I have fun with playing with my special stash of toys, which Mama keeps for me in her home, for when I visit. My cousins arrive soon after and we have a great time playing with them.     

2 November 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We drive back to Kuala Lumpur after breakfast. We feel sad to leave Mama. I am going to miss her so much. I had such a great time with her in Kuala Lumpur. We visit Tok Mak (my paternal Grandmother) before heading home and meeting Yasmin, a reporter from The Star Newspaper. She seemed to think it was funny when I asked her if she sold newspapers. 

After the interview, we rushed off to the city to meet up with the Woods. Lewis (5 years old), Loong (18), Tessie (39) and their Dad, Dwight, had travelled all the way from London to Kuala Lumpur in a 14 year old Citroen ZX Sedan. (www.freshwaterfilter.blogspot.com) I had a brilliant time playing with Lewis, even though I slipped and fell and ended up with a huge bump on my head!

3 November 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dad and Mum are busy packing this morning and trying hard to sort out all the last minute issues. We head out to the city and end up for tea at Aunty Ami and Uncle Rahim's home. It time to start saying goodbye again. Never my favourite thing to do!


4 November 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mum drags me out of bed at an ungodly hour of the morning and gets me ready to head for the airport. We fectch my Godpa (Ibrahim Yaacob aka IBY) along the way and he drops us at the KLIA. I wasn't very pleased with Gulf Air - they did not provide kid's sized ear phones for the TV! Anyway, I ended up sleeping most of the way to Bahrain. We had a 2 hour transit at Bahrain Airport so I managed to have some time to stretch my legs before we got on the flight back to London. Again, I slept practically all the way.

We were booked into the Travelodge at Heathrow for two nights, and we had a nice large room with lots of space for me.


5 November 2008
London and Oxford, UK

We wake up early and fill up on a good breakfast at the Travelodge Cafe. Dad and Mum spend the morning on the internet, while I busy myself with my few toys. Wish I could have brought all of them back from Kuala Lumpur with me, but I was limited to a selected few small ones.

We catch a cab to the Slough Railway Station, where we catch the 12.30pm train to Didcot Parkway. We arrived 45 minutes later to see Gary, the Manager at Frogs Island 4x4, waiting to meet us with Tuah! It was great to sit in my car seat Tuah again. We went back to the garage where we caught up with JJ and Matt. There was a really nice truck there, the same bright green colour as my shoes. I thought it was rather nice.

We picked up some lunch from McDonalds and headed to the nearby GoOutdoors Store in Abingdon to pick up a water filter pump, shovel (Mum just said 'you'll see' when I asked her what it's for), some fuel for the Trangia stove and new camp chair for me. This one has dinosaurs on it! I slept all the way back to Riezal's home London, where we picked up some of our stuff, which had been stored there while we were in Kuala Lumpur. It was well past midnight by the time we arrived back at the Travelodge in Heathrow, and time for bed again.


6 November 2008
London and Sevenoaks, UK

After breakfast and a bit of TV, while Dad and Mum are fussing over ordering a new Satellite Phone, we check out from the hotel and make our way to The Isle of Dogs, where we used to live. We pass the Harbinger School, where I would be in Reception Class now, if we weren't travelling around the world. Mum goes into Uncle Kenn's pharmacy to collect Dad's medication and Dad is busy in Uncle Tariq's Office at Lockes Wharf, trying to sort out this Satellite Phone business. He had ordered a phone from www.mobell.co.uk and it was supposed to have been delivered to us on Wednesday, but they called at 5pm that day to say that they were out of stock and were totally unhelpful or apologetic! As you can imagine, Dad and Mum were not very impressed. Eventually, another phone was ordered from a different company, to be delivered tomorrow.

We spent some time at Aunty Sunita's and I have a good time playing with little Arun's toys. Amazing how he can run now, as when we saw him a month ago, he was just beginning to walk! We make our way to Sevenoaks in Kent, where we stay tonight with Uncle Jon and Aunty Mei Li, and my friends, Sebby and Cammie. I fall asleep on the way there, though.


7th November 2008
Sevenoaks and Maidstone, UK

I wake up to find myself in the Green's home in Sevenoaks. Mum gets me some toast for breakfast. I am straving, as I went to sleep at 5.30pm, with no dinner and did not wake up today till almost 7am! Not long after, Sebby wakes up, too, and we play for a short while until he goes off to nursery for the day.

Dad and Mum get busy sorting through the stuff they stored in the Green's garage and repack them into Tuah. It's a long day and Dad and Mum get grumpier by the minute. At least they had a dry day to get the packing done! The Satellite Phone arrives around lunchtime and eventually, we say our goodbyes to Aunty Mei Li, Sebby and Cammie to take off to Kakak Hannah and Abang Reg's home in Maidstone.

Again, I slept on the way there.


8th November 2008
Maidstone, UK

Once again, I wake up in a strange place. Mum says we are in Kakak Hannah and Abang Reg's  home now. The plan was to start off from here yesterday, but nothing seemed to be going to plan. After breakfast, Kakak Hannah and Mum go to the Post Office to collect a delivery for Dad, which was as expected, the Carnet for Tuah. They then head for Nissan in Aylesford to collect spare oil and air filters and a fan belt for Tuah. After lunch delivered by Dominos Pizza, we head to the retail park to pick up some supplies and head home for a chicken curry dinner.

Most of our things are in Tuah now, but Kakak Hannah and Abang Reg's living room is still quite a mess. Instead of driving tomorrow, Mum suggested we leave on Monday, giving them (Dad and Mum) a bit more time to make sure everything is in place, and have a bit more rest (they are both very tired from the flight and the stress of it all)


9th November 2008
Maidstone, UK

Dad and Mum finish off the packing of Tuah and then try to figure out the new Satellite Phone and water filter pumps, while I play with Jasper, the cat. Mum puts in the groceries and gives some of my toys away to a kid living next door to Kakak Hannah. We have a pub lunch at the White Rabbit, and I have a rather large portion of Scampi and Chips, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. 

Dad tries all afternoon to activate the new Satellite Phone, without any joy, and eventually discovers that the supplier had not activated the SIM card yet. We all ate too much and spent a lazy evening watching the X Factor on TV and I retire early to bed...big day tomorrow!
 

10 November 2008
Maidstone, UK and Bethune, France

We are up early and say our goodbyes to Hannah and Reg, who head off for work. It's a miserable day, raining and very windy. Dad and Mum are not very pleased having to run out to Tuah every so often to complete the packing up. They finally register the Satellite Phone, but are unable to set it up, as they would need to be out in the open for about 20 minutes to do so. In this weather, not something anyone would fancy doing!

Eventually, we take off with plenty of time to catch our 1350hr Euro Tunnel Crossing to Calais, from Folkestone and have lunch at the Burger King in the terminal building. When we are called to board the train, though, we get held up by a French Passport Control Officer, who thought it was in her best interest to know what Malaysians (us) were doing driving a British registration car (Tuah) out of the country with a shovel tied to the back. She was not convinced that we were heading to Africa, and by the time she decided to let us pass, we had missed the train gates by 5 minutes. The next train was at 1525hr, so we had to sit in the truck and wait....patiently!

It was dark and still raining 'cats and dogs', as Mum says, (but I just see water falling from the sky - no cats or dogs) so we decide to break early for the day and find a motel in Bethune, not too far from Calais. We won't be camping until the tempreature and weather is more suitable. It sure feels good to be on the road again, though!

11 November 2008

Bresse, France

We had an early start to the day, mainly because I had such a restless night and kept Mum awake. By 7am, we were all awake, Dad well rested and Mum not. We had some breakfast in our cabin and Dad made some adjustments to the boxes at the top of Tuah before we headed south toward Reims and Dijon.

It was very cold and the wind was very bitter. I have a runny nose and a slight cough, probably from my friends Sebby and Cammie, whom we stayed with in Sevenoaks, last week. 

We cover quite a few miles today and decide to stop at a motel in a highway rest area for the night. The rest area has a funny name, Aire du Poulet de Bresse. There’s something special about the chickens here, apparently. 

12 November 2008

Genoa, Italy via Mont Blanc Tunnel

I wake up to be told by Mum that I am an uncle again...Hanif and Amy have a new baby girl, Asha Lili....finally, I am uncle to someone younger than me! Can't wait to meet her, and see Anna and Arwen again when we get to Brisbane, Australia in 2010!

We made it to the Mont Blanc Tunnel before noon and 11.6km and €44.00 later were in Italy. We reached Genoa just as it was getting dark (and still raining) and could see it was impossible to find a hotel with secure parking for Tuah.  Our previous experience outside Milan in June made us realize that unsecured street parking in Italy was out of the question, so we made our way to the town campsite, which luckily was open all year round. We had a break in the weather long enough to put the roof tent up, before it started raining again. 

As there was nothing else we could do in the dark and the rain, we decided to retire early at about 6.30pm.

13 November 2008

Pisa, Italy via Portofino

 I woke up after 14 hours of sleep….Dad and Mum managed about 12 hours themselves, so it must have been good to be in our old sleeping bags again and out in the fresh air!

 
It was raining still, so we quickly packed up the tent and ate our breakfast in the campsite office, before taking off. We exited the Autostrade near Portofino, to the wonderful views of the sea. For a moment, I thought we were back in Malaysia – there were oil palm trees planted and laundry hanging outside the flats! Roads were narrow, though, and many impatient drivers were obviously not out to enjoy the views, like we were! We drove through a mountain pass to La Spezia, then on to Pisa. 

We passed the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was raining heavily and getting dark, plus I was hungry and Dad needed to use the little boys room, so we ended up in McDonalds – I was delighted and Dad was relived! I had a really huge meal, drank an awful lot of milk (and maybe had been jumping about too much), and ended up throwing up a part of my meal all over Mum, who was not at all impressed.

We left after my mess was cleaned up and headed out to look for a Bed and Breakfast, finding a lovely place in the outskirts of Pisa. Our room In the Tuscan Villa was very large and warm and we had a lovely bathroom, with a rainforest styled shower, into which I was dumped at once for a good scrub!

14 November 2008

Pisa, Florence and Siena, Italy

 After breakfast in the B&B, we head off to the Torre Pendente, or better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I had thought It was made from pizza, but Mum later explained that the town was called Pisa.  

It was funny seeing everyone taking silly photos, trying to push the tower back upright. We met some local Police who were on duty with Tiggero, the Police cat.  

Eventually, we drove on to Florence, some 80km away. A lovely looking city with nice old buildings. We visited the Old Fortress, before heading to Siena, where we found a small hotel with secure parking for the night. It’s raining again, and rather cold. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a nice sunny day.

15 November 2008

Volterra and Fiano Romano, Italy

 After a good breakfast, I get to watch some Italian cartoons in the room, while Dad and Mum are busy checking emails and updating the website. We soon take off to the famous Tuscan village of Volterra. The view of the countryside was beautiful.

We soon reached the walled village and were lucky to find a parking space for Tuah just outside the gates, by the Ancient Roman Theatre, which was in ruins. Just broken buildings to me, but people were paying good money to look at it!

  Anyway, we stocked up on our groceries at the local market, and joined the long queue of locals waiting to buy split roast chicken for a picnic lunch. The sun was out today, but it was still rather cold. It was nice to be able to get out and about for a change, though.  

We drove on towards Rome and as it was already getting dark by 5pm, we decided to stop outside the city for the night, hoping that the weather will be good tomorrow, and we can find a campsite within the city limits in the morning.

As we unpack for the night, though, Dad realises that he had left his brand new laptop on Tuah's roof this morning, as we left Siena, and had driven off without placing it back into Tuah. He's not a happy bunny!

16 November 2008

Rome, Italy 

We left the hotel after a pathetic breakfast but 15 minutes down the road, Dad realized that his coat and wallet were hanging in the hotel room closet. Eventually, we make our way to a very nice campsite just outside the city, near a train station with links into the city centre. We leave Tuah at the campsite and take the train in to the Coliseum. There were so many people about and even I was impressed with this broken building! 

We spent some time admiring the ruins and taking in the atmosphere before having some pizza for lunch. We also had the mother of all doughnuts!  

As there was much more to see, Dad thought it would be a good idea for us to go on the Hop on Hop Off sightseeing bus. We sat on the open upper deck and had a brilliant view. We got off at the Vatican, but didn’t get too see the Pope. 

Eventually, I fell asleep on the bus and had to be carried back to our train station by poor Mum. We stopped off to pick up some groceries on the way back to the campsite, and for the first time this week, had a huge bowl of rice for dinner!

17 November 2008

Rome, Italy

 It was a cold night and we pretty much shivered all through. The sun seemed to be out this morning, even though it was still rather chilly. We decided to spend another night at this campsite, as Dad and Mum wanted to make some adjustments to the way we had packed Tuah and as we had been driving everyday for the last week, thought it would be nice to have a break and make use of the good and cheap wi-fi connection on the site.

We got some good news today – Mum logged on to Facebook and saw a message from a guy named Luis, in Siena, who said he found a laptop by the roadside and if Mum had lost one and could describe it, he’ll send it back! Mum got in touch with him and we make arrangements to meet him in Siena tomorrow afternoon! How lucky Dad is to have someone return his camera in Finland and now his laptop in Italy!

There were a five other English speaking kids on the site, which was great. I had a brilliant time playing with them, until the mother of two of the kids decided that I was too little to be running around with 6-9 year olds and asked her daughter to send me back to our pitch...well, never mind….there were other kids on the site and I ended up having a fantastic time with them. One even made me my own bow and arrow!

I did a spot of art in the afternoon, sticking dried leaves on paper with my glue stick. It was pretty cold again at night…we must be gluttons for punishment, camping out in this temperature! 

18 November 2008

Back to Siena, Italy

 We say goodbye to all our new friends on the campsite and head back to Siena. We stop at the very posh Petrioli Spa and Resort, just outside the town of Siena for a proper lunch. Dad had been told that he must try the steak in Tuscany, and had a Bistecca alla Fiorenti, which was huge! I had my favourite creamy pasta and Mum had some Ricotta Tortelli. It was our first ‘posh’ meal of the expedition. I did not even know what I was supposed to do with three forks? I only needed one for my pasta!

We arrived in Siena and headed to the Fortessa (Fortress), where we were to meet Luis when he finished work. He handed Dad his laptop back – just a real genuinely sincere and honest guy. Yet another real life hero we have met along the way. The world still has some good people in it, and Luis is one of them! 

We made our way to the same small hotel we stayed in a few days back and I am sure we will sleep well tonight….it’s nice and warm in here!

19 November 2008

On the way to Pompei, Italy

 After breakfast and watching some Italian cartoons on TV, as Dad and Mum had some last minute bills to sort out on the internet, we took off again from Siena, this time making sure that we had everything packed into Tuah! 

We opted for a big push on the Autostrade to make it to Pompei before dark, as we have been up and down the scenic route between Siena and Rome a couple of times already.

We stopped for lunch from the back of the truck at a rest area outside Rome and were grateful that the sun was out and it was ever so slightly warm. As the sun went down it was getting colder and colder though, and camping out was not an option.

We made it into Pompei, joining the rush hour traffic and found the campsite, just by the old Roman Ruins. Instead of sleeping in the roof tent, we took a cabin for the night, which was cheap and cheerful – a bed, a small bathroom and most importantly, heating!

20 November 2008

Pompei and Vesuvio, Italy 

After a good night sleep in the warm cabin, we wake up to a rainy day. Mum puts a load of laundry in the wash and by the time that’s done, the rain lets up a little and we set off for Vesuvio, Europe’s only active Volcano, some 30km from Pompei. When we got to the base of the crater, we were told by the guide that we wouldn’t be able to see a thing, due to the clouds at the top of the volcano.

We were quite disappointed, and left the site. We stopped at a lay-by a few kilometers down the road for a sandwich. After lunch, Dad noticed the clouds were moving away. We drove back up and were pleased to see that it was clear now and we could walk up to the top of the volcano to view the crater. It was an awfully long, steep walk and Dad and I struggled a bit – Dad a little more than me. We got to the top and the view was amazing – we could see the smoke coming out of the crater, but thankfully, no lava.  

We were the last visitors to leave and were given a lift down to the base by the guides. One of them, Antonio even gave me a special volcanic rock, with sparkling minerals in it. 

We made our way back to the campsite and were surprised to see our friends from the campsite in Rome, John and Avril had just arrived. They’re such a happy people!

21 November 2008

Pompei and the Almafi Coast

It had been raining most of the night and was still rather dark and cloudy this morning. There was a big debate as to what we should do. Seeing that we are not able to secure Libyan Visas, we have to reroute by taking a ferry across to Albania, then drive across Greece to Turkey, then head south through Jordan and Syria into Egypt.

Eventually, we decided to check out of the campsite, but leave Tuah there while we explored the archeological site of the ancient city of Pompei, which was ruined by the eruption of Vesuvio, the volcano which we visited yesterday, in the year 79 AD (whenever that might have been, but I am told it was a long, long time ago). 

This was more than just a broken building. This was a whole city! We walked through the main gates and down the city streets, looking at what was left of the old houses, fountains, baths and shops. I even found a place where I could set up my own bar!

There were many broken columns with carvings on them. Some in the Basilica were apparently dated back to the 2nd century B.C.  It was also interesting to see the Temples of Apollo and Isis, the Great Theatre and the Gladiators Barracks, but one of the best joys for me was to bump into John and Avril again and again at the site!

After a few hours of walking around at the site, we headed out for some lunch, then collected Tuah from the campsite before driving towards the Amalfi Coast. The roads were narrow and winding, and we encountered more mad Italian drivers than we needed too! Views were breathtaking, but it’s hard to understand why anyone would build villages on the cliffs and slopes along the coast, as it is here!

The weather had changed for the worse and it was cold, wet and windy. By the time we decided we were better off heading back to the warm cabin we had at the campsite in Pompei for the last two nights, it was already dark.

22 November 2008

Bari, Italy and boarding the Ionian King to Igoumeni, Greece. 

We woke up to more rain. After some breakfast, we left Pompei and took the Autostrade towards Bari. There was a 3 car pile up on the way, keeping us at a standstill for close to an hour.

It was really cold and we had our sandwiches for lunch in Tuah, rather than outside. We arrived in Bari at about 3pm and after making some enquiries, booked on board the 5pm ferry to Igoumeni, near the Greek-Albanian border. 

We waited 1.5 hours before we could board the ferry, called the Ionian King. We parked Tuah and made our way upstairs to check in and were shown to our cabin. Dad and Mum were quite impressed with the clean tidy room.

It was dark by the time we took off, just after 5pm, so I couldn’t see much, just the lights of the towns along the Adriatic Coast. I swam in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, and now we are crossing it in the ferry.

23 November 2008

Igoumeni to Volos, Greece via the Katara Mountains

 We were woken up at the unruly hour of 4am Greek Time and told that we would be arriving at the port in half an hour. Mum carried me down to Tuah and we drove towards Volos, on the east coast.

It was dark and cold and we had to drive through a mountain pass. It eventually began to get light at around 7am, and we stopped at a mountain lodge for breakfast. It had been snowing the night before. The first snow of the season, we were told. After some breakfast, I had a brilliant time playing in the snow, before we continued driving. The views were amazing! From snow capped mountains that looked like a winter wonderland (I almost expected to see Santa and his reindeer), we made our way down to the valley and admired the lovely autumn colours. We even passed a strange rock formation called the Meteora, with a Monastery on the top, at a town called Kalambaka.

We arrived in Volos at about noon and were met by Uncle Doug, an old friend of Dad’s and taken to his home in a nearby village. He had a fire going to keep us warm and I made myself right at home!

It rained a lot today and I was rather worn out, after having to wake up so early and with the excitement of playing in the snow, that I fell asleep on the sofa, in front of the crackling fire….bliss!


24 November 2008
Volos, Greece
I woke up and am given some breakfast and made to sit down for a bit of home schooling with Mum. After a shower, we wrap up warm (it's another cold, cold day) and head out to the town for some Tsipero (traditional Greek style luncheon).

The bay is lovely and I loved looking at the boats in the marina. After lunch, we stop off for Uncle Doug to order some firewood to warm the house up and head back to his home, where he lights a fire on the balcony with me to roast chestnuts.

Mum cooks up some Nasi Lemak (traditional Malaysian coconut rice dish) for dinner and we are all happy to note the weatherman has said that tomorrow will be a nice warm day.


25 November 2008
Volos, Greece

27 November 2008

Drive from Volos to Palio, Greece

 It’s hard to say goodbye but we eventually have to and move on from Volos and the comforts of Uncle Doug’s home. We head through some lovely Greek villages and have our packed lunch which Mum prepared this morning in Tuah, overlooking the coast. It was a nice sunny day, but terribly cold. 

We saw more ruins along the way and enjoyed the drive up the coastal towards Kavala. Several kilometers before Kavala, we found a little villa in the village of Palio, with a nice little room for the night. I was hoping I could have a dip in the wonderfully blue sea, but it was just too cold…at least we were warm and cozy in the room!