Following a week on remote desert islands, it was time to fly to the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur with our favorite no frills airline, Air Asia. After an adequate 2 hour flight on the only plane at Krabi airport, we touched town in KL. On arrival to the airport and after 4 and a half weeks of fasting we finally succumed to the golden arches and had our first glorious McDonalds of the trip. Disappointingly we only managed to equal our 7 value meal collaborative record set at KFC in Bangkok. During our feast, our typically high browed conversation turned to philosophy once again. Ant's measly 6 nugget meal became 7 with the insightful theory into our eating habits throughout our trip, proposing that our overindulgence could be put down to the fact we were mistaking not being full for hunger. This came as a revelation to Dave, slurping on his chocolate milkshake after polishing off his double cheeseburger dessert that followed his 18 chicken nugget haul, comfortably surpassing the daily reccomended calorie intake in less than 20 minutes. Fasting was definitely over. On arrival to our hostel, we checked into our "12 bed" dorm that was housing 17 hardy souls. As a result we suffered one of the worst nights sleep of the holiday, topped off by one particular lump of a man who decided to serenade us for the whole night with his impressivly loud snoring.

Having escaped the hostel we ventured into the city centre. Put off by the prospect of queuing at 6.30am to get a ticket to go up the Petronas Towers, we decided to go to the nearby KL Menara Tower for a better view. After baulking at the $15 entry fee, James and Ant left Dave to go up on his own where he enjoyed the most unbelievable views accompanied by what he thought was the best audio tour imaginable. A truly memorable, cultural, personal and spiritual experience. We then walked over to the Petronas Towers to see them close up. On the way, James suggested we went to the top floor of the nearby 5 star Traders Hotel. At the top we entered the glamorous skybar on the 54th floor to find a spectacular view of the Petronas Towers, juxtaposed against the mountainous background and parkland foreground. Just as we were about to leave, we enquired into the availability of an alcoholic beverage. To our pleasant surprise, we were told that it was BOGOF on Heineken, something we were not expecting in a 5 star hotel overlooking the Petronas Towers. Following in the noble footsteps of our fathers, we were not ones to pass up such an opportunity and so we slumped back on the poolside sofas and sipped on the sweet amber nectar.

Next up on our whistle stop tour of KL, we headed for Times Square, a ridiculous 10 story shopping centre complete with its very own roller coaster and mini theme park. After briefly sampling Petaling Street in the heart of KL's Chinatown the previous night, we decided to head back to hunt for some bargains and spend our remaining Ringgit. Arriving in the bustling market of Chinatown, we found a plethora of stalls and stallholders eager to sell us everything from fake watches to cheap souvenirs. After 3 hours of intense and fruitless negotiation, we emerged empty handed heads still buzzing with potential deals. Similarly to Hoi An, Ant and Dave decided to rendezvous at the usual meeting point, the bar, in order to discuss tactics. The vitamin L supplement empowered them with the clairvoyance to seal the deals on time and under budget. Half an hour later, Ant returned to the hostel thrilled that his perseverance had secured him a Tag Heuer watch for princely sum of 40 Ringgit (about £7). Despite missing the agreed deadline, a dishevelled but elated Dave arrived back at the hostel having managed to double his wardrobe for the grand sum of 75 Ringgit.

The following day we got the bus to Singapore and what a bus it was. Copious amounts of legroom and a massage function on the seats made our 6 hour journey fly by. Arriving late in Singapore, we dumped our bags and headed to a nearby Hawker centre in Little India for food. Inadvertently, we stumbled across a small stall that provided some of the best food we have had all trip. $3 (about £1.50) was all it took to get a glorious plate of roasted duck with rice, a meal that would become our staple diet throughout our time in Singapore. After this we needed to get our weekly fill of sport. We headed to the lively Clarke Quay to watch West Ham demolish Liverpool, followed by one of the best cricket matches we had ever seen. After we discovered that Hooters Singapore was not showing the India v England cricket after the football, we headed to the second best place to watch sport in Clarke Quay, the world famous sporting mecca, The Tent Mongolian Fresh Grill and Bar. We watched England's collapse with a group of slightly over exuberant whistle blowing Indian cricket fans and were relieved that England managed to escape with a draw.

The following day we took a flight on the Singapore Flyer, the city's answer to the London Eye, which gave us spectaular views of the skyline. Our enjoyment however was hampered by the truly appalling audio tour provided. Instead of giving us an interesting insight into Singapore's landmarks and their history, it decided to rabbit on about Feng Shui and Chi. After a brief walk around the docklands and city centre, pausing for just and hour to sample Singapore's finest massage chairs, much to the disgust of the store's staff, we ventured to the National Museum of Singapore. After blagging our student status to get in for next to nothing, the 'Companion' audio and video tour, provided us with a solid foundation in Singapore's fascinating history. Having revelled in the best audio tour of the trip at the KL Tower, Dave had to concede that the 'Companion' had by far and away topped its rival. We then headed to Raffles hotel with the intention of purchasing a Singapore Sling. Arriving at the Long Bar, we sat down and devoured the free monkey nuts, delighting in throwing the empty shells on the floor as appeared customary. Having taken their food and littered their floor, we found the price of the Sling to be a little out of our range and so we made a quick exit.

Following two more Roasted duck and rice meals we said our farewells to Singapore and to Asia as a whole before heading to Oz.

Ant, Dave and James