Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur!!!

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We arrived safely in Kuala Lumpur after a 7 hour train journey. By the end of the train trip we had something i call "greenarihia"! This is when you see so much green that your eyes cannot take anymore, in this case it was the vast jungle that seemed to never end when we were traveling through Malaysia. Malaysia seems like a poor place compared to Singapore, the obvious signs being that there were lots of rubbish dumps and shanty towns to be seen.

On getting to Kuala Lumpur we arrived at our 9 pound a night hostel that we booked for the following 4 day's. It is very basic but very comfortable. The name of the hostel is the Green Hut Lodge; if you get to visit Kuala Lumpur i would certainly recommend this place. There are many travelers from all over the world here at the hut. The staff are very friendly and the place has a relaxed atmosphere. Say hello to the little boy who lives here if you visit, his name is Daniel; he thinks he is a Kung Fu expert!

We thought Kuala Lumpur was pretty average, but would not want to stay here for more than a week. The place is very dirty/smelly by any standards and there are a lot of homeless people (which is really sad to see). You have to be very careful with the food here but the water is safe to drink in Kuala Lumpur. Local tradesman do look to rip-off tourists so be very careful with your Ringgit, and also keep an eye on your possessions!

Kuala Lumpur is very busy at the moment because of a Hindu festival, it is the time of the year where the devotees mutilate themselves to show there devotion to the god's. But if you want to see mutilation back in the UK, go and see my mate Dave, he will give you the tour of his body (be afraid, be very afraid!).

Malaysia is very cheap, a lot cheaper than Singapore but not as cheap as Thailand apparently. We went into a "Body Glove" surfing shop today and purchased a pair of funky army shorts and a sleeveless hoody for me, and 2 tops and 2 pair's of shorts for Gem, the total price came to 40 pounds (UK price would be more than likely 200+ pounds). There are many things to see and do here, and some nice places to eat/drink. Alcohol seam’s to be the most expensive thing, even Tiger beer is overpriced.

We would not recommend Malaysia as a country to spend a lot of time in, but obviously some would enjoy it more than others. But if you are ever traveling through Malaysia, it would be a shame not to spend a couple of nights here!

Places of interest: - Sunway Lagoon, Batu Cave's, Lankawi Island, Jungle Tour etc.

We will be in Thailand on the 15/02/2006. We have a long train ride and then a long bus journey to Phuket (about 13-14 hrs all together). We chose a train with beds so will hopefully be asleep for most of the journey. We will be staying for a night in Hat Yai; we will then get a bus to Phuket.

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Photos

Buddhist Beads
These beads were given to me by a monk who asked me for a small donation for his temple, they are awesome (Gem had something as well). We were also given a talisman to keep us safe on our journey!

Gemma
Gem climbing the 252 steps to Batu Cave's

Comments

[Waq]

Was up! Clippo sent you an email (I think). Pictures look great. Suprised you haven't shaved your head and gone into an buddist temple. Hope the training is going well and you and Gemma are good. Will be in touch soon.

[alice nd leon (ur favourite cousins)]

hia cuz, how r u both?! looking good guys!!! hope the talisman is working so far!leon says ..."hope ur having a nice time"! good luck gem with staying in a train for 13 hours with smelly!!! i feel 4 u! speak 2 u soon!! have a good 1 in thailand..... luv from the best cousins in the world! X X X X X