Arriving half awake/half asleep @ a just manageable hour of 7am we trotted off around the charmingly cultural town of Ubud. A few stops later however and we realized that as not much was open at this alarming hour that we should stop and have some breakfast until everyone woke up! Meeting a lovely lady from the states who thought we were Australian?? we again set off in search of somewhere to stay and with her help and several deliberations later we finally agreed on somewhere, even after looking at it on 3 separate occasions. Good we are fussy!!! The room was a strange temple looking building that provided us over the next two days with an array of strange sounding animals and some even weirder tasting breakfasts. Still the staff were lovely, view was ace and it was the best option we could find.
Sleeping for several hours of much deserved rest, we finally awoke again at 6pm. A brief stroll to catch our bearings and then we went back to the mornings breakfast restaurant (Bunette's) for an amazing Balinese buffet! With luxury food and a great live band, we were really in heaven compared to our Kuta experience. Back to bed and that was the end of day one.
Rising early the next morning due to the sound of what can only be described as a pig wrestling a cockerel, we set about completing a few boring tasks on the Internet, having a well overdue beer and then as the rain fell heavily we walked round the local market picking up a few bargains for you lucky gits back home. You will know who you are shortly however we will have to disappoint a lot of people, sorry! Again, dinner and an early night were in order, both with nothing worth mentioning.
Day 3, and our last full day here. In the morning we booked our expensive yet elaborate speedboat journey to the Paradise Islands of the Gilli's. then came the best part of our stay. At a bargain of only 1 pound each we spent several hours in the Monkey Forest as these cheeky little creatures got up close and performed a multitude of amazing tasks, including drinking from a bottle, fighting and combing each other, have monkey sex, masturbate and even steal from a ladies bag. It really was awesome!
With the evening drawing near and it seeming more like planet of the apes by the second, we broke away from their clutches and went back to the temple. From there we showered, changed and were soon sat in a funky Mexican restaurant for dinner indulging in fine delights such as Burritos, Tacos, Nachos and more beer and sangria...... yummy! Ending the night listening to more great jazz from another live band, we booked a table at the much talked about Jazz bar. This place was a little too upmarket for even our backpacking standards but we enjoyed a drink or two before calling it a night. A great one at that!
Well completely different to Kuta, with sleep and an abundance of great memories from here, its a shame the budget just didn't allow for as longer stay. Who knows maybe Planet of the Apes 4??????
Friday, 30 October 2009
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Tramps for the night in Kuta (Bali), Indonesia
KL to Bali. What a shit journey! A bumpy flight, being refused our 'paid for' in flight meal by the ugly stewardess and having to share my seat with a fat guy who was spilling over from his.
Once at the airport negotiating transport to Kuta's energetic heart was even more of a hassle. After a flow of constant lies about there being no bus from thee airport we decided to get a haggled down taxi who after a five minute ride proceeded to chuck us out in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black because he couldn't handle the traffic. My god what is wrong with these people??!!
Four hours later and with time evaporating rapidly it was 11.30pm. Panic was setting in as the we eventually realized that we would not have accommodation for the night. I mean we hadn't even had the luxury of seeing a room, let alone rejecting any. we did however get one offer, 30 pounds each to stay the night in someones shed of a room. Er no thanks!
Anyway with no other option we decided head to a 24 hour sports bar called 'Sportszone' for the night in the hope that 5 games of Premiership football and several coffees later we would actually stay awake. Kicked out at 4am for closing - i thought it was 24/7?? - and by now we kind of knew that a combination of Ramadan and Australian spring break was forcing us to leave our destination and find a new home in the form of Ubud. A little quieter town further north. At least we might actually be able to get a room to sleep there!
Anyway waiting the next 2 hours until the bus arrived at 6am, we scoffed as many chocolate bars, crisps and energy drinks down us as possible making sure our eyelids didn't shut. Although this was a hard process for a self proclaimed 'fitness fanatic' like myself ;), it was rather a funny scenario as we watched many tourist and locals stumbling out of clubs and bars, with even one guy crashing his moped into a tree, reversing it out and carrying on to weave down the road. Hilarious!
Really hating our few hours here, even vowing never to return, overall I feel it was just the factor of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. i mean it couldn't be that bad could it??
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once at the airport negotiating transport to Kuta's energetic heart was even more of a hassle. After a flow of constant lies about there being no bus from thee airport we decided to get a haggled down taxi who after a five minute ride proceeded to chuck us out in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black because he couldn't handle the traffic. My god what is wrong with these people??!!
Four hours later and with time evaporating rapidly it was 11.30pm. Panic was setting in as the we eventually realized that we would not have accommodation for the night. I mean we hadn't even had the luxury of seeing a room, let alone rejecting any. we did however get one offer, 30 pounds each to stay the night in someones shed of a room. Er no thanks!
Anyway with no other option we decided head to a 24 hour sports bar called 'Sportszone' for the night in the hope that 5 games of Premiership football and several coffees later we would actually stay awake. Kicked out at 4am for closing - i thought it was 24/7?? - and by now we kind of knew that a combination of Ramadan and Australian spring break was forcing us to leave our destination and find a new home in the form of Ubud. A little quieter town further north. At least we might actually be able to get a room to sleep there!
Anyway waiting the next 2 hours until the bus arrived at 6am, we scoffed as many chocolate bars, crisps and energy drinks down us as possible making sure our eyelids didn't shut. Although this was a hard process for a self proclaimed 'fitness fanatic' like myself ;), it was rather a funny scenario as we watched many tourist and locals stumbling out of clubs and bars, with even one guy crashing his moped into a tree, reversing it out and carrying on to weave down the road. Hilarious!
Really hating our few hours here, even vowing never to return, overall I feel it was just the factor of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. i mean it couldn't be that bad could it??
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unforgettable times at Capitol Satay in Melaka
A brief 2 day trip to the cute and cultural town of Melaka was made from KL just before we left for Indonesia and I for one am glad we went. We stayed at a funky and cool pre-booked GH called 'Jalan Jalan' with a really nice and helpful owner called Sam, strange outside bathrooms and an abundance of mossies!
The highlight of the stay apart from the accommodation was probably the amazing Capitol Satay restaurant where you get to cook your own dinner of selected skewers in a deep vat of bubbling sauce. It really was an experience never to forget.
Taking in the crimson red colonial architecture of the Stadthuys & Christchurch chapel, we also shopped til we dropped along Jonker St by popping into several of the antiques and kitch stores located where we bought many more souvenirs.
Whilst we enjoyed our time here, there wasn't much else to do apart from relax in the lovely environment and enjoy a beer along the river. So heading back to KL for the last time before flying out to our next country I would once again like to re-affirm how amazing a destination Malaysia is and with so many diverse activities and places to visit how we would one day love to come back.
Thank you Malaysia for such a wonderful time!
The highlight of the stay apart from the accommodation was probably the amazing Capitol Satay restaurant where you get to cook your own dinner of selected skewers in a deep vat of bubbling sauce. It really was an experience never to forget.
Taking in the crimson red colonial architecture of the Stadthuys & Christchurch chapel, we also shopped til we dropped along Jonker St by popping into several of the antiques and kitch stores located where we bought many more souvenirs.
Whilst we enjoyed our time here, there wasn't much else to do apart from relax in the lovely environment and enjoy a beer along the river. So heading back to KL for the last time before flying out to our next country I would once again like to re-affirm how amazing a destination Malaysia is and with so many diverse activities and places to visit how we would one day love to come back.
Thank you Malaysia for such a wonderful time!
Food fest in Penang
Travelling in a carpeted sofa-esc seated bus, the journey to Penang was possibly the smoothest we have had. So much room, space and air-con, coupled with the experiences of being offered Jam sandwiches by Monks and hearing a Muslim girls ring tone blast out 'Hey sexy lady' made for quite a morning.
Once we arrived we took a short ferry to Georgetown before walking the streets to easily find a place to stay at New Banana's GH. Set on one of Penang's main streets this cute and cosy venue provided us with a nice double room, pool table, Internet, a sufficient bar and an abundance of nice and friendly staff.
After a brief conversation with the owner whilst checking in, we were soon swept up in a yearly, month long festival called the 'Hungry Ghost'. Being made feel very welcome here we saw a great parade of Chinese folk and watched on in awe as their ceremony lasted for the next few hours.
Once the fireworks and excitement had died down we went in search for dinner at a tandoori house stating they did the best biriyani's and Naan's in the whole of Penang. They weren't wrong! Delicious in fact! Moving on with a full stomach, the evening plumeted as we watched Arsenal falter against Manchester City with that scumbag Adebayor their main architect. The less said about the remainder of that evening the better, however i must say most of my dialogue during and after the game could be excused as bad french!
Over the next few days we participated in undertaking a plethora of activities and sights with main attractions including Fort Cornwalis, Penang Hill & Railway (where I got chased by a monkey), Falling down a flight of stairs at the very impressive Kek Lok Si Temple (OUCH!), going to a chocolate factory where they even did chocolate chili??!!, Burmese & Chinese temples and also taking in an interesting yet confusing walk to Gurney Drive and Plaza.
Even with so much to do here, our times once again revolved around food. And my god was there some amazing food on offer! Possibly the best available all trip so far as we ate like pigs, first trying pretty much everything on offer at Chowrasta Market where Jo even tried Moon cake for the first and probably last time. We then found out once more how bad durian flavoured food tastes, had some awesome Punjabi cuisine, had some great ice-cream waffles and stuffed even more Chinese, Malay, Nonya and Indian delicacies down our necks!
We were a little let down on a day trip to Batu ferringhi beach as it was nowhere near as good as other Malay beaches. We also missed out on the biggest toy museum in the world as the bus driver didn't know the way and dropped us of in the middle of nowhere. On the whole despite a few attempts of trying to explain hilariously what cider was to locals in search for a drink for Jo, it was one of the best overall experiences of our trip so far. It really was an amazing cultural must for anyone travelling to Malaysia.
Once we arrived we took a short ferry to Georgetown before walking the streets to easily find a place to stay at New Banana's GH. Set on one of Penang's main streets this cute and cosy venue provided us with a nice double room, pool table, Internet, a sufficient bar and an abundance of nice and friendly staff.
After a brief conversation with the owner whilst checking in, we were soon swept up in a yearly, month long festival called the 'Hungry Ghost'. Being made feel very welcome here we saw a great parade of Chinese folk and watched on in awe as their ceremony lasted for the next few hours.
Once the fireworks and excitement had died down we went in search for dinner at a tandoori house stating they did the best biriyani's and Naan's in the whole of Penang. They weren't wrong! Delicious in fact! Moving on with a full stomach, the evening plumeted as we watched Arsenal falter against Manchester City with that scumbag Adebayor their main architect. The less said about the remainder of that evening the better, however i must say most of my dialogue during and after the game could be excused as bad french!
Over the next few days we participated in undertaking a plethora of activities and sights with main attractions including Fort Cornwalis, Penang Hill & Railway (where I got chased by a monkey), Falling down a flight of stairs at the very impressive Kek Lok Si Temple (OUCH!), going to a chocolate factory where they even did chocolate chili??!!, Burmese & Chinese temples and also taking in an interesting yet confusing walk to Gurney Drive and Plaza.
Even with so much to do here, our times once again revolved around food. And my god was there some amazing food on offer! Possibly the best available all trip so far as we ate like pigs, first trying pretty much everything on offer at Chowrasta Market where Jo even tried Moon cake for the first and probably last time. We then found out once more how bad durian flavoured food tastes, had some awesome Punjabi cuisine, had some great ice-cream waffles and stuffed even more Chinese, Malay, Nonya and Indian delicacies down our necks!
We were a little let down on a day trip to Batu ferringhi beach as it was nowhere near as good as other Malay beaches. We also missed out on the biggest toy museum in the world as the bus driver didn't know the way and dropped us of in the middle of nowhere. On the whole despite a few attempts of trying to explain hilariously what cider was to locals in search for a drink for Jo, it was one of the best overall experiences of our trip so far. It really was an amazing cultural must for anyone travelling to Malaysia.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
'A weird one night stand' - Kota Bharu
After a slightly horrific journey back to the mainland on our speedboat we were faced with spending the night in a place called Kota Bharu as we had to get a connecting bus the morning after to Penang. Something we had just missed that day! In any case we weren't that bothered as we had originally hoped for a night there anyway, taking in their supposedly 'GREAT' night market.
An hour in a taxi with a slightly geriatric couple of middle aged descendancy later and we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere in the heart of our destination with no roadsigns or a westerner in sight. Endless walks up and down roads a few hilariously bad conversations of broken English with locals later we finally bumped int a few Brits staying at our desired location for the evening, the Ideal Travellers Inn. Once they had given us a guide to get there, admittedly a lot harder than their directions had stated, we settled into average accommodation suitable only for a one night stay. Well at least this time it was clean, had 4 walls and was cosy enough! Oh and it was overrun by cats, so that kept Jo happy for the time being!!! lol.
Booking a luxurious bus to Penang for the next morning was accomplished with ease and we had a brief nap and then showered before heading out for our evening adventures. Wondering around several stalls of vendors selling knocked off footy shirts and fake trainers we got talking oddly enough to some old guy who happily pointed us in the direction of the well hidden yet supposedly 'GREAT' night market. All this in exchange for me to discuss the first world war, politics and other historical past times in my lovely sounding accent. Fair trade I say!
Finally arriving at the collection of Hawker stands on offer at this market it soon became apparent that we wouldn't be spending long here. Filled with locals and constant stares at Jo, more than any we had seen before, the rather poor offerings of food on offer did less than inspire us. With desperation for a meal starting to creep in we stopped to eat in a strange little Nonya restaurant positioned near to our hostel. Proceeding to order, Jo enjoyed vegetarian noodles and an Ice tea whilst I went for a strange Malay delicacy consisting of Rice, Fried egg, Chicken Curry and a bowl full of chilli's. All on one plate, strange!
Settling the bill and heading back for any early night, we promptly fell asleep and awoke early the next morning, desperate to head to Penang.
An hour in a taxi with a slightly geriatric couple of middle aged descendancy later and we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere in the heart of our destination with no roadsigns or a westerner in sight. Endless walks up and down roads a few hilariously bad conversations of broken English with locals later we finally bumped int a few Brits staying at our desired location for the evening, the Ideal Travellers Inn. Once they had given us a guide to get there, admittedly a lot harder than their directions had stated, we settled into average accommodation suitable only for a one night stay. Well at least this time it was clean, had 4 walls and was cosy enough! Oh and it was overrun by cats, so that kept Jo happy for the time being!!! lol.
Booking a luxurious bus to Penang for the next morning was accomplished with ease and we had a brief nap and then showered before heading out for our evening adventures. Wondering around several stalls of vendors selling knocked off footy shirts and fake trainers we got talking oddly enough to some old guy who happily pointed us in the direction of the well hidden yet supposedly 'GREAT' night market. All this in exchange for me to discuss the first world war, politics and other historical past times in my lovely sounding accent. Fair trade I say!
Finally arriving at the collection of Hawker stands on offer at this market it soon became apparent that we wouldn't be spending long here. Filled with locals and constant stares at Jo, more than any we had seen before, the rather poor offerings of food on offer did less than inspire us. With desperation for a meal starting to creep in we stopped to eat in a strange little Nonya restaurant positioned near to our hostel. Proceeding to order, Jo enjoyed vegetarian noodles and an Ice tea whilst I went for a strange Malay delicacy consisting of Rice, Fried egg, Chicken Curry and a bowl full of chilli's. All on one plate, strange!
Settling the bill and heading back for any early night, we promptly fell asleep and awoke early the next morning, desperate to head to Penang.
'Paradise Islands' - Perhentian Islands Besar & Kecil
Sleeping most of the way through our 14 hour jungle train expedition, we arrived at a place called Kuala Besut, a small Malay town, ready to board a speed boat to our new found destination. As the Islands have no ATMs and the night before at the train station we had a mini drama trying 4 times to withdraw cash, we were desperate for some relaxation rather than the panic occured only hours before. However, now with cash in hand (via a fifth transaction attempt) we indulged in conversation with a very nice guy from London whom had been to the Islands before and recommended the smaller Island of Kecil as the livelier of the two and the best one to stay on.
Once safely deposited on Kecil via a second smaller boat in order not to damage its beautiful coral surrounding the bays, we set out to find some suitable accommodation for our stay. Something we didn't think would be a problem considering you couldn't pre-book anything before hand and that the islands were a stopping off point for many travellers before. How wrong could we be? Although the Island was possibly the best yet and lined with stunning palm tree coves, luxurious white sandy beaches and clear turquoise waters, the paradise setting severely lacked anything of any standard to stay in. I mean obviously we don't ask for much but a cleanish room, with 4 walls and no holes would be nice. Viewing four separate properties on the Island we failed to receive any of these so called 'luxuries'. Hot and slightly bothered we stopped for a light snack, also of no great note, then proceeded to get another expensive taxi boat to the larger inhabited Island of Besar.
Arriving there thinking a place to stay would be easier to come by was another mistake as after lunch most people had already arrived at their preferred destination and the first two options we tried were fully booked, in the end having to settle for a half decent yet overly priced room at New Cocohut Bungalows. At least we had a good view of the beach as the sea almost came in through our front door!
Never the less, as with many of the things on this trip we dealt with the situation and soldiered on, dropping of our stuff in the room and marching on down to beach to catch the last of the days rays! Moving on two days later to a higher quality and lower value establishment with a bargainous room at the greatly named 'Abduls' we were shortly enjoying better times. Meeting a really nice Canadian couple (Steve & Tracey) who lived next door, we managed to thoroughly make the most of our remaining 4 days here.
Without much to actually do on the Island apart from busk in their beauty and explore the remarkably fantastic coral and aquamarine waters with snorkels, we ended up venturing around the island on foot, hoping over to Kecil and playing far too much Uno. The food on the Island wasn't great either, mainly western options with some relatively nice Asian dishes but then again they did do a damn good milkshake!
However, even with my constant moaning, when your on Islands like these food and accommodation really don't matter- (Neither did the apparent lack of cheap alcohol) as we actually loved our time here. Even going as far to say it was an amazing experience and if you are listening Kayleigh & Paul, booking into one of the great resorts on offer here, this place would make for the ideal honeymoon destination! Shame our budget wouldn't allow!
Anyway, sick to death of my ramblings, up next is the amazing Penang where after days of beaching around with nothing much to do we were looking forward to being busy again taking in all the cultural delights on offer.....
Once safely deposited on Kecil via a second smaller boat in order not to damage its beautiful coral surrounding the bays, we set out to find some suitable accommodation for our stay. Something we didn't think would be a problem considering you couldn't pre-book anything before hand and that the islands were a stopping off point for many travellers before. How wrong could we be? Although the Island was possibly the best yet and lined with stunning palm tree coves, luxurious white sandy beaches and clear turquoise waters, the paradise setting severely lacked anything of any standard to stay in. I mean obviously we don't ask for much but a cleanish room, with 4 walls and no holes would be nice. Viewing four separate properties on the Island we failed to receive any of these so called 'luxuries'. Hot and slightly bothered we stopped for a light snack, also of no great note, then proceeded to get another expensive taxi boat to the larger inhabited Island of Besar.
Arriving there thinking a place to stay would be easier to come by was another mistake as after lunch most people had already arrived at their preferred destination and the first two options we tried were fully booked, in the end having to settle for a half decent yet overly priced room at New Cocohut Bungalows. At least we had a good view of the beach as the sea almost came in through our front door!
Never the less, as with many of the things on this trip we dealt with the situation and soldiered on, dropping of our stuff in the room and marching on down to beach to catch the last of the days rays! Moving on two days later to a higher quality and lower value establishment with a bargainous room at the greatly named 'Abduls' we were shortly enjoying better times. Meeting a really nice Canadian couple (Steve & Tracey) who lived next door, we managed to thoroughly make the most of our remaining 4 days here.
Without much to actually do on the Island apart from busk in their beauty and explore the remarkably fantastic coral and aquamarine waters with snorkels, we ended up venturing around the island on foot, hoping over to Kecil and playing far too much Uno. The food on the Island wasn't great either, mainly western options with some relatively nice Asian dishes but then again they did do a damn good milkshake!
However, even with my constant moaning, when your on Islands like these food and accommodation really don't matter- (Neither did the apparent lack of cheap alcohol) as we actually loved our time here. Even going as far to say it was an amazing experience and if you are listening Kayleigh & Paul, booking into one of the great resorts on offer here, this place would make for the ideal honeymoon destination! Shame our budget wouldn't allow!
Anyway, sick to death of my ramblings, up next is the amazing Penang where after days of beaching around with nothing much to do we were looking forward to being busy again taking in all the cultural delights on offer.....
'Standing on the shoulders of giants' - KL, Malaysia
Flying into Kuala Lumpur airport, for the first time in ages it actually felt like we were arriving into a new country. I mean obviously we have arrived into new countries or places before, nearly daily or weekly throughout our trip but you never get that sense of arrival from a boat or bus.
Never the less, our first of three visits to Malaysia's multicultural capital throughout our journey was easily navigated with a simple hour long bus journey from the airport to the city centre taking in the great sight of the Sepang F1 circuit on-route. From there, we once again hoped on the tube for 1 stop and arrived at our pre-booked destination.
Entering the city, it is hard not to make comparisons to London. For example, nearly every ones first language is English, there was almost always constant outbreaks of rain and to top that the little India, Chinatown and glass panelled structures were very reminiscent of Tooting, Soho or Canary Wharf.
Staying at a cute little hostel named Surai Inn we were immediately brought up to speed with what to & not to do in this amazing setting by our lovely and hospitable host. A truly great guy, going out of his way to make sure you know everything you need to.
Throughout our first stint of three days here we once again managed to fill our days with exciting new adventures, leaving our second & third visits mainly for transportation stopovers or minor day trips to the surrounding areas. With so much to see and do here that we wanted to participate in we set out seeing the amazing Petronas towers both from ground and high rise elevations, truly awesome landmarks. We also climbed up to the highest possible viewpoint at the Menara KL Towers providing us with some stunning views over the city and some rather cool photographs. Mix this in with doing a forest in the city tour, the mammoth shopping plazas in and around Times Square where we occasionally stopped to check if the largest indoor roller coaster in SE Asia was actually going to stop travelling at breakneck speed, we also took in the cultural diversities of Chinatown and Little India - often eating our way out, checked out Central Market both at day and night as the food stalls there were truly remarkable, we visited the national planetarium, the national mosque (wow), Masjid Jamek Mosque, the Islamic arts centre, the old train station building, travelled the skytrain and even managed to walk along the world renowned Petaling St Market where flocks of tourists and locals combine to ignite a fantastic atmosphere of street stalls and restaurants. Our list of things still didn't end there as combining this with some excellent opportunities to sample several different cuisines we enjoyed some amazing Indian food at Woodlands Vegetarian restaurant - unearthing Jo's new favourite 'The Paper Dosai', we ate like pigs in a cute little Japanese place & also indulged in many more kinds of street food on offer. The only thing we didn't do was drink alcohol! So expensive in a Muslim populated country and something my system thanked me for after our exploits in Thailand.
Concluding our 1st visit, our second and third visits provided us with a day at Sunway Lagoon Plaza and Waterpark which turned out to be good fun after an initial dodgy start where most of the rides were closed. We also booked trips to Melaka (see Melaka section) and took in a pretty damn good Ramadan festival market where I got to try Nasi Kerabu with Blue rice for the first time..... Super!!!
Needing another little beach break after the hectic non-stop first three days activities previously mentioned, we decided our next destination would be the Perhentian Islands where we had to catch an overnight train through the jungle. How exciting!!!!
Never the less, our first of three visits to Malaysia's multicultural capital throughout our journey was easily navigated with a simple hour long bus journey from the airport to the city centre taking in the great sight of the Sepang F1 circuit on-route. From there, we once again hoped on the tube for 1 stop and arrived at our pre-booked destination.
Entering the city, it is hard not to make comparisons to London. For example, nearly every ones first language is English, there was almost always constant outbreaks of rain and to top that the little India, Chinatown and glass panelled structures were very reminiscent of Tooting, Soho or Canary Wharf.
Staying at a cute little hostel named Surai Inn we were immediately brought up to speed with what to & not to do in this amazing setting by our lovely and hospitable host. A truly great guy, going out of his way to make sure you know everything you need to.
Throughout our first stint of three days here we once again managed to fill our days with exciting new adventures, leaving our second & third visits mainly for transportation stopovers or minor day trips to the surrounding areas. With so much to see and do here that we wanted to participate in we set out seeing the amazing Petronas towers both from ground and high rise elevations, truly awesome landmarks. We also climbed up to the highest possible viewpoint at the Menara KL Towers providing us with some stunning views over the city and some rather cool photographs. Mix this in with doing a forest in the city tour, the mammoth shopping plazas in and around Times Square where we occasionally stopped to check if the largest indoor roller coaster in SE Asia was actually going to stop travelling at breakneck speed, we also took in the cultural diversities of Chinatown and Little India - often eating our way out, checked out Central Market both at day and night as the food stalls there were truly remarkable, we visited the national planetarium, the national mosque (wow), Masjid Jamek Mosque, the Islamic arts centre, the old train station building, travelled the skytrain and even managed to walk along the world renowned Petaling St Market where flocks of tourists and locals combine to ignite a fantastic atmosphere of street stalls and restaurants. Our list of things still didn't end there as combining this with some excellent opportunities to sample several different cuisines we enjoyed some amazing Indian food at Woodlands Vegetarian restaurant - unearthing Jo's new favourite 'The Paper Dosai', we ate like pigs in a cute little Japanese place & also indulged in many more kinds of street food on offer. The only thing we didn't do was drink alcohol! So expensive in a Muslim populated country and something my system thanked me for after our exploits in Thailand.
Concluding our 1st visit, our second and third visits provided us with a day at Sunway Lagoon Plaza and Waterpark which turned out to be good fun after an initial dodgy start where most of the rides were closed. We also booked trips to Melaka (see Melaka section) and took in a pretty damn good Ramadan festival market where I got to try Nasi Kerabu with Blue rice for the first time..... Super!!!
Needing another little beach break after the hectic non-stop first three days activities previously mentioned, we decided our next destination would be the Perhentian Islands where we had to catch an overnight train through the jungle. How exciting!!!!
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