Heading for the hills

Having been in Malaysia for about three weeks, it was time to get off the coast and head for the hills. The beaches had been great but we were keen to see what else the country had going on, and so we took a long and winding bus trip up into the Cameron Highlands. The climate took a noticeable change and at night we found ourselves digging the long sleeves out of our packs for the first time for a month and a half.

Trying my hand at some blow-darting (remembering not to inhale!)

A jungle trek took us to the world's largest species of flower. It takes some finding and you have to get the timing right - they're only open for a few days each year

The hilly tea plantations gave us a pleasant break from the coastal humidity

'Steamboat' is a fondue type arrangement with loads of seafood

One last island...

From Malaysia's far North West, we took at ferry down the coast to the island of Penang, for a few days in the city of Georgetown. The trip got off to a bad start when ended up floundering at sea after our ferry's propeller got caught in a fishing net (one day after a tourist ferry sunk doing a similar trip); getting pounded side on by a few largish waves got the adrenaline flowing.

But the fright was worth it as Penang proved to be a great destination, with a well preserved colonial heritage and a melting pot of religions. Plus, some extraordinary eats - king of which was the Nonya cuisine that is supposedly at its best on this island, and which for us were definitely amongst the tastiest dishes in Malaysia.

The view down our street, with colonial terraces in the foreground

No offence to the fine people at Nescafe, but coffee in Malaysia can be a bit so-so. No such problem in Georgetown as we found a couple of great cafes, with the requisite aircon cranked up high

No matter how sunny the morning, you could almost guarantee copping a mid afternoon downpour. It's important to plan to be somewhere interesting when you get stuck for an hour or so!

The brightly coloured houses of Penang's rich merchants of the past

We took another scooter excursion and found a great Buddhist temple in the centre of the island...

...and also this intricate multi-tiered Hindu creation

Baba-Nonya cuisine is a Malaysian adaptation of Chinese cuisine, with plenty of it's own unique taste combinations. We found a great restaurant run by three generations of Peranakan women - the food that night rated as some of our most memorable on the entire trip.

A little village on the main road around Penang sold the unique local version of laksa, without coconut milk but with crushed pineapple and mint. A sensational creation!

Don't worry, this guy wasn't on the menu...

A butterfly park at the far end of the island was a pretty diversion

Switching coasts

From the east coast, we took a long minibus journey across the north of the Malaysian peninsula and on to a ferry to get to the island of Langkawi. Many times larger than Perhentian, it has a lot more tourists but compensates with a much more varied dining scene and the added bonus of being a duty free zone...so cheap drinks every night!

Our first stop - Indian. Deb and Maddi hooking into some naan

Langkawi is resort-world, which was fine by us - we had a great pool, directly beyond which was the beach...

...with some magic views at sunset

Langkawi was a perfect size for exploring by scooter

After about 3 minutes of riding the scenery becomes very rural. You don't see that in KL!

We also stopped by at one of the more exclusive resorts. Just down the beach they were trying to film a movie, and we could understand why - the whole area is stunning. As visitors we were allowed to have a coffee at this place but the signs told us swimming in the pool was definitely off limits. A shame because no one else was in there!

Maddi and I pretending we belong with Malaysia's rich

A bit more moto-ing took us further in to the islands interior, and up into the mountains. This is Bruce tempting fate on the slippery rocks under a waterfall.

The slippery rocks are also a tourist attraction...Jordy tries out the natural waterslide

We took a boat ride off the island, and when we reached a bay our driver through bits of raw chicken into the water. Moments later, we were surrounded by scores of sea eagles dive-bombing spectacularly to grab the meat.

Plenty of these guys everywhere!

You really need to watch your step at times

Our last stop on Langkawi was a place we'd been trying to track down since we got a teasing glimpse of it in China. Remember the Seinfeld eposide where Kramer becomes addicted to a certain brand of roast chicken? Well, we can confirm that brand is not fictional! Kenny Rogers Roasters lives...

The verdict? Not bad at all!