The Malaysia trip is drawing to a close.

We're all busily trying to finish off the work that we have started at Mygo and Lim Kok Wing. The projects have grown and is much bigger than I thought, I was sure that I'd have finished what I was assigned to do earlier, but more stuff has been added since I started and it has gradually snowballed.

The work at LKW also changed direction as me and Alice found that we had already learnt a lot of what we were doing. We discussed this with the lecturers and decided to try something different. 3D was suggested and we both jumped at the chance. We changed classes, and learnt the basics of 3D Studio Max. We've been asked to model an aeroplane and some flying goggles, which will then be used in Ian and Sioned's project of designing a title sequence for a film we may produce after returning home.

This is just the introduction to 3D I need as I have tinkered with it previously but have not been able to get very far. Now I can model basic structures and animate them. I'm looking forward to exploring the possibilities of using 3D in Flash after I return home.

Outside of work I'm still very much enjoying living in KL. It is a vibrant city that has something on at all times of the night. But for a break we visited the island of Penang over the weekend, and stayed at the Holiday Inn in the northen end of the island. It was great to sit by the pool and walk on the sand and being proper tourists again, and everyone much enjoyed the trip. However I was disapointed not to have been able to photograph me on Lebuh Carnavon (Street) in Georgetown, Penang's capital. Next time, perhaps.

On Thursday evening, Eugene, one of the lecturers at LKW took us out for a meal in a food court not far from where he lives. We have been working close with Eugene since our arrival, and all of us get along great with him. We had a great night out, and discovered mysterious Chinese foods such as Ota Ota and the Century Egg.

I took loads of photos and I'll try and post them on flickr soon. I've also set up a Cyfle group, where my own and Alice's photos can be seen.

We're now on our second week of our Malaysia trip and things are going well.

We are in full swing with the Mygo project, and now the race is on to finish it in time.

Things are still up in the air at LKW -Alice and I are not working on anything specific yet. I hope that this will change soon (well in about 10 minutes!).

The weekend was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Gareth, Alice, Ian and I visited the Thaipusam festival at the Batu Caves. Words can't really describe how it was to watch, so I suggest that you look at my flickr photos.

My first post from Malaysia!

We arrived here late on Saturday afternoon in the baking heat. We relaxed on Saturday night, and on Sunday went for a spin around KL. We walked round the local area where our hotel is situated, and then took the monorail to see Chinatown.

On Monday we visited the Lim Kok Wing University for the first time, and met some of the staff who we will be working with. In the afternoon we were lucky enough to be invited by Moon FX, a local graphics and animation company, to their Chinese New Year Party. This was my first experience and really enjoyed it. Me and Ian finished off the afternoon in true Chinese style by gambling with the boys. Ian was up, but I lost about RM 20. This isn't so bad when its Sterling equivalent is £3.12.

Me and Alice have started our lectures, and all of have met with Mygo, the company who we will be working with. They are a company who build games for the local TV channel, and are played by the viewer via SMS. We were asked to come up with ideas for similar games, and two of them have been accepted for further developement. We start on that tomorrow (Friday).

This weekend we plan on visiting the Batu Caves a shrine for Hindus. The Thaipusam festival is there on Saturday, where more than 20 000 people converge to show their devotion to their faith. To some, this means sticking sharp bits of metal through their cheeks and other body parts. Photos should be up on my Flickr account on Sunday.