On Malaysian's side about 200 meters RHS frm immigration booths where we got stamped in we paid insurance 83RM/3 months including translated from Thai alphabet registration stickers for our motorbikes to allow locals read our reg plates numbers.

Then to transport dept office next to insurance agent to get this cert free of charge. They requested a translation of the motorbike's green reg book only possible on Thai side & it took us long talking to persuade them to issue this cert without it.

Our second day in Malaysia & we are impressed by food / portions. Thai food was nice but we got a bit bored by few dishes they can offer. At this restaurant we could finally satisfy our stomachs for 2RM per plate! Petrol is also crazy cheap 1.90 RM/L

As soon as we approach Malaysian border it starts to rain & continues pretty much every day. There is only few attractions in this town but nothing exciting. We stop here because of the rain & later decide to catch a ferry to Langkawi island.

A Masjid Zahir Muslim mosque we came across nearby a famous tower in the city centre. Quiet & pretty plain inside i.e. no ornaments, paintings nor sculptures but only soft carpets to walk on. We were told people gather to pray @ 1PM.

Going from Kuala Kedan to Langkawi island.It's a bank holiday & few agents insisted on leaving motorbikes as there is no cargo.We found out there is an overnight one & checked them in. It's sad to part until pickup next morning.Bikes 70rtn/ferry 23pp

Langkawi meaning "Strong Eagle" in the old Malay. Classical literature claims this island as 1 of d resting places of Garuda, the mythological bird that became Vishnu's vehicle. Bird watchers will find here plenty of circling eagles on the sky + more

This went very smooth. The cargo company gave us back our keys, security booth issued a card & a slip for customs after taking IDs. We went to fetch the bikes from an internal parking, got signed out, left the signed slip then returned cards for IDs.

A remote beach just before Cenang beach. I don't think it's suitable for swimming but a nice spot if you decide to camp nearby a remote beach.

Cenang belongs to most popular beaches in Langkawi & you feel it right after arriving. Apart from the usual touristy "things to do" you will find an underwater world attraction which we skip & rather save cash for snorkelling or diving.

60-70RM for one loop lasting roughly 5 mins. I've never done it & it's tempting.

At last we feel like on real vacations, can chill out & not have to think nor deal with any logistics. The weather is nice with some quick showers & spectacular thunders usually @ nights. The beaches are very nice here & waters pleasant for swimming.

It looks quite amazing although speedboats can be a bit annoying for those looking to have a quiet swim. They pack up before the Sun goes out tho.

Not a bad spot he? No cold, no bills but also no bathroom & occasional showers ;) At late night locals gather to catch some seafood for next day restaurant dishes.

Looks & feels more like a shopping mall built into a park. It supposed to contain 30 buildings architecture designs that occur across Malaysia. Frankly, I wouldn't notice any differences if not read before about it.

Apparently it's the best & breath taking attraction on this island. We thought 30RM is a bit too much & the feeling of a over-commercialised thing help to skip it. Also, the visibility was bad as seen on the pic so make sure you check the weather.

It was a rough nigh. Some guy was trying to sneak into our camp three times. We had to do watch turns & set up an alarm around trnts in the end. Then it started to rain as soon as I fall asleep (sleeping under mosquito net) & had to put up a roof.

A very nice if not the best beach on this island (there are few others but private - odd that you can buy a beech right to water line which is usually impossible in the EU) maintained by locals with some restrictions so no camping here.

So called but there is few birds like this chained for 10 hours / day to a branch @ the entrance for photos taking that rather feel / look unhappy. It's putting off. For that reason & only we are not going in. Cost: about 23RM.

We were the only whites here ;) Very hot springs with waters reaching 49C degrees. There are many pools including separate for ladies & children. People usually gather late night & it gets very busy weekends. Cost: 4 RM admission, 5 RM tent inside.

On the way to Tree Top Walking. The plantations & roads are spectacular on motorbikes.

Plenty of flora @ the Tree Top Walking. Though, we thought the price of 10RM is a bit too much for what you get unless you are passionate about trees.

At the bottom there is a river with accommodation & rafting attraction (140RM p/p max 6 ppl). You can camp by its shore free of charge & go fishing too.

Longest bridge in Asia.Getting to Penang island. It turns out to be a very populated & busy island particularly east coast with China town where cheap accommodation can be found. We'd like to celebrate our second New Year's Eve but this time Chinese.

Delicious Indian food @ this place in Little India district with average prices eg 4-11 RM/meal. We enjoy chicken tika masala & butter with nan bread. Indian nan pizza's are delicious too. Free wireless Internet like in many places too.

This was the previous social venue for Penang's elite back in 1880's. Its classic colonial elegance was the backdrop for a scene in the movie, Anna & the King. Located nearby is an ornate fountain presented to the public by Koh Seang in 1883.

A Teochew architecture temple built in 1855 & relocated to Georgetown's china section in 1870. A local told us an interesting story about his grandfather & his multiple wives. The name plates inside represent passed away family members.

Ohhh man I just love Chicken butter (11.50RM) with nan bread & could have it every day. They have hands wash points in almost every restaurant. This is because many locals eat food with their right hand.

Founded in 1801, it is the largest historic mosque in George Town. Designed in Moghul architecture, it features beautiful minarets & domes. Video to be added soon.

There are many beautiful lanterns for sale in streets for Chinese NYE.

Kompleks Tin Abdul Razak (KOMTAR) is Penang's tallest building, rising 65 storeys. Thr complex is a shopping mall, business hub + admin office for the Penang State Gov. The 60th floor is a public viewing point - unfortunately close for renovation.

This popular temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The first foundation was laid in 1728 by Chinese settlers and completed in 1800.

People pay respect to those that passed away.

They are represented by these plates with names written on them. Though, these are slightly different & have little sculptures of faces embedded.

Beautiful lamps inside the temple.

The Penang Art Gallery was officially opened in 1964. The gallery showcases outstanding works by local & international artists including those from Japan & Thailand. Cost: 1RM adult & it's absolutely worth the money.

Some press-cuttings from the old days.

Exhibition examples.

Loud music, lots of clothing & accessories all from India. I've never been to India & can't compare but it's an interesting area anyway. The indian cuisine is awesome.

New Year's Eve trees decorations.

Some shows & music were played until midnight. It's funny at the beginning cause there was plenty of mistakes from a performing group but all watching had a good laugh & didn't take it seriously. Performances even include young Michael Jackson!

Spectacular & well organised fireworks for Chinese New Year's Eve (this time it's Dragon's year in their calendar). They are going to celebrate for up to two weeks! I'm kind of starting to like & enjoy no alcohol events = no headaches next morning.

A modestly designed inside of the mosque.

Sorry for no better pic but once we got here they ask for 35RM for a 1 hr guided tour around the farm which we thought was a bit too much. We often see these fruit growing by roads hence ended up ordering a juice @ their shop.

This scarf has put so many smiles upon fellow bikers faces that decided to load this pic up. It does have a purpose tho & protects from the Sun while riding when it's so easy to get burned (we only found out once after we stopped).

Kuala Sepetang Recreational forest. Full of mosquitoes & ants with plenty of interesting trees that can be viewed from a wooden bridge which also leads to bungalows. It's still under construction & there is a dead end. Walk time around 25 mins & free

Stopping for 3 nights cause our 4k Yamaha service is due. We first came across Cicada bugs @ hot springs. They look like bats in the sky at night & emit very loud sounds when disturbed but don't bite - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7glP8eSPgM

Some interesting architecture found in the city.

A UK's manufacturer William Hillman car @ a hotel we are staying. Signs of colonisation from the old days. More @ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman.

Delicious food, big portions &
cooked / presented almost to perfection. This meal is called Nasi Goreng Benteng ie traditional fried rice accompanied with chicken meat cooked in tumeric sauce, price 5.50RM. EN speaking, free fast Wi-Fi. Opens @ 1PM.

Often regarded as Malaysia's most beautiful Perak's royal mosque located in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Designed by Arthur Benison Hubbak & built in 1917 during reign of the 28th Sultan, cost: RM200k. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubudiah_Mosque

Built in 1926 for Sultan Iskandar Shah by the Malay carpenter Enci Sepian & 3 sons. An official residence between 1931-33 & upon completion used as a place where guests stayed.

Built & conserved from the ancient castle named Istna Ulu/Kota in 1898 then completed in 1903. Designed by Maurice Alexander Cameron. Adults 4RM. Quite a collection of Sultan's items from various aspects of his life. No photos inside.

We've done 4000 kilometres so it's time for another bike service. They changed engine & gearbox oils (33RM). No other checks like at Chiang Mai service after doing 1k. We are ready to go now & heading to Cameron Highlands.

It's a paradise for motorbikes! So many bends surrounded by awesome scenery full of mountains & plantations. There are dangerous spots though so watch out for sand or rocks laying on roads.

We stop by at bee, fruit, flower & other plantations. It's more of a market combined with small plantations located behind stalls. All the big ones are scattered around mountains. Flowers smell nice & fresh fruit taste good but pricy.

Cameron Highlands trails map. We start off with number 10. PM me for photos of detailed maps of each trail. The temp has dropped & oscillates around 20 degrees C so less sweating!

Trail number 10 can be steep in certain places and we were a bit out of breath in particular at the beginning. Suppose it's caused by to many hours spent on motorbikes that do the hard work for us & climb hills.

An example how trails look like. We are a glad it's not raining cause they can quickly turn into muddy torrents making it difficult or impossible to climb up.

A view by Gunung Jesar peak (1704m). It's a cloudy day & visibility's limited. We enjoy the climb and can't wait to see the rest of the trail.

Flora

Mystique forest - walking in the clouds can give a horror movie like experience. Watch out for the vampires! ;)

Flowers on the way down. It started to rain and we were lucky to be close to the end of this trail.
Tomorrow we're going to the famous Mossy forest. Apparently, it's an unforgettable experience. We only need to find out whether 2 take a guide or not.

These leaves taste very bitter and resembling nothing like tea we enjoy drinking. This is BOH tea plantation. The views from the road as well as shop/restaurant are magnificent. A walk inside the plantation is possible between orderly tea bushes.

Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where constant mist & moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained, creating an ideal biotope for moss, ferns, lichen & orchids. It's also a rich repository for fauna.

The trail starts before the peak of Gunung Brinchang & is about 2km long. Filled with oak trees with stunted stumps, wrinkled leaves & gnarled branches that clump together forming dense crowns that protrude furiously from the ground like mushrooms.

A creepy view of the forest.

Flowers are rare but when occur very beautiful. We still haven't encountered a spectacular & giant Rafflesia flower. Guides don't want to tell us where to find them. Apparently, they are blooming for about 7 days.

Moss close up.

An average trail path.

We are very energetic & excited about what's still ahead of us.

Yoga in between short stops. I'd say it's the toughest trail I have been to in my life but also the most interesting & adventures.

Vines, orchids, pitcher plants &'zither fascinating epiphytes hang loosely from the canopy, perched silently on branches & stems in this chillingly quiet labyrinth.

A close up of trees covered in moss. Some sources claim the forest is 1 million years old othes say 200k is more accurate. Still it's a wonderful Avatar movie like piece of nature to explore.

Watch out what you step on. Venturing below the broadwalk leaves imprints. We joke that there is another world right underneath & that one of us could fall straight into it. Maybe there are Hobbits inhabiting it and would offer us a cup of tea.

My knee is sore & am struggling a bit to keep the pace after 4.5 hours of hiking or shall I say roots climbing. This activity requires to be almost as agile as monkeys.

Our shoes were clean most of the time but then there was some very steep parts of the trail & dumps so there is no way one could come out clean. BTW - Keen shoes rock! They're very durable & sustain most of our activities whether in wet or dry.

We got here by accident while looking for a road to Orang Asli village. This area is full of plantations growing various fruit & vegetables.

This road is only there because of tar holding together what's remained. Rain and torrents cues real problems to infrastructure.

It was a bit difficult to find out where Orans Asli village is. We came across these kids that help us to get back on tracks. They live in a small village & It's name remains unknow.

We finally find a guy who leads us to the village but we didn't expect a swinging bridge on our way there. I loose my glove which fall into the river during crossings :(

We finally made it! The village consists of few houses situated by a river inhabited by first Malays tribes. A very modest place surrounded by jungle. I doubt they even have electricity. Locals behave very naturally & are a bit shy to talk to us.

Our "guide" takes us to the forests to seek Rafflesia but first a river crossing which is uneasy one. It flows fast & there are slippery stones plus some sand patches in the water to walk on.

We find the Rafflesia (some are 1.4m wide). Unfortunate for us it's not blooming & next to it are remains of a rotting one. Our guide decides to go further into the very dense jungle. We enjoy the views & trail almost as hard as the mossy forest.

We are hiking along the river most of the trail & soaked up to knees. The guide suddenly tells us to stop. There was a snake hanging on a branch we didn't spot. It reminded me why people should not go on their own into unknown places like this one.

We headed back to the village after not finding a blooming Rafflesia. Curious local kids surround us visually inspecting our gear. They are not shy like the older villagers & engage into conversations.We conclude this adventure by paying half ie 50RM

One of the best I've been to. There are few packages you can go for. Number 4 takes 3.5 hours & include all attractions ie dry & wet. You'll have to crawl in water to squeeze through very narrow passages. It's a lot of fun & recommend it. 22RM p/p

Not shown on this picture are plenty of natural painting resembling figures & our guide was making funny jokes about them so we had som good laugh too.

Antek is about to get wet by crawling under this rock in water. We did it a couple of times & absolutely loved it. Without this activity it would have been just another nice cave. It's spiced it up.

We made to an exit somewhere on another side. The place seemed very natural & unspoiled jungle. The min is 8 ppl to start the tour. We almost miss it & these ppl luckily arrive in time we were leaving the place feeling sad so many thanks to you guys!

Little particles shining in light. At some point the guide asks to turn off all lights. There is a complete pitch black & feeling weird not being able to see your nose nor anything close to it. You'll only hear flowing water & bats in some parts.

Descending down from steep walls is not easy & requires coordination of more than one person. It's thrilling & challenging at the same time.

We found plenty of shoe pieces lying around the cave. One of girls from our group looses both. They simply fall apart as we walk through difficult sections of the cave. Our keen sandals again prove to be superb robust & up for the job.

None of our night pictures came out but we enjoyed a boat ride along this river watching fireflies gathering on special trees to have dinner & blink synchronously. At first we thought they were Xmas lights hanged on trees until they moved.40RMboat

Silver leaf monkeys are the usual guests of the hill & very friendly to humans. We met an Indian guy with a stall who trained this one to kiss a lion & bite snake toys. I've never felt so comfortable around monkeys before. One even sat on my back.

They come to sit on the same barrier every day.

A posible mother holding her babe. They pass them onto other females for carrying. Toddlers characterise by orange fur during their first months then become dark & silver.

We found this massive butterfly chilling out by our table. It was calm & willing to cooperate during a photo session.

The first in Malaysia & second in SE Asia largest mosque in Shah Alam called Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Malay. Its most distinguishing feature is a large blue/silver dome. Erected on each corner are four minarets.

We visit prayers area where men family leaders gather to pray. There is a section for women on the second floor too.

Inside a carpeted floor & standing fans. As before the interiors are very modest & less distracting. Suppose this helps to stay focused while praying but this is just my theory.

We spent some time in the library asking many questions about their religion & habits. It was a very interesting lecture given by very friendly tourers. It's free.

Getting tourist visas which will allow us to travel at a slower pace on motorbikes through Thailand on the way to Cambodia after visiting Malaysia & Singapore. A 60 days visa cost 110RM, 1 form + 1 photo. Allow 2 hours & next day pickup.

With population just over 1.6m this is the fastest growing capital town in Malaysia. Plenty of skyscrapers, shopping malls, cafes & some parks resembling proper forests allowing to rest in shade.

One of the parks with very tall trees situated at a base of skyscrapers. I've not seen this before & felt more like being in the country side than a cosmopolitan place. There are some trees & bushes growing on buildings too - they really go green!

This city doesn't sleep even at 4am there are restaurants still open serving food & other places night life entertainment. The city centre even though crammed with buildings doesn't feel as busy as some others I've been to which is kind of nice.

Visiting a photo exhibition. The pics are amazing although majority of them in a disasters, violence & death theme. Now I start regretting not taking DSLR gear with me on this trip.

Small but packed with many interesting artefacts & information related to Islamic religion. We've seen mini sculptures of mosques' designs from around the world, read about Islamic religion history & saw jewellery plus various day to day used items.

Old Koran (Qur'an) books some reaching back 12th century AD.

Unfortunately closed for renovation without any notice anywhere. A souvenir shop remains open with some kids handling the business. Am wondering if this little girl is by any chance a descendant of the Orang Asli tribes. Probably will never find out.

We've arrived to Melaka after changing our plan to hang out for 3 days in KL to attend the Taipoosam event. Basically, there was not much more to do there for us until the 7th that wasn't overcommercialised. We also had to skip Batu caves.

In China town enjoying walking along its colourful streets. We like the atmosphere very much & decide to spend more time here before setting off to Singapore on Mon morning. The Chinese NYE celebration hasn't ended yet & livens up the streets.

Malaysia's oldest traditional Chinese temple.

More interesting info at official website:
http://www.chenghoonteng.org.my
Sorry but am struggling to give extensive descriptions because of limitation on max text characters.

A traditional mosque in Melaka that retains its original design which is also a cross Sumatran, Chinese & Melaka Malay.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampung_Kling_Mosque

Another temple which name remains unknown. Anyone knows it?

Once a gate to Dutch fortress, now one of the oldest standing remains of European architecture in Asia. More @ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Famosa

Replika of Sultan's palace. It tells a story about Melaka city & its beginnings.also, shows how people dressed up & lived during those times.

There are few more attractions worth to see in this town but it's pretty packed with tourists & didn't manage to take any good pics worth posting here.

Chinese NYE celebrations still on! We are off to Singapore.

We've stopped in this town to find out next morning what's required by Singapore's immigration authorities to cross the border on Thai registered bikes. This is our hotel from the outside. Only joking. Ours is slightly better & opposite.

Colourfuly sculptured temple with cheering hindu music. We met some locals that offered us rice with sugarcane. People are preparing for tomorrow's Taipoosam event.

It turns out getting into Singapore by Thai reg motorbike is a rather complicated thing requiring time & money. Therefore, going by bus seemed like a more realistic idea especially with only two days planned to spend there.