Kuala Lumpur

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Our first stop in Malaysia has been Kuala Lumpur. From the first moment we set our eyes on the gleaming Petronas Towers we knew there was something different about this city. First of all, the architecture is very impressive, which not only includes the modern additions to the city such as the Petronas and the KL Tower, but also older buildings such as Masjid Jamek. There is also a great atmosphere here, and the people are really friendly, which is surprising as its a big city. We've both felt strangely "at home" here since the day we arrived, maybe this is to do with some underlying remnants of British influence, after all, the country has only just celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from the empire.

We arrived early on the 11th so spent most of the first day catching up on sleep in the first 24hr guesthouse we could find. The highlight of this first day was trying the local Roti Canai which is an Indian snack (unleavened, flaky bread with curry sauce to dip it in) and we are now both hooked! The food here is delicious, especially the curries! We also spent some time checking out Berjaya Times Square, a huge shopping mall complete with it's own indoor theme park!! Here we vegged out at the cinema before watching a short film about the moon at an IMAX cinema.

On the second day we thought we'd take in a few of the sights which included: The Old Train Station, Kompleks Dayabumi, Merdeka Square (where independence was proclaimed in 1957) and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Malaysian Supreme Court).

On Day 3 we took the LRT Underground to KLCC where the Petronas Towers are situated, up close they are truly gigantic (452m high). In the afternoon we visited the brand new aquarium at the base of the Petronas Towers. Later on we walked to the Menara KL (KL Tower), and went up to the viewing deck to see some amazing views of the city at dusk.

On the 14th, it was Kirstie's birthday!! Paul woke up early and crept out to buy some flowers and chocolate - the best part of the day! We spent most of the day in the nice city park area called the Lake Gardens and had a look around the Bird Park. On our way to the Lake Gardens we met a really nice Indian guy called Manogoran who bought us some sweet tea called "Teh Tarik" at the train station where he worked. That evening we went for some drinks in the Golden Triangle at some bars and clubs on Jalan P. Ramlee. In our taxi back, our driver told us that Ramadhan has just begun here, so all the muslims have to fast from sunrise to sunset (they aren't even allowed to drink water in the day!!), if they are caught eating or drinking by the police during the day they get fined! Harsh! Upon returning to our room Kirstie was less than pleased to find that a mouse had been quite happily munching away on her birthday chocolate!

Feeling a little delicate the next day, we eventually made our way to the very nice Islamic Arts Museum, which was a cool way to pass the afternoon. In the evening we went to the big Saturday market in Little India. Today, while trying to explore some of the local temples within Chinatown, we managed to accidentally gatecrash a Hindu wedding! Whoops! Next stop is the Cameron Highlands...

P.S. Due to the trouble the website had a little while ago, we've lost the text to our Hanoi blog. If anyone has saved it on their PC or printed it out, please could they send it back to us so that we can put it back on. We need the actual text though, not just the link. Thank you!!

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