Kuala Lumpur

After spending nearly a month in the African wilderness and then 2 weeks on secluded islands in Malaysia we arrived once again in a big city, Kuala Lumpur, and fully embraced the civilized joys of air conditioning, hot power showers and giant shopping malls!

The night bus journey there from the east coast of Malaysia was surprisingly comfortable, with fully reclining chairs. The only problem was the sheer panic that arose when looking out of the window, as the bus driver made a sincere attempt to kill any stray dogs that crossed our path and seemed to enjoy rebelling against the side of the road he should have been driving on (all of this in the pitch dark of night, with a good amount of rain beating against the windows).


However, we made it safely to KL and spent the morning standing in line for tickets to see the Petronas Towers, which are actually quite beautiful and impressive. One interesting thing about the city is how polite everyone seems to be. There are huge crowds in the morning while waiting for the trains, and people actually quietly stand in line waiting for their turn to get on! Hard to imagine... especially after being at Oxford Circus in London during rush hour!


The blending of cultures here is also very interesting. For example you can see an Indian lady in a sari with a bindi on her forehead selling flowers outside a Hindu temple, while on the opposite road side a Chinese man in an apron and a chef's hat is preparing won-tons in a giant wok, and just around the corner from there are European business men with their suits and briefcases standing in line for the high-speed trains to take them to work.