Kuala Lumpur is a big brilliant city with loads going for it but is still very much developing. We are staying with Mary and Tom in their appartment in central KL which is great! (Mary is Georges Aunt for anybody that doesn't know). They have a first class view of the twin towers *check out the photo* and the aircon is heavenly! We aren't used to this heat and its difficult walking around outside for too long. Thankfully wherever you are trying to get to you can always take a route through aircon buildings, walkways and shopping centres. Food, shopping and eating out here is very cheap compared to the UK, especially if you know where to go. Everything is generally half or a third of the price it is in the UK, other than some food in supermarkets. Chocolate and Alcohol is expensive and supermarket shopping is a bit of a challenge.
We flew here on Friday the 29th, our flight was delayed by about half an hour so we arrived at KL airport at about 10pm our time (8 hours ahead of UK) and Tom was waiting for us. Was great to see a familiar face! We began driving back until the tyre burst. The car didnt have a spare tyre and the repair kit broke so we were a bit stuck... Tom rang the AA type of company in Malaysia but they took forever and we didnt know exactly where we were so we were waiting for an hour or more for them to arrive. When they got to us there were only three seats in the front of the truck so Tom had to sit is his car on the back the truck. Looked like he was having a whale of a time with the roof down and the radio on! Obviosuly he had great faith in his handbrake! The seatbelts wouldnt work but apparently 'no need seatbelts' We finally managed to get to the appartment and Mary thought the incident was pretty amusing. We hadn't eaten hardly anything on the plane because it was really quite gross and we had been put off by a seriously ill man with red bloodshot eyes in the aisle next to us that kept coughing stuff up. So we went out to get some food at a 24hour place down the road and Tom knew exactly how to order - they have lived here a while now. By the time we got in bed (after having a drink back on the balcony) it was 5am on Saturday 30th so we slept in until midday!
On Saturday Mary and Tom, along with two of their friends that also moved here from Aberdeen, Monica and Charlie, took us to the Festival - 'Thaipusam' It would be interesting to have a look at this link to find out more about the festival we went to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam It was hot, dirty and facinating. Have a look through our photos on here and go to our youtube page to look at videos! We were totally sweltering but it was worth it! We took part and walked up the steps (you will see them behind the huge gold statue in the photos). It was amazing to watch the people walking up the steps carrying huge weight on the heads and shoulders. Some had metal hooks through their backs attached to ropes or chains, again, see the photos it will explain better than i can.
Since then we have been escorted around the city by Mary and Tom and have done a fair bit of wondering ourselves. We joined Marys friend Monica to spend the morning at an orphanage that she reguarly helps out at. We sat down with the kids and read out a story, asking them questions and then did some art and craft with them - making chinese dragons. It was good fun - a small place with about 60 children (i think thats what i was told!) Quite a strong structure made of metal sheets that they lived, slept and had lessons in. We are talking to Monica at the moment and she is tiring out her contacts to try and find us somewhere we can volunteer at reguarly. We are hoping to get something that we can do everyday for about 2 months. We are visiting another orphanage (still in KL like the other one) that is bigger that may need our help. We are in contact with a few people about that at the moment so will be finding out soon if its going ahead.
For now, we must go and have some lunch - have been doing this since 9 this morning so time for food now. Hopefully the videos will be all uploaded on youtube ok. Enjoy pics and videos!
