours! M is much more organised and orderly than T (those we spoke to attribute it to colonialisation) which made travel etc much more pleasant.

My highlights would have to be Chinese New Year (the celebrations in Penang, in KL with Connie and family), spending time with Penny's lovely Uncle Peter and Aunty Susan, and my two foot massages in a really lovely massage salon. My low light would have to be the lack of exercise! We did no swimming as we weren't near beaches or pools, and I only had one chance to run, whilst in the cooler Cameron Highlands so it was lovely to get to Oz and have a straight, flat boardwalk and esplanade right oiutside our hostel that stretches for at least 2 miles each way - hurrah!

Although we didn't really get to see many islands or beaches in M, I would probably head back to T first given the choice, as there was so much more we wanted to see, the islands were stunning and T is a really good place to move onto into Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar etc. It also seemed easier to eat more healthily in T than M, although it wasn't particularly easy in either country.

So, what of Singapore? There was plenty to see there, but as Penny wasn't well when we arrived (it was just the one day, she's fine now!) and our first night at the hotel was pretty awful, it wasn't the best start to our time there. As in T & M we were never far from Chinese food, as large swathes of each population are of Chinese descent, but there was also so much western choice, but it was often quite disappointing and greasy! It was a wake-up call to the cost of living that we can expect in OZ, as the S prices were a lot higher than in T & M and our budget certainly didn't go as far (although it helped having cheap dinners sometimesn at the Chinese market - equivalent of about a quid each rather than 6 - 10 in a restaurant!)

S is lovely place, very clean, orderly, diverse and I can see why lots of expats would live there. If I had to choose somewhere from our SE Asia travels to work, it would be in S, because it's more like home from home but w th enought diversity and easy transport to allow for other cultural experiences....as long as you were on an expat wage to be able to enjoy it!

My highlights would be our Singapore sling in Raffles (despite the cost), the Asian Civilsations Museum, and also the Battle"Box which was a moving re-enactment experience of the last few days in the underground miltary command bunker during WW2 against the Japanes before having to surrender.

My mixed feeling highlight was S'pore zoo and night safari. The experiences were wonderful - especially the elephant show which had several elephants and handlers having fun and entertaining the masses for an hour or so and it was really lovely to see them at work and play, relating so well to their keepers and vice versa. The night safari was an excellent way to see nocturnal animals which we did partly by tram and partly on foot. The night sounds were also amazing - like being back in the jungle in Thailand......such fond memories.

I've been to very few zoos in my life and don't remember going to any as a child, but I'm sure my Mum could say otherwise(!?). I can only remember ever going to Dudley Zoo once as an adult as I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one side I know that species are becoming scarce and even extinct due to human and environmental factors, and that zoos can provide means for preservation, propogation, research, education etc and that if they're well planned etc (as S'pore seems to to my untrained eye) then there are many benefits.

However, on the other hand I can't help but wonder about the effects on the animals, particularly not having the freedom to roam/migrate/mate and especially I wonder at the effects of being fed by hand rather than hunting - bigger creatures that are not plant/grub/insect eaters etc, such as lions, tigers and bears (oh my!)........ Of course, in an ideal world there would be no need for zoos, but it makes me sad that often the only way to preserve species is to protect them from humans by putting them in cages in unusual and confined surroundings; cages that ironically also protect the humans from the animals!

OK, that was a bit heavy, but at least I've used my brain for once on these travels - 6 weeks in, and it's in danger of becoming total mush! I've even resumed some Sudoku puzzles because I'm turning into a slob with no independent thought or exercise (OK, slight exaggeration, but travelling is like nothing I've ever done before and it's very easy to lose all sense of routine, healthy lifestyle etc!).

Anyway, I'll attempt to go and put some MORE PHOTOS on Flickr now, so do go and have a look. We're away overnight to Cape Tribulation Tue/Wed and then need to decide how much we can afford to spend on a boat trip with snorkelling/possibly diving on the Great Barrier Reef.....oh, the difficult decisions we have to make!!!

To those of you who've commented or e.mailed and haven't had a reply, please don't think I'm ignoring you, it's just that it actually takes a long time to put these blogs on and keep up with things (not to mention the cost!) so do keep commenting / e.mailing. However, if you ask specific questions I'll do my best to answer, bhonest!

Til next time, g'day from down under - I'll talk about Oz next time. See Penny's post for current details.

lotsa love, Linda x