And the Asian Leg has begun

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October 30th 2007

Published: October 30th 2007

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Big Gem

The Malaysian flag

Selamat!!!!

(typical Hello in Malay)

Not really sure where to start or what to say that can convey what we have experienced so far.......the smells, sights and general hustle and bustle is unlike anything either of us have been exposed to before.

Our first experience in Kuala Lumur was a taxi ride, and yep it was reasonably scary. In every cab/taxi we have been in so far, we have been slung about the back seat like crash test dummies, almost always crashing into multiple scooters (The drivers of which seem to have some kind of death wish as they whizz about like mad men diving through parked, stationary or moving cars). Pedestrians are also fair game, either on a crossing or having the audacity to think about stepping off of the kerb. We seem to spend our time either clinging onto one another for dear life, or staring out of windows up at the skyline and gripping each others hand, squeezing when a near miss occurs!!!

We have yet to brave food from a Hawker Stall as yet, but it won't be too long, if we can get past the repugnant drain smell and stagnant water that is

The view from the bottom of the Petronas Twin Towers

most definitely enough to put most off their food especially when it is coming from where your food is being prepared. However Craig has suffered the most on the food front, as most of you know Gemma will eat almost anything within reason or if hungry enough!

It hard getting used to being the center of attention and being watched, but everyone so far has been wonderful and very helpful with either pigeon English or with a heavy accents.....you can imagine "Mr Cwaig, Mr Cwaig"!
We ventured into Chinatown for the night market last night but we were both disappointed with the content - Knock off everything, trainers, belts, bags, watches (Rolex anyone?) and being grabbed at or shouted at "Mate, mate you come see, you want belt?" or a click click of the fingers in my direction followed by "Hey Lady". Absolute madness, and more than we could handle so we slipped into a side street for a few beers and some veggie fried rice (safest bet when the meat on offer is hanging from hooks!) and watched the world go by. A few buskers provided the entertainment as well as an old man with a magic trick

Gigantic Gemma!!

which he was selling for $5!

After buying our tickets for our trip up to Butterworth (an eight hour train ride), we decided to explore some of the local sights (and try to ignore some of the smells!). The first was the Jamek Mosque but unfortunately we didn't go in as we were not wearing the appropriate clothing and Gemma would have had to cover most of her head! It was an amazing one hundred year old building though and just looking at that was good enough for us.

We also ventured towards Merdeka Square where Malaysian independence was announced in 1957. There we saw a wonderfully manicured garden, much to Mr Cwaig's delight! The square also contained the largest flag-pole both of us had ever seen. We took in a museum and an art gallery in an attempt to be cultured!

We are both looking forward to leaving the city though, not because it isn't a nice place, we just want to get back to a beach and into an ocean (the diving in Australia has definitely given us a thirst for more!) Therefore our next stop is the Island of Penang which looks beautiful from