There's a rat in me kitchen, what am I gonna do?

---

Having woken from my slightly limited slumber (albeit limited by my mission to finish 'Gypsy Boy', which I succeeded in doing at c. 2am), I decided to try out the communal shower facilities at my home for the next two nights. I've admittedly been a bit scared of this 'shared bathroom' malarky, preferring the luxury of a private bathroom (irrespective of whatever black mould/cockroaches such private bathrooms throw at me). But it isn't half bad here - the showers are red hot and the (one) toilet is clean. I have to trek outside to reach them which, in the monsoon rains of the afternoon/early evening, is a bit of a flipping nuisance, truth be told, however for the money (under £20 per night - cheap by KL standards), you can't argue.

Breakfast is included for this lowly price, so I headed through to the kitchen area. No service here - it's a case of making your own tea and toast, which is perfect. Having settled down to scoff my culinary creation, something caught my eye just below the sideboard. Something furry with a tail, let's call him Roland... Roland scurried past the breadcrumbs on the floor and headed straight for the bin where he dived in, never to be seen again. Until tomorrow morning, I expect, when no doubt he will be joined by his mates Jerry and Danger (apologies - couldn't think of any other famous rats apart from Piers Morgan) for more of the same.

Courtesy of a former school friend, I have a list of things to do in Kuala Lumpur and armed with this, I took to the streets for a stroll. 6 hours later and I have returned, exhausted, with blisters the size of saucers but with a very convincing fake Prada handbag for a tincey fraction of the price it started at. This came from Petaling Street, in Chinatown, where the streets are full of market stalls selling fake designer gear, from football shirts to sunglasses, to beautiful Prada handbags... In this chaotic place, where you are hassled to visit every single stall, I had some hilarious banter with a few traders, all desperate to sell me their wares.

I also took a trip to the Menara tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur_Tower) as I didn't wake up early enough to go to the Twin Towers, which you need to be in line for at 6.30am! The weather today is very very warm indeed so the views over the city were spectacular (and the air con inside a very welcome relief from the humidity outside).

I put my brave boots on and walked into a room filled with snakes, spiders, and flying parrots as a finale - the Menara tower is a full on tourist attraction with an animal area, pony ride, F1 simulator, and Malaysia architecture display. Nothing quite goes with anything else - it's all a bit hotchpotch - but somehow it works. There was also an announcement of a forthcoming 6D attraction there - I've only just come to terms with 4D so if anyone knows what the additional 2 dimensions are, I'd be very grateful....

Back in my room now, nursing my blisters but wallowing in the glory that is my haggling prowess. And realising I've not eaten anything since that episode of Ratatouille this morning...

---