thurs day 27

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So 1st full day in kL started with having a lovely hot shower ( i seem to have a new obsession!) and a nice breakfast at the hotel. Headed off into china town as its the 1st place you come to this time getting photos on the way. The first thing you notice that's different here is the majority of women wearing head scarves and the full Malaysian/muslim dress, some very pretty designs but covered from head to foot. Also, the traffic in Thailand doesn't really give way to you - even on zebra crossings - its worse in Malaysia - you have to run - faster!! So i walked/ran over to central market a lovely art deco building ,headed out the other end to merdeka square which is a lovely grass area with some colonial buildings round the edge of it. Malaysian independence from the British was proclaimed here in 1957. After finding another old square i headed down to the botanical gardens which houses a orchid and hibiscus area and a bird park as well as others - so i spent a few hours here having a look around and getting some lunch. On the walk back you pass the national mosque ( a very modern building ) it was closed to non Muslims at this time and headed back to merdeka square which is quite central. I popped into the national textile museum and saw some lovely tradional Malaysian dresses before catching a taxi slightly out of town to partake in a free walking tour of the area. Met up with the guide, also on the tour was 1xamerican, 2x Indonesians and 2x Malaysian women. Had a 2hr very interesting tour seeing a tradional Malaysian house, a market, a hat maker and ate some foods - a rice dish heavily flavoured with local herbs and spices and banana surrounded with rice wrapped in a banana leaf, both were very tasty. The guide spoke perfect English and was really knowledgeable, he got some local kids to great us the tradional Malaysian way, by taking our hand and pressing it against their noses - then they went back to playing football. Saw coconuts being pulped and sugar cane being stripped as well as my first heavy rain shower since leaving the uk! Sat and waited for it to stop - it was at the end of the tour - only about 20 minutes then caught a bus back to china town with the 2 Malaysian women. Had some dinner and headed back to the hotel, was tired after an interesting day sight seeing.

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