Kuala Lumpur

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We got to KL unexpectedly on the 14th January, after leaving Langkawi on the afternoon of the 13th,we caught a ferry boat down to Penang, where we had no intentions of staying and jumped on a bus to the Genting Highlands which we opted for over the Cameron Highlands after chatting with some Malaysian guys in Langkawi. We arrived in Penang about 8pm then jumped on an overnight bus to the Genting Highlands which we assumed would be similar to Sapa in Vietnam. The bus ride was the coldest I've been in 4 months. As any person who has travelled through southeast asia will tell you, they like to max out the air con, which is fine during the heat of the day but by night its like trying to sleep in a freezer. I had 2 jumpers on, a pair of tracksuit trousers, thermal socks and a blanket and I was still cold. To say I didn't get much sleep was an understatement. So I wasn't suitably pleased when we arrive at the Genting Highlands to find we can't get a room until 11am.

Turns out the Genting Highlands are far from the wonders of Sapa more like a commercial park plonked in the middle of some hills, with high rise hotels, a theme park only Japenese tourists and 5 year olds can get excited about and a casino which I couldn't even get in because I didn't meet the dress code requirements. So after a McDonalds which was the only place open, we decide to jump in a cab to KL, cost a little more than a bus would of done but we didn't feel there was anything worth seeing and at least we could get into a room in KL and get some much needed sleep.

The taxi ride took a couple of hours as we hit KL centre in rush hour on a Monday morning. Had two near misses in the cab and saw one bad pile up, which made us soon realise the Malaysians weren't the most cautious of drivers.Got dropped off in Chinatown and found a backpacker hostel with a cheap room (3 quid a night) which you could barely swing a cat in and our first bunkbed of our travelling expeience. Hadn't been there ten mins when the guy from the next room to us sheepishly came out of his room and started explaining how the walls were very thin here and 'could we possibly try to shut the door in silence', this guy was later given the name 'Sleepy David'. He had been travelling around SE Asia for 13 years, strange character.

That afternoon we went for a walk around KL in search of the Golden Traingle defined by the two tallest buildings in KL, the KL Tower whihc is the l4th largest telecommunications tower in the world and the Petronas Tower formely the worlds tallest skysraper. It was pretty easy to find them and we could see them from our hostel window. Got the skytrain over to see them to take in a bit more of the city. On the walk to the KL tower saw another crash this time a guy came flying off his motorbike, we were first on the scene luckily though the guy escaped with a couple of cuts and bruises.

Got the lift to the top of the KL tower where they have a viewing gallery which is 276m up, doesn't sound that high but I can ensure you all it is. Its only when you look down on all the other skyscrapers that you realise how high you are. We watched the sunset over the city, and then the city skyline light up as darkness set in. We stopped off in Little India on the way back and had a good indian meal served on leaves.

KL was one of the cleanest cities we'd been to, and with certainly the most skysrapers. The Chinatown was the best we'd been to as well, with some bargains to be had, although the aftershaves are definitely watered down, plus the 'Hugo Bross' label gave it away - REAL FAKES!!!

Went to the Petronas Tower the second day after trying to sort out our trip to Sumatra which we decided in the end to do off our own back rather than going on an oragnised, more fun that way plus nowhere seemed to do it anyway. Didn't manage to get up to the bridge that linked the two towers as tickets were served on a 1st come 1st served basis and were sold out by 9 everyday. Nevertheless the trip was not a wasted one, the first 3 floor of the towers were a shopping mall which included a Topman, couldn't resist the temptation to treat myself to a shirt and a new pair of jeans...

Had 1 night out in Kl, which wasn't the greatest, we went out around the Golden Triangle, which had numerous bars but none were particulalry busy and the drinks were the same price as what you'd pay back home. Hardly any other travellers around, there was decent band playing western hits so watched them before going home pretty early.

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