Day 3 - KL and Melaka

---

After a decent night's sleep, I came to terms with the fact that I will not enjoy a single hot shower on this trip. Honestly, it's so hot outside I should be thankful no hot water will come through the pipes. So this morning I forced myself into the dank tiled room. Have I mentioned that the shower is in the same small room as the toilet? Super convenient if you need to poo in the middle of your bathing.

While pretending not to be mortified by the cigarette butt clogging the drain (along with hair, of course), I heard Brad yelp (for lack of a better word). He was quickly packing our things when I returned to the room. He informed me that we needed to leave immediately - he had just watched an unusually large cockroach run under the bed. I started packing as well. I knew the place was a dump and I was happy to leave it, cockroach or not.

And then I caught sight the creature.

This was no cockroach. It had a tail...and perhaps fur (hard to tell; it moved quickly). Yet it was flat, like a gecko. I am completely convinced that it was a mouse/lizard hybrid. We motioned to the woman sweeping in the hallway to come in and help us. She saw the creature and laughed at us. She laughed so hard she had to leave the room. Guess she's used to seeing such things.

We then said good riddance to Kuala Lumpur and headed on a bus for Melaka, which used to be the capitol of Malaysia some 500 years ago. The city was taken over by the Dutch at one point, and so there is a part of town that contains Dutch architecture. The city is lovely, and our hostel spotless and welcoming - complete with a balcony.

In celebration of my birthday tonight, we ate at a local satay restaurant. It was sort of like Malaysian fondue. We selected skewers of fish, meat, and vegetable and cooked them in heated pot of peanut sauce in the middle of our table. It was delicious! And certainly the most unique birthday dinner I have ever had.

---