Day 1 (Good Friday, 13 April 2001)

London Heathrow  - Kuala Lumpur

So this is how it all begins; well, kind of anyway, as I for one had to make my way to London from Zurich already on Thursday evening after work - ah, the perils of an expat lifestyle!

On to Friday, early-ish start on our way to Heathrow for the midday flight to Kuala Lumpur and then on to Melbourne - easily the longest trip we both ever had to take.  Gorgeous, sunny Spring weather to send us off in London, a taste of things to come, James and I both agreed.

Very excited indeed about the flights - MH3 to KUL and then MH133 to MEL - what with James and I both being a bit of suckers when it comes to flying.  Determined to beat the long Economy queue at T3, we managed to smooch our way to the Business check-in counter (I had to get this one in, sorry James!), and get those precious emergency-exit-row seats by the window (this is where James will tell you I got a bit hyper…).

On the flight itself, very impressed with the purser addressing us by name (although I'm sure this had something to do with the fact I had ordered a special meal) and soon after, the birth of the first of the trip's key phrases: tuan-tuan dan puan-puan (ladies and gentlemen).  James and I are immediately enchanted by the way plural is formed in Bahasa Malaysia, by simply repeating the word twice!

The twelve+ hour journey to Kuala Lumpur provides us with some unforgettable sights.  Flying over Europe in the afternoon, we smoothly cross into Asia over the impressively tall and snowy peaks of the Caucasus in the evening; then over the Caspian Sea as night falls, eventually crossing India and Bangladesh overnight where we look down on endless lights over vast masses of land.  Soon afterwards, we are greeted by the overpowering sight and might of the lightning-filled storms of the Far East, before seeing the morning arrive over the Andaman Sea along the coasts of Myanmar and Thailand.

The Caucasus Mountains, seen from seat 26A, on flight MH3, 13 April 2001

Day 2 (Saturday, 14 April 2001)

Kuala Lumpur - Melbourne

Our early morning arrival into the gleaming new Kuala Lumpur International Airport gives us a first and very lasting impression on this beautiful new facility: the airport is eerily empty.  Built approx. 70km from downtown KL, KLIA was designed to become a regional transport hub.  The Asian crisis on the one hand, together with a host of other factors on the other (such as the thriving Singapore Changi nearby and the lack of a proper ground link to KL), have conspired to the exact opposite, and the airport has been forced to see foreign carrier after foreign carrier terminate direct service to Malaysia.

Nevertheless, after careful negotiations with a very timid THAI lounge attendant, we manage to have a quick shower and breakfast before moving on to board a brand new Boeing 777 for the next flight to Melbourne (via Sydney).  Flying along the east coast of Malaysia and over Singapore and Indonesia, we cross the Timor Sea into the Australian Continent.  It really is hard to comprehend the size of Australia, seeing as the country is roughly the same size as the USA but with a fraction of the population, but the fact that we were flying for more than four hours over pure desert before even getting close to Sydney should give you an idea.

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777

By the time we reached Melbourne, late on Saturday night, we had seen four airports, been on two long-haul flights, experienced six takeoffs and landings and crossed three continents and ten time zones - to put it mildly, we were exhausted!  Not that that hindered the Australian customs officials from making James take out all his shoes (both the pair he was wearing and the ones in his suitcase) to get them disinfected for fear of importing Foot and Mouth disease into Australia.  Nor did it stop us from making Boyd drive us straight to a Greek Orthodox church in Melbourne, just in time for the midnight Easter Mass!

Day 3 (Easter Sunday, 15 April 2001)

Great Ocean Road

G'Day Australia!  Yes, we are finally here, and this is essentially our first day.  It's also Easter Sunday (both Greek and Western this year) so we start the day with a breakfast of hot cross buns that Boyd has been ever so thoughtful to get for us - thanks!

Soon after breakfast and we're off to the Great Ocean Road, en route to the Twelve Apostles, although the route is a destination in itself.  It's a beautiful, sunny day when we set off, making our way through Melbournian suburbs which I must admit do not look very promising...

It's not long since we left the house, in fact we've barely left Melbourne, when James notices a big blue bruise on his left thigh.  These being the days of super-high attention on DVT, this gets us all worried, although we are absolutely sure we did everything right during the flight down: we had lots of room to move about, did lots of moving our legs - we even took aspirin before the flight!  We decide not to do anything about the bruise for the time being - little did we know this was he birth of a ghost, which was to haunt us throughout the journey.

Driving on, we soon reach the beginning of the Great Ocean Road.  Built by returning troops after the War, this hugs Victoria's southern coast roughly from Melbourne to Adelaide.  The scenery is spectacular; blue ocean waters on our left hand side interchange with green hills on our right, while further inland whole areas filled with eucalyptus and gum trees give way to lush green pastures.

View of the Ocean from the Great Ocean Road

Roughly halfway on our journey we reach the cute seaside town of Lorne, where we had originally planned to overnight.  The town looks quite pretty, with cafés and restaurants lining the streets and beautiful houses with great big windows facing the ocean lining the coast nearby.  Because this is Easter weekend, however, we have to contain ourselves to stopping for lunch at a nice pub, overlooking the ocean.  We lunch on lamb brochette on pitta and stuffed ravioli with sage, butter and chilli sauce - delish!

By late afternoon, we finally make it to the Twelve Apostles.  What can I say?  It was worth every minute of the drive - not that it wasn't spectacular enough in itself, but this was something else.  Despite the crowds, the majesty of these rocks, coupled with the impressive ocean and steep cliffs was simply breathtaking.

Back on the road on our way to Melbourne, we spend the night at a kitsch motel in Apollo Bay (next best thing to Lorne, apparently!).  We are all too tired to brave the exciting nightlife awaiting us in town, so we opt for dinner at the motel's own restaurant, with its 1970s décor (red leatherette chairs and all); the fresh seafood dinner however, cooked by the little wifey in the kitchen - and yes, you guessed it right: prawn cocktail included - does the trick.

Day 4 (Easter Monday, 16 April 2001)

Great Ocean Road - Melbourne - Yarra Valley

Breakfast at the motel and back on the road to Melbourne, our first stop is Anglesea Golf Course.  No, none of us has suddenly developed an urge for the sport, however, this particular golf course has a unique attraction: one can golf amongst the kangaroos.  They really are special these creatures; funny in their anatomy with a disproportionately large tail playing a significant role in helping them keep their balance.  James and I - both very excited to finally see a live kangaroo - can barely wait until Boyd has parked the car and we're off on the course, observing, playing with and taking pictures of these gorgeous marsupials.

Some local Australian animals...

...and some strange ones from far away!

Back in Melbourne, finally met up with Julian, James' friend from home, who had a while ago left his Chancery Lane job and Brixton flat, in search of a better life in the colonies!  Julian wants to show off his band new Ka(r) so we “agree” to drive with him to the Yarra Valley wineries.  About an hour's drive from Melbourne, the vineyards here occupy the beautiful, rolling hills of the Yarra River valley.  Out of the many available, we visit three wineries in total and taste some very good wine while taking in the views.  There is something magical about these places, and I can think of a no more pleasant way to spend a summer's Sunday lunchtime, than sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking endless vineyards, sampling some of the very tasty-looking food and sipping a chilled local white.

Yarra Valley

Dining out is supposed to be an important affair in Melbourne and so we leave it to Boyd and Nicole to show us what their city has to offer.  We settle for a stylish-looking restaurant in Prahran, in downtown Melbourne with a live jazz band.  Turns out the food was actually quite good (even James agreed, after having reconstructed his dish to remove mushrooms and other such undesirables); however the service was appalling and the band too loud for comfort.  Also, very disappointed with Julian leaving halfway through the evening.

Day 5 (Tuesday, 17 April 2001)

Melbourne - Sydney

At last - a day for Melbourne!  Lazy morning (we deserve it) before getting in the car with Boyd and heading straight for Melbourne's most famous sight (well at least it should be, according to James!): Captain Cook's cottage.  The house where Captain James Cook grew up, in a town called Whitby in Yorkshire, was dismantled brick-by-brick and brought over to Melbourne where it sits reconstructed to its full English-cottage-style glory in the city's Botanical Gardens.

Crossing the gardens we exit near the grand building that houses the Parliament of Victoria, towards Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD).  This part of town is very modern and vibrant, with tall office buildings contrasting with old Victorian ones and parks providing greenery and shade from the burning sun; quite unlike the kind of shabby, run-down parts of downtown Melbourne we had seen the night before.  In the shopping-end of the CBD, we have a very tasty lunch in one of Melbourne's many arcades.

After lunch, we head towards Southside, the south bank of the Yarra River.  This is prime, riverfront location and it shows - the promenade is lined with trendy cafes and restaurants, while immediately behind, new, tall apartment buildings and renovations of what look like old docks warehouses are creating new river-view housing for the young and cool.

We decide to spend our final afternoon in Melbourne in St. Kilda, a beach suburb (really, an extension of the city itself).  St. Kilda is pretty and has a little bit of a seaside resort feel to it, with cafes and restaurants cluttered along the main street, facing the water.  Really quite pleasant for an afternoon stroll, or a nice dinner on a balmy evening.

Making way through heavy evening-rush-hour traffic, we arrive at Melbourne airport and manage to catch an earlier-than-scheduled Ansett flight to Sydney.   Even as we are on the plane, James' mood is changing rapidly for the better.  He has always raved about Sydney and is now very excited to be back after two years.

After arriving in Sydney and finding our hotel (which boasts a balcony with a view of the famous bridge), we head straight for The Rocks, the old part of Sydney around the harbour for a first glance at that bridge and that Opera House; what can I say - it's love at first sight!

Day 6 (Wednesday, 18 April 2001)

Sydney

Waking up to the view of the Sydney harbour bridge was admittedly one of the few selling points of our hotel, so we decide to move to another hotel for the second night, slap-bang in the middle of the Sydney CBD (Central Business District).  After finding the hotel and settling in, it's time to explore Sydney's "working heart"; the CBD with its grand office buildings, wide roads and big squares also boasts some very beautiful older buildings (such as the Queen Victoria Building), all of which are incredibly well preserved and put to very good use.

After spoilt for choice at lunchtime in one of Sydney's many food courts, we take the train and bus to world-famous Bondi Beach.  Quite a few people around despite this being an autumn weekday afternoon.  The beach is indeed very beautiful, long and sandy it just begs us to lie down and take an afternoon nap - after all, isn't this what holidays should be all about?!

After Bondi we head for Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush Bay, home of the "best ever Olympics" just seven months before.  The park itself is truly impressive, all brand new and complete with its own railway station and of course the main attraction - Stadium Australia. 

Back in Sydney we spend the evening taking a trip on the monorail (why did they spend all that money?) and then walking along Darling Harbour.  Not overly impressed by this complex which reminds me a bit Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco or the waterfront in Cape Town - too much neon, too many tourist attractions and not enough authenticity for my liking.  At least we had a magnificent lobster and king prawn dinner at Nick's (Greek as we found out later) on Cockle Bay Wharf (the "nicer" end of Darling Harbour).

Day 7 (Thursday, 19 April 2001)

Sydney

In what is fast becoming a daily ritual which is OK when you're on the road but peculiar (to say the least) if in the same city, we change hotels for the third night in a row in Sydney, although this was planned long before and is supposed to be out little "treat" before we set off for Queensland.  Arriving at the W at Woolloomooloo we find a very unusual hotel converted from a former wharf so the lobby, bar and restaurant all share the same long, tall room with the guestrooms distributed around and above.  Woolloomooloo itself is an up-and-coming area just outside the CBD and is indeed beautiful and very promising.  On the water, close enough for reach of the CBD yet far enough to be quiet, I immediately love this area although James needs a bit of convincing.

After settling into the hotel we have breakfast at a gorgeous French patisserie on the wharf and then we're off to a beautiful walk by the water on another glorious Sydney day.  We pass Macquarie's point right on the "other side" of Sydney harbour which affords us picture-perfect views of both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House

View of CBD with Opera House and Harbour Bridge

View of the City (mainly CBD) from Miss Macquarie's Point

Yes... I was there!

Walking around the bay we reach the Opera House where we discover the differences between the big picture and the details...

Sydney Opera House: up close...

...and personal

After the Opera House we take the ferry to Manly, a kind of beach resort about 30 mins on the ferry from Circular Quay.  We walk along the Corso to the beach where we get some Fish & Chips for lunch and enjoy yet another beach afternoon nap in Sydney :-)

Back in Sydney and time to enjoy the W's facilities with a refreshing swim in the pool and chill-out session in the jacuzzi before setting out to dinner at the revolving Summit restaurant on top of Australia House in the middle of the CBD.  Nice place, and the view made up for the food...

Day 8 (Friday, 20 April 2001)

Sydney - Noosa

Early start today, quick checkout and taxi to Sydney Airport for the QF95 to Brisbane.  Cute little Qantas flight and then our car pick-up from lovely Jean at Hertz and we're on the road!

First stop out of Brisbane on our way north are the Glasshouse Mountains, where we decide to climb Mt. Ngungun, one of the least demanding ones.  After about 45 minutes of hike we reach the top of the mountain where the view across the plain is well-worth the effort.  The view stretches for miles, from the peaks of the other mountains to great plains filled with different kinds of vegetation and a different kind of green than we're used to, a "tropical" kind of green.  in the far distance we can see the Pacific and also what we believe is Brisbane.

On the way up Mt. Ngungun

Made it to the top!

...and the view is well worth the effort

Driving on we reach Noosa in the afternoon; a very pretty seaside resort, Noosa caters to a more upmarket crowd than most and is therefore very well kept.  The resort lies at the centre of Noosa Heads, a mixture of headlands and water, a beautiful location indeed.

Plenty of restaurants along the main drag to choose from for dinner, we settle for a cute-looking small place run by three women.  Turns out a good choice; the food was delicious, plentiful and with some authentic local flavours and the beer chilled!  Walk on the beach balk to the hotel completes the day.

Day 9 (Saturday, 21 April 2001)

Noosa - Rockhampton

Seeing as we are on holiday, we decide to re-evaluate our plan to visit every single attraction in Queensland and instead take things a bit easier; so we decide to give Fraser Island a miss and spend a leisurely morning in Noosa before heading north.  So we head straight to the French-style café we had spotted the day before and have a delicious breakfast of pastries, a "passion-fruit kiss" biscuit and great coffee! Mmm!

Then it's on to the beach and up the hill for a walk around towards the national park in another failed attempt to spot the allegedly free-roaming koalas.  However, we were rewarded with great views nevertheless.

Noosa Heads

Then it's on to the beach and up the hill for a walk around towards the national park in another failed attempt to spot the allegedly free-roaming koalas.  However, we were rewarded with great views nevertheless.

The revised holiday plan called for one night on Great Keppel Island and then a couple of nights around the Whitsundays.  So we soon get in the car and drive north towards Rockhampton - gateway to the Keppel Islands - and we drive and drive and drive and 600km later we arrive in Rockhampton around 21:00, tired but happy.  So tired in fact that we take up a room at the first place we find, the "Ambassador" motel (to be avoided...), have a sad dinner of Subway sandwiches next door and agree on how "Americana" Queensland is starting to look.

Day 10 (Sunday, 22 April 2001)

Rockhampton - Great Keppel Island

We have now been in Australia (properly) for a week and although it has flown, we've done so many things and seen so many places that it definitely seems longer.

Straight after breakfast we're on our way to Yeppoon and Roslyn Bay where we hope to catch the ferry to Great Keppel Island.  A bit of panic as we arrive at the ticket desk as it is 11:40 and the ferry (which was can see moored on the dock) was due to leave at 11:30 (and the next one is not until 15:30).  Thankfully it's delayed but still just about to leave so we pack our things in two minutes flat and run onto it.

Great Keppel is the largest of the Keppel Islands but that doesn't say much.  The ferry drops us off right on the beach where we are informed of the two accommodation options: the Resort and Keppel Haven, a grouping of cheaper accommodation options ranging from YHA tents to family-sized bungalows.  We settle for a bunkhouse which is somewhere in the middle of those two options and also book ourselves on the next snorkelling cruise that afternoon.  The bunkhouse is actually very nice and in fact we are both impressed by how well the whole Keppel Haven complex has been built to provide accommodation whilst preserving the environment and character of the island.  Also, during lunch at Keppel Haven's restaurant we discover we are not the only Europeans around: an Irish girl is working at the reservations desk, an English girl is waiting tables trying to decide what to do with her life two years after her graduation from university and a Swiss couple at the next table are amusing themselves with the resident parrot.

The same continues on the cruise which seems to have been booked for a large party of people from the north of England.  Great to be on the water and pretty views although the snorkelling is a bit disappointing and we soon realise the Great Barrier Reef is still a long way from here.

Back on the island we decide to follow one of the paths up to a summit lookout where we shared the gorgeous sunset and panoramic views of the island with a lone German.

Great Keppel Island sunset

Back for a little revitalising nap before we "hit the town" on the quest for dinner.  Passing on Keppel Haven's self-service restaurant and a beach pizzeria we end up at the resort's carvery buffet, good value at less than A$30 and then decide to give the "nightlife" a miss...

Day 11 (Monday, 23 April 2001)

Great Keppel Island - Airlie Beach

A relaxing morning after the early 9:00 check-out deadline and breakfast, spent vegging out on one of Great Keppel's fantastic beaches.  This is our first encounter with Queensland's powdery sand - so fine it actually squeaks when you walk on it - what a feeling!  We decide to spend the whole morning on the beach, take the 14:00 ferry back and use the afternoon for another "distance" drive.  Our aim is to reach Airlie Beach by the evening so we are on pole position for the Whitsundays the next day.

Leaving Great Keppel

We break the drive for a lovely pizza dinner on the way and make it to Airlie Beach by 22:00.  After a first look around, I decide it looks suspiciously like Ayia Napa.  Anyway, we ignore this as we were not planning to spend any real time in Airlie Beach anyway and head straight to find a place to stay; this materialises in the form of the Crocodile Resort, a decent place at a decent price ;-)

Day 12 (Tuesday, 24 April 2001)

Great Barrier Reef

You cannot "do" the Great Barrier Reef by yourself.  In an effort to protect this wonder, the Australian government has decided to implement a policy whereby visitors to the Reef are only allowed in organised tours.  So, after a good read through the various brochures on all the different kinds of cruises available onto the Reef and around the Whitsundays, we decide on an all-day cruise out to Reefworld, a pontoon about 1-2 hours offshore which serves as a floating base from where to explore the Reef.

It actually takes quite a while to reach Reefworld including a couple of stops to pick up passengers from some of the islands.  We spend our time on the deck admiring the gorgeous view of the blue ocean dotted with green islands and having fun with our fellow passengers - there is the ubiquitous trashy Aussie "lass", the orderly Germans and - of course - the British honeymooners.

On the way to Reefworld

Once on the pontoon we are shown all the different options for exploring the Reef: snorkelling, scuba diving, an undersea glass observatory, a glass-bottomed semi-submersible "submarine", even helicopter tours of the surrounding area, including the famous "Heart Reef".  Unfortunately, helicopters are still slightly out of our budget and neither one of us has a diving licence so we are left with the other three options - which are more than enough to thoroughly enjoy what this wonderful underwater world has to offer.  We head straight to don a mask and snorkel and jump in the water hoping this is better than the Great Keppel "fiasco" cruise.  Indeed, we could not have hoped for more: this was the Great Barrier Reef.  Very simply put, the Great Barrier Reef is nothing but a huge underwater rock, albeit a living, breathing one, a collection of corals, in, on and around which live more than 1500 species of fish and sea life.  We snorkel around for quite a while, admiring all the different kinds of gorgeous, colourful fish of different types and sizes, from the tiny electric-blue ones to larger, deep-purple ones, to huge grey ones, to giant clams and even a sea turtle.

Out of the water and straight "into" a delicious cold buffet lunch on the deck.  Having lunch on a platform in the middle of the ocean - now that's what I call al fresco!  We follow lunch with a "ride" on the semi-submersible which was interesting - if only for the commentary...  A quick dip and some more snorkelling completes our time on the pontoon before we get back on the boat for the return trip.

Back on Airlie Beach for the evening, we are determined to avoid the Ayia Napa-style crowd (and places) and find a decent restaurant for dinner.  After a short walk we are indeed successful to find something not only decent but quite nice and serving fresh local food.  I try the local delicacy "bugs" which has nothing to do with insects, I assure you!  Something of a mix between a king prawn/crab/lobster, they are utterly delicious.  The friendly service made for a very pleasant end to a wonderful day.

Day 13 (Wednesday, 25 April 2001)

Whitsunday Island - Ayr

On today's menu, after a hearty "tropical" breakfast with the Crocodiles, is a one-day cruise to Whitsunday Island and the famous Whitehaven beach.

Whitsunday Island with Whitehaven Beach; by Yann-Arthus Bertrand, "The Earth from Above"

The boat is much smaller than yesterday's and there's only about 30 of us onboard with two staff including the skipper.  We set out towards Whitsunday and once we get there, first stop on the western side of the island where a path leads us to a viewing platform overlooking the beach.  Despite the weather (greyish and about to rain), the view from the platform is spectacular.

Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach and the surrounding bay spread out ahead of us in all their glory.  It really is stunningly beautiful, although we suspect it must be even more breathtaking when the tide is low and little patches of sandy appear between the two bays.

We continue with the boat towards the beach itself where we will relax a bit and have a barbeque lunch.  Although very beautiful, the beach is unfortunately spoiled a bit by all the day-tripper activity.  Still, we are once again very impressed by the sand - it really is so fine that it squeaks when you walk.

The weather is unfortunately getting worse and adorns us with showers from time to time.  Nevertheless, we all gather around the barbeque (prepared by our skipper by the way) to have lunch in the company of many goannas, which for those of you who don't know what they look like, well, they look like this:

After lunch we go for a very enjoyable long walk on the beach, culminating - of course - with the building of our own city-in-the-sand.

Back on the boat for the next spot which includes snorkelling although James and I had both had enough of that the day before and doubted whether this would be as good, so we decided to skip it.

Back to Airlie Beach and we are on the road again towards Bowen.  Whilst still on the road we call and book a B&B which sounded good in the guidebook.  However, on arrival at Bowen, trying to find the place took us to some beach resort, the looks of which we both disliked.  Driving around even more we came to a dead-end  where a sign warned that estuary crocodiles had been seen lurking in the area.  After we also found out the B&B was at the other end of the same road, it didn't take much to convince us to drive further, to Ayr, where we stayed at a very pleasant roadside motel.

Day 14 (Thursday, 26 April 2001)

Ayr - Townsville

Our last day in Australia and so - according to plan - we head towards Townsville.  Magnetic Island is on the agenda for today and also, our hopes for an Australian "bush-style" dinner (i.e. kangaroo or crocodile meat etc).

Once in Townsville, we walk around town a bit and find a pleasant-looking balcony cafe situated in an old colonial house where we decide to have breakfast.  Very nice breakfast indeed and then off we go to the ferry terminal and onto the boat itself for the 20-minute crossing over to Magnetic Island.  The island got its name from Captain Cook himself, when he was sailing around it and realised the area made magnetic compasses malfunction.  A tourist resort in its own right, Magnetic island is also a suburb of Townsville, with many people choosing the quiet and idyllic location and commuting by ferry to town.

On the island our first priority is the Koala Park Oasis, for a last chance to see the famous lazy Australian.  When we reach the park we notice this is a low-key affair, which is great for us.  In fact, just as we were admiring the koalas in their cage, we are asked if we wanted to go in and play with them.  You can guess the answer to that and so we're in in a flash, touching the gorgeous things, (trying to) feed them and play with them.

Inside the koala cage at Magnetic Island's Koala Park Oasis

Yes, we did get to touch them!

To our pleasant surprise, there are not only koalas in the park and you can touch all the other animals (if you can catch them!).  Well, feeding this cutie 'roo was another treat (as long as you could get past the hungry geese!).

Feeding the kangaroos at Magnetic Island's Koala Park Oasis

Totally content, we leave the park and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing in a park overlooking the beautiful bay before taking the ferry back to Townsville.

Writing the final postcards from down under

An initial disappointment at dinner as the restaurant we were after for having our bush dinner had sadly closed down.  After some deliberation, we settle for a place with Thai-inspired cuisine.  Our choice was rewarded as the food turned out to be excellent and the owners (local lady with her Thai husband) very nice and friendly.

Days 15-16 (Friday-Saturday, 27-28 April 2001)

Townsville - Langkawi

The trip is coming to an end but we are planning to make it go out with a splash.  Taking advantage of Malaysia Airlines' stopover programme, we decide to break the long journey to London with a 3-day sojourn in Malaysia.  Bidding Australia farewell, we board our last Ansett flight from Townsville to Brisbane and then connect onto a Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur and from there onwards to Langkawi island in the Andaman Sea.

We arrive in Langkawi pretty late on the same day and settle into the gorgeous Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort where we spend the next day or so just laying in the sun and not doing much (although we did take the time to travel to the town in the evening and have satay chicken from food stalls where we were stared upon as the only foreigners...).

Days 17-18 (Sunday-Monday, 29-30 April 2001)

Langkawi - Kuala Lumpur

After a morning flight back to Kuala Lumpur, we meet with Foong Wai and spend the day getting a first feel of Kuala Lumpur.  We "climb" up KL Tower for an overview of the city, visit various shopping centres, have coffee on the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers and meet Foong Wai's parents for a tasty dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.

Early on Monday morning it's straight to KLIA and then on the MH4 all the way back to LHR where - sadly - another great trip comes to an end.