The hazardous streets of KL

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A note on holes: the paths of Kuala Lumpur are littered with what can best be described as manholes. Unlike their sturdy European counterparts, these are generally rather fragile looking wooden trellises. I was rather disturbed when one creaked ominously when I trod on it; even more so when I saw that another such hole several yards had been boarded up! Other dangerous gulfs come in the form of open drainage sewers, which are often 6 feet or more deep. They often surprise the unaware traveller by opening up alongside roads, as David discovered when he almost fell down one on Wednesday!

A note on traffic: the term pedestrian crossing seems to be almost unheard of in Malaysia. The distinct lack of designated crossing zones was explained when we waited at the traffic lights and realised that they were ignored by the majority of drivers. The rule of thumb appears to be to walk casually but determinedly into the middle of the road - so far most times I have tried this the cars tend to stop, and motorcyclists generally attempt to zip past you anyway. But apparently their death rate is far higher than that of pedestrians, so while we may lose the battle, we win the war!

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