Size does matter in Kuala Lumpur

The smog that quickly closed in around us on arrival at JB, our first Malaysian stop after walking over from customs, was in sharp contrast to Singapore. For a start, the customs officials didn't smile and our feet stuck to the chewing gum on the floor. The cars looked old and tatty, which isn't really surprising seeing as Singaporeans are forced to sell cars older than 10 years back to the government who then flog them on to Malaysia! After what seemed like three hours (actually 30mins) we eventually boarded our train - first class darhhhling - which was only 100 ringlets, sorry 100 Malaysian ringgits, which is the equivalent of 14GBP for the six hour journey to Kuala Lumpur, universally known as KL. The train journey was simply wonderful and we watched the jungle whizz past broken only by the occasional house on stilts as we chewed on our friend noodles and pattaya fried rice. Arriving in Kuala Lumpur was, although not as clean, calm and generally as ordered as Singapore, was nonetheless far better than JB and we got a taxi to The Green Hut hostel. At a bargain 60 ringlets a night, sorry 60 ringgits, we upgraded to a very basic but clean double room with a/c.

An early start at 7am the following morning saw us queuing to get one of the few allocated tickets to go up to the skybridge in the Petronas Towers. At 9am we were omitted into the tallest twin towers in the world and one of the highest buildings, that actually give you neck ache when you look up at them outside. We were taken in the lift to the 41st floor where the sky bridge afforded wonderful views over Kuala Lumpur. We were even above the smog level. Resisting the impulse to buy shiny plastic keyrings featuring the towers for everyone we know, we ignored the steady stream of backpackers heading into KFC and instead headed to the nearest hawker centre. Ben & Shona had taught us well! The food stalls were not nearly as clean as Singapore and there were some particularly unflavoursome looking chefs but, determined to try the local cuisine, we took 10 of the dishes on offer to sample. We have no idea what we ate but it looked like everything from battered chicken to sweet and sour pork, to faggot cake and marinated baby octopus. It all appeared to be swimming in chili sauce. We have now truly graduated from the Ben & Shona school for Asian cuisine. We washed it all down with cold green tea and jasmine (imagine drinking rose water) and soya bean milk (imagine drinking gone off milk) then walked across Kuala Lumpur to the Lake Complex. 8000 steps later (according to Beth's pedometer) and after nine wrong turns we finally made it to the lake complex which, although definitely prettier than the rest of Kuala Lumpur, was nothing to write home about (if you'll excuse the pun). Deciding to make the most of it, after all we had walked about four miles to get there, Steve decided we should hire a pedelo. At only 80p we ventured out onto the lake until to discover it seemed to doubl as a sewage works and Kuala Lumpur's general rubbish tip. The life jackets we were wearing in 30degrees too were causing excessive sweating and unfortunately, the last person to wear Beth's must have eaten curry morning, noon and night judging from the hot sweaty smells rising from it. We soon gave up. Walking back through Chinatown the heavens opened and we could almost see the steam rising off the pavements as the rain sizzled and the general smell of pollution wafted over the city to add to the smog.

Chinatown in KL is very different to the vibrant, bustling, authentic and generally friendly feel of its Singaporean brother. KL's version was full of fake Gucci and Diesel with traders shouting to be heard and then the saddest sight we have seen since travelling; tiny, tiny puppies enclosed in a glass tank in a shop window whining and crying as they scrabbled frantically against their glass prison. Ducklings covered in their own faeces were trapped in cages no bigger than them and colourful parrots were lying listlessly on the floor of their cage that offered no freedom for flight. It was a sad and bedraggled pair of travellers that went out for dinner that night, only half heartedly appreciating our salads and foot long sausages, unable to shake the images of the puppies from our minds.

Later on that same evening, we walked to the Petronas Towers again to see them lit in their full glory. And what a sight they were. Able to see them for miles around, the floodlit towers looked stunning and we lay on our backs in the street almost hypnotised by the sight. Until the lights went out at midnight that is leaving us feeling rather stupid!

Our final day in Kuala Lumpur was spent at the largest covered bird park in the world (Kuala Lumpur really doesn't seem to do things by half) which was really interesting although the larger birds, like the ostriches, were in pens that looked too small. The poor things looked as if they hardly had room to run let alone reach the 70kph they can achieve at full stretch. We saw some exotic birds including eagles and peacocks and the latter's call, merged with the islamic chanting over the loud speaker, accompanied the couple of hours we spent in the park. Lunch at the reasonably priced restaurant consisted of Nasi Lemuk (coconut rice and cuttlefish curry), chicken satay (satay originated in Malaysia) and Hainanese chicken rice. After our yummy feast we walked through the Orchid Gardens which, although lovely, were not a patch on Singapore's and then through the colourful Hibiscus Gardens, planted in homage to the Malaysian national flower and beautiful in their own right. As the flowers require huge amounts of water, the sprinklers around the gardens were very welcome in the tropical heat too!

We digested as much of the Thailand guide books as we could before catching our night bus to Hat Rai, south Thailand in the evening. We experienced our first incident of the Asian accounting creativity as after purchasing our tickets realised that we had paid 20 ringgits more than we should have done. Not a costly mistake at around 3GBP but a valuable lesson to prepare us for Thailand! As the coach pulled away from the incredibly busy bus station, we waved goodbye to the Petronas Towers, the best part of Kuala Lumpur and an incredible sight we will never forget.