Wow! That’s brave. I’m sure it’s doable, and I recommend you go for it, but I don’t know of anyone who’s doing it. It’s Jessie, not their daughter, who has the disability. You can connect with her on Twitter as @wanderingeds or visit their site, which is not her personal site at http://www.wanderingeducators.com. There’s also the Windwalker Duo, http://1dad1kid.com: his son has special educational needs, but I don’t know of what kind. If you connect with us on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travels-with-a-Nine-Year-Old/186540714691579 and post a message I’ll add some FB links that might help you find other people in a similar position…

There might well be cheap rentals available local style on the eastern side of the train route. There are definitely cheap spots available in the southern Thailand end of that route, having met people who’ve stayed in that area long-term.

That is about what I had found with my searches, especially for Penang and around that area.
We will be catching the train from Singapore and going up all the way to Beijing and staying in between. So yes, somewhere on the train line that we could stop for about a month will be great for Malaysia.
Thanks for the tips, I will check the T Houses.

We did travel within Malaysia, particularly Penang and Borneo, but weren’t looking for villas. Most affordable, foreigner-friendly accommodation in Penang comes in the form of condo-style apartment blocks — villas are more expensive by a long way — and rentals, short and long-term, are advertised in the extensive English language local press. Same would, I think, be true of KL…

Malaysian prices, btw, are a bit higher than out here. Buildings with spaces to let seem to have signs on the side of them. So you could simply follow the coast road and find somewhere nice that way. Whereabouts in Malaysia are you interested in?

Another Ubud rental tip for you: T Houses, Bali, seem to be popular with expats. They’re not cheap, or not ultra-cheap, but they’re highly spoken of.

Well, I found it just by seeing a sign on the street, which is a good way of finding places if you have patience. Other good ways to find cheap stuff? Boards around town, notably at Bintang Supermarket, Bali Buddha, Pondok Pekak learning centre. You can even ask the touts if you’re after somewhere small… Saw a 3-bed advertised half an hour out of town for the same price that we’re paying for this, though you won’t get internet et al… We’re here until after Balinese New Year, then head to Papua… http://www.ubudproperty.com is another good place to look, though they’re not so cheap: you’d need to talk to them about prices &c.

When do you leave? I think that is enough questions for now 😉

Yes! Marni Warung is very much still there: we were there on Sunday, doing the bird walk, although I’d imagine it’s unimaginably posh compared to how it was then… And they still have places out in the fields past there, towards Campuhan: as you probably know, Balinese can’t sell their rice fields unless they are in severe danger (disrespecting the ancestors) so development has not run as wild as you might think it has.

Cinta? No! I haven’t. I’ll check it out…

It is absolutely idyllic. But, believe you me, you don’t want to ride a scooter like I do! I am rigid with terror in traffic, at turns, before embarking on any trip at all… I don’t really think I’m ever going to get confident at it…