Borneo

Hey Folki, well all went well. I got stamped out of Malaysia and into Singapore with ease. Singapore was hectic. It is after all a western city. Two days there was not enough really, there is shed loads to do there although it is expensive. I met a couple of Californian lads (Brad & Paul) on the bus from Melaka to Singapore so we hung out while I was there. We traipsed around on the first night looking for somewhere to stay without a great deal of success. We ended up at the Inncrowd hostel on Dunlop street in an 11 bed dorm. The hostel was nice but I don't really like the dorm thing, people are just too inconsiderate. Someones alarm clock went off both nights at 1am and seemed to only wake me! The first night was also interrupted by a bunch of Asian girls coming back from a night out and turning the light on at 2am, then it went off only to come back on again a little while later. The second night and around 1.30am a girl from a different dorm decides to stroll right through our dorm to get out on the roof terrace for a smoke, so in the space of 10 mins 4 doors were banged, wicked!!
The morning after my arrival I went out & looked at two temples and then the Art gallery with the lads. However my back has been playing up again gradually getting worse over the last 2 weeks. I had to go back to the Hostel & take a pill then have a siesta. I also had the top bunk there which took me back some 25 years! A right pain to get in & out of. The dorm thing is not for me!! So if you're headed to Singapore book your accommodation before you get there, if not you'll do lots of walking and still only find a dorm bed.
So I left Singapore on the 13th and breezed through immigration - stamped out of Singapore & back into Malaysia - a fresh 90 day visa for free, woo hoo! If you go this way watch out for the taxi touts, they are sharks. They tried to get me to part with 50RM for a ride to the airport (Senai International, Johor Bharu) which you can do for 8RM on the bus. Then another one tried to tell me the bus doesn't run from Johor immigration to Kotaraya terminal (where you get the bus from to go to Senai International). Lying git! He gave me a good hand shake when I pointed out that I knew 100% that there was a bus. It pisses me off that these guys are very religious but willing to lie & deceive to get you in their taxi. I suppose you can't blame someone for trying to turn a shilling in order to feed their family but it still jars my nut! So, you've been warned.
The same day I got caught at Senai by Air Asia. Apparently my backpack has gained 5 kilos since I've been travelling. God knows how! But it know weighs 18.1 instead of 12.9 when I left the UK. So I was charged 45RM for being 3 Kilos over (Air Asia only allow 15KG hold luggage & 7KG hand). So I need to buy a bigger day pack so as I can take a bit more hand luggage on the plane as I will still need several Air Asia flights before I return to the UK. I also need to go through that pack and dump some stuff that isn't needed or hasn't been used yet! Perhaps I'll need to wear several layers of clothing each time I fly.
So I'm now in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Malaysian Borneo. First impressions of this place are not great. I shared a taxi from the airport with a Swiss girl called Sonia & a Chinese girl who's name I didn't get. Accommodation in KK is more expensive than in Peninsular Malaysia so Sonia & I are roomies for the next night or so. We stayed at Trekkers Lodge last night and have moved this morning to Stay in Lodge ( www.stayinlodge.com ) and managed to find a cheaper room. Went out for a beer last night after bumping into Jess who I met in Kota Bharu a week or so ago, she arrived here yesterday too although on a different flight. Was funny to watch the locals trying to pull themselves a western girl, one young Malay even confided in me his plan to snare & marry a western so as he can live in Europe. These young guys can't afford to marry local girls as they have to pay a kind of Dowry amounting to thousands of Ringgit. Seems a shame that their culture & customs are forcing them to go against tradition. Maybe they've seen too many western folks who are not bound by the same culture/customs/religion and think life would be better elsewhere. If only they knew - the grass always looks greener. Life in the west is not without it's problems - they'll find out in good time!! So I'm off to do some investigating, I'll post again in a couple of days, take care folks.