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Travel blog on traveling South-East Asia on a budget!

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  • Countries
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Laos
    • Cambodia
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Malaysia,  Thailand

    From Malaysia to Thailand

    May 9, 2013

    There are no big buses or coaches going from Malaysia to Thailand. Our only option was a minibus, which always cost more and always have crazy drivers. In Georgetown you can go to the ticket offices near the big white tower and shop around. Most of them are quite rude and not helpful at all. We went with KKKL and they were quite ok. There are no direct services to Trang and a minivan will cost about RM60 per person to Trang. They all go via Hat Yai and a minibus costs about RM30 per person. The journey takes about 3.5 hours and you have to go through customs on…

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    lionel 3 Comments

    Related Posts

    Taiping – Getting to Orangutan Island

    May 4, 2013

    Jungle Trekking – Bush Bashing

    May 2, 2013

    Kuala Lumpur

    April 26, 2013
  • Malaysia,  Top Things To Do,  Travel Guide

    Malaysia Travel Guide

    May 8, 2013

    I’m not paid by National Geographic, so don’t expect a comprehensive guide which you can use to plan your next 6 week holiday in Malaysia. These are merely my thoughts based on my experiences here in Malaysia. Things to see While there are many attractions and landmarks to see in Malaysia, most of these attract more local tourism than international travellers. Some of the better ones we saw were Kek Lok Si temple in Georgetown, Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur and St. Paul’s Church in Melaka. Must do Snorkeling on the Perhentian islands and riding all around Penang on a motor bike. Can avoid While the Cameron Highlands are nice,…

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    lionel No Comments

    Related Posts

    From luxury to an overnight bus trip! From KL to Perhentian Islands

    April 25, 2013

    Jungle Trekking – Bush Bashing

    May 2, 2013

    Perhentian Kecil Accommodation: The Best Options On A Tiny Island

    April 29, 2013
  • Malaysia

    Goodbye Malaysia. Truly Asia?

    May 8, 2013

    Off to Thailand tomorrow morning! A morning mini bus to Hat Yai, then perhaps onto Trang (apparently there’s some cool caves there). It will be interesting to leave Malaysia, considering its technically our first stop and all that we currently know. I’ve been a bit confused by the country. It’s predominantly a Muslim country, governed by its Muslim rules. At times I’ve felt a bit odd wearing a sleeveless singlet, while Muslim women around me wear hijabs and sometimes, even full burkas. On the other hand, you have some major cities and islands in Malaysia, where people wear next to nothing. H&M, Topshop and Zara stores advertising skimpy skirts and…

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    emma 6 Comments

    Related Posts

    Impressions of Melaka

    April 24, 2013

    Kuala Lumpur

    April 26, 2013

    Perhentian Kecil Accommodation: The Best Options On A Tiny Island

    April 29, 2013
  • Activities,  Malaysia,  Motorbiking

    Playing Just Cause 2 – Motorbiking Around Georgetown

    May 7, 2013

    After a night’s rest, I couldn’t wait to get back on a scooter and explore the south side of Penang. We decided to do another day with our friends, Audrey and Bastien on the motorbike. Feeling more confident and with the sun out, Emma and I rode ahead on the way out of town. It took less than 5 minutes and we had lost our dear friends. With no phone, map, GPS or clue of where we were, we now started a new mission, “Find our friends”. We asked people and rode around Georgetown, but no sign of them. I was annoyed, knowing our chance of finding them was very…

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    lionel No Comments

    Related Posts

    A Three Day Trek; Water Bombs, Leeches & LaoLao Whiskey

    August 28, 2013

    Elephant Valley Project – E.L.I.E. – The Local Perspective

    June 17, 2013

    Diving to join the under water world in Koh Tao

    May 20, 2013
  • Activities,  Malaysia,  Motorbiking

    Finally, off the tourist trail

    May 6, 2013

    To get around Penang and see the island, we decided to hire some motorbikes / scooters. The first guy, sent us away after we didn’t immediately agree to his price so we went to find the mysterious Happy Ken. We were told he roams around a few cafes and the streets. We saw a few bikes with a “Happy Happy” sign. When we found him, he was quite a character. A short while later we had two scooters for 25RM plus 50RM refundable deposit each with no paperwork at all. I hesitated a bit getting on as this would be my first time and we were heading straight into Malaysian…

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    lionel 2 Comments

    Related Posts

    What To Do In Ho Chi Minh City; Saigon For The Cool Kids

    June 28, 2013

    A Three Day Trek; Water Bombs, Leeches & LaoLao Whiskey

    August 28, 2013

    Going On A Guided Tour to Marocot Cave in Southern Thailand

    May 10, 2013
  • A Day in the Life,  Malaysia,  Motorbiking

    Riding a Motorbiking in Malaysia – The day I thought I was going to die.

    May 6, 2013

    Let me preface this by saying that yes, I am quite spoilt. I have driven in cars all of my life, gotten an education, and had food in my belly (at all times) but nothing had prepared me for the fear I felt today. Today, we rode on a scooter. With Bastien and Audrey, we hired two scooters (automatic motorbikes) – with the males driving. I wanted to drive too but the Scooter Man, a chap named, Happy Ken (a very, very, happy chappy) just yelled, ‘No ladies, no ladies’ when I challenged him and asked him why I couldn’t drive it. Blah. (Later in a grassy car park near…

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    emma 3 Comments

    Related Posts

    Things We Do In Bangkok

    May 16, 2014

    Hotel California in Chiang Dao

    October 3, 2013

    Direct bus from Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia; the more sane way

    May 23, 2013
  • Malaysia,  Toilets

    Malaysian Toilets

    May 5, 2013

    Malaysia Lots of squat toilets but I had prepared for this by practicing at some Singaporean bathrooms. I was extremely perplexed the first few days as the cubicles usually consisted of a squat toilet, a hose, a bucket, and NO TOILET PAPER!. Due to my mother’s habit of always carrying tissues in her handbag, I had learnt from a very early age to stuff every pocket and every bag with tissues (a godsend during the Melbourne winter months when carrying around a bad case of the common cold), so luckily I was never caught out with no toilet paper, THANK GOD. I had also ‘taken’ the roll of toilet paper…

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    emma 2 Comments

    Related Posts

    From luxury to an overnight bus trip! From KL to Perhentian Islands

    April 25, 2013

    Perhentian Kecil Accommodation: The Best Options On A Tiny Island

    April 29, 2013

    Riding a Motorbiking in Malaysia – The day I thought I was going to die.

    May 6, 2013
  • A Day in the Life,  Activities,  Malaysia

    Taiping – Getting to Orangutan Island

    May 4, 2013

    Eawasin, from the guesthouse, suggested that we do an extra stop between Tanah Rata and Penang. We followed his advice and the four of us took a bus to Ipoh and then to Taiping, a colonial city in north western Malaysia. While the people here were charming, there was not a great deal to do. It rained heavily the first day as we tried to find internet. There is a very nice lake garden, which is worth seeing. However, Taiping is not the reason we came here. We came here in search of Orangutans on the mysterious Palau Orang Utan. It was not easy to find and we worked out…

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    lionel No Comments

    Related Posts

    Koh Tao – Don’t Not Come and The Day We Saved A Turtle

    September 17, 2014

    Slowly Healing

    July 30, 2013

    Whoop, whoop.

    October 15, 2015
  • A Day in the Life,  Food,  Malaysia

    Jungle Trekking – Bush Bashing

    May 2, 2013

    Went for a mini hike on our second day in the Cameron Highlands. We met a very nice French couple at Orchid Lodge, the night before, and ended up going on a hike with Bastien. He and Audrey had taken Path 1 the day we arrived, and said it was quite a difficult trek, so Lionel and I, being the lazy people we are, decided to tackle Path 10 (an easy, non-challenging trek – some would say, stroll). As it rains every afternoon, and mists over after 11am or so (thus, rendering any view you climb for hours to get to, obsolete), we decided to head up early – 9.30am…

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    emma No Comments

    Related Posts

    Mae Sa Valley Loop – Take One

    October 1, 2013

    GET SOME, and GET ON IT.

    March 14, 2016

    We are the worst people…

    May 14, 2015
  • A Day in the Life,  Malaysia

    Beach to Mountains

    May 1, 2013

    Today we say goodbye to the island paradise and will move to central Malaysia to the Cameron Highlands. There are not a lot of buses going from Kuala Besut to the Cameron Highlands, only four companies, all mini buses. The cheapest one is 55RM per person and you need to change buses at lunch time. These drivers are a bit crazy. Their overtaking is hair raising and they are constantly texting too. The second guy was falling asleep with both eyes closed for several seconds at a time for half the trip! We decided to stay at Orchid Lodge for 90RM per night. Eawasin our host welcomed us thoroughly! He…

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    lionel No Comments

    Related Posts

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    January 21, 2016

    Excuses To Not Travel

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    Update on our Travels – Short Term Future Plans

    December 6, 2013
 Older Posts

Hey! It’s Emma & Lionel

Two Green Backpacks

We quit our jobs in 2013 to travel South East Asia on a budget for 3 months. This turned into 5 years. Now we are scuba diving instructors on a tiny island in Thailand… with no plan to go home.

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