Kuala Lumpur: Plaza Paradise

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As is usual on our first day in a new place, we picked up a map of the local area and went exploring. Today, however, we didn't get very far - but in a good way.

First of all though, we ventured off in search of new accomodation as we think we might want to stay longer in Kuala Lumpur. Our Pujangga Homestay is small and noise carries inside and outside. There's no hot water which makes taking a shower a bone chilling experience. For a few days it's ok but not if we stay longer. We scout out a few places nearby and decide on the Trekker Lodge which has huge rooms with ensuite for not much more money plus the atmosphere seems a bit more fun. We made our reservation and continued with our explorations.

On the map, we saw that there are loads of shopping malls close to where we are staying but we didn't realise just how close they were - just 5 minutes' walk away! Now these malls are immense and we almost felt intimidated by the floor-upon-floor of shopping experiences waiting for us. OK, so we've been to plenty of malls in other countries and many of the shops tend to be the same but Kuala Lumpur seems to offer a mix of stuff that we particularly like - a collectibles shop to combat Glynn's Batman withdrawal symptoms; numerous Hello Kitty stalls to keep Jude happy and a massive Borders bookshop where Glynn stocked up on a heap of graphic novels for a fraction fo the price he would pay back in the UK. We even got a 15% discount for using a HSBC credit card there - cool!

The malls have just about everything you need, including cinemas, karaoke booths, bowling alleys, a decent supermarket, restaurants and shops galore. We sought out the food court in one mall and for about 15 Ringgit (approx £2.10), we stuffed our faces with an enormous curry, rice, popadoms, salad and 2 drinks each including fresh sugar cane juice and guava juice. We'll definitely be going back there again! We spent so long in the plazas that we forgot all about our loose plan to visit the Petronas Towers altogether! Oh well, another day for sure.

When we got back to the hostel, I found out that Betty, my nan from Hull is in hospital. I also found out that Gordon, my nan's partner of many years, died today of Alzheimers. He had been in a care home and been ill for some time. My nan is on the road to recovery but my heart goes out to her and to Gordon's family. It's at times like these that I wish I could be back with my family for a while. Even though we're on the other side of the world, we never stop thinking about our friends and family. Take care, everone and keep in touch.

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