kftravel

No, this is not a blog post about Bon Jovi. Sorry to disappoint.

Today marks 6 months since leaving home and landing in Malaysia. It’s been an insane 6 months, you know all the adventures and stories so I won’t make you read them all again.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, Lyall and I treated ourselves to a Pizza Hut. Scandalous, I know!

I’ve got a few more insane and crazily busy months coming up.

A last minute decision means that Hannah will be coming out at the start of March, and she will be joining us for English Camp and Activity Week at school. I’ll have a week at school before I head off to Singapore and Bali with some of the other volunteers. I’ll have another week at school, and then I’ll be meeting mum, dad, and Emma in KL and travelling to Singapore, Chiang Mai and Penang with them. They’ll also be coming to Lenggong for a day. Then in June, we have booked to go to the Perenthian Islands and Borneo.

Project Trust have given us our return date. I will be landing in Edinburgh on 28 July so I expect to see you all there with balloons and banners!

I’m still surprised that I’ve lasted 6 months, especially when I lack cooking skills, and I’m surprised Lyall is still alive after 6 months! Hopefully we will be able to survive the next 160 days!

Looking back and reflecting on the last half year, I realise what an amazing opportunity I have been given and how I need to continue to make the most of it. Thank you all again for making this possible for me.

See you all soon!

Some of the new volunteers invited us all to meet them in KL for the weekend. Lyall and I were unsure if we would go since we haven’t been paid yet, but on Friday we decided to book anyway.

We arrived in KL on Friday evening and met the others in TGI Fridays! There were only 2 8 month volunteers that managed to make it, but it was nice meeting them and seeing the other 3 again nonetheless.

After going back to the hotel and getting changed, we decided to hit the bars. It was a great night until some guy on a motorbike decided to snatch my phone right out my hand as he drove by. Yup, the new phone that I just bought in Thailand! It seems that I have the worst luck possible when it comes to phones! No one was hurt though and there’s nothing we can do but move on.

Anyway, it was a fab night before that happened!

On Saturday, I dragged everyone to the IT mall so I could buy a new phone (thanks dad)! 

We got ready and went back to the clubs (the phone stayed in the hotel this time!). Lyall and I got our garlic bread which we have been going on about since the first time we had in October, and everyone else got more of their alcohol which they have been going on about since forever! Lyall and I stayed for a bit but once we were fed, we got bored and tired so said goodbye to everyone and went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Our train back to Kuala Kangsar was at 11:30 on Sunday morning. We got to KK, bought a couple of groceries and went back to school and straight to bed!

It was a fun, eventful, and unexpected weekend. It was great meeting Hannah and Erin and I’m looking forward to meeting the other volunteers. Hopefully our next holiday will go more smoothly! Heading off to Singapore and Bali in March for a much needed tan top-up!

We went and got new keys cut. Lyall has her own set which she can lose at her own free will. I have my own set, which Lyall will ‘borrow’ when she loses hers, and the guard has a set for when both mine and Lyalls go missing!

It cost only 9 ringgit (£1.62) for 3 sets of keys and only took 5 minutes to cut, so the next time you need keys cut, it’ll be cheaper and faster to come Malaysia that it will be to go to Timpsons!

I have never celebrated Chinese New Year or seen it as a significant event, but this year, since we’re living in a Chinese state, Lyall and I decided to flee!

We have a long weekend, and the 8 month volunteers have just arrived so Reagan and Busby invited us to Jeli for a Chinese New Year BBQ, and a chance to meet the new volunteers. We accepted the invite, but no one else did so we haven’t actually met the PT8’s yet!

Early on Saturday morning, we got on the bus (after buying and lugging an oven around! Long story, best not to ask!) and were on our way to Jeli.

We got off outside the school, dumped the oven on them and made them carry it up the horrendous hills and ridiculous number of stairs to their house.

The BBQ consisted of frying a couple of burgers, trying to make mashed potato and cooking some soggy chips in their oven. It was wonderful! We also tried some Chinese snacks. 

On Sunday, we went to the bus station to buy our tickets back. Unfortunately, they were sold out for Monday so had leave late Sunday night. 

We headed into to Tanah Merah, the nearest town to Jeli. We had lunch, did some shopping then went back to school. We had the left over ‘BBQ’ then went back to the bus station to get our bus.

When we got to the station, the place was in darkness and we were the only ones there. It was slightly terrifying. An hour later, the bus finally showed up. We asked him to stop at our school since we would be driving past it anyway. He drove straight past MRSM Lenggong and stopped at MRSM Kuala Kangsar instead! We told him just to keep going all the way in to Kuala Kangsar so that we could see if there were any taxis in the rank. There weren’t..

We realised that we only had 2 hours to wait for the first bus back to Lenggong (we arrived in KK at 4am!) so we just sat and prepared to wait. About half an hour later, a taxi showed up in the rank. We cried a bit with happiness and he brought us to school.

In the taxi, Lyall told me she didn’t have the keys. Not ideal when it’s 5 in the morning, the housemates are either asleep or back at home, and you just want to collapse into bed!

We slept in the sick bay which is right next to our house. I woke up, knocked on our door and there was no answer. Went across to the school shop as they’re the only ones with the spare keys, but it was shut! 

Currently, Lyall is still asleep and I’m sitting outside my house praying one of our housemates comes back soon and let’s me in because I’m dying to shower and I’m starting to need the toilet and ours is the only one with toilet paper!! 

All 3 of our housemates live about 7 or 8 hours away so the chances of me still sitting out here at midnight tonight is highly possible! Wish me luck!

Today marks 5 months since moving here. It’s crazy to think we’ve been here for almost half the year already.

The last couple of months have been hectic. We’ve been on our travels and we’ve started school again. 

I have a lot more classes now and I’ve been involved in debate club.

There isn’t much to tell you as nothing major has happened, but as my dad has just informed me, it’s 10 weeks today until they come out!

Happy 5 month anniversary guys xo

So we’ve all gone our separate ways and are back at our schools now. For Lyall and I, our classes don’t start until next week so we’ve another week off!

We ended our holiday with a high. The last stop on our journey was Phuket.
Phuket is another beachy area, so guess what we did? That’s right, we lay on the beach!

We spent a day at an elephant sanctuary and it was one of the best experiences of my life! We got to feed the elephants, wash the elephants in a mud bath, and play with them in a slightly less muddy pool! It was so much fun.

We saw the New Year with Chinese lanterns and fireworks on the beach, and had a great night.

Unfortunately, our flight back to KL was at 8 the next morning so we went about 30 hours without sleep!

We spent a night in KL, then left each other. It’s going to be weird not having everyone around anymore, but we have another holiday in March. 

I had a great time, but it went far too quickly. I’m currently sitting in assembly with no idea what’s going on, talking to Amy about her holiday to the UK. I’m surprised she didn’t die of hypothermia to be honest!

Thank you to everyone for making this experience possible, and all the best for 2017.

Phi Phi is a cool little island about 10 miles off the coast of Krabi. It took us a long time to get there from Bangkok, but I’d say it was worth it.

So far, it’s been the most touristy place we’ve been too. So many travellers – quite a few of them were Scottish too!

We didn’t do much, just lay around the beach and became the colour of santa in his suit. I am now the colour of a well cooked turkey – must be a Christmas miracle!

Speaking of Christmas, it has obviously been and gone now. Hope you all had a good day and the big guy treated you well. Our Christmas celebrations consisted of sunbathing, eating a fake Christmas dinner, and hitting the bars!

I would like to thank those of you who have sent me presents or given me money, it is very much appreciated.

Yesterday was your typical Boxing Day; lying in bed and only venturing out when the hunger pains become too much!

We are now on the way to Phuket, where we will be until the 1st of January when we make our way back to Malaysia.

Well, so far, Bangkok is by far my favourite!

After going from Vietnam and Cambodia which are kind of dirty and similar to some places in Malaysia, Bangkok made me feel like I was finally on holiday. 

Flying in on Tuesday night, the skyline looked amazing. And that was proven on the taxi ride to the hostel.

We went a boat ride around the city and saw a beautiful sunset while out.

Yesterday, we spent the day at a water and theme park before going to a ladyboy show. Fair to say it was the most bizarre experience of my life!

We’re now trying to find a way to kill some time before our bus to Krabi at 7 tonight. 

I figured it would be easier just to do Cambodia altogether.

On 13 December, we took the bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh. It took so long! I decided to let the others in on a treat and booked 11 Happy Backpackers for us to stay in – the same hostel we stayed in last time and where some wonderful memories were created!

We decided to visit The Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. Pretty depressing day but ya know, they’re must sees.

The next day, we went to Central Market and tried to get in to the Royal Palace but apparently we weren’t dressed appropriately (yes, we were all in the nude). We went a walk along the Mekong River instead and took in the sights.

It was then time to head off to Siem Reap. Again, the bus took forever. We arrived but couldn’t find our hostel tuk-tuks so we were on our own!

The hostel was amazing. It was an ongoing, 24/7 party hostel! What more could a group of young travelers need or want?!

We were going to book a trip to Angkor Wat for the day after we arrived, but that was pool party day, so we never!

Pool party day quickly arrived and we were all super excited. Except me. I was stuck in bed with a sickness bug which may or may not have been caused by the night before. The water here is pretty dodgy..

Anyway, I recovered soon enough and went out to join the fun. The others drank the same water I had the previous night. You would’ve thought by watching me, they’d learn that water is bad for you!

We did Angkor Wat on the 18th. Our tour guide was boring so we ditched him and explored the temples for ourselves. It was under construction this time, so there was scaffolding everywhere, but it was still just as beautiful as I remember.

David Attenborough was on our bus. He’s a lovely guy, we really bonded well with him. He told us he was doing some research on Angkor Wat ahead of a new TV series, so look out for it!

We got dropped back at our hotel, ate a lot of food, and got a bus back toPhnom Penh. We booked a bus with reclining seats, but we didn’t realise reclining seats meant beds! We were on a sleeper bus, and I can’t say it was a great experience!

We went back to the Royal Palace, this time wearing clothes. It wasn’t the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen to be honest.

So that was Cambodia! Now in Bangkok, moving down to Krabi tomorrow to get the ferry to Phi Phi in time for Christmas. 
PS – since my phone broke, all my pictures are on my camera so you’ll have to wait until I have my laptop before you can see them. Sorry! All the pictures in this post, are from June 2014, but they all look the same so it’s no issue really!

I’m aware I’m behind on blog posts, but it’s through no fault of my own. Cambodian electricity is known to be dodgy, but I didn’t realise it was dodgy enough to fry my phone!

I have a new one now (merry christmas to me!), but I’ve lost most of my pictures and everything. I think the majority of pictures are on Facebook, and I have some on my camera which I will upload when I get back to my laptop.

We’re currently in Bangkok, and heading to a water park today so it’s probably best to not take my phone and risk breaking this one too! I’ll catch up with blog posts asap. Just letting you know that I haven’t forgotten, and there will be some more soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Bangkok that I took on a boat ride yesterday.