K 'n' T in KL...

Apologies for the title...Keef thought it was quite G'n'R, think its the influence of Rock Star Supernova that he is watching - A rock version of American Idol, with Tommy Lee replacing Simon C.

Anyways, we made it to Kuala Lumpur (or as everyone refers to it, KL) on Tuesday 4th July. Neither of us, quite ashamedly, knew exactly where KL was, in relation to the rest of Asia, but all we did and do know is that it is EXTREMELY close to the equator and there are no real seasons, except for constant summer, so no moaning back at home about your heat wave...;-)

Things in this part of the world are amazingly efficient when it comes to newer transport. We caught the train from the airport to KL central station, which took 28 minutes to travel the same distance as Medway to London (or so it told us; we weren't counting due to having had two flights in one day) Plus there was loads of room, even for the monkey Keef, and it was air conditioned, and had a T.V...But enough about the train - South Eastern trains take note! Incidentally, KL translates into Anglais as "Muddy confluence", which is thought to come from when the city was first used as a post for tin mining in 1857. So there!

We had a bit of trouble with the hotel, as they said that they hadn't received our booking, but after a few teary phone calls (me to my mum and dad) it was all sorted thanks to my lovely parents ;-)

So, what is there to say about KL? Firstly, it is an absolute shoppers paradise, which is hell for me (and Keef, although he wont admit it) being compulsive shoppers with no expendable cash or room to store anything. It’s so extremely hot, and a bit more touristy than Hong Kong, but it is less manic and claustrophobic, which is nice. I'd say it is a bit grubby, but not as stinky as HK in anyway, and in its own way it’s quite charming. This is probably down to the different Asian cultures, as there are large Chinese, Indian and Malay communities, and the thing that got Keef is that they are openly embracing 3 different religions side by side with no evident hassle is pretty amazing.

We walked for absolute miles today, as it was our only full day (photos of blisters not included on the flickr!) and visited some very cool places. We started of heading towards Merdeka Square, which is home to the world’s tallest flagpole. I need to point something out here. As with the Hong Kong trip, when Keef was slightly obsessed with the TIFC building, his KL obsession was with the flagpole and the Camel bank. Bless him. I can’t wait for Oz...lucky me. Anyway, Merdeka square has the Masjid Jamek mosque on one corner, St Mary’s church on the opposite corner and a fountain in the middle of a roundabout on the other corner. There is also the Sultans Palace one side and the Royal Selangor Cricket Club opposite that. Lots going on. But very nice to look at.

After that, we trekked through Chinatown to see the Sri Mahamariamman Temple (we could've bought a postcard of it but NO, we had to go and see it!) which turned out to be quite mental and I quote, from Keef "looks like someone built it in there spare time with unwanted Christmas ornaments". So well worth the blisters then!

We finally made our way to the Menara KL, after walking up the massively steep driveway and tons of steps, but it was really so very worth it for the absolutely fantastic views of KL. Being 1,379 feet above the city gave us a chance to see the Petronas Towers from a different vantage point (not craning our necks to see the top!) and they are truly stunning from up high. Unfortunately though, the heat haze from the city made it difficult to see the outskirts of KL, but what we did see was great.

Lastly, we wandered, or rather stumbled due to heat exhaustion (!) over to the Petronas Towers to see them up close. It’s quite scary how big they are, (1,485ft) and what is even scarier is that they've built a bigger building in Taiwan to rival them. Our pics don’t do the PT's justice. They are magnificent. It’s just a shame about all the guys hanging around the towers offering you bloody fake Rolex watches (again) all the time.

Just a little side note on the shopping "malls" as they are referred to here. I've already told Keef I'm coming back to shop and shop and shop. The malls are amazing, some are 4 times the size of Bluewater and Lakeside, and are just so incredible and plentiful that if you come to KL for one thing, come to shop. We did make one purchase, and that was a pair of Converse All Stars each, for about £15, which was a bargain.

Hopefully tomorrow we're having haircuts and pampering type stuff for about a tenner each, which is so unbelievably cheap, and then we're flying to Sydney via Singapore.

See you in Oz...