6 - 10 September - Kuala Lumpur

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We set off on 6 September for Kuala Lumpur via a family get together in London for the sad farewell. After the gruelling, although surprisingly spacious, 12.5 hour flight and a rather hot and sweaty 4 hour wait until check-in time, we checked-in to the Swiss Inn, China Town, KL. It's a place we stayed last time, but wither our standards have raised or their have gone downhill - as they say you should never go back... we may just push the boat out a more on the way out.

KL is the same as ever - lively, contrasting, busy and smelly! We walked around quite a bit and saw a few really nice buildings - the one touristy thing we tried to do (go up the Petronas Towers) failed as they were closed the day we went. Ah well, they're nice enough to look at from below.

We also went to Dataran Merdeka, or Independance Square - the place where the Union Jack was lowered and replaced by the Malaysian flag in 1957. I think we had just missed a big show or festival of some kind because the central green was brown. A really nice area of Kuala Lumpur is Bintang walk - loads of swanky bars and restaurants - and we spent a lovely evening there watching street performers.

The best places are those that you just happen on though - like a mad Hindu temple down a side street or beautiful old colonial buildings.

We stayed in Petaling Street - the main focus of the China Town hubbub. It's a mad jumble of market stalls, street vendors, restaurants and massage parlours - and at night it can be like trying to run the gauntlet.

So that was Kuala Lumpur again, and 3 days is plenty enough me thinks, especially on a budget. But next came the fun part...


We got the fabulously clean and on-time sky train to the Sentral Station to buy onward tickets the day before we wanted to leave. Only at the point we were trying to book did we find out there are no trains that go over the border anymore - something to do with the 'troubles'!? After a short panic we decided to buy tickets to the furthest point we could go, Padang Besar, and hope for the best. Then, whilst having a leisurely cup of tea the morning of our journey, I happened to look at the tickets and realised that they were for the day before, ahhhh. After another hour of panic and a sweat drenched rush to the station, Lee charmed (flirted with) the ticket lady into giving us correct tickets for half price!

The sleeper train is great for making you feel like a proper traveller, altough it is so loud and bumpy that not a lot of sleeping goes on. We got to the border at around 10.30am in a bit of confusion and ridiculous heat. Where you once got off the train, walked through immigration and got back on the train, you now kind of get abandoned on the Malaysian side of the border. You walk through the exit point and find out the Thai border post is a mile away!

So eventually getting through both check points, with a miserly 30 days sllowance stamped on our Thai visa (apparently the visa rules have changed since we were last here), you emerge into a street with nothing except a couple of bus stops and a plice station - and we had no Thai money... oops. So we went and got a lift from a couple of friendly police chaps in to town to get money and a minibus to Hat Yai :-D If only we'd thought to get pictures! And so we were in Thailand...

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