Sungai Tanah Merah Besar

We’re back home after our amazing 104 days adventure. We crammed a lot in, with so much to see and do everywhere. So, we are now looking forward to a bit more of a relaxing time at home before heading back to work in January. We’ve had 4 months of temperatures between 25 and 32C, and no rain until we reached the bottom half of Malaysia and Singapore when we hit the monsoon, so the weather at home is going to be a bit of a shock.

Here’s our overall summary of the Asia section (see Day 35 for a similar summary for Spain). Overall, our main achievements were cycling 900kms of the Camino Frances and successfully getting around Asia with no major mishaps and no significant stomach issues.

-Best scenery = Petra (Jordan), Bhutan (the mountains, plus the buildings and the national dress), the islands of Thailand (Koh Kood, Krabi) and Northern Malaysia (Langkawi)

-New experiences = Snorkelling amongst the coral, paddle boarding, jungle trekking, floating in the Dead Sea, feeding elephants, astronomy, pottery, getting tailor made shirts, seeing lots of new wildlife (especially monkeys and birds, but sadly no wild tigers), staying in a jungle hut in Koh Kood (“It’s like stepping into the set of Avatar”)

-Various man-made wonders visited = Petra, Taj Mahal, Burj Khalifa, Petronas Towers, Marina Bay

-Best activities = Feeding the elephants at Kanchanaburi; 9 days of motor biking around the twisty roads of Bhutan (with only one 5 mile section of straight road); Jaipur bike tour; exploring unspoilt Koh Kood on scooters

-Most challenging place = India (poverty, air pollution, rubbish everywhere, failing infrastructure, chaotic driving, overloaded tuktuks, dodgy safety practices and behaviours, constant hassle and moral blackmail, constant beeping horns!)

-Friendliest people = Bhutanese who have really taken Buddhism as a way of life

-Best accommodation = Dubai (apartment overlooking the Marina), Ranthamborne Regency in India (a step back into colonial times), Baan Bua Cottages on Koh Kood.
-Worst hotel = New Delhi airport hotel (collapsed bed and dirty, despite it’s 9.0 rating score).
-Cheapest hotel = £7.50 per night per person at Satun (unplanned stop following missed ferry); Best value for money accommodation = Kuala Lumpar apartment at £90 for four people for 2 nights; Most expensive hotel = Singapore Citadines Connect.

-Best food = Jordan (hummus, salads, fruit juices, chicken shawarma, and baklava) and Thailand (spring rolls, red and green curry, and sweet and sour fish)
-Cheapest meal = £10 (including drinks) for four in central Kuala Lumpar. Followed a few days later by our meal at Clarke Quay in Singapore which was about 20 times that amount.
-Most expensive drink = £30 for a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel in Singapore

-Longest travel day = Penang to Kuala Lumpar (ferry, train, replacement bus, train, taxi). 12 hours to do 200 miles

-Incidents = Losing two credit cards, and turning up at a ferry crossing when the ferry wasn’t due for another 20 hours

Also:
-Best buy = Noise cancelling headphones
-Noisiest animal = The shrill insects of Koh Kood (cicadas)
-Best road signs = Bhutan (No Hurry No Worry)
-Fastest tuk tuks = Bangkok (Had to cling on for dear life as our driver raced through the traffic overtaking everything. He dishevel slow down when we passed an overturned tuk tuk)
-Biggest kerbs = Jordan, but an issue over most of Asia.
And lots of other things we've probably forgotten. Also great to have been joined by Abi and Mike, and Chris and Paula (in Spain) for parts of the adventure.

Until next time .....Read more