Kuala Lumpur. Second time around.

Twenty four hours later at 5am, after a boat, coach, two minivans and a taxi we arrived in Kuala Lumpur's China Town. To my surprise all the hostels were fully booked but one agreed we could wait in their lounge until two beds became available. We met a guy who had been attacked so badly by bed bugs it looked as though he had chicken pox all over his back. The hostel had given him a room for some respite from their feeding which he said he didn't need anymore so we exchanged him for some anti-histamine cream!

A few hours sleep later we were ready to take in the sights of KL. K had never been before and I was happy I now knew the way so we took in the National Mosque, Museum of Islamic Arts and the National Monument. K bought a bouncy ball and I bought some pineapple with sour powder. Yum.

On our way back we planned to stop off for a quick drink before showering and heading out for the evening. Although Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country we were shocked at how hard it was to find a bar in a city as cosmopolitan as KL. After an hour of wandering we settled on the Reggae Bar. It only took me five seconds to find the sign on the wall that said 'Free drinks for backpacker girls. 6pm-11pm.' I called over a waiter and checked out the logistics: 'How many free drinks? Do you have to be staying here to get them? Can I get them today?' We were good to go so grinning I turned to K and said 'I'll get the first round in then!'

We stayed at the Reggae Bar until 11pm chatting to an English/ French couple who had just got back from the Philippines so I racked their brains and came away with a napkin full of more precious travel advice than ten Lonely Planets.

For my final day in KL I wanted to check out the Batu Caves as I had missed it out last time round. We boarded a train and arrived at 4pm (late arrival due to nursing hangovers). We climbed the several hundred steps behind the huge golden deity to the entrance of the caves. The sign at the top promised us 'No more exercise'!

The tavern inside was full of mischievous monkeys and we watched as they persistently stole the Hindu religious garlands and dragged them up the cliff walls to have a good chew on them. They weren't deterred by a religious man throwing rocks at them; he invariably missed. Some music started to play and we were witness to a Hindu ceremony although I wasn't sure what it was for. For a few moments though, it felt as though we were in India.

We stopped off at a reptile centre and jumped on the train back to the city. K wanted to go to the part for sunset so we got off at a random stop hoping to find a taxi. Anytime you walk anywhere in Asia you are constantly shouted at; "Taxi, Taxi", "Tuk Tuk, Tuk Tuk", but the only time we actually needed a ride it was impossible to flag one down. We had a rough map with no scale (the maps are always wrong anyway) so decided to head on foot in the rough direction until we found a lift.

KL is a great city to get lost in. Many cultures and religions all live happily side by side (Muslim, Hindu and Chinese being the main ones) which brings an eye-catching variety to the streets. After an hour or so of walking we eventually managed to flag down a taxi who told us the park was just across the bridge we were stood on - map reading genius!  We had missed sunset but the view of KL rising out above the lake was breathtaking. The KL Towers and skyscrapers - their billowing lights stretching up into the warm hazy night sky.

We grabbed a burger and headed up to the Petronas Towers for a panoramic bird's eye view of the night city-scape. Through the binoculars you could peer at people on the streets, in gyms and going about their ant-like routines.



My flight to Manila was at 7am so I headed back to the hostel and tried to get a couple of hours sleep before the 3am airport shuttle bus. I can never sleep if I know I have to get up early but the excitement of going to the Philippines gave me enough energy to get to the airport and on the plane.