Simon and I went for an early morning walk along the beach today. We left the kids asleep in bed and crept out. There are a handful of people out walking and it’s a tranquil and romantic stroll along. We stop to examine some of the beach kill along the way. There are 5 or 6 jellyfish washed up and they vary from the size of a dinner plate to about 4 times bigger. We also see a baby shark and some starfish. The shark and some of the jellyfish are still alive and I want Simon to put them back into the sea but he wouldn’t touch the jellyfish and the shark was apparently some fisherman’s catch and had disappeared by the time we came back.

I swap my book for a new one, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. This is Aron Ralston’s true life account of how he became trapped by a falling boulder whilst hiking in Utah and subsequently amputated his own arm in order to free himself and save his life. I read really quickly and soon get into the story, it is a compelling read and I admire his strength of character that enabled him to do that.

Someone told me I was inspirational and amazing for following my dreams with this trip. I’m not sure whether I agree with that, to be honest in some ways I feel like it’s almost a cop out, running away on a huge adventure for a year. One thing I think I have learnt from the trip already though is that most things are possible if you want them enough and are prepared to be brave and work at it.

In his book Aron Ralston talks about a fella whose book he read who dropped out of mainstream society to travel around the US. He wrote that “Many people live within unhappy circumstances but won’t take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which might appear to give you peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the spirit than a secure future.”

I’m hardly going to become that type of mountain climbing adventurer myself so perhaps shouldn’t comment too much! But one thing I hope is that I have become a bit braver and have the balls to take a few risks. I think that’s important and a fantastic quality that not everyone has.

All that said I have done nothing braver or more adventurous today than brave the fierce sun. I asked the sunbed fella to pull my bed down by the waters edge and lay reading and listening to Duran Duran and The Scissor Sisters on my MP3. The sun is too hot to go out in for long and I stayed under my umbrella all day. Despite this I have still got burnt and my lips and cheeks are really sore. Simon said I look as though I have been skiing as I have got panda eyes where my sunglasses have been. I also have the perfect Angelina Jolie pout.

Everyone including us is short of money, the visa system on the island has collapsed and no one has been able to access any cash for 5 days. We decide therefore to eat at The Delta Motels Restaurant, the food is pretty basic and cheap and chicken fried rice is probably the best they have to offer but it will do and goes down ok with a few Tigers. Usually a lack of money would completely freak me out but I am more relaxed about it than I would have thought possible. Maybe finally I am listening to the words of The Serenity Prayer that I know so well.

Its 11.15 and I’m sitting on the bed. There is so little to do here that I feel very lazy. I have decided Langkawi is a place for reading, listening to music and thinking and not much else. Today has been one of those perfect days that nothing could spoil and I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Today I even surprised myself by jumping out of bed and making the decision to go for a run on the beach. It’s early and I leave Simon and the kids asleep and set off along the water edge. There aren’t many people about, some of the locals are having an early morning swim (all fully dressed, laughing and splashing around) and I stop and watch the fishermen emptying their nets. I have my MP3 player with me and listen to Jack Johnson along the way. It’s a bit of a half hearted attempt at running though but I console myself with the thought that although it might not being doing my body much good it’s certainly good for the soul.

When I get back they are all up and we sit having coffee and chatting with Jon and Toby for a couple of hours. I have decided to stay out of the sun today as my lips are still sore and burnt and Simon doesn’t like to lie around too much anyway. Toby does some schoolwork with the kids, she gives them a topic each and Maisie and Lois share theirs. They are told to plan a presentation explaining why they feel cats are better than dogs. Ali has to present his thoughts on why the guitar is the best musical instrument and Barney tells us why skateboarding is the best form of exercise. They all seem to enjoy doing this and talking to her has given me some more ideas on how to structure literacy lessons.

We consider the financial situation, by now we are down to our last few hundred ringitt and decide the best option for lunch is to buy some supplies and make sandwiches for everyone. We have crisps and fruit also and enjoy having a simple homemade lunch.

I spend the afternoon reading and we start to consider where and when we might move on. We had originally planned to stay in Malaysia for 3 weeks and have been here 3 weeks today so need to plan how we are going to spend the next 2  months in South East Asia. We want to travel around much of Thailand, but have heard conflicting reports about Cambodia. The consensus about Vietnam is unanimously good and everyone we have spoken to seems to love it there. We have also been considering going to Laos as we have heard such excellent reports but will have to see if we can fit it all in.

After a quick shower we head off up the road to phone home, get some dinner and watch the rugby. Mum has been looking on the internet at pictures of Langkawi and tells me she is really jealous as it looks so lovely! Simon has found a bar where the England / Italy game is showing and we order some food and settle down to watch. 15 minutes later there is a sad realisation that it was actually shown at 9am this morning not 9pm as we thought and we have missed it by 12 hours!

We head back and have an early night; it amazes me that doing nothing has the ability to tire you out completely. Tomorrow’s job for the day is to get some money; else we will have to resort to sending the kids out fishing for our dinner.

The money situation has become quite desperate and the main aim of today is to get to Kuah and get some cash. The nearest ATM is at the airport but there will be more choice of banks in Kuah and Simon, Toby and Jon set off in a taxi and leave me with the kids. I’m so lucky and have definitely pulled the long straw as all I have to do is remind them occasionally to put on sun cream and have a drink – Yeh !

I lie under the coconut trees on the beach reading my book and day dreaming. I have really loved it in Langkawi and seem to have found the answers to some of the things I have been thinking about really easily here. I have met some really amazing people here too. The girl who runs The Submarine Shack is from Nottingham. She came to Langkawi on holiday, met her boyfriend, went home jacked in her job and has been here ever since!
I love hearing about stories like that, people who don’t worry too much about the consequences of stuff and just get on with it. Eventually they return with cash, hurray and we plan what to do for the afternoon.

Simon and I found a lovely bar up the road for sale for 7000. We sat there planning what food we would serve if we owned it etc!! Don’t worry mum we weren’t serious! In the afternoon Jon and Toby offered to take Ali and Maisie to The Asseana Hotel, it has apparently got the largest swimming pool in Malaysia and we jumped at the opportunity to spend a bit of time on our own. When we arrived there a few hours later they had all had a fantastic afternoon. The pool comes complete with waterfalls, slides, a hot pool, (as if you need that!) wave machine and “relaxation river”.

We head back to our hotel and stop on the way for the kids to ring their Dad and Nana Judy and Bob and quickly check a few emails. After a quick shower we walk along the beach. Jon found a bar yesterday where they have an acoustic jammin session at sunset and Ali wants to go and play. The two guitarists there are really great and tell me they have just met and are camping on the beach and busking around the bars for a bit of cash. What a great life! Unfortunately some drunken fella decides he wants to play and when he sits down in front of Ali and tells him “sit there and I will teach you something” I want to laugh. The bar owner soon sorts him out and Ali arranges to meet the buskers tomorrow afternoon.

We have our food and make our way back. Tomorrow we will be leaving Langkawi and we get to sleep fairly easily. I will be setting the alarm in the morning to get us up early to make the most of our last day.

As planned Simon set the clock and we get up early. We decided to let the kids chose what to do today and they want to go back to The Asiana Hotel where they spent yesterday afternoon. We have some yogurt and fruit for breakfast and make our way up the road. Although it is quite early it is so hot that my sunbed burns me and we have to keep diving in the pool to cool down. Before too much longer Barney appears but unfortunately hasn’t left his sleeping parents and sister a note so Simon walked back to let them know Barney is with us.

Jon, Toby and Lois appear around midday much the worse for wear! Apparently they had a late night last night and their plans of going up the cable car in the afternoon seem to be rapidly evaporating! At lunchtime we walk back to our hotel, we have got a bit of food left in the fridge and we make sandwiches for lunch. I spend sometime explaining the legends of Langkawi to Ali and Maisie but they’re not too interested and want to get back to their swimming!

Simon takes them back and I pack up all our stuff, again we have a parcel of things we have collected in Malaysia and want to post it home but as the postal service here is supposedly very unreliable we will wait until we arrive in Thailand tomorrow. We have planned to catch the ferry at 9.30am to Satun which takes around an hour and then get the bus to Krabi, a four hour journey.

Simon and Ali come back at 4.30 and we walk up to Lylia’s Bar. Ali plays for an hour or so with the guitarists we met last night and we have some Tigers with an Australian mum and daughter who are holidaying here. Eventually everyone else returns and we light a fire on the beach. Jon and Toby have bought some burgers and the kids make us ice cream sundaes. We say our goodbyes and wish them good luck with the rest of their trip; they are heading off to the Cameron Highlands and Taman Negara before their flight to Australia. It has been great spending time with them and I will miss them but can’t wait to get to Thailand tomorrow. We had a fantastic holiday there last year and we’re hoping to explore so much more of the place all the guidebooks call The Land of Smiles.

Hello from Thailand, we’ve crossed the border heading North so we’ll see you on the Thai pages next.