How the first week was spent...

Since arriving in Kuala Lumpur more than a week ago, we have covered most must-see's in the city:

Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC, incl. Park and Petronas Towers)

Merdeka Square

Kuala Lumpur Old Train Station

Chinatown (Petaling Street at night, amazing, they have everything...)

Little India

Central Market

Batu Caves

KL Tower

...and a lot of other stuff.

A very cool thing (and probably the best way to get a cheap eat during Ramadan) are the Ramadan Basars where all sorts of Malay specialities are offered. The markets start in the early afternoon and at 7:30 all the stalls are empty as the Muslims are allowed to break their fast.

These basars will continue until Hari Raya (which is the Malay name for Eidalfitri, the last 3 days of Ramadan), in other words until end of August.

Oh, and we did spend a nice lazy day at the pool as well and we had great evenings together with Selina, Matthias' cousin, who was kind enough to let us stay with her. Thank you so much for taking such good care of us, and giving us tips on what to do and see here!!

Paradise for a book worm like me, Selina showed us the best book store ever with the lowest prices I have ever seen. And the best thing: all in English. Since I just have my backpack, I had to choose only one book and what would be more fitting than a Malay author? Tash Aw has written "The Harmony Silk Factory" about textile merchant Johnny Lim. If you can find the book, it is well worth reading!

The book plays in the parts of Malaysia where we are now: Ipoh and surroundings.

We arrived in Ipoh earlier than planned, since the Cameron Highlands (where we originally wanted to spend two nights) turned out to have a very british climate but the amount of rain per hour is about times ten compared to London. The first day it poured down for four hours straight, causing a landslide in a nearby village, killing seven people. This kind of put us of and we decided to go jungle trekking and take the afternoon bus to Ipoh.

Raining...

View from our window in Tanah Rata (Cameron Highlands)

Arriving in Ipoh, tired after a day in the jungle, we made the mistake of checking in at a guesthouse before having a look at the rooms. BIG mistake! I might be a beginner when it comes to travelling in Asia, but seriously when the room has dirty bedding full with holes, a mattress so worn out that you sink right onto the floor and cockroaches, termite and other samples of Malaysian wildlife in it, I just don't feel like spending the night there. At least now we know why the staff was so keen on us paying for the room straight away.

We found a very nice hotel in a much nicer area and ended up spending the night in a room twice the size and a hundred times better than the first one (yes, we do pay twice the price as well and it is soooo worth it!).

- Cisela