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Published: December 10th 2009
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We jumped on a bus from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur (KL). After 2 hours we arrived in the city, but it took us another hour to negotiate the traffic and get to the bus station! We had booked into the Attapsana Guest House in the Bukit Bintang area (love that name!) of the city and it was a lovely quiet wee place. It was very basic and cost 12 UK pounds a night but was in a great location and the owner was very helpful and friendly. It was more like a homestay as you walked through the owner's livingroom to get to your own room. You also needed to take your shoes off at the door and pile them with the rest of the smelly shoes and walk around the guest house in bare feet! The owner didn't mind people sitting in the livingroom watching TV or going on the computer.
While we were in KL it was very hot and humid and rained most days. This didn't stop us seeing the sights though, it just meant we had to shelter in bars, cafes and go to the cinema quite a bit too! (It's a tough life!)
We
first of all visited the KL Tower which is the highest viewpoint in the city. We thought it was quite expensive compared to other sights in Malaysia but the 360 degree view from the top is pretty spectacular, provided you can push passed the coach loads of tourists! At the base of the tower there's a small zoo but we felt that a lot of the animals lived in cramped conditions and many of the tourists prodded and pestered the life out of a poor monkey on a chain so it was looking quite stressed.
We then walked round to the Petronas twin towers which look very impressive - very tall and grand, almost futuristic and you could imagine them in a sci - fi film. To go up the towers you need to queue for tickets by 8am, but unfortunately our backpacker alarm doesn't go off that early! We did however like wandering around the nicely landscaped park and visiting the big shopping centre and cinema at the back of the towers!
Chinatown is a good place to go for markets. The Jalan Petaling one is perfect for fake designer goods and Central Market is where you'll
find lots of local clothes, arts and crafts.
We also had a quick visit to the Colonial District and Merdeka Square, the heart of the old city, but the monsoon rains ended that particular trip!
While sheltering from the rain, Jen took the opportunity to get a foot massage from a blind woman - read into that what you will!!
JP dragged GG to a handicraft place (Kompleks Budaya Kraf) but unfortunately neither of us were very impressed ... at first. It seemed like it was just 3 shops selling expensive clothes and a few souvenirs - not what we'd call handicrafts. Just as we were leaving we noticed some little huts behind the complex and walked down for a closer look. There we saw artists at work painting lovely acrylic and batik pictures. (We quite often felt they could be doing with more signs in Malaysia!)
We went to see a comedy show at the KL Comedy Club. Funniest thing was there was a strict dress code (no shorts, t-shirts or open toe sandals so we both had to melt wearing hiking trousers and trainers! - the only option in our limited wardrobe and such
a good look for a night out!?!!) and we got our temperature taken on the way in! Three guys were on the bill - a blind Liverpudlian (it wasn't him who did the massage!), an Aussie Egyptian and a Malaysian called Harith Iskander who was the funniest of all.
As in the rest of Malaysia, the food in KL was outstanding! We had a great curry house near our guest house which served a fab variety of local food including roti canai - a kind of thin savoury crepe with dipping sauces.
While in KL Jen's mosi bits on her leg errupted further and G thought amputation may be required!!
We decided to stay in KL a bit longer than planned but had to move to a different guest house, The Tiara Guest House! It was nice and clean but once again the walls were paper thin and we never slept well for the 2 nights we were there due to the noise from a group of guys watching the TV in the reception til 5am!
Next stop - Langkawi!
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StevieBoy
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Attire
Doors - you always wear climbing gear to the pub, don't see why this should be anything special. You know - in case a mountain springs up on your way to the bar, not that ye've ever been tae the bar that ah can remember.