Kuala Lumpur, KL, as it is known by the locals, is Malaysia's capital city, settled about 5000 years ago. After a strong Hindu Buddhist influence 2000 years ago, Islam had become the main religion by the early 14th century. The first Europeans to arrive were Portuguese, overthrown by the Dutch in1641 and then Britain became the dominant power in the early 19th century. There were difficult times during World War 2 with Japanese occupation. In 1957 the Federation of Malaya gained independence from Britain. Today KL has a population of 1.3 million and is a rapidly growing business and commercial centre. Malaysia has a tropical climate and when we spent the day there the temperature was 29c with high humidity. It reminded us of our year living in Washington DC. There, that's the geography bit over and done with. What did we get up to in KL? Cruise ships dock at Port Klang an hour's drive from KL, along good roads bordered by mangrove swamps near the port and large housing developments and further building projects close to the city. The modern housing was similar to the terraced housing in North Virginia. The Proton car assembly plant is on the outskirts of KL and the workforce has subsidised housing near the site, provided by the company. We weren't treated to a view of the skyline on reaching the city as it was very damp and hazy. While having breakfast before we left the ship we had our first rain shower of the trip so far. First impressions of KL? A well organised road and transport network, lots of open space despite the many high rise buildings, lush tropical vegetation and extremely clean. This was one of only 2 tours we have booked with P& O - Kuala Lumpur on your own. So we were dropped off at the Petronas Towers, the world's second highest building, after having to recite the number of our bus back to the guide twice - 19 - see, no short term memory loss for us........yet. Struggling to remember what we saw though!!!!! We put that firmly down to the huge numbers of places we have visited so far at each port of call. Having only 5 hours to explore we headed to the metro to reach the city centre - cooler that way too. Merdeka Square lies at the heart of KL where a 100m flagpole, one of the tallest in the world, marks the spot where the Union Jack was lowered and the Malaysian flag was raised on August 31 1957. It used to be the sports field for the elite Serangor Club but has now been transformed into an attractive square with beautiful buildings, a park, the Sultan Abdul Samad building which is now the high court and which has a much photographed clock tower with a passing resemblance to Big Ben. The Masjid Jamek mosque is a fine example of Islamic architecture with its onion shaped domes. Still on the subject of religious buildings we ventured into the Sri Mahamariamman Hindu temple near Chinatown, said to be the most ornate in Malaysia. It was certainly a colourful place compared with the simplicity of the mosque. It features a beautiful, colourful carved tower, gold embellishments, hand painted motifs and exquisite tiles from Italy and Spain. Shoes had to be left outside. Stepping inside, it was such a peaceful place after the bustle and crowds of Chinatown. Across Petaling Street from the Hindu temple was a small courtyard which houses a Chinese temple, full of people offering bunches of burning incense sticks up to a shrine. In the corner was a hexagonal tower with a fire burning in it in which people seemed to throwing squares of yellow paper. We will have to investigate that on our return to a decent Internet connection. The small shops in Chinatown sold pretty much anything you wanted. Produce for the locals, assorted tat for the tourists. We could have had a Man. Utd. hokey kit but Mr Yin had not heard of Norwich City - shame on him! Central Market was a delight, once a wet market turned cultural centre. Local craftsmen were demonstrating their skills, from woodcarving to silk painting, and many others with some beautiful wood, pottery, batik, Indian and Malay products on sale. We returned to KLCC Mall beneath the Petronas Towers to cool off and try a little retail therapy. KL is a prosperous city, witnessed by the huge number of expensive designer shops, quite out of our league, but it was fascinating to see who was actually buying anything in them - very few!!! But, guess what - another M & S where Janey bought a pair of trousers - dearer than the UK too. Our only other purchase was a box of Medjool dates and a drink, which was lunch. Yes, you remembered - bus 19!! On our return to the ship we met up with the people who had been on the India trips for a farewell drink as they were leaving at Singapore, arming them with our postcards to post on their return to England. We have reassured our family that we really are not hiding in Cheshire for 3 months!