So confession, I'm not actually writing this on the 11th from KL - I'm really in Melbourne. I figured I'd do an update the whole of last week once I reached Melbourne as I wouldn't have enough to write about every city - turns out I sure can ramble - so here's the next few days of the trip:

Early the next morning we travelled to Kuala Lumpur (that's the capital of Malaysia, Oliver). Getting out of the airconditioned public bus, there was no doubt we'd left the mountains behind. Goodbye cool, fresh air and rolling jungle, hello humid smog and homeless people. That said, Kuala Lumpur was pretty cool... Although the place we stayed seemed to be the Kilburn High Road of KL, the city was vibrant and full of character, whilst also not being quite as wild and mental as Bangkok. The first thing we saw when we stepped out of the hotel was a Nandos... One perri perri chick en later we were ready to face China Town and the Central Market, a place that isn't really any use to anyone that doesn't want a "2 for 1 Iphone" - in other words anyone who wants to give away thier money to the nice salesmen of Malaysia in exchange for what I would imagine was an empty box with a photo of an Iphone on the front.

That evening it was a group dinner at a Reggae Bar, a few jugs of cocktails, and a walk to discover Kuala Lumpur's infamous party scene (ahem...). After traipsing to a long road of bars we realised they were all pretending to be the types of places you might find in Central london (price, decor, etc.) and they were just as dull. Some went to bed and few of us headed BACK to the Reggae bar for some more (cheap) cocktails and cheesy music - all in all a good night.

The next day was a chance to properly explore the city. We decided to conform to Asian society and have a good old fashioned McDonalds for lunch... Whilst crossing the road on the way to the metro later that afternoon, we get haled over by this grinning policeman who just demands "passport" - although I was wary about just handing over our passports to a stranger... it wasn't really up for debate. He doesn't speak much English (one of the only Malaysians who didn't, so just mimes "no crossing" (AKA, we were J-Walking) and points at a 30 Ringit fine (about 6 quid). Shocked, we tried to point out all the other (asian, might I add) people doing exactly what he just did. He just smiled and made my friend pay the fee. When I tried to hand over the money he just batted it away, seeming satisfied with the 30... that's probably all they needed to buy lunch.

After that it was a trip to KLCC (the big shopping mall) and a walk around the park in the afternoon. We got told off (again) for trying to paddle in the 'under 12s pool' (who knew?) and then trying to play on the under-12s swings. Getting more and more disgruntled, we calmed ourselves down with a trip to the viewing bridge on the Twin Towers... Some really stunning views. My favorite though, was once it had got dark, standing underneath the illuminated towers was incredible. I'm ashamed to say that (out of pure laziness) it was yet ANOTHER fastfood meal for dinner in the form of Pizza Hut - to be honest though, forget about noodles and rice, over time I've discovered that these American chains are the true Asian cuisine... I've eaten more fast food in the past two weeks than I have in about 6 years at home.

So that was KL... On to the next.