Just drifting off to sleep last night and Simon decided to get up to use the toilet. I was lying in bed and could hear him chatting to someone, obviously having a discussion about something and eventually my nosy nature got the better of me and I got up too. At the end of our hut sat on the floor was the most enormous bug I have ever seen. Its body was around 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. The noise from the thing was incredible as it flew around trying to get out. It was undoubtedly the creepiest insect I have ever seen alive or dead.

The alarm woke us this morning at 8.30. We quickly showered and started to pack up our stuff. We still seem to be unable to stay anywhere without unpacking almost everything but on the other hand are quicker at repacking now. We have had to ditch Ali's converse as they are so wet and muddy and are getting too small for him anyway.

After a quiet morning spent having a leisurely breakfast and doing some literacy with the kids, we make our way to the bus station at 1.30. The bus leaves on time and is very luxurious with huge bucket seats. We arrive back in KL at around 5.15pm as planned. We check out The Trekker Lodge and I'm relieved to see it's clean and the owner seems friendly and knowledgeable. We are staying in a dorm room which has 2 bunk beds in it and will share a toilet and shower with other people. The kids said they feel like real travellers now we are staying in hostels but actually there are lots of facilities here that we haven't had in some other places we stayed such as a TV lounge, tea and coffee making facilities and free internet.

We walk to the KLCC shopping mall and buy a few things including a new pair of trainers for Ali and some underwear from Marks and Spencer for Maisie. After dinner we return to the hostel and get ourselves into bed we have to get a very early start tomorrow if we are to see anything at the festival and plan to get up around 5am.

Simon wakes me up around 7am and I head for the shower before I can chicken out and decide to give it a miss as it's so cold. We have organised a trip this morning called The Mossy Forest and will be picked up at 8.45, so rush to get some breakfast.

The guides name is Kumar and there are another 5 people on the tour with us. We all pile into the back of a Land Rover and head off for our first stop which is at the tea plantation around 20 minutes away. The tea plantations are really amazing and we see tea pickers collecting the top leaves. The plantations are very sloped and pretty and Kumar is an interesting and informative guide who talks us through the history of the plantation and the tea producing process.

From the plantation we drive up to Gunung Brinchang, this is the highest point in the highlands and at around 2000 metres it is really quite cold. There is a viewing platform but the clouds are swirling around and there are only brief photo opportunities when the clouds break.

We head off for the mossy forest. Before we enter the forest Kumar tells us a little about his job as a NGO conservationist and goes on to show us many different types of plants and bushes along the way including citronella, wild ginger and bergamot. He explains the medicinal properties of many plants and shows us some amazing flowers called Monkey Pitchers. We then enter the forest and are taken on a muddy and difficult hour long trek. Despite getting filthy we all loved it and had a great time tramping along. I was a little worried when he explained that bird eating spiders live in this forest and their bodies can be 4 inches across with 3 -4 inch long legs.

Next we stop off at the tea factory, I am surprised that the despite the highlands being a huge producer of tea, some of which is exported internationally, the majority of the work is still done by hand. This includes the sorting and grading of the leaves.
By now it is 2pm and Kumar drops us of at an insect farm, this is very good and there are lots of butterflies, giant stick insects, grasshoppers and many other creepy crawlies to look at.

From here we walk to a nearby strawberry farm. As well as the tea plantations the highlands also produce strawberries and the town of Tanah Rata is really a strawberry town. Everywhere we go sells strawberry t shirts, handbags, fridge magnets, paper weights, balloons etc! As well as strawberry jam, tea, tarts, cheesecake, milkshakes and so on!

We catch the bus back and walk the short distance back "home". I insist that the kids have a shower and we then settle down to do some science. One of the girls on our trip this morning is a Canadian who has been working as a science teacher in London for the past 4 years and she gives me some tips on specific areas of work to concentrate on which is useful.
We join the other guests in the communal lounge and manage to bag a settee. There is a nightly film showing and the 7pm offering is The Queen. We enjoy laughing at the translation of the subtitles more than the film but have a lovely evening chatting to other travellers.

We will be leaving in the morning and I'm so sad, it is one of the nicest places we have stayed and I would recommend it to anyone who is considering a holiday to Malaysia. The people who run the place have been very friendly and try their utmost to create a homely atmosphere.

We are going back to KL on the 1.45pm VIP bus. The journey should take 3 and a half hours and we have arranged to stay in another hostel. Originally we had booked The Pudu Hostel but spent some time reading recent traveller reviews on Malaysia and Thailand and discovered 6 terrible reviews about the place including one couple who had all their money stolen at festival time. As we are only returning to KL for the Thaipusam festival I'm relieved we have had the opportunity to change where we are staying and hopefully will be ok.

We had an early start to the day and by 7.45 were on the bus on the way to the Cameron Highlands. This is slightly further north and we expect our journey there by bus to take around 5 hours. The Highlands is Malaysia's most extensive hill station and is inside the state of Pehang. Apparently the name is taken from the surveyor who mapped the area in 1885 and he was followed by tea planters and vegetable farmers. The weather is fairly damp and the temperature remains quite even, rarely getting any hotter than 21 degrees or colder than 10 degrees.

The first leg of the journey takes an hour to a place called Jerantut. After stopping for an hour for breakfast we get back on the bus and are joined by a couple from London and a lad from Ireland. We now have a 2 and a half hour ride and we all chat about our previous/future travel destinations. The time flies and its great to chat to another girl for more than 2 minutes. We have all planned to stay at the same place when we arrive in the highlands.

Eventually we have a quick lunch break; Maisie isn't feeling very well and looks very dark under her eyes. I'm not sure if this is mainly due to tiredness or she is coming down with something. I hope not.

We transfer to a mini bus for the last 2 hours and the landscape starts to change dramatically. We had heard from a girl in Taman Negara that it is very beautiful and we pass some of the most gorgeous scenery. Malaysia is definitely one of the most picturesque places I have ever been to and I listen to my MP3 player and watch the world go by.

It's so relaxing and I can't help thinking how great this is and how lucky we are to be travelling and seeing all these different places. At last we arrive at Fathers Guest House in the town of Tanah Rata. We have booked this by telephone yesterday and will be staying in a Nissen hut left over from the British Occupation. These look like bomb shelters and are made from corrugated iron but seem quite comfortable and are spotlessly clean. Despite having to share toilets and showers we decide to stay as everything else about this place is completely fab.

It is a bit like a huge campsite, up a hill and with lots of lovely flowers and trees. There is a reception area with facilities for making hot drinks and we're thrilled to see they have around 50 different types of teas, all kinds of coffee and homemade cakes. There is a large communal area with 3 computers, TV and DVD and a generally welcoming atmosphere. The fella who shows us round is really nice and it will cost us 50 ringitt for 2 rooms per night. (7 quid). I ring home to let mum know we survived the jungle and a 15 minute call costs about 2 quid.

We have to sort our laundry out quickly as our clothes are still wet and muddy and we will probably need the extra stuff due to the cold. We think it is probably about 12 degrees here and it definitely feels quite chilly. We walk into town and drop off our washing which will be back tomorrow afternoon.

By this time it is around 6pm and as the restaurant at Fathers Guesthouse is closed on Sundays we stop for dinner at a Chinese place. There seems to be a wide variety of food here which is great and we go for the local speciality which is called a Steamboat.
This is basically a fondue with 2 different types of soup, kept boiling by a gas burner and we are given 2 plates of raw food to cook in the soup ourselves. There is beef, chicken, prawns, fishballs, tofu, cuttlefish, jellyfish, mussels and crab. This is accompanied by 2 different types of noodles, eggs, green vegetables and shitake mushrooms. Not only is a real feast but good fun to cook and cheap. (6 quid with a few beers).

Our first impressions of this place are excellent and I think we will have a great time here. We walk back to the guesthouse, stopping off to buy a few supplies on the way and are all in bed by 9.30. There are loads of travellers staying here and we're hardly up there with the hardcore ones but I don't care. So happy to be here in a dry place and we will have clean clothes tomorrow what more could a girl want.

I couldn't sleep last night and as I finally turned the light out at 3am it takes me a while to get my arse out of bed this morning. We try breakfast in one of the floating restaurants and after stuffing ourselves feel ready for the day. We have hired a guide called Suvala (Ali played guitar with him last night) and he is going to spend a few hours showing us some of the sights around the river.

We get into the boat and as he has to bail it out first I'm pleased to see life jackets and immediately consider putting mine on. We motor up the river, against the flow and after 10 minutes or so stop at the side. We are going to the canopy walkway and although I was feeling slightly anxious about this, my nerves are quickly forgotten as we realise that we have forgotten our park pass. There is a big sign explaining the penalty is 500 ringitt and up to 2 years in prison for such an infringement. (This scares me more) We tell Suvala but he assures us that the rangers are his friends and it will be ok.

The canopy walkway is reached by a long steep flight of steps and we have to register and pay 16 ringitt before we can start to make our way across. We listen carefully to the instructions. We must stay at least 5 metres apart, no more than 4 people on the walkway and go slowly. We are about 150 feet above the ground and there is no way I'll be ignoring any of their advice.

Ali goes first, Maisie next and then it's me. I step onto the walkway and start to plod along ignoring the fact that it is wobbling madly and focusing on the tree tops around me. The views are outstanding and despite my legs feeling a bit jellyish, I make it across without losing it and feel pleased that I have achieved this.

We get back to the boat and I use the toilet near the river. Suvala tells me afterwards that the last time he used that toilet he found a viper in there.

Next we stop off at The Orang Asli Village. This is a small village of 6 families and they live very simply on the riverside in huts. The Orang Asli people are indigenous aboriginal people. Suvala explains that several years ago the Malaysian government provided them with bungalows with televisions and other mod cons but they only stayed there for one night and then chose to return to the village where they have continued to live.

They make a living by harvesting sandalwood and sell it to the village where we are staying. The chief of the village spoke a very little English and with Suvala they showed us the blow pipes they use to kills birds and how they make fire from sticks. (Suvala explained in the rainy season they just use a lighter!)

We took the opportunity to take some photographs which was perfectly acceptable and all felt privileged to spend a bit of time there observing the families, particularly the children playing. Although we had read that visiting the village can feel quite intrusive we didn't experience that, maybe because there was only us 4 there and we just sat quietly watching what went on.

We get back to the boat and after bailing it out once more set off back down the river. Suvala tells us we must prepare to get wet as we have some small rapids to go through. Actually we get completely soaked but we all enjoyed the bit of excitement.

We arrive back at the jetty and arrange to leave Taman Negara tomorrow. We will be travelling by road which is actually a longer route than by the river but as we wish to move onto the Cameron Highlands it is the most direct way for us to travel.
This will cost us 55 ringitt each (around 8 pounds) and we need to arrange some cheap accommodation also.

We also pay Suvala for the day and he charges us approx 24 pounds which is much cheaper than an organised tour and we agree well worth it. He's an interesting character and I have learnt a little about Malay culture today. He tells us he left home aged 13 and that his brother has 2 wives. Like all the people we have met here he loves music and tells us the names of his favourite films.

We have found that the Malaysians, although not as outwardly chatty and friendly as the Indian people we met previously have a sly and cheeky sense of humour. We have watched today as they tease their kids and they laugh at each other a lot. I had heard reports that as Malaysia is such a conservative Muslim country, Westerners may encounter some minor hostility here but that certainly hasn't been the case for us so far and we haven't witnessed it for anyone else either.

Simon goes to update our website in the afternoon and I read my book. It is so humid here that lying around isn't really a pleasant experience and everywhere and everything smells damp. It has been an amazing few days that I wouldn't have missed for the world and Taman Negara is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been but I don't qualify as Jungle Jane quite yet and once again I am looking forward to moving on.

We have had a great day today. We did set our alarms but for a bit later as we all wanted to have a lie in today. We decide to go for the set breakfast which consists of toast, eggs, juice and coffee. We haven't really had any good coffee since arriving in Malaysia and despite asking for Nescafe the coffee that we get here is really vile!

It is starting to rain and we decide that rather than getting our trousers soaked we will wear as little as possible with our raincoats over the top. The main fault with this plan is that our legs will be exposed to leeches and we cover them with repellent cream and then spray our socks.

We catch the river taxi across to the entrance to the park. As we have discovered we can hire jungle boots for 4 ringitt a day, we then make our way to the reserve office and get kitted out. I am feeling the part now and looking forward to a few hours trekking. We are going to climb Bukit Teresik a small hill that is described as being a fairly steep climb and slippery in parts, with good views across the forest once you reach the top.

We reach the entrance of the rain forest. As it has been dry for the past 5 days the path was ok last night but it is much more slippery today and we make our way along carefully. It is extremely hot although very shady and raining lightly. Before long we are all sweating and I decide to take off my raincoat and brave the insects. Suddenly we hear a little shriek from Maisie who has been marching along a great pace. There stuck to the back of her leg is a leech waving its head around and trying to clamp on. It is quite funny but Simon brushes it off quickly and it doesn't leave any mark. From then on we all watch each others legs and all have to dislodge leeches from our boots at some point.

We have found out the canopy walkway is closed on Friday afternoons so decide to do that tomorrow morning and concentrate on climbing today. It turns out to be quite a difficult climb and we need to pull ourselves up on ropes for some parts of it. We were trying to compare it to when we climbed Savitri in Pushkar in India and decide that although that was much hotter in the burning sun, this is harder by far. I must be getting a lot fitter as although it's very tiring I'm not as completely knackered as I was then and we all quite enjoy the challenge of it.

We sing "We are the Champions" by Queen when we finally get to the top and wow what a beautiful view. This is one of the most picturesque places I have ever been and in the rain it looks absolutely lush. The huge green leaves are dripping with water and the tops of the trees are covered in mist. It makes quite an amazing sight and we get some good photos for the website.

This area of virgin rainforest is around 130 million years old and we have been told it has never been felled or artificially planted. There are hundreds of different trees, plants and bushes ranging from huge trees to small scrubby bushes. There are so many different shades of green and we recognise trees such as bamboo which are simple to identify.
We begin our descent down and this takes around an hour. At the bottom is an exclusive holiday resort which is good news, as we have begun to realise 5 star means beer will be available. As we are staying across the river in a strict Muslim village there isn't any alcohol available and after our strenuous efforts a cold Tiger beer goes down great. The kids have some chocolate cake and we head back to our motel for a shower and a rest.

We decide to have dinner at the same restaurant as last night. The kids have burgers and fries but Simon and I have some tasty sweet and sour beef and ginger prawns with rice. It is reasonably cheap and costs around 7 quid including drinks and puddings.

On the way back up to the motel we stop off at a bar where 4 fellas are playing their guitars. Ali hasn't played too much recently but before long he is playing with them and Simon goes and fetches his own guitar. There are a couple of Greek lads there too and one of them also joins in. Its quite surreal, sat in the jungle listening to them all jammin along to a mixture of Malaysian songs, Greek tragedy and Greenday!

A bonus is that they also have internet access and this keeps Maisie quiet for an hour and a small library with books available for exchange and sale. We buy a 2005 edition copy of Lonely Planet's China for 4 quid.

Its 11pm now and I'm off to bed, need to conserve some energy for tomorrow.

6.30am and both alarms are simultaneously drilling into my brain. Simon is first out of bed and makes me a weak coffee which is, eventually enough to rouse me. We have a quick shower, get the kids up and all run downstairs for a few slices of toast, before we get on the bus to Taman Negara.

The bus is clean and comfortable and as there are only another 3 passengers on it we have lots of space to spread out. Taman Negara is located in central Malaysia and as we start to drive out of KL the landscape changes dramatically. It is very green, hilly and densely populated with trees. The road is excellent, like a dual carriageway in England and we zip along. The journey is estimated to take 3 hours after which we will stop for some lunch and we have a 15 minute break after an hour or so.

We talk to the other couple on the bus who tell us they are back packing for the first time. They are from the Netherlands and have visited their son in Singapore for a holiday. Like us they haven't made any firm plans and are also slightly anxious about what awaits us in the jungle.

We stop as planned and then transfer to a minibus for the next 8km. The road is very narrow and twisty and Simon tells me he read that "this is where old buses go to die". Happily though our driver is fairly careful and we arrive at the riverbank in one piece. We now have a 3 hour boat journey to the jungle and the boat doesn't appear as seaworthy as I would have liked. It is a type of flat bottomed long boat with a motor and actually races along at a speed far faster than I would have imagined it was capable of.

The River Tembeling is a wide and fast flowing river and the journey along it is a beautiful one. Although we don't see any animals more exciting than a few water buffalo, there are lots of brightly coloured birds to watch through our binoculars and the time flies by.

We're all glad to reach the reserve though as our bums are numb and we moor up at the jetty of a floating restaurant. There are about 5 of these along the waters edge and each one offer excursions around the park and river. We have pre booked our accommodation and note that if we had booked it through the tour company it would have cost 70 ringitts each per night. (20 quid a night) as it is we have paid 80 ringitts (11 quid) total per night for 2 rooms. This is good as we are trying to reduce our daily expenditure!

We make our way to The Teresek View Motel. This isn't easy as we have to walk along a steep and winding sandy pathway with our packs and although it isn't far it takes ages. Still we get there in the end and are glad to see our rooms although very tiny and cramped are clean with a fan and shower.

We quickly change into long trousers and trainers and apply insect repellent liberally. We haven't used it since leaving India and have only had a few bites each but I guess there will be plenty of biting insects here and don't want to take the risk. We also spray it over our socks and shoes as it supposed to deter leeches.

The floating restaurants all seem to offer similar food and we stop at one for dinner. This is a fairly quick and simple affair consisting of grilled prawns, rice and kaluba, a local vegetable dish. I also have a lemon and sugar pancake for pudding.

We have decided that we are going to do a night walk in the jungle tonight and pay for a guided tour which focuses on insect life in the rain forest. The jungle here is so dense that you could pass very close to an animal and not even realise. It is claimed that this is the world oldest rainforest and it is one of the most pristine primary rainforests on earth.
There are only us 4 and another couple on the tour and we set off at 9pm. The guides name is Long and he tells us he has been working in the Malaysian jungle as a guide for 20 years.

We had to purchase a park permit prior to entering the park and Long asks us" to leave nothing but our footprints and take nothing but photographs". We all have torches and as soon as we enter the rain forest we are in complete blackness. I think I expected that there would be a nice wide path but we have to inch along stepping over huge roots, up, down and around. Long is in front and starts to point out insects. We see Huntsman spiders (one nearly as big as my hand), poisonous caterpillars, bull ants (massive an inch and a half long), crickets, stick insects, leeches and a giant centipede.

I have my raincoat on pulled right up to my neck with all the drawcords as tight as they will go. As it is probably around 28 degrees I am really hot but I would rather boil than loosen any and risk getting any bugs in my clothes.

Suddenly Long stops abruptly and motions to us that we should all stand still to the side. He whispers that he has seen a scorpion and proceeds to shine a light and tap on the ground lightly. This apparently tricks the scorpion into think there is prey around and soon it scuttles out from under a log. It's about as big as my hand and we all thought it was great to see it close up.

We reach one of the hides that are dotted around the reserve. It is possible to stay overnight in a hide and we are considering doing this. The hides are all located near natural or artificial salt licks which encourage larger animals to the area. Although elephant and big cats do inhabit the park we have been told that it would be very unusual to see these animals and we're all pleased to see some small deer.

Our walk is nearly over and we start to make our way back to the rivers edge where we have to catch a boat to the other side. We thank Long and as we are making our way back to our motel I see a small frog. I'm pleased that I noticed it, I must have learnt something! The kids absolutely loved it and we are all looking forward to tomorrow when I have to face my fear of heights again as we go to walk in the canopies of the trees.

Last night I had a nightmare that our room was crawling with cockroaches and woke up about 1am with my heart racing. The revenge of the roaches. Although I went back to sleep quickly I felt tired this morning and we didn't get up until 9.

After breakfast we spend an hour doing science we're trying to complete the topic of the human body but it seems to be taking ages and we will be glad to move onto something different. We then discuss our plans for our jungle trip. Maisie is adamant that she doesn't want to go rafting and we work out that it will probably be cheaper if we arrange it all independently rather than joining an organised tour.

We have decided that we are spending too much money and are going to try more budget accommodation. Whether this is a good idea in the jungle I don't know but as it will only be for 2 or 3 nights I'm sure it will be ok. We have a minimum standard that we will go to and that basically means no sharing rooms/toilet with other people. The next request on the list is a window but we will go without that if necessary.

We have planned to visit the bird park later and we stop at a cafe and have lunch first.
Next we make for the biggest and busiest internet cafˆm I've seen. It is unbelievably noisy with 50 or so school boys playing a fighting game on the computers and after an hour of checking and replying to loads of emails from our friends and family I'm glad to get out of there.

We have a wander up the road through Petaling Street. This should be a good place to buy Ali a pair of trousers but due to a slight difference of opinion as to what constitutes appropriate jungle wear we come away empty handed. Apart from Ali we all have good trousers, but as he didn't want to come shopping prior to the trip either, his only pair are very thick and baggy. I have tried to talk him about leeches but style is of course, far more important and what do I know anyway?

We give the bird park a miss as it is looking very overcast and walk back to our hotel, we then spend a few hours lazing around and planning some stuff to do over the next few weeks. We decide to book the bus to take us to Taman Negara and ring ahead and arrange some accommodation. As we will be leaving in the morning at 8.30, I pack up our rucksacks so we don't have to get up too early.

Its 8pm and Ai has now decided that he would like to buy the trousers that we saw earlier. All it took was a bit of discussion amongst Simon and I about how wet and muddy we will get caving/ rafting/ walking etc and he announced perhaps he was being a bit awkward after all earlier!

We also buy insect repellent, knock down spray, a torch and tigerbalm (apparently makes leeches drop off). Can't make up my mind if I'm more or less nervous now!
If the website hasn't been updated in 5 days please call International Rescue.

Simon has gone off early this morning to get tickets for the Petronas Towers skybridge and I wake the kids around 8.30.
While I was in the bathroom this morning I noticed a large creepy cockroach lying on its back wriggling its feelers. There is no way I'm touching it so I get Ali and we trap it under a glass. After a few minutes it lies quite still and we wonder if it's ill. Eventually Ali decides to get it out and put it out of the window but once it's out we realise the windows don't open. We settle for shoving it down the neck of an empty beer bottle and when I check on it 10 minutes later it's crawling around and looking quite lively.

Our good deed for the day.

Following an hour of science work we catch the LRT train to the Thai embassy and collect our passports and visa's. Simon has arranged for us to visit the skybridge at 6pm so we head off to The National Museum. This is a great place to visit and has several galleries with life size waxwork figures which display Malaysia's history, arts and crafts. They also explain many aspects of Malay culture and at around 40 pence admission and kids free it is a really entertaining and worthwhile hour.

Suddenly I feel really ill and have to run to the toilet and be sick (my own fault, I took my malaria tablet 3 hours after breakfast). We decide to stop for some lunch but I can't face anything other than multi coloured cake and Simon and the kids don't look too enthusiastic about what's on offer either.

Next we visit the National Planetarium. The last time we went to one of these was in London and I seem to remember it cost loads but at 1 ringitt per person (just over 10 pence) this is a bargain attraction and we have a great time there. The exhibits are all good and it's both interesting for us and very educational for Ali and Maisie. We have to cover "Space" as one of their science topics and this whets their appetites for it.
The best thing about the planetarium was the space ball, which enabled us to experience weightlessness, a room with a black hole and a gravity simulator.

We walk from the planetarium to Taman Orkid and Taman Bunga Raya. These are beautiful orchid and hibiscus gardens and as I love flowers I really want to visit them. The kids aren't however quite as enthused and as it is now 35 degrees I quickly lose my motivation for them myself. Simon is also quite ambivalent and after 15 minutes wandering through the gardens we make our way back to KLCC to get a bit of air con.

At 6pm we make our way to the Petronas Towers skybridge experience. After watching a short film about the construction of the towers we get in the express elevator to the 41st floor. Ali says it goes so fast it makes his ears pop. The view from the skybridge is excellent and we all enjoy ourselves loads.
We return to the mall and after dinner at the food court decide to head back to our hotel. We are all tired again and I think we will get up a bit later tomorrow. Walking around in the heat and humidity is absolutely exhausting and we have done a lot today.

We are trying to decide whether to go and spend some time in the jungle over the next few days. It sounds good but is fairly remote and I actually seriously feel scared about going. I guess I'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

We set the alarm for 7am and get up fairly swiftly. The reason for this is twofold; firstly we have to visit the Thai Embassy today to get 60 day tourist visas. UK citizens can visit Thailand for 30 days without a visa but we feel that as we may want to stay longer and spend less time in Cambodia it is better to sort this out before we get to Thailand.
The second reason for getting up earlier is to try and improve our sleeping and subsequent eating patterns.

We arrive at the Embassy before 9am and are bit disappointed to see a long queue has already formed (especially as the doors don't open until 9.30). It is already very hot but we have come prepared with water and the kids' games to keep them quiet.

The visa application process is simple enough and by 11 o'clock we have handed over our passports, 4 photos and 100 ringitt. (The exchange rate is around 6 ringitt to the pound). We are informed that we have to return to the embassy tomorrow morning between 11.30 and 12.30 to collect our passports and visas.

We walk along the road past the various embassies; this is a smart area of town with lots of colonial style buildings. We stop for lunch at a hawker centre and then make our way to the Petronas Towers that dominate the skyline.

We all remember watching "The Race for the Worlds Tallest Building" on TV a few years ago. This documented the story of the building of the towers and it's great to see them for real. Completed in1998 to the cost of 1.9 billion US dollars the 88 storey twin towered building is an amazing sight and also very beautiful. The floor plan is based on the 8 pointed star seen in Islamic art and these influences are also evident in the 5 tiers of each tower that represent the 5 pillars of Islam.

We want to go up to the skybridge that connects the towers but as it is closed on Mondays will probably return tomorrow to do this. We take lots of photos but eventually the heat gets too much and we head back to the hotel. On the way the taxi driver tells us that the temperature in Malaysia is fairly constant all year round and "only goes up to 40" degrees in the summer. At 34 degrees today I think this is quite hot enough though.

We spend the next few hours learning about the Islamic faith. It is part of the curriculum for year 8 pupils and we wanted Ali and Maisie to study this whilst in Malaysia as the majority of Malay's are devout Muslims. We also learnt that there are large minorities of Chinese and Indians and that despite some racial tensions on the whole everyone gets along well. Our first impressions of Malaysia are very good the weather is perfect; the people seem friendly and helpful and getting around is easy using trains and taxis.

We decide to go out again around 8pm, the kids are hungry and we want to see the Petronas Towers at night.
This turns out to be a good idea. The towers look absolutely awesome all lit up in the dark and we take a few more shots.

We head back around 10pm we are really tired and need some sleep. Tomorrow we will try and find some internet access. This has been a bit more difficult than we expected and although we quickly checked a few emails today we need to update the website also.
Off to bed now, we have the easy listening channel on the radio which plays a never ending supply of Barry Manilow, The Carpenters, Abba and songs from Grease. I love it.

As planned we boarded the 1015 train to Malaysia last night. We weren't sure what the form would be at the border but before we were allowed on the platform we had to show our passports and were issued with immigration cards.

The train is very clean and we have 4 bunks which are already made up with sheets and pillows .Unlike the Indian trains though there is no room underneath for us to store our gear. This means we have to have it all on our beds with us but is not too much of a problem. We have eaten earlier and the kids are tired so by 11pm I ask them to turn out their lights and try to get some sleep.

Half an hour later the train stops and we all have to get off at immigration and have our cards checked. Still it doesn't take too long and we are soon back on the train
.
What a difference to the trains of India. I find myself missing the noise of other people though, constant ringing of mobiles, kids chattering, the smell of spices and curries amongst other things, the heat, men hanging out of the door for a smoke and the vendors monotonous "chai chai chai".

The train is far more comfortable, air conditioned and almost completely silent which I find weird considering its full .It is also very bright and unfortunately the lights stay on all night resulting in a sleepless night for everyone.

Still we arrive at 6.30am on time at Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station; my first impression of KL is that it is a clean and modern looking city. It is quite cool here and doesn't seem to be as humid as Singapore which is a relief. We get a taxi to our hotel; we are staying at The Mandarin Pacific Hotel in Chinatown and the kids are pleased when we arrive to see we are opposite a McDonalds. The hotel looks really nice and is costing us 138 ringitt per room a night. This is around 23 pounds a room and is quite expensive for our budget but we are hoping to pay less when we move on out of the city.

Our rooms are fantastic and it's definitely one of the best places we have stayed in. We have two large suites with a connecting door and a fridge. Most important we have a bath, although I generally prefer showers and despite the water being yellow it's great to have a long hot soak.

We sleep until 1230 and then go out in search of food, the first place we come across is a hawker centre and we sit down without much thought. The fellas must have seen us coming as they pile the food on, we end up with far too much and I guess I wouldn't have asked for deep fried baby octopus for breakfast. But it's all ok and does the job.

We decide to take a walking tour of KL to look at some of the architecture including early 20th century Chinese teahouses, a pretty mosque and an art deco building now used as a bank. It is very hot though and half way round we give up and head for the Chinese market.

This is really amazing and I think it is probably possible to buy almost anything here.
There are clothes, watches, shoes, handbags and DVD's alongside fruit and vegetables and numerous food vendors .Its very noisy, hot and smelly and we have a great time picking our way through and chatting to the market traders. We buy James Bond, Casino Royale for the second time, hopefully it will be a better copy than the last one and I get some earrings. Ali also buys a game for his PSP. We pass a pet shop and in the window are two Alsatian puppies, the kids are completely enthralled and we go inside to see 10 or 12 big cages all containing little puppies. It is a strange sight for us but I'm pleased to say the pups all looked well cared for.

Before long the sky clouds over and it starts to rain, these tropical storms are quite different to storms at home and although it absolutely pours down it doesn't last for long and the sun is soon out again. The temperature is fairly constant at around 30 degrees and the humidity about 80%.

We get back to the hotel and Simon does some maths with the kids for an hour. We're all tired and decide to give dinner a miss and watch Casino Royale on the laptop. By 10 o'clock we're all starving and give in to the temptation that is McDonalds. Shame on us!

This is our last day in Singapore, I'm pleased that we managed to achieve in 8 days what could easily have been achieved in 4 but sickness can't be helped and we have had a
good time here.

Singapore hasn't been what I expected but I think this is because I did very little reading about the place before we arrived. For me, although it has a very interesting history this has been completely erased in many ways. The best example of this was when looking at 2 pictures of the harbour. 100 years ago it was a crowded, bustling place, crammed with boats, people and animals. Now the boats and people are all gone and the water is sparkling clean. Sky scrapers surround it and dropping litter carries a fine of 1000 dollars.

I can understand why Singapore is described as sterile, but not why it's described as boring. If you like food, drinking, gadgets and shopping you would be in heaven here.
The Singaporeans can appear quite straight faced but once they get talking are friendly and love to tell you about their island. Most are quite well travelled and completely into their mobiles, MP3's, PSP and Nintendo DS. Actually we fit in well here as we all love gadgets.

The highlights of Singapore were for me visiting Raffles hotel and The Asian Civilisations Museums. Had we all been well we would have appreciated the food here more and had we been rich appreciated the shops better too. We did decide the other day that if by some miracle we win the lottery we will head here for a bit of retail therapy while we decide on how to dispose of our millions.

Lastly, the rules and laws of Singapore, trying to find a crossing when you just have to run across a small and quiet road is a real pain and I have to admit we have broken the law a number of times since we arrived here. But public toilets aren’t the health hazard that they are in England and I can see no problem with heavy fines for littering, it makes the place so much nicer for everyone who lives and visits here.

We have spent our last day here much as we spent our first. That is in our hotel room. This sounds bad but the weather is terrible and has been raining non stop for hours. Also due to costs we really don't want to visit any of the more expensive remaining attractions that we didn't see. Our original plan for today was to go to The Botanic Gardens to see some orchids but I guess they can wait for a future visit.

We are due to catch the Ekspres Senandung Malum train to Kuala Lumpur tonight at 1015pm. I have been reading up about KL today and am now feeling excited about moving on. A little apprehensive about tonight's train journey but hopefully it will be fine.

Today we have had a disaster, when Maisie got my hair straighteners out this morning they are broken in two and clearly will never work again. Quite how this happened is a mystery but no one is owning up to knowing anything about it and this really isn't that important anyway. They do need to be replaced though and we decide that as Simon will be taking Ali's PSP off for repair today he can look for more straighteners and I will do some school work with the kids.

As we have wi-fi access here we take advantage of it and use the internet to research the history of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. It is fascinating and we learn lots about Changi prison, so called comfort women camps and the impact of the occupation on Singaporean lives.

Simon eventually comes back with some new ceramic straighteners and a repaired PSP and we set off as planned, although a little late, to Sentosa Island,
Sentosa Island is almost completely man made, from the theme park style attractions to the man made beaches. We catch the cable car over Singapore harbour and the view of the sky scrapers is excellent. We decide to visit the butterfly and insect kingdom, the luge and sky train and 4d cinema.

The butterflies and insects are predictably beautiful and creepy respectively and Simon takes some good pictures. It is very hot in their enclosures and although we find them quite interesting I'm glad to move onto the luge. So are the kids, Ali can hardly contain himself he's so excited and we all get our helmets on and listen to the instructions of how to stop them.

It is really good and I enjoy it a lot, as we have 2 rides each I decide I will go much faster next time and quite happily we all get on the sky train to take us back up to the top of the luge.

What a massive mistake, it is like a bench and has a bar across your lap to keep you in but that is it. Ali and I are both scared of heights and although he's really brave as we get higher I get completely hysterical, burst into tears and spend the rest of it with my eyes closed.
At around 150 feet high at its highest I find it completely horrible and nothing will persuade me to go back on. This is a shame as it also means I have to give up my second luge ride but Ali is quite pleased as he gets a third go.

Finally we make our way to the 4d cinema I have been to these before at Disney and its really good. The story is called Pirates and by the end of the film we have been chased by giant bees and bats, jolted around in our seats and sprayed with water. Maisie kept taking her glasses off and kept her legs up as we had felt crabs snapping around our ankles.

We get the MRT back to Bugis Station and head back to our hotel. We need to sort some stuff out as we are moving on to Malaysia tomorrow night. We try and ring a hotel in Kuala Lumpur but they are full and decide to leave this until the morning to organise.
We also use our telephone banking that we set up before we left to transfer some money and this seems easy and simple enough.

Off to bed now we have a lot to pack tomorrow and I'm looking forward to moving on again.

By the time we had got ourselves organised and ready to go out it was 1.30.We had a bit of toast from the hotel and then set off to find Raffles Hotel. This famous colonial style hotel is a Singapore institution and I'm very excited about going there today. I have read many books that mention Raffles and the history of it really appeals to me.

The hotel was built in 1887 and originally opened as a 10 roomed bungalow. Over the years further rooms and bars were added including the famous Long bar and Bar and Billiards room. It is said that when the Japanese captured Singapore in 1942 they encountered the guests of Raffles having "one last waltz". Despite being used as a camp for prisoners of war Raffles survived and in 1989 closed for 3 years for restoration and refurbishment.

We walked from the train station up to the hotel itself, my immediate impression is that it isn't what I expected. Dwarfed by huge sky scrapers, my vision of the hotel surrounded by jungle vanishes but still it is immediately recognisable from photographs I have seen.
It really is more of a legend than anything else and was once called "a symbol of all the fables of the exotic east".

As you look at the hotel, to the left is the newest addition to the building, the Raffles Arcade. This contains over 70 over priced shops but despite myself I couldn't resist buying a few souvenirs and came away clutching a poster that I have no idea how we will get home in one piece and a brass key ring
.
After a quick look around the hotel lobby we head for The Long Bar. The Singapore Sling was invented here and no matter how expensive and touristy, there's no way I'm not having one. The basic ingredients are gin, pineapple juice, lime juice and cherry liqueur, topped with a morello cherry and a slice of pineapple- yum. The kids had non alcoholic Slings and Simon went for a gin and tonic. Its my step mum Paulines birthday today and we have a toast to her. Happy Birthday Pauline!

The Long Bar is excellent with dark wood and rattan furniture. There are bowls of monkey nuts on the tables and you are expected to throw the shells on the floor. With its graceful sweeping ceiling fans and sparrows flying around, we all loved it.
This gorgeous old hotel has got so many stories attached to it and for me these tales of jungle adventurers, tigers being shot in the Bar and Billiards room and previous famous guests completely made it and we had a great time.

Simon then went off to the train station to book our onwards train tickets; we have planned to leave Singapore for Malaysia on Saturday night taking a train directly to Kuala Lumpur.

In the evening we set off for the Night Safari, originally we wanted to visit this attraction and Singapore Zoo but time and money constraints mean that we have chosen to give the zoo a miss.
The Night Safari has consistently been voted Singapore's top tourist attraction so we have got high expectations and we're not disappointed.
We arrive and make our way to the animal show first, the animals involved include otters. owls and a huge snake amongst other creatures. The show is informative and really good fun and the kids love it.

Next we board the tram; this 45 minute ride takes us through the foothills of the Himalayas, sub Saharan Africa and the tropical rain forest. The tram is almost silent and for the most of the ride its almost completely pitch black. Of course it's still over 30 degrees and as there has been torrential rain today everywhere is wet. We pass lions, tigers, elephant, deer, giant guinea pigs, tapir and buffalo amongst many other animals. They appear so close you could almost touch them and there are no signs of fences, the animals seem to be unaware of us passing so close and ignore us. The low level lighting allows us to view the animals in a more natural looking environment than any zoo I have been to and it’s a really good experience.

Lastly we decide to complete one of the night walks, it is now 11.30pm and we are starting to feel a bit tired. We choose The Forest Giants walk and make our way in the darkness along a narrow path, through the massive trees of the rain forest. There isn't anyone else on the walk and apart from the noises of the jungle it is completely silent.

This is actually natural rain forest and I spend half the time convinced some horrible spider is about to jump on me. Nothing I could have imagined could have prepared me for what we actually saw though. We came to a door on the path and when we went through realised that the canopies of the tree are enclosed in a fine mesh.

At first we can't see anything but slowly become aware that there is slight movement in the trees around us and there are big black shapes attached to the branches.
A foot away from our faces we finally make out the bodies of resting giant fruit bats. Oh my god they are massive and despite us trying to quietly creep away we must have disturbed them because suddenly with no warning one took off and swooped across our heads so close we had to duck.

I have never seen anything like these and they are truly amazing and creepy.

We catch a taxi back to the hotel, it now gone midnight and we are all tired it has been a really good day and we've had a great time.

Today I have completely fallen in love with Singapore. We set the clock and got up slowly, poor Simon is now ill so I have given him antibiotics and some of the medicine from the Dr. By 10am he is feeling well enough to go out and we catch the MRT train to The Quays.

The harbour is surrounded by bars and restaurants, sky scrapers and The Asian Civilisations Museum. As we missed breakfast our first stop is for food and drink and we have pizza, not exactly a nutritious and wholesome breakfast but hey.

We walk round to the museum; we had originally planned to visit a number of museums in Singapore but have had to choose just one now and I'm so glad we chose this one.
We wanted somewhere that would explain some of Singapore's history to the kids and there are 6 different galleries based on culture.

The first gallery gives an interesting account of the evolution of Singapore's waterways and explains how Sir Thomas Raffles "discovered" Singapore in 1819. The kids enjoyed listening to the audio's and I waded through some of the written information to give them a bit more concise explanation of Raffles. They were slightly more interested in the fact that he was also one of the founders of London Zoo and had a pet bear that used to dine with him on champagne and mangos.

We wandered through the remaining galleries and took loads of photos; many of the exhibits were beautiful and we saw prehistoric bronzes, ancient Qur' ans, tribal textiles, Chinese deities and many other artefacts.

Lastly we visited an exhibition of ancient Chinese masks. These masks were discovered in 1986 buried in 2 pits in the province of Sichuan. The large masks were both stunning in design and mystical looking and we all really enjoyed seeing them. It seems amazing that the masks are nearly 3500 years old and despite being deliberately burnt and broken before burial have managed to survive.

We walked from the museum to see the Fountain of Wealth, this is the world's largest fountain and it took us nearly half an hour in blistering heat to get there. I guess it would have been worth it, had it been switched on.

We did however pass the Merlion on the way, according to a fable this creature came out of the sea and we learnt that Singa means lion and Pura means city hence the Merlion is a city emblem.

Next stop was a shopping mall; the choice of stuff is mind blowing with a massive array of gadgets, clothes and jewellery. We had a 10 dollar haircut each in a " Toyko 10 minute hair booth" which must be the cheapest haircut I have had since about 1976.

Lastly we caught the MRT to the Lavender Food Centre, the choice of dishes is vast, but we play it fairly safe ordering chicken satay, rice, steamed vegetables and honey roasted pork. Looking around we could have chosen turtle/frog soup, fish head porridge or pig organs in gravy. After the last few days of upset tummies we decided to give all that a miss though.

Its 11pm and I'm knackered we have walked miles today and want to get up early tomorrow to make the most of the day. Just watched American Idol, sadly for Simon Cowell due to travelling I'm unavailable for auditions again this year. What a loss for everyone but I just can't do it all.

As planned we got up at 8.30am. Every morning our first question to Ali has revolved around his guts and this morning was no exception. As he is still dashing off to the loo at least twice an hour we set of to find a chemist in the hope that we can buy some antibiotics over the counter. No such luck though and the pharmacist points us in the general direction of a Dr.

Eventually having wandered around a backstreet Chinese shopping area we find the Dr and are shown through. He is very kind and questions Ali carefully; he listens to his chest, feels his abdomen and informs us he will treat him for simple traveller's diarrhoea with the instructions to seek further medical advice and treatment for more complicated infections if it doesn't resolve with a few days.

I'm not entirely happy with this advice as he has prescribed loperamide, some sort of kaolin mixture and something called gastrostop. Ali also has strict instructions not to eat for 6 hours and drink lots of water or flat 7 up. He also suggested we could try some Chinese crystal therapy but I told him I was a nurse at this point and he didn't push the point as he could see I was starting to look sceptical. Still I guess taking this stuff won't do any harm and agree to give it a go.

We were planning to get out and about today but as Ali feels awful and Simon has got bad belly ache we decide to go back to the hotel. Oh my god I am SO bored!
I'm sure Singapore has a lot to offer but we have done so little here and it's costing us 56 quid a night. What a nightmare.

I drag the kids away from their PSP's, Simon spent a nervous hour last night down grading Maisie's new gadget. If this works it improves the PSP loads and he has already done Ali's but it is a risky thing to do using illegal and unlicensed software and as it can completely kill the PSP we were relieved when it went smoothly.

Ali isn't feeling up to school work so I tell them they have to listen and we talk about reproduction, the menstrual cycle, contraception and briefly sexually transmitted infections. Most of this is part of the curriculum and they are fairly interested although Ali tells me he's not interested in learning about periods and it's all horrible!

I play a bit of air guitar to entertain them and it works and cheers them all up. By 5pm we decide to go out for dinner but although there is the most amazing choice of restaurants we play it safe and go to The Hard Rock Café for burgers, ribs and pasta. We share a massive hot chocolate fudge brownie sundae and I manage to eat most of it.

An hour or so later and I am seriously regretting it, we walked back to Orchard Road as the malls stay open late and look around the designer stores. There are so many gorgeous shops including Armani, Louis Vuitton, D&G, Prada and Gucci etc.
Sadly it makes me feeling too tall, too fat and too skint and we leave empty handed with me cursing myself for being so greedy at dinner.

The young Singaporean women are the epitome of chic and style and with their lovely figures and beautiful faces I have decided I couldn't live here after all as I couldn't stand the pressure to look great all the time. It has made me long for high heels and my jeans and I feel a haircut wouldn't go amiss either!

We stop off for a drink at a pavement café, it is so great to be sat outside in shorts and the tropical weather is definitely one of the best things about Singapore. The humidity is really exhausting but I think the year round high temperatures make up for it. I read that it never gets colder than 20 degrees here and as most in door places have air con its fine.

Its 9.30pm and we have just got back, I have started Ali on antibiotics and am hoping he will feel better tomorrow - fingers crossed- again!

Our sleep pattern here has been terrible and we didn't wake up until 11am today despite the alarm. What a waste of a morning. We wake the kids up and although Ali is feeling better in himself he's still got an upset tummy. I'm feeling ok though and raring to get out of here.

The weather is much better today and hot with blue skies and some clouds. It's still very humid though and I have noticed that everyone seems to carry umbrellas permanently, using them to alternately shelter from the sun and the rain.

We skip breakfast and catch the MRT train to Orchard Road. It is a mile and a half of shopping mall heaven and we decide to split up for a couple of hours. We stop at the juice place for fresh strawberry smoothies and then Maisie and I head for the clothes shops and Simon and Ali for the gadgets.

It’s a shopaholics dream; the malls are air conditioned, spacious and modern with loads of British and Asian shops. We head straight for Karen Millen and within 5 minutes we're busy trying stuff on. Simon has given me all the money we have but I'm really conscious that we have to carry whatever we buy and in the end settle for a 30 dollar t shirt from Gap (not very exciting I know).

The time flies by and we meet around 4pm for some food. At the top of Wisma Atria (The Mall we are in) is a huge food area and after much debate we decide on sushi and sashimi. Ali and I are the real sushi fans but we all agreed it was fantastic. The sushi chef advised us and made the sashimi rolls there and then. Ali was a little apprehensive about the raw fish but is a real star with food. He will give anything a go and we were laughing when the sushi chef had to tell him to go easy on the wasabi. He was scarlet in the face at this point.

We have decided to buy Maisie a PSP, she has been coveting Alisters since we started the trip and Singapore seems as good a place as any to get it. Simon and Ali negotiate a price of 170 quid which includes a case and 4GB memory card. They tell me this is a bargain and as I know nothing else then I guess it must be.

The malls are all different and I want to go to The Hilton Shopping Gallery where all the designer stores are but Maisie starts complaining that she has got belly ache and is feeling sick so reluctantly we head back to our hotel.
We would like to return to Orchard Road before we leave for Malaysia but as we have managed to spend nearly 250 quid in 2 hours we'll have to give that some thought.

We nip up the road for dinner, a busy and reasonably cheap food place and have dumpling/noodle soup and stir fried mixed vegetables. I feel like our diet has improved massively since leaving India despite the fact that we have eaten a fair bit of junk food and happily I reckon I have lost a few pounds- Hurray!
Its midnight now and I'm off to bed, we have a lot of catching up to do over the next few days and I'm setting both alarms to make sure our lazy arses are up by 8.30.

We set the alarm today for 9.30 and lay in bed listening to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 for half an hour. We have planned to visit several museums to day to learn more about Singapore's history and I have been doing a bit of researching on the internet.

In 1819 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived here to make Singapore part of the British Empire. It then grew as a trade hub for South East Asia and the cultures of China, India and Malay Muslims all thrived here. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Singapore and ran the island brutally for the rest of World War II, infamously imprisoning foreigners in Changi prison.

These days Singapore is famous for two things, food and shopping. I read on a web forum that Orchard road compares with New York's Fifth Avenue and I guess we will have to exercise some restraint there. We haven't experienced a great deal that Singapore has to offer with regard to food yet. This is due to the fact that we haven't been feeling too good and really haven't been out and about much.

Poor Alister is really suffering with the shits; he has been up half the night and looks pale and ill this morning, with lots of belly ache. I feel so sorry for him and it's so frustrating because we can't go out anywhere at the moment. I have given him some Dioralyte and am considering starting him on some Ciprofloxacin antibiotics. These should only be given to adolescents with caution though as they can cause joint problems and I'm reluctant to start them too soon and decide for the moment to see how he goes for the rest of today.

We were hoping to cram lots in over the next few days as it is fairly expensive here and then move on to cheaper Malaysia but its is looking increasingly unlikely that we will be doing much today other than watching Singapore TV, which seems to be an endless round of reality shows, playing the PSP / Nintendo and surfing the net.

Simon decides to do some maths with Maisie who is extremely put out by the fact that she has to work "while Ali's just lazing in bed". She can be extremely kind but sometimes finds it hard to appreciate it when people are sick. As her ambition is to become a doctor I hope she learns a little more empathy for others before she is let loose on patients!

The weather is also crap; although it is very hot it has been raining solidly since we woke up. Watching the news it seems that these levels of rainfall are slightly unusual for this time of year and there has been flooding and subsequent landslides on other parts of the island. In all it's hardly been a great start to our visit here.

Its 4.30pm, I have spent the afternoon studying, sleeping and even ironed our stuff. Some fella came to watch me and given our suspicions regarding the dubious nature of this place I wondered if he had a housework fetish or something!
Still I am so glad we are here and not still in India as it is so much nicer than the majority of places we stayed in while we were there and that's really important whilst Ali is sick.

Spent the evening watching a film The Day After Tomorrow and then spoke to Shirley on Skype for a while. Although it didn't make me homesick I really wished she was here, she knows Singapore well and I would love for us to go and have a glass of wine and a good gossip! Sometimes I guess you just need a bit of girl time!

It took a while to get to sleep here, I wondered whether that was because the bed was comfortable and therefore strange but it probably had something to do with the noise in the street. It got quite lively sounding as it got later and I started to get suspicious that The Madras Hotel may be attached to a massage parlour due to a few comings and goings in the corridor!

Ali and I are both feeling a bit ropey today, although I took my malaria tablets this morning on half an apple and that's probably the reason I feel sick.
We mooch around for most of the morning, the kids go downstairs for a breakfast of toast and jam and we study the leaflets and maps that we collected from Changi Airport when we arrived. We make a list of attractions and sights that we want to see and decide to head off to the Singapore Science Centre today.

As we leave the hotel a lady asks if we want our rooms made up, what a luxury!
We walk to the train station which is about 10 minutes away, not surprisingly this area looks a lot like India but much cleaner. There are market stalls lining the street with lots of fresh produce. The fruit and vegetables all look very appetising and we buy some fresh ginger to chew to help with our nausea.

Singapore has been accused of being a "nanny state" and there are lots of laws here to be adhered to. For example chewing gum, not flushing a public toilet, crossing the road within 100 metres of a crossing and dropping litter are all illegal and carry heavy fines.
I feel a little bit paranoid that I may be flouting some law just by existing and for me there is a slight "1984" feeling to the place. (Big brother is watching I'm sure!)

We work out that we need to buy an Ez-link card and then use that to pay our train fares. The train network seems to be extremely clean, fast and efficient and we arrive at Jarong East station exactly 15 minutes later as predicted.

After a short walk we arrive at The Science Centre, we are feeling hungry so stop at McDonalds for lunch and sit outside next to the discovery water park. We watch lots of little kids playing in the fountains which looks good fun but is quite dangerous and one by one they all come a cropper and end up screaming.

We work our way through the various interactive displays. It's a great place and the kids have loads of fun trying chemical experiments and playing with the sensory exhibits. There is a kinetic garden and lots of optical illusions and we especially enjoyed the human body and web of life areas. This tied in well with their science studies and we watched an endoscopy, sat on a giant tongue and labelled the bones on a real skeleton.

We also had a wander around the Eco-garden and agreed that we could have spent much longer there but unfortunately eventually ran out of time. We haven't done any school work with the kids for a few days and it was good to do something educational and informative.

We got a taxi back as Ali and I are still feeling a bit knackered and pukey and it was great to come back to a clean and tidy room with fresh towels. I think perhaps we didn't realise when we were in India that it is quite hard work continually staying in quite grubby places where the sheets and towels weren't actually that clean to start with!

Our suspicions about the hotels business are confirmed when we realise that they are offering a special discounted hourly room rate for 2007 and Simon admitted he was asked if he would like a "massage" when he went to get food last night !

I spoke to my friend Lou on MSN and it was good to hear about her recent month long holiday to New Zealand and wave at her on the webcam. She said it has taken some adjusting to get back into work mode and she doesn't know how I will cope when we get back. I'm not even going to give that a minute's consideration.

We took off from Chennai airport at 11.30pm on board a Singapore Airlines flight. Maisie was upset to find that her in flight entertainment screen wasn't working. Neither was mine but I honestly couldn't have cared less as I just listen to my MP3 player. Still I managed to look suitably disappointed when they came to apologise and what a bonus they gave us 100 US dollars as compensation!

The time literally flew by and by the time we had a drink, read a magazine and tried for a little sleep it was almost time to land. Maisie and I refused to eat the food on the basis that airline food is the food of the devil, but Ali and Simon ate it and don't seem to have experienced any side effects so far.

The aeroplane started to prepare for landing, I was looking out of the window to check for "the thing on the wing" (Tales of the Unexpected early 1980's) as I always do when flying and realised that we were flying into torrential rain. If airline food is the food of the devil then I reckon that planes are his transport. I don't think I will ever accept that flying is anything other than a necessary evil to get you to the places that you want to see and as always I feel relieved when we bump down safely.

We complete our immigration cards and after clearing passport control collect our rucksacks. By now we're all feeling completely shite, it is 3am India time and as Singapore is 8 hours ahead of the UK its 6am here. We make our way towards the taxis but stop off on the way for some caffeine and free internet.

The taxi driver tells us it has been raining for 5 days and although it is boiling hot it is very humid and overcast. My first impressions of Singapore are that it is a slightly futuristic looking place. The drive to our hotel is so smooth and almost silent with none of the racket of the roads of India. The high rises are very impressive and modern looking and everywhere is unbelievably clean.

We arrive at our hotel and the driver charges us 19 Singapore dollars. (Around 6 quid) and the exchange rate is about one pound to every three dollars.

The hotel is called The Madras Hotel and is in the area of Little India, we chose it mainly based on cost and despite the fact that it is at the budget end of the market in Singapore, it is one of the best places we have stayed in so far with clean rooms, hot water, telly, washing machine, tumble dryer and best of all free wi-fi connection. It's great to be sat on the bed surfing the net and when it reaches 9am in the UK we phone home, talk to mum and use the webcam.

We had planned to go out and get some food but both the kids are completely exhausted and have been sick a few times. I'm not too worried about this, I think it is due to tiredness but we decide Simon will try for take out instead and by 5pm we are starving having not eaten all day.
He comes back with fresh steamed vegetables, sticky rice, a thai green curry and Peking duck and food never tasted so good!
We sit on the bed eating it with chop sticks and watch American Celebrity Fat Club, Celebrities on Ice and Beauty and the Geek on TV - for now anyway Singapore can wait.

ts 9pm and we're sat in one of the airport lounges. I guess one of the things we have realised is that if you don't ask, you don't get and although we were told initially we needed an invitation to the lounge and it wasn't possible for us to go in there, Simon's persistence paid off and we are now sat in comfort having eaten complimentary sandwiches and drinking gin and tonics - hurray !

We spent some of the day shopping, this morning I wanted to buy something as a souvenir from India but we bought a lot of things when we holidayed here and we ended up with 2 cushion covers. Not very exciting but hey.

We then made our way to the post office and sent some stuff home by airmail, the packing of the parcel was an artform in itself and we watched as our gear was firstly rammed into a very small box, stitched into a thick sheet and finally tied with string. Whether it will ever arrive I don't know but it only cost us a tenner and was money well spent (I hope).

We got in a rickshaw and asked to be taken to the snake farm. It would have made a good day out, as there was a children's park and wildlife park also in the vicinity but unfortunately we were really rushed and hardly spent anytime looking at the snakes, crocodiles and turtles. A shame really but still, although it was a quick visit it was interesting and informative and we all enjoyed ourselves there.

We had our last curry and rice dinner in the hotel restaurant and our taxi arrived on time at 6.45. Already I am thinking of what lies ahead in Singapore and feeling so excited about going there. All we can hope for is that we love it half as much as we have here and in that case we'll have a wicked time.

Today is our last day in India. I woke up at 9am and lay listening to my MP3 player, I do feel really sad as it brings it home to me how quickly the time has flown by. Over the past 2 months we have travelled around 3500 miles, through seven states and 13 cities.
We have learnt about the Hindu religion and the caste system and I have found, with a very few exceptions the Indian people to be helpful, kind and friendly.

There are fewer differences between England and India than I initially thought. India is a place of huge contrasts, although poverty is obvious wherever we have been, there is also great wealth here. Some of the people have habits that are difficult to like, for example the chewing of paan. This is a mixture of herbs, spices, sugar and tobacco wrapped up in a betel nut leaf. It is chewed and eventually spat out. It can be addictive and stains the mouth and teeth red, eventually rotting the teeth away. In north India the streets are covered with red spit and the ability of some people to hawk snot still amazes us.

I have seen lots of things which I would like to see adopted in England, for example women only carriages on trains and separate waiting areas for women and children in stations. It has been interesting to see the Indian government's response to HIV infection and there is a mass polio vaccination programme taking place here at the moment.
It is simple and cheap to buy any medications over the counter and although I feel that this must lead to a lot of dangerous self diagnosis it does make the prescription charges in England even harder to stomach. Our experience of healthcare here although brief was excellent.

Although many children go to school and education is very valued in a lot of states, child labour is still a huge problem here and I think we all could have cried at times seeing tiny kids begging on the streets, dressed in filthy rags with no shoes. This isn't just confined to children though and many old and disabled people seem to have an equally tough life here.

The climate is great, for someone who loves the heat the temperature is perfect and has never been too hot although occasionally too cold. Although bearing in mind it is winter here, I'm sure cities like Chennai and Delhi must become quite unbearable in the summer.

Everywhere smells, the food stalls are amazing this is something else I would love to see at home, although they would of course be governed by lots of health and safety legislation consequently driving prices up. We have eaten for less than a pound and had some amazing snacks and fruit juices very cheaply. The smell of frying food is often tempered by stinking drains and in some places the streets and pavements seem to serve as good toilets. After all why use a loo when you can piss up a perfectly good wall.

We have been lucky enough to see some fantastic sights, The Taj Mahal was as beautiful as I expected and visiting Varanasi and the Ganges River was one of the best experiences of my life. India has an interesting and varied history and Ali and Maisie have learnt so many things here that would have been out of their reach if we had decided on a new kitchen and a better car instead of this trip.

I wonder if I will ever come back here. You could, I'm sure spend years here and still not experience everything India has to offer. As I had read before we came away that it is one of the harder places to negotiate your way around, I am encouraged on to visit other places and already thinking of future trips perhaps to places like South America, Canada and Africa.

There could never be a last thing to say about India as it is so overwhelming in so many ways but finally we have met some inspirational people here and I think I can safely say we have all had the most fantastic time and loved every minute of our travels so far.

Our apologies for the break in service.

We promise to make every effort to update as often as possible.

Today we got up at 7 so that we can leave early for the days sight seeing at the town of Mamallapuram. We have hired a car and driver and expect it to take around 2 hours to get there. After about an hour the driver asks if we want to stop for breakfast and we agree this is a good idea as we haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon.

I'm slightly apprehensive when we're told there isn't a menu but we agree to try the south Indian breakfast. We have had tried it before but today there is no choice and idlis and dosa's arrive on a banana leaf with their accompaniments. Idlis are salty steamed rice flour balls and dosa's a kind of rolled up thin crispy pancake. The accompaniments are sauces made with mint, coconut and chilli of varying spiciness. I can't eat this, early in the morning and like a complete philistine and to Simon's disgust I pour sugar on mine and encourage the kids to do the same!

We eventually arrive at Kanchipuram Temple, this isn't where we asked to go but still we're pleased the fella has brought us here as there is a festival for one of the gods taking place and we see him being paraded through the street in a palanquin and fire offerings taking place.

There is an elephant at the temple entrance and we ask if the kids can have their photos taken with it, before he knows it Alister has been whipped up onto its back and is going for a ride. For someone scared of heights this is a little out of his comfort zone especially as there was nothing to hold onto except its skin which he said was hairy and tough!

The Brahmin of the temple shows us round and talks us through the history of the temple pillars. He points out "women with big boobies" to Ali on the sly and seems to like showing us the Kama Sutra pillars the best.

We stop for lunch at a beach shack, this beach was affected by the Asian tsunami in 2004 but everything appears to be back to normal. We have some seafood and then walk down to the waters edge. It is one of the most overcast days we have experienced since arriving in India and although it's not cold I'm not surprised when it starts to rain.

Next we stop of at The Shore Temple this temple was built around 700 AD and represents the final phase of pallava art; it depicts images of the Hindu god Shiva. Sadly though, we found the corpse of a huge turtle more interesting and probably spent more time examining that.

Lastly we visit The 5 Rathas and Krisna's "butterball" these are stone carvings and a large precariously balanced looking rock. The Ratha's are temples and animal carvings and include a life size elephant carving. These both make good photo opportunities and we get some shots for the website.

We start back around 5.30, this is a little early, we think as Chennai is only 55km away and we are not due back until 8pm. So we're not surprised when the driver suggests we stop off at a few shops on the way back. We have read about other travellers really experiencing a hard sell but as Simon is no push over and there is no one more stubborn than me, the carpet, wooden carving, jewellery, painting and ironwork merchants can't persuade us to buy anything and we leave empty handed but having had a good look around.

Despite the lack of sales the driver seems happy enough as he has been given a small commission anyway in the form of a gift just for taking us there. When he suggests more shopping we insist he takes us back to the hotel citing the mosquito's as the reason we need to get back and covered up.

7.45pm… the internet provision is poorer here than anywhere else we have been; I'm not sure whether this is just in this area or in Chennai in general. Going out now to eat and to try and update website. Next time we do this will probably be from Singapore. We are leaving India tomorrow night at 11pm…. How exciting is that ?

Someone's screaming baby woke me up this morning, I was dreaming about home and it took me ages to get orientated to where I was. Still I felt glad to wake up early as we have quite a lot to do today. We have moved rooms and are all now on floor 1 which means that Simon and I are back in the same room and the kids are opposite us.

After breakfast I start to sort our gear out, we want to post some things home such as the India guide book and maps, postcards and admission tickets that we have collected over the past 8 weeks. We are also ditching more of our clothes, some things we haven't used and some that is too stained to get clean properly. I think we will give these to someone in the street. Although the overall opinion is that giving to beggars just encourages them more, we have found it impossible to ignore them and Chennai is full of people asking for anything you can spare.

We have seen people here so physically disabled that you wonder how they have survived. One man at the station appeared to have no lower body at all and yesterday I gave a young women a few rupees who looked so heavily pregnant it seemed she could have her baby at any moment.

I try to imagine what a difficult start to life her baby will have and think about our little niece Hope and my friend Marie's son Ben. They are also tiny babies but have such a huge advantage just by being born in England with ready access to education and healthcare. We are very lucky in that respect and being here has definitely reminded me of that fact.

Chennai is just about the busiest, hottest and most polluted city I have visited. With none of the history and sights of Delhi or the modern feel of Mumbai it would be easy to stay
in our hotel room and watch TV for the next few days but we have found by getting out and about we have seen sights here that we haven't experienced elsewhere and I'm definitely enjoying it here.

In the afternoon we have planned to go to the snake farm, but unfortunately our crappy planning comes into play and we arrive there to be told it is closed on Tuesdays. No surprise when we check in the guidebook, which quite clearly states open Wednesday to Monday! As it is quite late in the afternoon we ask the driver to take us to the American burger bar and spend an hour or so completely stuffing our faces.

We get back to The Orchard Inn and lie on the bed. I have been reading the local paper which has some interesting stories today including one about a leopard that was found in someone's bathroom and news of the arrest of 38 people in connection with illegal cockfighting in Madurai.

As we ate so much earlier we decide not to go out for dinner and make do with a couple of beers and some 7up on room service. Tomorrow we are going out for the day to Mamallapurram, this is a coastal town famous for temples and stone work and hopefully we have organised it a bit better than today's outing. It is Tamil Nadu's premier traveller's attraction and a World Heritage site and we're hoping for an interesting day for our last full day in India.

Today we have had the best day. I woke up at 9 o'clock to Simon banging on the door, as our rooms are on 2 separate floors I decided late last night that I would feel more comfortable if we each slept with one of the kids.

For breakfast I decide to try the more healthy option and choose fruit salad but this is slightly spoilt by the fact that it is covered in sugar and bits of sweets!

We then go shopping, we have to buy a few things, nothing too exciting but it's good to be able to get the stuff we need, that we have been unable to find in some of the smaller places we have visited. I found my sunglasses broken in two a few days ago and we both buy ourselves a new pair. We bought Maisie a skirt. Ali a book and a CD called The Alternative Album; it has The Doves, Radiohead and Supergrass on it as well as some other stuff. Although we have brought lots of music with us we are always buying CDs at home and I have missed that.

Most exciting of all, we buy The Lonely Planet guide to Singapore and Malaysia. It only costs us 11 quid which is much cheaper than in the UK and as I haven't a clue about what to see and do in Singapore and have given it no thought, past drinking Singapore Slings in The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel I'm looking forward to reading up about it over the next few days.

The shopping plaza has a food court, an area selling traditional Indian clothing and craftworks and a large department store. Not quite The Bullring but good enough and we have a great day. The time flies by and we go back to the hotel, tired and all shopped out.

After a rushed early dinner we get in a rickshaw and head for the circus which starts at 7pm.The big top is lit up and we stop on the way in and buy candy floss, popcorn and cokes. We pay 100 rupees for ringside seats but it is well worth it for a good view, the acts are really good. Our favourites are the trapeze artists and the performers riding bikes backwards whilst juggling fire sticks.

Maisie liked the animal acts and these included huge parrots riding bikes, dogs carrying umbrellas and a performing pony. Although we enjoyed most of it, it was difficult not to feel that the animals are being exploited. We found an elephant dressed up, with its tusks sawn off playing cricket especially sad.

Last act of the night were 4 wild camels, which despite their trainers best efforts were determined to gallop madly around the ring, rolling their eyes and snapping at each other. It was an abrupt and chaotic end to a great night out and we agreed we had a great time.

We get in a rickshaw and the driver seems to think that we haven't had enough thrills for the night. He drives so fast and madly I think he must be on drugs. Chennai at 10pm is amazingly busy still and when we turn into on coming traffic at breakneck speed I just close my eyes.

The kids think it's all a laugh but eventually Simon tells him to slow down. When we arrive at The Orchard Inn in record time, we haven't got any change and I begrudge having to pay him over the odds for a scary experience. Still there is no choice and he seems thrilled with the extra. As I watch him swerve off into the night I hope he will be ok and console myself with the thought that if he does kill himself tonight by driving like a total lunatic, then at least he will die happy.

Following a very restless night, I awoke properly around 5am and decided to brave the train toilet. Western style toilets are available but the Indian squat toilets are usually the better choice and it's just a matter of being brave and getting on with it. A pretty vile experience though at that time in the morning.

We pull into Chennai Central on time at 6.15am; this is a bad time to be arriving anywhere as the hotels often don't kick their previous guests out until mid- morning and we may not be able to get into our room until later. We fight our way through the station which is absolutely packed and make our way to the pre paid taxi service desk.

Despite it being early it is already hot and really busy, the taxi driver drives like Michael Schumacher and we arrive at The Hotel Himalaya just gone 7am. It looks ok and I'm relieved when the chap on the desk says our rooms will be ready in 10 minutes as we are all tired and need to crash for a few hours. We are informed that there is no restaurant but room service is available. Our initial optimism soon disappears though when we are shown to the rooms, what a dump. The beds look clean and are comfortable but these are the only positive points.

The paint is peeling off the walls in both rooms and the toilet cistern is steadily emptying all over the floor in one of them The windows are barred up and so dirty I can't see a thing through them. Both rooms smell damp and horrible and as we have to spend at another 4 nights in Chennai we quickly agree we will look for somewhere else later.

By now we are hungry so we order room service, my appetite soon disappears though when 2 cold masala omelettes and 4 toasted jam sandwiches arrive wrapped in newspaper and tied with string.

We crash out for the morning and Maisie and I don't wake up until 12.30, we have been disturbed twice by men knocking on the door claiming they had the wrong room and although it doesn't feel unsafe here, I feel that may change tonight and definitely want to leave. We really need a good wash after a night on the train and even though it's horrible here I'm desperate for a shower, but when I go and find a fella and ask him for towels he shakes his head and tells me not until after 2pm.

We get dressed and jump in a rickshaw, and after a long drive around town we arrive at The Orchard Inn. I ask if there are any rooms available and although it doesn't look promising Simon intervenes and eventually the fella decides there will be rooms available after 7pm tonight. We check them out and although they could hardly be described as top end they are a big improvement on The Himalaya.

We have lunch in their restaurant and the food is cheapish and good. Maisie and Ali insist on having paneer masala which they love eating with their fingers, they are really getting into Indian food culture and often now eat with their hands like the locals. Eating cheers us up and we decide we will return to the other place, shower and collect our gear. By the time we get back there seems to be a party going on with plenty of whisky and rum being drank and a rowdy crowd of men congregating outside our door. We choose the best room, (which is a difficult choice between horrible and horribler) and all pile into one, it seems good natured enough at the moment but I feel a bit safer all together.

Eventually we manage to get some towels and to my amazement there is a plentiful supply of hot water, despite the notice on the door urging you to use water and electricity sparingly I figure that as we have paid for 2 rooms that we won't be spending the night in we are entitled to use as much water as we like and we all shower and wash our hair.

The area we are staying in is called Triplicane and seems to be a centre for medical services. A kind of Harley Street for Madras, opposite is The Shifa Jaundice Clinic and Simon suggests I could go and offer my services and do a bit of work…………..
I don't think so!

We leave The Himalaya at 7pm and transfer to The Orchard Inn which is in the district of Anna Salai. As soon as we have checked in we get in a rickshaw and head for The Galloping Gooseberry American Diner. An hour later and we have had the best burgers, with chicken wings and deep fried mozzarella sticks for starters, a Greek salad and washed down with fresh fruit milkshakes, it was yummy and such a welcome change from Indian food for all of us.

We head back for the hotel around 9pm, make a quick call home and then lie on the bed reading the complimentary Chennai Chronicle. Very informative, it gives us some ideas of things to do, starting with a visit to the circus tomorrow evening, looking forward to that.

We didn't wake up until 10.30 and after 12 hours solid sleep I feel great. We spend the morning packing up our stuff and have a quick breakfast of toast and fresh juice.
The kids watch a DVD of The Blue Planet and I get them to write a story about life in the ocean from the perspective of a dolphin, imaginatively called Flipper. To encourage them on I make it into a competition where they get a point for each fact and they seem quite enthusiastic about it.

We get some lunch at the hotel next door, although up until this point we have avoided this place as judging by the number of empty rum and vodka bottles piled up in the alley behind it is obviously a local drinking den. As we are pushed for time we decide to go for it and although the place is smoky and everyone already has a beer on the go we have decent veg thali's for 30 rupees each.

We arrive at the station with time to spare and eventually The Chennai Express leaves as planned at 4pm. We are always a bit apprehensive about who we will be sharing our compartment with but the fella who gets on at the next station is friendly and speaks good English. He tells us he lives in Chennai and works as an accounts manager for Heinz, he has been in Kerala on business and he spends an hour or so advising us on places of interest in and around Chennai. He gives us his email address and mobile number in case we have any problems in Chennai and readily agrees to swap bunks with me so I am up higher and more out of reach from groping hands.

After a few hours playing cards, scrabble and reversi we settle down for the night, I can't sleep and lie there listening to my MP3 player, my much loved birthday present and an essential for drowning out the snoring that is shaking the train carriage.

I have spent the night absolutely freezing my arse off, partly due to the fan and I guess the temperature must drop out on the water. At 5.30 am I got completely dressed and although I was really tempted to watch the sunrise in the end the bed won and Simon went and got some photos which I admired later!

Breakfast was toast and fruit and evil tasting coffee and we arrived back in Alleppey around 9 o'clock. Unfortunately the Cherukara Nest was all booked and we are therefore spending our last night here at The KTC Guesthouse. This turns out to been clean and comfortable and even though I have to have a cold bucket shower I feel refreshed and revitalised by mid morning.

I spend an hour or so doing science with the kids we have been working our way through the body systems and complete the circulatory system today. We never did dissect a heart; although Simon found a chicken heart in last nights curry and we all had a good look at it I don't think that counts. We make a start on the skeletal system which I don't think will take too long and they both try hard which is good.

We will be travelling to Chennai (Madras) tomorrow and are due to catch the train at 4pm. I feel very sad about this as it will be our last stop in India, before we fly to Singapore next Thursday. We spent ages last night with the fella's on the boat showing them our trip photos and some pictures from home. Looking back over the past 7 weeks it seems such a long time ago since we were in Delhi but also the time has flown by.

Simon goes out to get Ali's guitar case re stitched; we have already had this done once but as it is stuffed with music it is very heavy and has ripped again. He has been printing tabs off the net and is learning some stuff by The Raconteurs, The Fratellis and Razorlight.

We get some lunch and then spend some time on the internet; we are researching information on accommodation and things to do in Singapore. As we won't be there for long we want to use our time well. I have a few emails from friends to catch up with and it's good to hear their news about how they spent Christmas and New Year which now seems absolutely ages ago.

We are going to try and get some tandoori food tonight. Simon and the kids are quite uncomplaining but I am getting fed up with our curry and rice diet and we have all been fantasising about having a roast dinner. Although we love curry and will eat most things, often the choices are quite limited and non-veg is not available in many restaurants here. In fact I have been reading in the guidebook about an American style diner in Chennai that sells great burgers and for me who hates cooking but loves junk food it sounds like my idea of heaven!

Its 10pm and we have just got back, we found a good restaurant and had chicken tikka, chips and salad. Until this point we have eaten very little salad as I have been worried that it may have been washed in tap water and have relied on cooked vegetables as a means of getting the green stuff in but tonight I think stuff it, we'll take our chances. With less than a week to go in India and no serious episodes of the shits for any of us this may be a risky choice to take, I'll let you know tomorrow.

We set our alarm today and had breakfast on the veranda before packing up our stuff yet again. Tony the guesthouse owner has been great, very friendly and obliging and Simon pays him a little over what we owe for his troubles. Which have mainly been making lots of coffee and finding us cokes and beers at night!

He orders us a rickshaw and we are taken to the houseboat, it is a converted rice barge with an upper and lower deck, a dining area and two bedrooms and is quite luxurious. At our disposal for the next 24 hours are 3 fellas including an on board chef. All our meals are included and we ask a lad to stock up on soft drinks and beer before we go.

At around 12ish we're off and within 5 minutes are gently floating across a huge still lake, the only noises are ducks quacking and the hum of the engine which is frequently
turned off so that we can drift peacefully. The fella's propel the boat using long poles and several smaller boats paddle past. Someone offers us 3 lobsters for 1000 rupees but I'm glad we turned him down when Suresh the chef produces a simple but tasty meal of fried fish, salad, chilli green beans, spicy cabbage and plain rice. We also polished off 3 strong beers and 2 packets of cashews and all agree we are completely stuffed.

The backwaters consist of a massive network of canals, lagoons and lakes and with the sun beating down and a warm breeze the houseboats are the perfect way to explore them.
We pass temples and small villages and Suresh points out a coir factory. The backwaters are lined with palm trees and flat rice fields stretch either side as far as I can see.

We stop off at the riverside, Simon and Ali go to inspect some huge fresh water prawns and they decide to buy four as an addition to our dinner tonight. I was worried that we might go hungry and we brought lots of snacks onboard but I needn't have worried as there is a large basket of fresh fruit on the table and soon a snack of a sort of deep fried sweet bread and cups of chai are produced.

I spend the afternoon lying on the front of the boat watching the peaceful backwaters go by and Simon does an hour or so of maths with the kids.

At dusk we moor up at the lakeside and watch the beautiful sunset. Sitting in the darkness in the warm night air, with the sweet smell of the mosquito coils and the sound of cicadas and some distant drumming from across the water is an absolutely awesome and magical experience. There is a full moon and although far across the lake I can just make out faint lights from other houseboats, in the blackness it is easy to imagine we are the only people here.

Our only light comes from a single light bulb and it is literally alive with buzzing insects from small flies to huge flying beasts. These in turn attract lots of small lizards which dart everywhere on the walls of the boat. My friend Nicky bought me a lovely fine mesh sarong a few months before we came away and I remember her saying to me that I would find lots of uses for it. It has undoubtedly been the most useful thing I brought with me and I have worn it as a scarf, skirt, top and dress. I have slept on it and under it; it has been my comfort blanket on bus journeys and protected me from the sun and the cold. Tonight I'm so glad I have it as it makes a perfect mosquito net and I think thanks Nicky for such a great present as we get bombarded by hoards of winged creatures.

At around 9pm Suresh tells us our dinner is ready, it looks fantastic and so much food, we'll never be able to eat it all. The prawns have been cooked with spices, coconut and lemon and there is a spicy chicken curry, vegetable rice, chapattis and several different types of vegetable dishes. We finish our meal with some fresh pineapple and then sit listening to Ali playing his guitar; today has been a perfect day.

Kerala is described in our guidebook book as "India showing its gentle and relaxed side"and when we woke up this morning to the sound of exotic birds we agreed that sleeping under a mosquito net feels both romantic and adventurous and Kerala is everything we had hoped for.

Alleppey is the main hub for getting a houseboat and Simon decides to go out fairly early and try and book something. The boats all return to Alleppey around 10.30 and I'm pleased when he comes back at 11.30 having booked us a boat for 110000 rupees (120 pounds). This is for 24 hours and the prices have risen considerably since the last Lonely Planet edition. The fella tells Simon that there is a huge demand for boats and although there are over 400 in this area we had no option but to pay up in order to get a decent boat.

We spend the day quietly at Cherukara Nest; the kids do an hour or so of literacy and write a comparison of Indian and English culture concentrating on food and the landscape. I am reading a novel by John Grisham and am pleased to spend the afternoon sat on the veranda. It's very indulgent to do nothing for such long periods and far more relaxing than a holiday where we are usually busy trying to have a great time. I always try my best to get a sexy tan when we are away but as we still have 5 months of hot places to go I have found I'm not so bothered!

We sit and have a beer with an Australian called Liz who tells us some interesting travel stories about her previous trips around South East Asia and decide to try and get an earlier dinner. We put our faith in an auto rickshaw driver by asking him to take us to a restaurant and as usual this turns out to be a mistake as he takes us to the most expensive place in town. We have a quick look at the menu but as it is a set curry meal and costs 660 rupees each we ask him to take us somewhere cheaper. We end up at The Indian Coffee House which is in a good location on the beachfront and our total bill comes to 208. Much better value!

Back at the Cherukara Nest we head for an early night. The houseboat is booked for 11.30 in the morning and we want to be up bright and breezy in order to have a great day.

We have now come from Mumbai to Goa so that we can spend Christmas here. Goa has changed a lot since we came 5 years ago it has become a lot more commercialised , however it is still very good and were we are staying is peaceful. It is nice to be staying in one place for more than three nights, travelling is cool but a rest is well appreciated by us all.

On Christmas Eve it was really weird as instead of having a lovely meal at Nana and Granddads with our Aunty and Uncle, then going to bed early and waking up way to early the next day as you are so excited about your presents! But here there was a power cut and we had a Chinese takeaway in the dark and when the power finally came on we had to wait to go to bed as the mosquito coils burnt. As we waited me my sister and my dad all played cards, but when we got bored we played charades and that made it feel a little more Christmassy! So by the time we actually got to bed it was all ready Christmas day!

We woke up really late unlike usual a Christmas morning to a bowl of strawberry cornflakes they were ok until we smelt the bacon cooking down below! I and my mum were drawling on the balcony.

I got lots of sweets and chocolate as they would not be hard to carry and would probably be eaten by the next day. I also got a hundred pounds and a Jet Ski ride which I loved so much I used some of my money to go again the next day. On my second ride I was a lot more confident, I had already done a full 360 degree spin but unfortunately on my second attempt my Dad flew off the back and it was really funny.

We spent Christmas night at a 5star hotel and there was an amazing buffet. I had a small starter and main course as I was saving my self for dessert I had loads of strawberry coated in chocolate and a chocolate mouse a chocolate/strawberry jam log roll thing! It was heavenly.

We are now in Kerala and tomorrow we are going to live on a boat. On the way here we stopped off at Mangalore for New Years Eve the food was slow and not that nice but the party was great there was no countdown but fireworks went off and every one started shaking our hands over a 5 to 10 minute period of time.

I'm looking forward to the boat tomorrow it should be really exiting, but for now the hotel is pretty cool and a rest is nice.

As planned we caught the train to Kerala at 11pm last night. We quickly got the kids settled and I went out like a light. As long as I can lie down I can sleep anywhere and I have found that we are sleeping better on the trains now we are getting more used to them.

As we are travelling 3rd class sleeper we have to share our 6 bed compartment with 2 others so it is a bit of a surprise when I wake up at 8am to find 4 extra people.
Simon tells me it was like an episode of Eastenders when this family got on with tears, arguments and a lot of stress. Apparently the little boy got in the bunk with him and then fell out later and it sounded like me and the kids slept through a right drama!

We arrive at Alleppey station at 10.30am and the taxi drivers seem to be completely obstructive and refuse to take us to Cherukara Nest where we have booked 2 nights accommodation. We guess this because they want to take us to some other hotel that they will get paid commission for but eventually it becomes apparent that some sort of strike is taking place and they won't take us anywhere.

Simon decides to phone the guesthouse and a fella soon turns up on a motorbike and explains that a hartal is taking place over 3 days in protest at the execution of Saddam Hussain. This means that from dawn until dusk none of the restaurants, internet, phones, buses or taxis will be working. This isn't really a problem for us as we aren't planning to do much anyway for the next few days but we do need transport at this point, as our hotel is 4km away. He explains the only thing to do is to travel by motorbike and as we don't really have much choice, when he rallies 3 of his mates around we have to climb on.

They all zoom off leaving me clinging on to the fella for grim death and yelping after Ali and Maisie "Hold on tight kids". As if they cared – they loved it and thought it was all a great laugh!

10 minutes later and we arrive at Cherukara Nest- oh wow what a beautiful place, it is over 100 years old, there are only 4 rooms and they are all huge with white washed walls, antique dark wood Portuguese furniture, ceiling fans and mosquito nets over the beds. You couldn't wish to be in a more serene and peaceful setting and I'm so pleased we will be staying here for a few days.

We go through the reception and out to the garden where we have a lovely breakfast of coffee, fruit, omelettes and toast. There is a dove cote in the middle of the grass courtyard and it has the look of the jungle about it with tall palms and overhanging trees.

After a refreshing cold shower we decide to go and check out the house boats. We have been chatting to an English couple who are holidaying in India for 3 weeks and they have found a luxury boat just up the road with 2 double beds for 8000 rupees. But when we enquire we are told it will cost 14000 (around 150 pounds) We expect that the houseboat trip will be a major expense whilst we are in Kerala but feel that as we have some time here the best thing to do is get a feel for the place before we make any decisions especially concerning ones that will cost a lot!

On the way back we see a dead bat on the grass verge, its body is the size of a small melon and although its wings are a bit crumpled under the weight of a million evil looking giant red ants, Simon reckons they would span 3 feet. I have never even seen such a big bat on the telly and I hope there aren't any out tonight waiting to get tangled up in my hair.

We walk up to a pretty restaurant for dinner but are told we can't have any of the food we order. Although the only explanation we get is "Strawberry milkshake not possible, tandoori platter not possible etc" we guess it probably has something to do with the hartal as the butchers and fishermen have all been on strike today. So we leave there and head for a busy place in town where we eventually get some decent vegetarian food.

On the way back we stop at a shop and I quietly tell a fella I need to buy "women's things". Within 2 minutes we are surrounded by 5 Indian men all looking very interested and I'm getting a bit embarrassed – no matter what I say to them I can't make myself understood and I decide I will sort this out tomorrow when an old wizened man says to me very slowly like I'm the village idiot - "Can you please try speak in English Mam, it would be better if you can try speak in English !!"

We get back to our guesthouse and put Ali and Maisie to bed, sleeping under a mosquito net is a novelty and they are a huge problem here along with millions of other biting insects because of all the still waters. The guesthouse owner also burns coal with incense which creates clouds of thick white strong smelling smoke and give us coils for our rooms. Despite all this and the industrial strength repellent we have been using which contains 50% deet we still get a few bites. Still this is a small price to pay for staying in such gorgeous surroundings and I wouldn't change a thing.

Happy New Year!

We didn't wake up until gone 10 and as we're feeling quite ropey don't actually manage breakfast at all. We eventually make it up the road to a local restaurant and order some food for lunch. We have a few cokes and some fantastic vegetarian food including lemon and coconut rice and mixed vegetable korma and are soon feeling more up for it.

When we come out of the restaurant I see some electronic scales and it’s a major cause for celebration when I weigh myself and find I haven't even put on a pound since we've been travelling – Hurray!!

We call home and spend ages talking to everyone on Skype this is by far the cheapest way to call England and it's good to catch up on the news. We were saying earlier that we would be complaining about having to go back to work tomorrow and it is such a good feeling to know we don't have to worry about any of that. I haven't missed work at all and it seems a million miles away from here.

We also check our emails; glad to hear the old New Years resolution to drink more, smoke more in 2007 is going strong in Alli, Adrian and Reefer's household - love you long time! I hope our friend Jack Daniels made it to your mum and dads!

We are leaving Mangalore tonight at 11pm on the Malevi Express train to Kerela. I'm really excited about this as Kerela is meant to be the most beautiful state in India. We are going to hire a houseboat and spend a few days cruising the backwaters which sounds very relaxing and peaceful and we're looking forward to finding out if it really is as idyllic as it sounds.

Well I guess this will be a different New Years Eve to any we have experienced in the past. As Ali and Maisie often go to their Dads in Bournemouth at New Year we alternately either spend it at the pub with friends or go to a party at mums depending on whether we have the kids with us or not.

It was around 8.30 when we woke up this morning and we made our way over the road for a Poonja breakfast which consisted of fresh pineapple juice, cereal, eggs, toast and coffee - plenty to keep us going until tonight and not bad for 120 rupees.

We got our tickets for tonight's African themed party and decided to visit to the beach which is apparently best accessed through a hotel called The Silver Sands Resort around a 20 minute taxi ride away. Unfortunately when we arrive there is a sign on the gate saying hotel guests only for the 31st December. What a pain and the fella on the gate is having none of it when we try and persuade him to let us in.

We ask the taxi driver where to go and he takes us to the public beach 1.5 km away. It turns out to be quite pretty and we feel like real travellers as we are certainly well off the beaten track here. A deserted beach comes at a price though and we soon realise this also means no sun lounger, umbrella etc and there is very little shade apart from a few scraggy palm trees. We decide to stay for a couple of hours max and this turns out to be long enough. Simon and the kids have a good time playing in the sea but I feel far too self conscious to strip off to my bikini and stay covered up. Despite this I feel like the local tourist attraction as men and young boys all keep wandering over for a good stare.

On the way back from the beach I take the opportunity to have a good look around. Despite there being very little to do I like Mangalore, it seems to be a very laid back and peaceful place and we have been laughing at some of the sights we have seen here.

Maisie now has a bad ear and when we asked for a pharmacy we were directed to "Chemist for all sex problems". We have also seen lots of signs advertising "The Worlds Last Cannibal" – not too sure whether this is a film or live show but we decide against trying to find out. There are also signs everywhere for palmistry and I would like to go and have our palms read but Simon thinks it's all a load of crap and refuses to spend a single rupee on it!

At 8pm we make our way across the road to The Poonja International Hotel. The party is on the rooftop and we sit in the bar for an hour first having a drink. I'm developing quite a taste for gin and it goes down well with fresh lime juice and soda water.

When we go through we are fairly bemused to find cat masks on the tables and hats with Happy Birthday on them but put them on anyway and enter into the spirit of it. You would be hard pushed to find any evidence of an African theme but the evening starts off well when Ali beats a group of little girls in the musical statutes competition and wins himself a Bacardi Breezer umbrella. There are a number of competitions some of which we enter and the kids are pretty game considering we are the only westerners there.

These are followed by singers, dance acts and a live band which are all entertaining. Although I don't think they are necessarily meant to be funny, we can't help laughing at some of them and have a great night.

As we haven't eaten since breakfast we are hungry, but by 10.30pm the food still isn't ready and we get quite drunk on the complimentary whisky and soda. By the time the food arrives I'm too pissed to eat much but I do remember it looked quite nice with lots of different types of curries, fried fish, mixed salads and rice and noodle dishes.

There is no countdown to midnight but suddenly there are fireworks in the street and everyone is shaking hands and saying Happy New Year. The four of us must have looked a bit strange linked arms singing Auld Lang Syne on the dance floor but as we are a bit of a novelty here anyway I don't think the Indians are particularly surprised by any thing we do.

We try and make some calls home but the lines are all busy and we decide to call everyone in the morning. Can't remember going to bed guess the Indian whisky must be quite strong then.