Blimey!

2012 was an amazing year, with the first 3 months spent in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, and then 3 month house hunting trip before we moved in in June.  Then the last 6 months of 2012 were busy catching up with friends, settling in our new home, and doing DIY…  Oh – and doing more work than we expected!  Despite 80+ days away in the van, nothing worth blogging about!

But – 2013 will start off with a months snowboarding in Valloire in the French Alps.  Taking the campervan again, so need to ensure it is working after having a long rest.

More trips planned in 2013 and we hope to get the balance of home and away right….

Some pics of 2012…

(See the rest of our tip index here)

In the past I have tried some devices that enable you to watch TV on a laptop and I had mixed results.  Flakey quality, high power consumption, and unreliable software.  So I gave up and bought a Meos 13.3″ TV unit which has served us well for a few years.  However, this unit failed, and with zero after sales service and no spares avaialable, its destined for the bin.

But as we seldom watch TV, but still want the ability to, I sought a cheap alternative…

Knowing how poor computer based TV receivers are, I avoided the unbranded eBay units, and bought a branded August Digital Freeview unit from Amazon mainly due to the price (£16.49 delivered) and the fact most of the reviews were excellent.  But also, its a brand, with an English support website – www.augustint.com - that in istself is a rareity.

So, the box arrived and I was surprised to find it was a full cosumer box, with all the cables, remote control, CD, and even an indoor aerial.  I would not recommend the aerial as you do need a decenr aerial same as any TV.  Rather than use the CD I downloaded the latest drivers and software from their website and installed those (though the version numbers were same as CD).  The installation of the drivers and the software was trivial and worked perfectly on Windows 7.  The device simply plugs into a USB port and takes all the power it needs from there – no other power required.  Its about the size of a USB memory stick – so quite tiny!  The remote control is the size of a credit-card.

All good, so I ran their software, Total Media 3, which tries to be an full “Media Center” and integrates all your music and videos & DVD as well as the TV.  Actualy rather impressive and it does just work.  It feels like the real Windows Media Centre but a little quicker (and simpler) – but no complaints.  Setting up the TV card is simple, though two niggles – the channel scan takes longer than a TV, and the channels aren’t in natural order.

But, apart from that it simply just works!  The TV will work full-screen or in a small window, and the sound/picture quality is as good as you’d hope.  You EPG (TV Guide) can either be via the Internet or via the aerial - so no Internet required.  Great idea!

We’ve set the TV up on both laptops, neither of which are powerful (one is am old Samsung Netbook, and the other a low power Asus) – and they both work fine.  (The slower Netbook takes longer to channel scan, but works quickly once scan completes)

For £16.49 – an absolute bargain and not worth fixing the old TV for!

If you go for alternative makes, make sure the device has an English website where you can get updated software, and it isn’t a cheap clone where support will be non existent.

 

After 7 years our first van had its first real component failure, which can’t be bad.  The water pump seems to have failed due to a seal going between it and the power steering pump. resulting in coolant leaking very slowly down and over the starter motor.  Getting it changed at a garage was quoted at £320-£380 at Ford and other garages which is a little steep.  The job isn’t trivial or simple, but isn’t actually too difficult if you know what to do.

Total cost using Ford bits, can be £120, or £50 for cheaper versions.

However, on our investigations we didn’t find any definitive answer, so a good friend came over (Thanks Chris Rabbit!) and we tackled it together.  Probably took a relaxed 5 hours, but with hindsight (and these instructions), probably a 3 hour job.

We took some advice from the Ford TIS and the Ford Transit forum (thanks to the people that offered some advice) – we took some advice, ignored others, and made it work!

These instructions are based on a 2005 Mk6 FWD 2.0L TDCi 125ps Ford Transit.  The instructions should help any 2L varient, but you may have different pipework as you may or may not have an intercooler or EGR.

So take this guide as a GUIDE ONLY.  And remember I’m not a mechanic, so you really should disregard anything in here and ignore it!  Follow it at your own risk as I accept no liability for yoy being mad enough to trust an Interent stranger!

Tools required

• Socket set and ratchet
• Medium & long extension bars
• 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 10mm,  12mm, 15mm sockets
• 10mm spanner
• couple of screw drivers, one rather large flat head
• Small torque wrench
• bigger torque wrench
• Electical or gaffa tape
• Silicone lube
• Recommended host-pipe-clip removal tool (really, makes life SO MUCH easier)
• Recommended Clic pliers for air intake pipes.  Either this or swear for 20 mintues
• Recommended belt tensioner tool, though you can get away with screw drivers and 3 hands.

Parts required

• Replacement water pump
• Replacement water pump gasket
• Special spline grease
• (All above from single eBay supplier who is a genuine Ford garage, £105 delivered, though cheaper non-branded parts available – see http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Keith-Motors-For-Genuine-FORD-Parts – ordered and came 9am next day)
• 5L  (well 3-5L) of FORD 10 year coolant  (Ford provided stuff dilutes 50/50 with tap water, cheaper ones only offer 5 year protection and may be pre diluted)

Additionally

• Consider changing power steering pump belt (eBay £8 delivered)
• Consider getting a blank EGR gasket to seal off EGR valve

The main problem with this job is the posititon of the water pump.  In itself, it isn’t a tough job, its just a right b*****d to get at, but hopefully this guide will help.

1 – Drain the coolant

There is a drain plug, slightly recessed, in the bottom right corner of the radiator (when standing at the van looking under the bonnet).  Its easier to get at underneath, and feeling (as its blind and you may have to push a cable out of the way), just undo the big plug and the coolant will drain.

Put a big large container underneath as it will splash.  And take off the coolant tank cap to allow it to empty.

2 – Remove air resonator

The top box with “DuraTorq” on is the air resonator.

• Undo the two hoses circled with a screw driver or special clip tool. Disconnect hoses.
• Unclip the oil filler bracket and rotate 90′
• Undo the two hidden nuts at the back, you will probably need to unclip the pipework at rear.  These are 12mm.
• Once nuts removed, slight right-hand side of air box “back” and then rotate slightly up, and then slight right.  This motion makes it clear the bungs.  Make sure you don’t lose the nuts or the rubber bungs.

3 – Remove EGR outlet pipe

Remove he EGR outlet pipe on the right, this is simply two jubilee clips.  Be warned, this pipe may be full of black sh*t from the EGR, so it can vet very messy very quickly.

4 – Remove Power Steering pump belt cover

This is a simple plastic cover on the right hand side covering the power steering belt.  Its a 10mm nut at the front side, and the rear just prises off with a screw driver.

5 – Remove EGR pipe

Had we done this at this stage it’d have made life so much easier as this entire pipe gets in the way.  Ford do not recommend moving it, but really, you should!

• Remove the 2x 10mm bolts at the front end
• Disconnect the intercooler hose via simple jubilee clip
• Remove the two bolts holding the pipe to the EGR valve (8mm)  Beware that when you remove these bolts a narrow gasket may fall out, so try and catch it.  (you can use an EGR blanking plate here when you reassemble!)
• Remove entire pipe section (should be just metal pipe as shown on left pic (as hoses should now be disconected) – and the metal pipe out the back covered in the heatshield)

6 – Remove Power Steering Belt

This is a bit of a pain if you don’t have a tensioner tool as the tensioner is spring loaded and keeps the belt tight, but this means the belt can’t just come off, the tensioner needs to be released.

We’re sure there is a tool or technique, but reglardless, here is what we did.

• Put a scew driver in the square hole, and held it tight. (red X)
• Put a big screw driver between the nut and the scrrewdriver above (blue line)
• Rotate screwdriver against nut and little screwdriver in direction of green arror causing the tensioner to release (under load), so with your 4th hand, get the belt off and then release the tensioner slowly.

7 – Remove Air Intake Manifold

This is an easy bit (as I watched Chris do it!)

• Its 9x 10mm bolts which all need to be removed.  These are all captive so don’t worry about dropping them.
• The dip-stick holder needs to be removed
• You will possibily need a long reach socket and an extension bar just to get access, but apart from working out how to get the nuts, then should come off.
• There is a cable attached to white clips.  We sensed if we pulled these clips they’d snap, so we removed the tape and left the clips in situ.  The cable is then “free”.
• Be careful when removing as there are 8 rubber gaskets.  They didn’t fall off for us, but keep an eye out just in case.

At this point, you should look like the picture.  Also pic of manifold removed

8 – Loosen coolant hose support bracket

There s a coolent hose support bracket in the way of the power steering pump, it sort of “lipped”.  The Ford TIS reckons there are 4 nuts on it, but I only found two!  And removing these nuts gave enough movement to move it out of the way.   The bracket is shown in “green” and rough nut locations in red.

• Remove 2 nuts – 15mm.  These may be very tight/rusted, so may need to soak
• Leave bracket in engine and hoses still connected.

9 – Detach power steering pump

Note:  The power steering pump stays in place – so be careful not to strain any pipes connected to it!

• Note on image, green is rough outline of bracket holding power steering pump on, red the bolts.
• The top & bottom bolts are 10mm and are long and go through the water pump.  Remove these.
• Remove the middle bolt, 8mm
• Remove the two remaining bolts, 10mm
• The bracket will then come off, rememeber which way round it went!

The power steering pump is now free and you should be able to separate it from the water pump (pull away from water pump as the water pump has a spline going into the PAS pump.

Check spline for wear, as if you have been leaking for a while and the grease has been washed out, it may be damanged and you may need a new PAS pump.  We caught it early, so grease still present.  Clean old grease out if you can.

10 – Remove water pump

• Disconnect 3 hoses from water pump.  That special tool I mentioned at the start is very handy!
• There are then 4 bolts holding the water pump to the engine.  The top 2 are bolts, the bottom 2 are bolts with thread both sides.
• Unclip wiring clip from bottom bolts
• Remove all 4 bults (10mm)
• Remove water pump (NOTE: make sure gasket comes with it, and make sure PAS pump is safe)
• Once removed, undo the nut holding the coolant engine sensor (8mm), and “pull out” the sensor

Thats it!  Everything is now removed.  You should now have something resembling:-

At this point, have a cuppa, and clean up all the bits you think necessary.

Not going to bother with pictures for reassembly, the ones above should suffice.

11 – Install water pump

• Ensure O ring on water engine sensor thing is good, if not replace
• Clean and tiny bit of spray silicone lube and put sensor into new pump
• Tighten nut (8mm, 10NM))
• Put on new water pump gasket and put pump back into engine, ensure you keep gasket clean and don’t damage it. (Remember bolts are different top & bottom!)
• Tighten up, 10mm, 24NM, opposites first
• Attach wiring harness clips to bottom bolts
• Reconnect hoses using special tool

12 – Install power steering pump

• Clean spline hole
• Fill with the special grease
• Use special grease on the water pump shaf
• Put PAS pump back in place
• Put bracket back in place
• Re bolt all 5 bolts.  (4x 10mm 22NM, 1x 8mm 22NM.  Note, TIS says 22NM for the 8mm bolt too, but felt a bit too tight…)

13 – Connect coolant hose support bracket

• Move bracket back into place
• Screw on 2 nuts, 15mm, 22NM

14 – Install air intake manifold

• Put manifold back in place
• Make sure gaskets all in place
• 9 nuts, 10mm, 15NM
• Reattach oil dipsick older
• Tape on cable to plastic connectors

15 – Install Power Steering belt

• Using same technique to slacken the belt tensioner, do this and connect PAS belt
• Recommend a new belt
• Check belt is around alll pullies correctly and lipped-in
• Release tensioner slowly

16 – Install EGR pipe

• Manuvure EGR pipe back into place
• Front side, 2x 10mm bolts, 24NM
• Rear side, ensure gasket goes in (or new EGR blanking plate) – and tighten up with 8mm bolt

17 – Install belt pully cover

• Slot belt cover over rear connector and push down
• Install nut at front side, 10mm 10NM

18 – Connect EGR Pipes

• Connect intercooler pipe to EGR pipework
• Connect air intake pipe from metal pipework to air intake manifold

19 – Install air resonator

• Ensure rubber grommets with metal inserts are in place
• Wilggle into place, e.g. slide right, forward, and rotate down.  Obvious if you remember how you took it out.  (be aware of catching pipework at rear and the air pipework can block movement)
• But 2 bolts in behind
• Attach air pipes
• connect clips
• Clip hoses neatly at rear

20 – Fill with coolant

• Ensure radiator drain plug is closed!
• Fill with coolant to “max”
• Wait and have a cuppa
• Make sure no tools balanced on engine or bonnet….
• Start engine and check all is okay
• Keep coolant at/near max
• Get up to temp, stop and cool down, and top coolant up if necesary

Check everything, and jobs a good un.

 

Hope this helps someone – I know I’d have been more confident doing it had I read this at the start!  Cheers to Chris again for his help.

 

 

 

Well, as you may have seen, we’ve not updated our blog since we came back from Asia.  Amazingly, we came back on 25 March, then after sorting some bits out we went area/house hunting with a HUGE area of the Cotswolds, Wiltshire and Dorset.  So the little camper has been used heavily since then.

But, the work paid off and we bought a house in Melksham, Wiltshire.  We saw it on 26 April, made an offer on 27 April, and completed on 1 June!  Amazingly quick, and of course since then we’ve been shopping….

Its a nice little 3 bed house on a private lane with space for a campervan or two on the drive – so perfect.  Some work needed, spent today sorting out a water tap for filling the van up!  A bit of TLC, DIY and decortating to do, and today we had delivery of a new washing machine and my home cinema system!  All set up so Mel is looking forward to watching Matt Damon tonight in HD glory.  Sofas don’t arrive for a few weeks….

Its got a lovely garden with apple and pear trees.  No idea what to do with them all, so maybe homebrew cider?  If we don’t kill them off of course!

So this year may see very few long trips as we try and establish the house and ourselves in the area.  We’re actually really

happy with the location and the friendliness of the people – already at the local running club a

 

nd going to sign up to the Bristol Half Marathon in September…  Oops. 

But worry not, the dream isn’t over….!  Just this year we may have to settle for 3 months in Asia and a couple of long holidays…  Normal service will resume!

 

At last, the camping and caravanning club 2012 data is available.  See our main GPS download page here to download it.

You obviously need to be a member to use the facilities.  The .csv and some of the files (not all) are available direct from CCC.  However, the data here is just formatted in the way you want it  

The data is of course (c) CCC.  It contains locations of Club Sites, Club Certified Sites, Forest Sites and also their Listed Sites.  The below is a small screen shot from 2011 on my laptop.

Well for those wondering what we’re doing after returning from the fabulous Asia trip, well, back to reality I guess!

Its time to buy another house somewhere and get our stuff out of my (very kind!) parents garage.

Not sure where, but we like places like Chippenham; Cirencester; Gillingham; Salisbury; Highworth; Melksham to name but a few.  Our wide search area makes the hunt hard work, and our house requirements make it even tougher!

So, we’re in the UK, zig-zagging the Cotswolds, Wiltshire and Dorset looking for a nice house, in a nice place, for a great price….

The van is proving a very useful tool to help this journey……

 

But worry not – once we have a house, the adventures will continue – albeit in shorter chunks.

See trip index here, Cambodia index here, and more photos from Cambodia here

Our positive view of Cambodia and Phnom Penh continued after going out for a beer at 50p a glass and then to the local night market for tea.  You can’t get more authentic than joining pretty much all locals sitting on rugs in the centre of the food stalls.  Some of the stalls had English translations, and some had someone who spoke English to explain what everything was. Superb!  We both had Cambodian noodles, and I had one of those duck-chick-eggs – which is a duck egg which is just pre-hatch…  Tasted fine, but we did get into the “is it an Egg, or is it Meat” debate!  A fine meal for about £1 each.

The next day we went on a quad bike tour for the day, so we got picked up at 7:15 in a tuktuk (100cc moped with a 4+ seater trailer, though we’ve seen 8 in one!), and got to the company where 5 of us (3 quads) went out with 2 guides around the countryside outside of Phnom Penh.  Sadly it absolutely chucked it down first thing and we got covered in mud – all part of the fun. Just like quadding in England!  Mel did her share of driving, only hitting the guide once, and falling off the road once, but overall did pretty well.  The villages were so genuine, poor but not poverty, with loads of kids in school uniform which bodes well for Cambodias future.  So many kids coming out to wave and give high-5s, and all with genuine smiles – and only lookup upset if you didn’t wave at them!  No ulterior motive, just wanting a wave.  Hope it doesn’t turn into some places where Westerners are “kind” to kids, and the kids then associate Westerners with freebies. 

The tour took in Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary which had rescued tigers, bears, elephants and some other animals, and then a chilled lunch on Tonle Bati lake.  Finally after loads of riding (100km?), we headed to the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields near Phnom Penh.  The audio guide is necessary and it gives a very informative history of events that we were unaware of.  A moving place and very much worth a visit despite its sad past, though we would say its more informative and factual than emotional.

After an excellent meal we left Phnom Penh and headed by bus to Sihanoukville – a small coastal town 4 (make that 5.5!) hours away where there are supposed to be nice beaches and where we booked a better-than-normal hotel  for a romantic break.  The bus is weird – they have Kymer Karaoke on loud for the entire journey – and our seat was below a speaker.  Doh.   On arrival we found our hotel was a bit over sold and over priced, not the romantic place we hoped.  We then went to the beach and were almost horrified…  Serendipity beach is awful – litter everywhere, too many tuktuk/taxi sellers, beggers (including an American in a bar asking us to sub him a dollar or two!), child-gift-sellers, and bar/cafe hawkers that made any walk on the beach unbearable.

The beach itself is only 5-10m wide, full of chairs from the cafes, and not really worth a look.  Maybe we’ve been spoilt of recent, but this is a bit of a hole.  Only come here if you are 18-25 and like cheap parties, or you like the company of “friendly local girls” who were everywhere.  Otres beach is supposed to be better, but research showed no decent accommodation; most placed bulldozed last year; dodgy security to/from there, and as such we decided to carry on our journey and pick a better beach when we get back to Thailand.

A real shame that so quickly a clearly nice part of Cambodia can be turned into a dump just to satisfy a particular type of tourist.  With respect to the children in Cambodia, we are repeatedly reminded not to buy/give anything to them as it encourages them/their parents to avoid school as they can make a living by scrounging – not good.  And whilst there are many homeless children and orphanages, we keep seeing adverts saying “Orphanages are not tourist attractions – do not go”….  Many actually are fake ones set up to get tourist money….  So we’ll be avoiding kids here.

 Due to the lack of tarmac roads (as we found on the quads), the way to continue our journey is back to Phnom Penh and then on from there.  So another 5.5hrs back to our old guesthouse, where the owner said we were the second set of people to return back from Sihanoukville quickly – so its not just us who hated it.  The other people returned the same day!!!

For next installment click here

Vietnam Costs and Review

See our general tip page here.  Note the costs here do not include external flights, vaccines and insurance etc – this will be detailed at the end of the trip.

	Total		per day
	VND	gbp	VND	gbp
Accommodation	7,056,000	£225.49	415,059	£13.26
Trains	0	£0.00	0	£0.00
Taxis/Buses etc	1,512,000	£48.32	75,600	£2.42
Internal Flights	5,786,000	£184.91	289,300	£9.25
Food (not beer)	3,223,000	£103.00	161,150	£5.15
Essentials	357,500	£11.42	17,875	£0.57
Entertainment (inc beer)	11,047,000	£353.04	552,350	£17.65
Total	28,981,500	£926.19
Nights	20
Nights in paid accom	17
Total per night	1,449,075	£46.31

Overall

Vietnam was a bit of a culture shock than Thailand or Malaysia, and getting to Hanoi first was jumping in the deep end!  Vietnam grew on us, and the Mekong area was beautiful.  We had no real issues though we didn’t take many cheap or public transport options as we did here some horror stories.  Whereas we spent a bit more, and cheated a bit, but had a chilled time.

We liked Vietnam – a lot – but not as much as Southern Thailand.  We think this is because Vietnam is harder than Thailand – buying food can be harder; transport can be harder; and you are always afraid of a scam.  That said, nothing was impossible and we made it through and enjoyed it unscathed. 

Budget

Our daily spend of £46 is surprisingly good – especially when we took 2 internal flights; always had pretty good (but budget) hotels; and went on a fair few organised trips.  On this amount it is possible to do things well and avoid the hassles. 

With trains/busses and DIY you could do it cheaper, and there is also much cheaper accommodation than we bought, but too much less than we paid and it gets dire quickly! 

Security

We were concerned about security in Vietnam and the internet is full of horror stories, scams, theft etc.  And to be fair, it is true – we’ve heard first hand stories about such problems.  We were also (almost) scammed in Hannoi by a street vendor but nothing serious and all was fine.

We would also suggest you sort out airport pickup via your hotel for stress free airport travel – we were picked up easily, even when flight late, and as pre-paid it was perfect. 

Keeping small change (notes) loose is a good idea so you don’t get you wallet out.  Be wary of having “stuff” on display, or things dangling, as there are so many mopeds snatch-crime would be easy to do and hard to catch.

For us, we’d say we had no security issues – though we stayed alert throughout.

Useful facts:-

• ATMS:  ATMs everywhere, but best to use something like ANZ bank as many banks restrict you to 2,00,000 VND at a time – ANZ allows up to 20,000,000 (pending your card). 
• Currency:  Most things priced in VND, but tourist things like hotels and trips in USD.  You can pay these in VND (21,000 per $) or USD.  Everything else is VND. No USD needed at all.
• Landry:  Harder to come by, but all hotels did it for around 15,000-30,000 per kg
• 7/11:  None – local shops only, but water etc similar price everywhere.
• Transport:  We heard horror stories about public busses:  Breakdowns; long delays waiting to fill; stopping before destination etc.  So we didn’t use them.  We didn’t use train either.  We used:  Sinhtourist bus; taxi; tuktuk; boat; ferry; rowing boat
• Chemists:  Few and far between – best to stock up on essentials before you get there.
• Food:  Street food more of a challenge – not much in English.  Cafes etc vary but in tourest areas all OK
• Language:  Knowing Yes, No helps – but English ok for normal stuff. 
• Power:  mains plugs everywhere so charging stuff is trivial (socket adapter may be needed, and of course make sure charger is 110/240v!). 
• Internet:  Wifi available in every guesthouse we used and in many bars/cafes.  Internet cafes and PCs to borrow also available free/cheap.
• Toilets:  Western style in all guest houses and in most “good” public places, there may only be one in a row so look.  Worth carrying toilet paper though seldom needed.

Stuff we took and didn’t use

(see our packing list here)

• Towels – they were provided by every guesthouse, even special beach towels
• Mozzie net – only needed in one place, and it was already provided.
• Loads of clothes – you only need 4-5 sets of undies – laundry is so trivial to do you do not need to carry as much as us.
• Spare batteries for stuff – power so available we kept things charged
• Main padlock – all guest houses had normal locks

Things we’d change

We’d possibly spend some time in Sapa which we skipped due to weather/season, and we should have gone to Dalat and Nha Trang.  We should have looked at Sinhtourist night bus from Hue/Hoi An rather than flying.   Possibly more time in Mekong area, but no regrets there.

Well we’ve made it to the half way point, 60 days out of 120.  Sadly this means we’re slowly heading back home I guess.

As this is our first ever backpacking trip we thought we’d summarise how things are so far.

Places

We love Southern Thailand and are really looking forward to seeing the northern parts.  We weren’t too fussed about Malaysia.  And we like Vietnam but not as much as Thailand.

What we have learned is that regardless how much time you have you can’t do everything. We have missed bits off we shouldn’t, and no doubt spent time in places that didn’t justify it, but that is the joys of being able to get around and see what you want.

Accommodation

So far, 9/10 places we’ve stayed have been good.  None have been horrific and all safe and clean.  We have always arranged a room before we arrive which may not be the traditional way, but for us its been stress free and due to being able to research on line (e.g. tripadvisor), probably accounts for the rooms being pretty good.  We may well be paying slightly more than we need as we don’t barter for a room rate, but if we’re happy with what we’ve agreed in advance then we’re happy.  For £10-14 a night for double en-suite then is it really worth barganinng any more?

It would be easy to spend 1/2 of what we have on accommodation – but the cost we are paying is okay.  We like clean private rooms, aircon and ensuite.  I know I know….  If you want shared bathroom or dodgy places, or fan-room sweat boxes you can save money.

Real Backpackers?

Before we left we didn’t know how many people were doing similar, but on our travels we’ve bumped into the same people numerous times in different places.  So pretty much there are loads of people of all ages and types all going to the same destinations – its a well trodden route.  “Real” backpackers would frown at this and say we should be getting off the backpack trail, but really we’re going where we want and its not our fault that everyone follows us!  There is also a reason why some places are on the trail, and why others are not.

Getting Around

For our travel, we’ve sometimes taken the easy options - like flights, tourist busses, or arranged trips from A to B.  Again, the “real” backpackers would argue we should make our own way on local transport otherwise you don’t get the real local experience.  We agree with this to a point, but sometimes we can’t be bothered to get a tuk-tuk from hotel to bus station; get bus from A to B.  Then wait an hour or 3 and get bus from B to C on a bus that may or may not turn up, then get to a hotel if you can find one.  Sometimes its easier to get a tourist bus that collects you from hotel, chilled journey, and dumps you where you want to go.  Authentic? No – but why make things difficult just so you can claim bragging rights?

Amazingly we’ve always got from A to B.  Now yesterday, booking a train ticket back from LONDON to SUFFOLK for when we get back in March, and we find the railway is closed and we need 3 busses and 3 trains and 5 hours for a normal journey of 1.5hrs!  And no easy bus or any other way.  Only in England eh?  (PS – Thanks M&D for the to-be-arranged London Pickup!) 

Health

We are generally healthy people, but we’ve both been ill with gut problems, and this is despite eating cautiously and using hand gels.  I was very ill for just over a week, and Mel has been ill 2-3 times but not as bad.  More an annoyance but I guess if we get ill being very careful, then its probably a dead cert.

Meeting People

We have been fortunate to meet some nice people so far, and some more than once.  But due to us being a “close” couple and happy in each others company, and the fact we stay in hotels/guesthouses rather than Hostels, means we’ve not really been in the full “scene”.  Thats fine for us, but if you are younger or single/travelling with friends, then you would need to consider more Hostel places just for socialising.

We have met the people the guidebook told us about:  The Doom and Gloom people who say how bad a place is that we’re heading to (never has been).  The Know it all who typically doesn’t.  And the Old Timer who tells you how much better it was 10 years ago when he had to buy his own donkey.  They all try and ruin your adventure, but don’t let them.  Fortuanltey they are the minority!

Finance

So far, we’re well under expectations.  At our current rate of spend we are forecast to spend under £7,000 for everything for us both for 120 days which considering we’re doing all we want and aren’t skimping, we think is quite impressive.

It would probably be possible for under £5k (£2.5k each) if you eat out less, don’t do too much, and have more budget rooms; and it could easily be 2-3x what we are paying if you like it a bit posher!

Safety/Security

Before we left, and when we’ve been here, we’ve heard stories about problems, theft, scams etc.  Enough to scare you about coming. 

So far, we have never felt threatened or “unsafe” with respect to ourselves.  (With the exception of crossing the road in Hanoi or HCMC!!).  We’ve not head any stories of actual violence or problems.

However, we have felt that it is possible to have stuff stolen or pick pocketed and indeed have heard stories about stuff being stolen.  To be fair, most “stolen” items had some blame to the owner, either leaving on a table; or next to them when they slept; or had things dangling in bags.  Being ultra cautious is necessary over here, and reduing temptation will reduce the chance of problems.

Scams and over charging are common, and even we got over charged/under changed though we did get our money back!  Bit of naivety on our behalf – and easily controllable if you aren’t as silly:  Know what something should cost; and if you need change (especially from a street vendor) – don’t let them take your money till you see/get the change.  Also – with taxi/tuk tuk/cyclo ensure you are 100% clear on the cost – we are aware of quite a few who have been scammed…

We have always got the hotel to arrange airport pickup for us – hassle free and avoids the very common airport scams.

We have seen 4 moped accidents, though none major.

Fun Factor

We’re having fun!  Really enjoying it, and we know the second half will be different than to the first half and in many ways more challenging.  But so far so good, and an excellent trip to take.

Things we’ve really enjoyed

• The adventure!  Yeah – its not unique; we’re not alone; and its not that difficult.  But for us, it is an adventure
• Seeing new things
• Meeting new people
• The challenge of getting around, eating, and finding somewhere to sleep
• Each others company
• Staying in great locations that wouldn’t look out of place in a top-end holiday brochure.
• New and different food

Things we’ve not liked

• The constant “hellos” from shop keepers, where any response puts you under pressue to get in.  And the lookng over your shoulder, so you can’t browse.  And no prices.  Grrr
• Many white men (mainly overweight/gray/old) with young asian women.  S’pose at least it is women.
• The fact 9/10 people who speak to you want something; or are trying to direct you to another place; or are trying to scam you.  This is a shame as you then don’t trust the 1/10 who is genuinely friendly.  This is really really sad and probably our biggest hate.  It is not in our nature to ignore people saying hello, but you really have to.  Anyone that says otherwise is still in their first town…

Thanks that have surprised us

• Prices of “cheap” clothes aren’t mega cheap.  Good brands are UK prices, and whilst cheap clothes can be bought, they aren’t much cheaper than UK market/Matalan/Peacock prices and probably same quality. 
• Wifi is available anywhere – much more open wifi than Europe
• Not had to use a squat loo yet, though that is sure to change in the second half!
• Not had any of our own horror stories to tell
• How pretty some ladyboys are
• Availability of GOOD clothes we like (e.g. branded quality walking clothes, e.g. Berghaus, Northface etc) are nowhere to be seen – except fake jackets.
• The age range and type of people travelling.  From typical gap years; to retired people, to families with teenagers and young families with babies!  In other words, everyone.
• And pretty much, how easy it has been overall so far.  OK its a lot tougher than a package holiday, but it is well within most peoples grasp.  Why don’t more do it?

Malaysia Costs and Review

See our general tip page here.  Note the costs here do not include international  flights, vaccines and insurance etc – this will be detailed at the end of the trip.

	Total		per day
	MYR	gbp	MYR	gbp
Accommodation	630	£130.71	63	£13.07
Trains	8	£1.66	1	£0.17
Taxis/Buses etc	81	£16.81	8	£1.68
Ferrys	0	£0.00	0	£0.00
Food (not beer)	310	£64.32	31	£6.43
Essentials	67	£13.90	7	£1.39
Entertainment (inc beer)	330	£68.47	33	£6.85
Total	1426	£295.86
Nights	10
Nights in paid accom	10
Total per night	143	£29.59

Overall

Malaysia only appeared on our trip as a convenient way to get from southern Thailand to Hanoi.  Because we have been on islands & beaches in Thailand, and expect to in Vietnam, we didn’t want to see Malay beaches and islands, and also Borneo just didn’t fit in to our main plan.  As such, our views are just based on Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.

Sadly, what we saw didn’t meet expectations.  The places were okay but nothing of a “wow factor” stood out.  Pleasant enough, but not special.  KL especially was filthy, rubbish and food waste everywhere (bar main tourist drags), so rats everywhere.  Street food stalls we so loved in Thailand didn’t appeal – they looked dirtier, dimly lit, and just weren’t exciting.  The ones we did try were okay but not outstanding.

The lack of photos we took were due to not being able to find much that impressed…  So KL as a couple of day stop over is okay, but don’t expect too much.  Of course, if you are after islands and Borneo – then you will see much more than we did and may well have a different view.

I guess we just weren’t very excited by anything in Malysia, felt more of a holiday destination than an adventure trip. 

Budget

We didn’t spend too much as there wasn’t much to buy.  Accommodation was cheap and food reasonable, beer very expensive. Hardly any trips or interesting things to spend money on – even the tourist info didn’t have any leaflets on typical excursions. Museums and cinema/bowling dirt cheap.

Shopping for “stuff” is UK standard and prices and thus we didn’t buy anything.

Our spend is probably the lower end of what is doable in Malaysia.  If you go out and about more or see islands then expect to pay a lot more

Security

Never once did we hear any dodgy stories about Malaysia, nor did we feel unsafe at any time.  We always got the correct change back.   So in our view, very safe indeed.

Useful facts:-

• ATMS:  Everywhere for VISA and Mastercard.  Easy to get cash at airport. Only Malaysian Ringgits are dispensed
• Currency:  Everything is priced and paid for in Ringgits (RM).
• Landary: Not that common but doable, 6RM/kg
• 7/11:  Some places, but so are local shops – convenient for water but 2.5RM a bottle of water – and most is non-mineral.
• Transport:  Easy to use and busses/trains very cheap.  Not great links though.  Didn’t see any tourist mini busses so public transport only.
• Chemists:  Everywhere
• Food:  Street food stalls not great, try food courts in big malls for interesting and cheap local choices
• Language:  English everywhre. 
• Power:  UK plug and 240v -no issue.
• Internet:  Wifi available in every guesthouse we used and in many bars/cafes.  Internet cafes and PCs to borrow also available free/cheap.
• Toilets:  Western style in all guest houses and in most “good” public places, there may only be one in a row so look.  Worth carrying toilet paper though seldom needed.

Stuff we took and didn’t use

(see our packing list here)

• Towels – they were provided by every guesthouse, even special beach towels
• Mozzie net – not needed.
• Loads of clothes – you only need 4-5 sets of undies – laundry is so trivial to do you do not need to carry as much as us.
• Spare batteries for stuff – power so available we kept things charged
• Main padlock – all guest houses had normal locks

Things we’d change

Less time in KL and Melaka.  Our timing was fixed due to getting Vietnam Visa and flights sorted.  Didn’t see anything else near that seemed worth visiting.  Using Malaysia as a stop off is fine but not great, but of couse if you are doing islands/beaches or Borneo then its a different kettle of fish.