Singapore&Malaysia.

We left Indonesia after an incredible couple of weeks exploring one of the craziest yet most amazing countries I have ever been to.

We flew from Yogyakarta directly to Singapore and despite the early start we were blessed with another straight forward 'AirAsia' experience.

We arrived in Singapore very early and with only two days to explore, it gave us some valuable time to look around. We managed to navigate through the arrivals to find the airport shuttle stand which put us (not literally although I was so tired that being carried would have been absolutely fine by me) on a shuttle direct to our hostel.

Our hostel was situated right next to a metro station... yes you heard me correctly, a METRO station. That is just like the London Underground aka my arch enemy and cause of some of my worst and most embarrassing moments in my life so far. 

When it had sunk in that the metro was the only way we were going to be able to get around Singapore, we decided to venture off and explore.

Thankfully the Singapore metro boasts the same colour system as the London Underground. I was therefore able to safely navigate around knowing that the orange and purple lines were the only lines I needed to worry about. (I do maintain however that I have conquered the metro). With Lydias help we were able to discuss, often at length, any changes we need to make and ensured that we didn't ever get (too) lost.

The first place we visited in Singapore was the  'Gardens by the Bay'. There was a lot going on in this area of the city; many beautiful things to keep you occupied including a massive park which sat beside the Botanical Gardens. 

We have become such fans of a Botanical Garden and I would even go as far to say that I see myself as somewhat of an International Botanical Garden specialist... basically they are free, very pretty and usually somewhere in the top ten attractions of wherever you happen to be visiting - the ultimate backpackers haven.

The Singapore Botanical Gardens ranked very highly in my opinion; a particular highlight being the Orchid Garden which is actually the number one thing to do in Singapore would you believe!? (According to TripAdvisor). 

After an afternoon of a lot of walking and exploring we found a lovely little Italian (restaurant, not an actual little Italian) and enjoyed a delicous and comforting homely bowl of pasta, for a very reasonable price. We were really surprised by how reasonable we found the living costs in Singapore. We had prepared for a shock, especially having come from Indonesia, but we didn't notice it too much to be honest.

On our second and last full day in Singapore we ventured over to Sentosa Island which is home to Universal Studios and many other massive attractions. Having done a big zoo in Australia, we decided to go to the SEA Aquarium which was highly recommended. It is no secret that I am a pretty big fan of 'Finding Nemo' so an aquarium was always going to be a winner for me! 

It was an absolutely massive place, filled with anything and everything that lives in the sea and it was really impressive to walk around. We got to touch a starfish and a sea cucumber (a personal highlight for me as they are my favourite). There was also a big maritime museum attached to the aquarium which was all included in the ticket so it became educational as well as fun - okay so I didn't learn that much at all but there were some really cool pictures of some stuff...

A novice traveller would most likely have called it a day after exploring Sentosa Island but not us, no sir. We hopped back on the metro, my new best friend, and went back towards the Gardens by the Bay to visit the Flower Dome and Cloud Dome. 

Annoyingly the Cloud Dome, which is meant to be the best, was closed for maintenance ... on the one day I decided to go... on the one occasion I happen to be in Singapore... but hey let's not be bitter, I'm just glad it's being maintained. 

The Flower Dome was still pretty cool. It was a huge lay out with every single flower you can imagine. Being both a biologist and hayfever sufferer I found myself in an interesting predicament, but it was good. 

As we were walking back towards the metro we noticed that they had closed off a section of the Gardens (notice a theme here) which we found out was due to the filming of the remake of the movie 'Hitman'. It was actually really awesome to be so close to a movie set and we watched a few takes of some dramatic shooting scenes!

On the way back we stopped off in 'Little India' which is home to all the best Indian restaurants in Singapore. We found a great curry house which had been really strongly recommended. It was a massive restaurant called 'The Banana Leaf Apollo'. 

You ordered at your table using an ipad, a bit like online shopping, and a few minutes after pressing 'confirm', a waiter would come over with your drinks and to double check your food order. The food was really good and the perfect end to our time in Singapore. 

From Singapore we flew to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It was our penultimate country on our travelling adventure and we were looking forward to exploring an area that was a little off the beaten track in contrast to Kuala Lumpar and other city areas of Malaysia. 

We arrived quite late in the evening and caught a taxi to our hostel with surprising ease - a rare and beautiful moment in any travellers day. 

Obviously it was late and late evening is no time to explore a new place and therefore the only sensible option was to take full advantage of the wonderful advance in the Asian takeaway system and order a 'McDelivery'... you know what happened next.

Kota Kinabalu was a very strange place. I don't want to brand it as a dissapointment because there were aspects of our week there that were really great, however, I think the fairest way to describe it is to say that it is not quite ready for backpackers, or tourists in general. 

The locals were not unfriendly but were very much unaware of any tourism trade that might be around them, so they didn't really make any kind of fuss or show any interest in selling you tours or taxi rides - if anything they looked a little surprised to see you! 

We were provided with a very rough map of the city which sort of helped ... but actually really didn't because we don't posses incredible map reading skills at the best of times - a good map is so crucial. 

There were a few recommended sites to see including the Clock Tower and the Observatory Hill lookout. Both of these were in walking distance of our hostel and dissapointingly only took up about an hour of our day to fully explore. We resorted to exploring the city and trying to find a shop to buy food which wound up with us looking pretty lost in a very dodgy supermarket. In fact we ended up in a very questionable shopping mall which had several floors and several strange characters. We did however find a bakery, although even that proved a task as bakeries in Malaysia are not like the ones at home (all part of the fun though!).

We tried to get the bus out of the city to see the Water Temple, however after a very long, hot and uncomfortable wait at (what we thought/hoped) was a bus stop, we soon gave up hope that our bus, or any bus was coming. As a last attempt to do something touristy we ventured on foot to try and find an art gallery but alas, after about half an hour of walking, a LOT of sweating and many choice words about the map, we gave up and realising that we had practically walked back to the airport we decided to turn and head back.

It was frustrating, as we desperately tried to make the best of our time but we couldn't seem to find anyone that could help us or guide us and being reliant upon an English speaking local, we really struggled to find anyone who could help us out. Nothing was sign posted and the map wasn't great so that is why I say that we felt it was not quite ready for tourists. Although there is a lot to do in the surrounding areas of Borneo and the islands around Sepilok, if you are restricted to the city as we were, it can prove a little tricky and we met many backpackers who were facing the same issues as we were (which was a bit reassuring!)

I realise that all sounds a bit miserable so that is why I have saved all my favourite days in Malaysia to tell you about now starting with my absolute best day which was a Mari Mari Cultural Village Tour. It cost us 160RM each and I would have paid it all over again - such a good day. 

We got picked up in the morning by a mini bus that came to our hostel and were greeted by other tourists from all over the world and an amazing tour guide who spoke confidently in English and was really good fun! It was a short drive out of the city and into the jungle areas where the tribal villages are. 

We were given a guided tour through all the villages of each tribe. Although the villages were replicas, all the tribes still live and practice their traditions today which was fascinating. There was so much detail and each house had demonstrations of traditional techniques like fire starting, cooking and rice wine making. We got to try everything and taste samples of all the traditional foods and drinks which was interesting - especially the rice wine (lethal stuff). 

After looking around everywhere we were taken into the village of the head hunter tribe which we had been warned were not the most welcoming. One of our group had to introduce us all to the chief who actually looked really scary. There was a massive welcome ceremony for all the guests and performances of traditional tribal dances as well as henna tattoos and the opportunity to try firing arrows through a big hollow spear (as you can imagine I was not a natural but thankfully no one was hurt or damaged ... not even the coconut we were told to aim for). 

The day also included a massive buffet lunch of traditional Malaysian food, there was so much choice and it was all delicous. After lunch we had a chance to get some photos with the head hunter tribe which is when me and the chief discovered that we were both called Jess and an immediate bond was formed.

As well as the Mari Mari tour we also had some great day trips to some of the islands that surround Kota Kinabalu. There are five altogether and we visited Sapi and Manukan. They are not far away on the boat and despite an unfortunate idiot (I sure know how to find them) who sold us our first ticket, it was very simple to hop on a boat and get to any of the islands. 

The islands all form part of a massive Marine Park and therefore you are required to pay a conservation fee of about 10RM per island but that is to be expected when you visit National Parks. The islands were absolutely beautiful and so stunning. They were a welcome change from the city, peaceful and tranquil and perfect for topping up the tan... which is what we did and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Unfortunately our stay in Malaysia ended with a long and unexpected city wide power cut and the unfortunate timing of being stuck in our bunks as an almighty bitch fight broke out among the girls we were sharing a room with... I suppose it just goes to show that travelling isn't always so glamorous... seemingly even less so when you travel as a large pack of females! 

Singapore and Malaysia were very much flyby visits for us and I am so glad that we got to see them and get a taste of some other countries. Although Malaysia was not exactly what we had imagined, it was still a new place and a new adventure and has provided us with more funny tales to tell when we return home. I would say watch this space as I reckon in a few years to come, Kota Kinabalu will be a backpackers hotspot and I'll just have to go back... we also barely even touched the sides of Malaysia during our visit so it was very much a taster. It also is important to have a few days of bad luck or testing times as they really make you appreciate all the good days and amazing things you have done so far and that is what makes travelling such an unreal experience!

Our last stop is Thailand which I am so excited for! We will have a whole month to explore and soak up our final sunrays before heading home! 

Stay tuned guys - we'll be back soon! X