We had a few days in KL and I think that was enough! Our hotel wasn't particularly brilliant (more on that later) and the chaotic city was overwhelming at times! On our fist night there after the Jungle Railway we thought we'd go and check out the night market in Chinatown. It was one of the busiest places I've ever been to! So many people trying to sell you stuff, locals buying and selling, tourists trying not to get pulled into each of the stalls whilst walking down tiny walkways, lots of smells, sights and sounds. A great experience. We found a little Chinese stall selling some food and escaped the crowds for a while before retiring to the Serai Inn. The rooms were pretty tiny and the walls made of some sort of plaster board partition so we could pretty much hear people peeing in the loo at the other end of the corridor!

We wanted to go to some of the quieter markets and set off to Central Market the next morning. A little more organised but still full of amazing things, we found it a bit more relaxing (thanks, in part, to a rather cheap but brilliant massage at the market spa). After a bit of shopping we went to the Golden Triangle to look at the Petronus Towers and shopping centre beneath. The whole area is much more affluent than some of the places we'd seen, it was like a separate city altogether.

On the day after, we took the local bus (only just, thanks to some misdirection from both Lonely Planet and our hotel owners) to the Batu Caves, a system of 3 interlinking caves used for Hindu worship. The temples were full of monkeys (thought of as sacred) and pigeons (not so sacred). Outside the cave entrance stood the world's tallest statue (140.09 ft high), of Murugan, a Hindu deity. There were 272 flights to reach the cave entrance and inside were a few smaller temples and a lot of litter. The monkeys constantly raid the bins and leave everything lying around, so it wasn't quite what we had expected, but all in all the whole complex was really impressive.

A short bus ride into town dropped us off in the best thunderstorm to date, so we had to wait a while before going to Merdeka Square, right in the heart of KL. A former collonial district (not as impressive as Singapore's), the Sultan's Palace was there all lit up. Also, there was a large band stand for us to stop and watch some traditional music and dancing. They were rehearsing for the arrival of the Olympic Torch on its route to China.

I thought KL would be a bit more clean and modern than it actually was, but I think that's because the only other big city that we've been to in Asia was Singapore. However, it still felt like an adventure walking around the city, and crossing the road was a full-time occupation! On our final morning our hotel sent us to completely the wrong bus stance to catch our bus to the Cameron Highlands, not the best way to end our stay there.

-B