Slow trains south. Bangkok to Singapore

Melaka was a breath of fresh air (literally  and figuratively) after Kuala Lumpur.  Like George Town, the old part of the city is UNESCO World Heritage Listed, although it is smaller, less congested and much easier to get around - we walked everywhere. It is located on the Melaka Straits, not from from Sumatra and has been an important trading port for over 600 years, particularly when the spice trade was at full swing. Over that time it was ruled by Malay Sultans, the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Japanese,  back to the English and finally Malaysia gained independence in 1957.  As a consequence the local food and architecture has a mix of Chinese, Malay, European influences. It was our favourite Malaysian city. These last 2 are of an Asian water monitor that was at least 2m long and 20 - 30kg, swimming in the Melaka River in the middle of town. Like a Komodo Dragon!

Malaysia has 3 main ethnic groups; Malays (originally from Thailand and Indonesia), Chinese and Indian. There are others of course, including the indigenous Orang Asli, but these 3 make up the bulk of the population.  I find it really interesting that although they have been in Malaysia for centuries and, generally speaking, tolerate each other and get on ok, there has been very little assimilation.   People from Indian or Chinese backgrounds regard themselves as Indians or Chinese who happen to live in Malaysia and be Malaysian citizens,  rather than Malaysian. And they stick together.  As you walk down the street it is obvious which group the people around you are from. They look different, dress differently and speak different languages. There appears to be very few marriages between the ethnic groups. Our driver in Ipoh, Mr Viswa, was a 4th generation person of Indian descent but he still regarded himself as Indian. He was as bigotted as anyone I have met. I...

Malaysians have embraced high rise development and high density living with gusto. They are obsessed with concrete, glass and steel, particularly when they contain huge glamorous shopping malls that prioritise high fashion brands. Our apartment was a good example of their design approach to high density living. It was on the 35th floor of a building in a cluster of 4 located about 600m from a light rail station, via a covered walkway, where driver less trains ran into the city every 7 minutes. Our building had a convenience store, beautiful big pool, gym, conference room and children's playground and was a short walk (again undercover) to a shopping mall with dozens of nice restaurants. No need to ever step outside. Weather forecasts are irrelevant. View from our balcony Apartment pool

Our next stop was Ipoh, a couple of hours south of Penang. It is located about 60km inland and although located on flat, arable land it is surrounded by forested mountains and limestone cliffs. These cliffs contain some huge limestone caves some of which have Chinese Buddhist temples built into them. We hired a driver for a day to visit the Cameron Highlands, located on the Tablelands 1600m above Ipoh. It takes a couple of hours to drive there as the road is steep, narrow and windy. It reminded us of the Atherton Tablelands a bit except that when you get there there are hundreds of plastic covered greenhouses where vegetables and cut flowers are grown hydroponically. Probably the most intensive agriculture we have ever seen and covering a large area. It wasn’t pretty, but it was productive. The vegetables and flowers are of high quality and are sent all over the world. We had some beautiful strawberries. There is also a large, beautiful tea plantation where we had a ni...

Cheong Fat Tze was a remarkable man. A true rags to riches story, he arrived in Jakarta from China in 1856 aged 16 and went on to build an economic empire spanning S E Asia, with The New York Times dubbing him the 'Rockefeller of the East'. He also had time for 8 wives who lived in various locations across the region. Number 7 was his favourite and it was for her he built the Blue Mansion in the 1880s, in the style and scale befitting of a man of his standing. 'The Blue Mansion is a flamboyant masterpierce of eclectic Chinese and European architecture encompassing 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 windows'. The walls are a foot thick, ceilings 16 feet high and that beautiful blue colour comes from indigo lime wash. The house fell into ruin after Cheong's death in 1916 but restoration began in 1989 when his estate finally settled and the house sold to a local couple with a passion for heritage conservation (and plenty of money). The restoration took 6...

George Town's centre has UNESCO World Heritage Listing for its architecture and streetscapes. Malaysian, Chinese, Indian and British Colonial architecture jammed together along narrow winding streets crammed with restaurants, bars and markets results in an eclectic jumble. Visitors also come here for the food as it has a reputation for producing some of the best meals in Asia, again as a result of the fusion of these cultures. Last night we went back to the same restaurant where we had lunch as it was so good.

We left Ban Grood after spending a couple of really nice relaxing days there. Chumphon is a couple of hours south. The town is pretty scrapy but the countryside around it is nice and lush and there is some good beaches nearby (although the signs proclaiming it to be 'Thailand's Riviera' is stretching it a bit). Most of the original forest around here has been cleared for palm oil and rubber plantations. I talked Annie into hiring a scooter and we spent an afternoon riding along the coast nearby. Had lunch at a restaurant on the beach and had a swim in the very warm water. Our train didn't leave until 10.30pm so we had to while a way a few hours waiting for it. This was our longest leg - a sleeper train from Chumphon to Butterworth including a border crossing into Malaysia. All went smoothly and we both slept reasonably well. We rolled into Butterworth at lunchtime before catching the ferry over to Georgetown, Penang. Thailand is in the process of upgrading it's rail...

Ban Krut is a small, very laid back beach town about 2hrs south of Hua Hin. No night-life, so no backpackers. No massage places, so no old single white men. Just Thai families having a weekend by the beach. We arrived on Sunday when it was relatively busy but on Monday they were gone, leaving us almost alone. We hired 2 rusty old bikes with no brakes and went for a leisurely ride along the coast. The section up a hill, to a large wat wasn’t so leisurely but the views were rewarding. The main industries here appear to be fishing and coconut production.

Although the main focus of this trip was the train travel down the Malay Peninsula, another objective was to stay in some historic, grand old hotels. The Royal Hotel, Chinatown Bangkok was not one of these. Cool, clean and comfortable, it was also entirely forgettable. The Grand Centara Hotel in Hua Hin is an entirely different matter. When Annie and I stayed in Hua Hin 33 years ago we stole a walk through the grounds and lobby of this fabulous place and dreamed of returning and actually staying here sometime. And so, here we are. The hotel was built in 1923, initially to accommodate visitors to the King's summer palace. It was designed in a British Colonial style with large cool verandahs for every room, high ceilings and teak floors and staircases. It is set in 13ha of manicured gardens featuring dozens of large topiaries shaped in the form of various animals. It oozes old world charm and dozens of smiling attentive staff provide 5 star service. All for not much more than the p...