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Published: February 19th 2007
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Hey Guys!!!
We're in Malaysia....and absolutely loving it!!!!
I belive we left you in Kochi and so we'll pick up from there.
We caught the train on the Wednesday evening which was pretty much on time and arrived in Chennai (Madras), about 7am the following morning. We travelled 3rd class AC this time which is a class lower than before, and bascially meant that they'd squeezed an extra couple of people into the same cabin space which made things quite cosy. Though to be fair, it was more than adequate and as the journey was only 12 hours we couldn't compalin.
Madras was pretty manic. Its basically got all the chaos and pollution that you'd come to expect of a city in India but without the sights of Delhi and Mumbai.
We stayed at the Comfort Hotel which was decent enough, though nothing special.
On our first day we took in the Government Museum which was actually not bad at all, particularly the Natural History section. We then went to the National Art Gallery which to be honest wasn't too amazing. In the afternoon we went down to Fort St George and then on to
George Town. The fort was built by the British East India Company in the 17th Century and has the oldest British built Church in India, St Mary's, which has a bomb proof roof and was pretty cool, a nice place to wander around.
In the evening we went to an awesome Mexican Restaurant called ''Don Pepe's'' before heading off to the cinema to watch 'Babel' (with Brad Pitt) which was a little bit odd at times and left us slightly confused, but it was good nonetheless.
The following day, we had a nice lie in before heading off to the beach where we took a stroll for a while and then headed back to our hotel room and chilled out before packing our bags ready for the evening flight to Bangkok / Kuala Lumpur.
Our flight left pretty much on time, just after midnight, arriving in Bangkok about three hours later. Bangkok airport is unbelieveable, Dani genuinely thought she'd died and gone to heaven! The designer shops on display would put even the best high streets in the world to shame (so i'm told!) and it certainly wasn't too much of a chore having to waste away
4 hours there before our flight to KL.
We left Bangkok just before 9am and were in KL less than two hours later (Thai airways by the way, were excellent! We'd highly recommend them).
Kuala Lumpur is absolutely fantstatic!!!!!!!! I'm not sure if its just because we've been in India for 7 weeks, but KL seems incredibly clean and organised. The people are also really pleasant and helpful....we don't want to leave!!!! It hasn't got the history that other big cities have got but its still got some impressive sights, including the Petronas Towers and the Manera KL. Theres also loads of parks and gardens where you can go and chill out. All in all a pretty decent place!
And we've had our first serious rain since we left the UK. We had about a dozen spots of rain in Kochi but here we've even had thunder! It may sound odd that we're so pleased to have had rain, but it's been nice to have a break from the sun (although there's not really been a break from the humidity!) and it's a good reminder of home.
We're staying at a hostel called the Green Hut
Lodge which is great and really centrally located. The staff there are exceptionally helpful and you can't fault the place. Our room is simple but has a bathroom, hot water and air conditioning!
On our first day in KL, after a few hours kip, we headed out and just wandered around and did a bit of shopping. That's a bit of an understatement. Dani blew all her birthday money within an hour of arriving (pretty impressive as most of the shops were closed due to it being the start of Chinese New Year!), though she has got a rather nice lens to show for it! There are so many shopping malls about, I'm just glad that Dani has spent all her money otherwise I don't think we'd have seen any of the sights!
The following day, we went to the Petronas towers (unfortunately we were unable to get tickets to go to the Skybridge but did have a stroll around the mall there and the gallery) and then on the Lake Gardens where we took a walk around the worlds largest free flight aviary (whatever that means). Dani got a chance to try out her new toy and
I wasn't exactly bored!!! From there we went to the Manera KL (the 4th largest building in the world), a 421m telecommunications tower, with a viewing deck just below 300 metres which presented a fabulous view of the city.
In the evening, we headed to China Town which was a seriously bad move!!!! Hasn't done our budget any good but we had a great time and bought loads of rubbish. The streets were absolutely cramped with stalls and the place was really buzzing.
Today, we headed out to the Batu Caves, which were pretty cool, though to be fair there wasn't too much to see, though the monkeys were good entertainment! From there we went to the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia which is a small reserve just north of the city and has a Canopy Walkway which we fancied having a go at. However, as with most things in KL this weeked, it was closed for Chinese New Year which was a bit of a pain, but nevertheless we still went for a walk and saw a nice waterfall. We also managed to make a few friends along the way....
While walking back, i felt something
biting my ankle and looked down to find a leech chomping away....i was scared i have to admit and fortunately managed to flick it off. Dani found all of this absolutely hilarious before deciding to check herself, only to find that she had one that had actually attached itself through her sock...wasn't so funny now!!!!!!!!!!
This one put up a bit more of a fight but we eventually got it off her sock....we were only walking for a matter of minutes which doesn't bode well for the next 4 days that we're due to spend in the Jungle in Taman Negara! We leave first thing tomorrow morning and are staying at a place called the Nusa Camp. We haven't a clue what to expect but we'll be sure to let you know how it goes!!
I shouldn't really tell you this but we've been to McDonalds everyday....absolute bliss!!! - you've gotta get it while you can!
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Mike Tehan
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Leeches
Andy mentioned your journal. You're certainly having a great tour. A tip about leeches : a lit cigarette, tobacco juice or salt will persuade a leech to let go. Other than that, wait until it has had its fill of your blood when it will drop off after about 10 minutes! Pulling them off is not recommended as it will tear your skin and could make a nasty sore.