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Wrote a massive long blog all about our epic bus journey to KL, the millions of palm trees, Malaysian border control (quite easy), Malaysian service stations (quite conventional) and how cushy our hotel seems after hostels but the hotel wifi isn't very good and it lost my blog before it was uploaded :(
We ate an amazing meal in the chaos of Chinatown (sizzling satay and Chinese spring onion beef and chicken fried rice. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by everything but I relaxed into it and was enjoying the atmosphere by the end of the evening. We wondered through Petaling street market and were offered sunglasses, handbags, trainers and T-shirts more times than I could count. The amount of counterfeit goods was staggering, some were awful but some could be applauded for their likeness to the real items. It's easy as a designer who's tried to prevent designs from being copied to frown upon counterfeits, although it is very much a part of Chinese culture.
Malaysia isn't as nice as Singapore but it's still an interesting place to be. Motorsport is huge here, which means that a lot of people ride motorbikes thinking they are Dani Pedrosa of Valentino Rossi. This can make being a pedestrian interesting! We've been stared at quite a bit but I think it's just that we're different. The areas outside of KL were very rural, mainly farms.
Today we walked to the Malaysia Menara, a huge telecom tower providing 360degree views of KL. The walk there was extremely hot but the views were definitely worth it! Got chatting to a nice couple from Madrid and we took each other's pictures with the view of the Petronas Towers. Europeans seem to inadvertently stick together here, particularly in restaurants, it's hard not to feel very touristy here but it seems a bit daunting to veer off the beaten track too much here.
We walked back along a street filled with fabric shops and I bought a turquoise sari for 35myr (about £6). I'm going to get a bit of fabric from each country to make into a quilt when I get home.
After a shower to freshen up we headed for dinner at a restaurant in the indoor market. It was very touristy but the food was stunning. We had Thai garlic beef, battered coconut butter chicken and some rice. It was sensational although expensive; we'll have to find somewhere else tomorrow. We walked back through the market and stumbled across a Malaysian dance performance. I love watching although Josh got a bit bored. Then, before I knew it I was being dragged up to dance. My first reaction was to turn them down but then decided that a) it wouldn't be the first time I've folk danced in public and b) it's not like anyone here knows me! I think they were impressed by how quick I picked it up and I got my picture taken with them at the end.
We've now headed back to the hotel having had quite enough excitement for one day. Tomorrow I think we'll go to the bird sanctuary and botanic gardens for a bit more of a laid back day. Sorry for the lack of pictures on the blog, yet to find an internet connection that works well enough yet!
Anna xx
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