Well it really is true what they say about Kuala Lumpur - a city of trees and skyscrapers. Magnificent Islamic high-rises ringed by an island of trees towering over multilane motorways, while small-scale commerce clogs cram Chinatown and Little India. KL has definately matured form the tin-mining frontier into the affluent capital that it apparantly once was. As with everywhere else in SE Asia, all forms of transport block the roads and seem to career ambitiously forward anytime you step foot to cross.

Pretty mad to see malaysia's unique twist on multiculturalism in the city. Here, Chinese, Indian and Malay seem to mingle in the workplace but maintain their seperate cultural intrests and beliefs.

Spending time within KL was definately like swimming in a baby pool. Compared to some of the other SE Asian megacities i've visited, transport is effortless, scams are minimal and the city is more humane in most aspects.

After an 8 hour bus journey from Penang my touchtown was Merdeka Square. The square being the traditional heart of KL, with the distract merging into Chinatown across the river, made it a very easy choice. As i stepped off the bus, the rain started to lash... as always, unprepared and too late to put the rain cover on my backpack! Yip, you guessed it, everything going to be soaked. Walking... sorry, wading through flooded pavements with flipflops on isn't the easiest, and the long trousers drenched and dragging along the ground didn't help too much! Luckily for me Chinatown was literally across the road....well multilane main road.... another task in itself. On numerous occasions (maybe 4), lost a flip then a flop having to run back to the middle of the road to get it! Yes, everything i was tought in Primary school about crossing roads all went out the window! Definately looked like i was a pro at playing chicken......

Chinatown was great - cheap accomodation, loads of markets, food stalls, restuarants, bars, pretty and decorative. Circuitous streets and cramped chaos created a perssure cooker of sights and sounds. JL Petaling is a bustling street market selling souvenirs, like 'authentic' Paul Frank and Birkenstocks and Levis. Also where i stayed in the Hotel Chinatown Inn. Basic, but pretty little guesthouse on the manic street of day and nightmarkets. Plus, it was the first time i'd seen a TV in few months...and guess what... it had cable! 3 guesses what i done that night.... (takeaway and a movie...mmmm, just a piece of home)! On my doorstep, Chinese coffee shops, (open all night) temples and shophouses were all around. Always a good thing when you're wide awake at 3am with nothing to do!

Over the 3 days i spent in KL i focused my time on eating, window shopping and hanging out in and around the symbolic Merdeka Square. The square is a formal parade ground around the architectural legacies of Malaysia's successive conquerors, both Islamic and European. Just south of the square is the Old Railroad station which is a fanciful castle of Islamic arches and spires.

'Window shopping' in KL was an experience......... The diversity of Malaysian fashion makes Western wardrobes look like government issued uniforms. Walking the streets, you might pass a Muslim woman framed by a tropically coloured headscarf and a flowing full-length skirt and blouse. Turn the corner and pass a chinese woman wearing a catwalk miniskirt and tank top. Following close behind is an older Indian woman wrapped tight in a sari.l She and her daughter, in jeans and flip flops, both wearing bindis (the hindu forehead dot).... the mother's is red to show being married and the daughters mathces her outfit...!!! In just one block, the street fashions span continents and time periods but no one gives the other any sort of disapproving look.

Unfortunately drinking in Malaysia is no budget activity and drinks at the 'proper' bars are nearly double the price. But you can't go to KL and not at least go for one at the famous Reggae Bar....... travel halfway around the world and find the unofficial Bob Marley cult...oh joy!!! Was a night of endless tracks from the Jamaican band, drink promotions and a lot of backpackers. Wasn't quite prepared to unload quite so many handfuls of ringgit...........

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