We both struggled to wake up this morning, the quiet of the hotel with the cool air con makes sleeping too easy. That and we've walked flippin' miles over the last few days!! We had an exciting trip to the post office where I sent home some of my stuff...should have taken Alpkit Nick's advice and just packed my credit card and passport, although I would now be wearing nothing but Thai fishing trousers and Chinese dressing gowns!!

Feeling a little less affluent at breakfast time we opted for a little Chinese bakery over Starbucks. I had a small slice of banana cake and carrot cake, both of which were delicious. Josh had chocolate brownie and durian (pungent fruit) cake which could best be described as having a 'musty' flavour to it. All of the cakes were light and moist and it's likely we'll go back tomorrow.

Fancying a quieter day than yesterday (even though yesterday was a quiet day) we headed to the Islamic arts museum for a bit of culture. The whole area around the bird park and museums is lovely, and obviously had quite a lot of money spent on it when it was done in 1991. There are funky street lamps and decorative handrails and the paving slabs have been properly laid. The museum itself is in a large glass building with steel Islamic patterned screens over the windows, it's very pretty. The inside was like stepping into a new fridge; pristine white, shiny and wonderfully cool.

Wandering (yes Martyn with an 'a') through the exhibits we saw detailed models of mosques, intricately illustrated pages of the Quran, stunning jewellery, fabrics, weaponry and tiles. I've always liked Islamic artwork with its symmetry and geometry. Each room was crowned by a magnificent domed roof with gold and mirrors, painted in pastel shades - really beautiful.

We walked round to the orchid and hibiscus gardens which were pretty but somewhat forgotten about, like nobody had visited them for some time. It's a shame, as they were another nice pocket of tranquillity.

Feeling very tired and hot we walked back to the hotel where Josh read for a bit and I crashed into an impromptu nap. For dinner, we were feeling a bit more adventurous so opted for one of the satay stalls near the hotel. The principle is simple once it's been explained. Grab a plate and pile it up with the skewers of fish, prawns, chicken, beef, lamb, pork, smoked duck, squid, various vegetables... You get the idea; there was a lot of choice!! Then they barbecue it for you with a sensational spicy sauce and bring it your table. At the table is a selection of sauces (satay, oyster and chilli) and a Bain Marie in the centre to boil veg or dumplings. You go back for as many skewers as you can eat/afford and at the end they work out your bill based on how many of each coloured skewer you have. Fantastic! Josh's favourites were squid tentacles and the broccoli. My favourites were the smoked duck and the oyster mushrooms, which came in a light batter coating with a dusting of spices yum!

We went into a couple of Chinese shops selling decorations for the New Year. These shops must be what our tacky Christmas shops are like; very very tacky. But to the untrained eye they are interesting to look at and quite pretty.

Tomorrow is some kind of national day so we're not sure what to do. There might be parades and shows going on or the whole place might be a ghost town... Either way it will be interesting for our last day in KL!

Anna xx