Day 742 - High above KL

Alarm issues meant that our early morning wake-up was harder to deal with than anticipated, but after years on the road our bodies have become used to waking up and starting the day of touring. We made it to the Pertronas Twin Towers still early enough to get in line for the limited free tickets available each day and headed up to the 41st floor where the footbridge joining the two towers lies. Although the buildings are 82 stories high, making up 452m, we were at 170m and got great views out over the city - although the pollution and glass meant there wasn't a crystal clear view. With our high altitude sight-seeing completed for the day we headed back to the hustle and bustle of China town for some cheap roti and coffee for breakfast. As KL is a compact city, and most of its sights being close together, we made a vague plan of where to go and what to see.

Our feet first delivered us to the Dataran Merdeka - puportedly the worlds tallest flagpole, flying the Malaysian flag high and proud. This area was surrounded by some gorgeous buildings housing the History Museum and National Gallery, but both were closed.

From here we went to check out the Masjid Jamek (Friday Mosque) - a small Mosque surrounded by palm trees and glowing pink in the hazy sky. Unfortunately it was prayer time, and as we're not Muslim we couldn't go in for a look, but we got great views of it from across the river. We went for a stroll through Little India, where it seemed that the only things for sale were headscarves by the millions, rip-off dvds, and of course lots of curries!

We made our way to the cricket ground, where we entered the gorgeous St Marys Cathedral, where its small size seemed out of place in modern KL where everything else is towering above. We then walked past the Royal Selangor Club where Hash House Harriers began, but now it's just a home for KL's elite.

On our way back to China Town we zigged zagged through the streets checking out the rainbow colours of the shop-houses, adding much needed colour to the steel skyscrapers that dominate here. These old buildings from the early 1900s retain some of KL's heritage, most of which has been lost to the growing modernity.

We visited a few Chinese temples, where giant spiral incense hovered overhead and as they burned the wishes of the faithful floated into the sky. Finally, on our walk back to the hotel we passed through the streets markets, full of fresh fruit like these spiky delights - our favourite rambutans. Tonight we spent hours wandering through the lively night market in the centre of China Town, though that was only enough time to see one side of the jam-packed market street. We'll have to do the other side tomorrow ...

Adlibing the sights of KL.