Another day another island - Mahe, Seychelles

Aside from being one of the most exotic places I have ever been to The Seychelles are notable for me as the 100th country stamped in my current passport (110th overall). And what an interesting stamp!



Good morning Seychelles!



This is really a unique set of islands here in the Indian Ocean. Unlike most tropical islands that are volcanic or coral these islands are granite, so that means they have been sticking up there ever since the continents were first formed and started drifting apart.



My first encounter with Geocaching.

Not really an island - Qatar

I say "not really an island" because Qatar is the home of the news network Al Jazeera which in Arabic means "The Island". In the Arabic language Al Jazeera is also used to refer to the Arabian Peninsula itself (of which Qatar is a part and is itself a smaller peninsula jutting off from the big one).



Qatar's pre-oil economy was mainly based around pearling, and trading.





The wooden dhow is the traditional Arab sailing ship and features prominently in the country's art, culture, and leisure time.



Qatar has a I.M. Pei designed Museum of Islamic Art.



Among it's treasures is this beautiful map of the world from medieval times.

Qatar Airways - Kuala Lumpur to Doha

Airline #70



It just warmed my heart to look out the window and see all that brown down below, after way way way too much green in SE Asia.

Back to the good life - Malaysia

Within SE Asia it's hard to beat Malaysia for the right balance of cheap and comfortable transport, great food, and weird and wonderful things to see. It was just a quick transit but it was good to be back in Malaysia.



My first Malaysian train ride. I splashed out for the sleeping berth, it was worth it!



This was still an amazingly cheap train ride, by any standard.





You can easily find some top notch Indian food here.





Along with variations on the usual stuff I had grown accustomed to on this trip.



And I found doctor fish!

Another day another island - Singapore

this is apparently the worlds largest fountain







a Singapore variation on ice cream from street vendors



I got red bean of course



You really aren't supposed to walk across the causeway between Singapore and Malaysia anymore



Fortress Singapore. The immigration complex at the border is massive!