South-East Asia

The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur seems like a lesser version of Singapore - a bit smaller, a bit less clean, less organized and less green, though bustling and exciting. We stayed in a worn-down dormitory room in busy Little India, an area with shopping centres, banks and many beggars. We had a delicious local specialty here - claypot chicken, prepared traditional way on open fire in a pot made of clay.

The cities most renowned sight, the Petronas Towers were quite a disappointment - we got up at 7.00, stood in line for a ticket from 8.00 until 9.15 and got a ticket for 11.45. Before going in, you get to see a 20-minutes promotion movie on Petronas, then you wait in the line for another 20 minutes before finally being allowed to go up by lift. Up on the sky bridge, we had maybe four minutes to take some pictures before we were kicked out. To sum it up, the whole thing is not worth the efforts, and much nicer to see from the outside than from the inside.

It was not really our day, as upon arrival at the TV tower, whose 270-meter platform should give a spectacular view on the skyline at night, we discovered that the entry fee had just been doubled to above 10 dollars per person. Apart from its modern skyline, KL has an abundance of parks and historic Muslim and British colonial architecture, such as its central square, the state mosque and the old railway station.

Apart from its modern skyline, KL has an abundance of parks and historic Muslim and British colonial architecture, such as its central square, the state mosque and the old railway station.

Also, the Butterfly Park with lots of bird-sized butterflies and large bugs and spiders is a fascinating place.