This post is for all of you in the northern hemisphere, feeling the onset of winter. Here we are on a beautiful, tropical island in a great guesthouse, with friendly staff and guests, a kitchen to cook our meals and the beach just five minutes walk away. The cost? A measly $10 a night with all the free coffee, tea and wireless internet you can grab.

Yes, our introduction to Malaysia has been a good one and we’re tempted to just stay on Langkawi Island for our whole month in the country. We won’t though, honest. Okay, we’ve put our roots down for a few days longer than planned but we are getting out of our chairs soon to pedal from west to east across the peninsula and through the Cameron Highlands to the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Honest.

The only scary part of getting here was the boat ride. Well, the journey itself was fine, it was watching the boat’s crew lift our bicycles over a foot gap between the pier and the vessel, with a large drop to the harbour below inbetween. We breathed a big sigh of relief when our bikes didn’t go plunging into the water.