In October 2008 I spent a wonderful ten days driving around Malaysia with the general aim of doing some birdwatching (a new hobby at the time) and taking some photographs.

I did a little research regarding the best birding spots in the country and after that just got in the car (in Singapore, where I live) and headed north. I had no fixed itinerary and no hotel bookings, just ending up most days where it seemed most convenient. I stayed at both the cheapest (less than US15 a night) and the most expensive (the Hyatt Kuantan) depending on my whims and on the area I fond myself in.

The solitude in Malaysia was blissful...to awake early every morning, and only have to think about what I wanted to do with the day. It was the first time I had done this sort of travelling for many, many years and I had forgotten the liberating effect it has. It was also the first time I have taken a leisurely look at Malaysia since I lived there in 1980 - 1985 and it was fascinating to see how and where Malaysia has changed and not changed over the past 30 years.

I drove over 3,000 km in twelve days. It was great to have some open road fast driving again, and my Singapore car, a Toyota Fortuner, turned out to be a terrific touring car despite it's pick-up truck origins.

While I have included a few bird images here, my bird photographs are by and large displayed separately in my Malaysia Birds gallery -- click here to open this in a new tab or window.