We had a big comfy bus to take us all the way from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, which was a pleasant surprise and not what I expected from Asian buses! Although there were no toilets on board which is always worrying, but plenty of stops at holes in the ground along the way, seriously I don't know if I will ever get used to squat toilets!

Anyway, as we arrived into KL we really had the feeling that our adventure into Asia had begun!

We had a tip from Michelle who we met on the bus about a hostel in Chinatown where she was staying so we headed there only to find that it was full due to Chinese New Year (has it really not finished yet?!). It was the same story at a few other hostels we visited, and even though Michelle had offered to let us squeeze into her tiny room for the night, we started to get a bit stressed!

We eventually found somewhere and sorted ourselves out, sending pretty much all of our bags to the laundry which was in desperate need after the outback! That night we went to meet Michelle for a few beers in the rooftop garden at her hostel, where we met Justine and Nathan who we would end up stalking around Malaysia though we didn't know it at the time!

Next morning we went out in search of breakfast and were somewhat horrified to find that people were eating noodles and rice etc, which is much more than I could stomach at that time in the morning! We settled (guiltily) on a McDonalds breakfast... Well you know what they say, when in Rome (!). Also we were highly amused when the guy behind the counter shouted "thank you come again" as we were leaving!

Chinese New Year finally being over (at least thats what we thought), we moved into the hostel we had tried to the night before which is run by a fairly butch "lady". We then set off to explore, which involved yet another visit to a mosque, this time complete with headscarf! Next we went to the CBD to see the Petronas towers which have become iconic for KL. Right on cue, the heavens opened and we got soaked, especially as it was unnecessarily difficult to navigate our way back into town! We were feeling more than a little fed up by this point, but then, as a beacon of light in the darkness, I spotted something that turned my mood around in an instant........ TOPSHOP!!! Although Jonny did not seem to share my excitement, I was allowed a few minutes to go in, so I duly bought myself a bikini (would be rude not to), and it made my day!

When we eventually found a metro station we decided just to go straight for tea in Little India and check out the night markets. Afterwards we went back to the hostel to lay in the air conditioning!!!

Order of the day on Sunday was a visit to the Batu Caves, which is a number of Indian Temples inside caves. They were pretty impressive, even if we did have to climb 200 steps to get into the first one! However for us the highlight was not the shrines but the cute (if slightly rabid) monkeys everywhere, and I spent most of my time trying to get the money shot! We threw caution to the wind and splurged one ringet to get into one cave, which had a big statue of a giant that looked like Jonny (pre hair cut) asleep!

After heading back to Chinatown we went off in search of another mosque which is one of the biggest in southeast Asia. This time we donned fluorescent purple robes complete with hood, and both of us got collared by tour guides. The one who nabbed me was trying to teach me about the differences between the Qu'ran and the Bible, but in truth I was totally lost and trying desperately to plan my escape route, which I was only able to action about half an hour later! One thing that we really have noticed though in Malaysia is the prominence of the Muslim culture, especially when you hear the call to prayer several times a day!

Later on we booked a bus that would take us to Pulau Pangkor the next day for some much needed beach time, and Jonny braved a haircut which was apparently "the best one he's ever had" and where the barber (an Indian guy in Chinatown in KL?!) complemented him on his "very nice sideburns!" and even included a kind of back massage. Winner!

We were pretty nakkered but had some nice street food for dinner (roti is the way forward) before packing (Jonny making sure he packed my hat, which he has nicknamed the 'silent assassin' because it creeps up on him) and going to bed for our early start the next day! We had fun in KL but overall were looking forward to getting somewhere quieter where it is not such hard work to get around!