Our flight from Sandakan was one approached with a healthy dose of trepidation and fear; given that MH370 was recently lost and we had booked with Malaysian Airlines. On top of this there was nowhere in the airport to buy some stiff drinks and the plane had none on board either. We would have greatly regretted if our last drinks ever were apple juice!! With every bit of turbalance we saw other passengers fidgetting and tapping their knees, a few clued up Chinese businessmen had clearly hit the sake early and seemed more relaxed than most. It was a relief to touch down in KL, not only as we survived but also because it more progressive than Semporna.
We decided that our time in KL would be spent doing the touristy thing, starting with a visit to the Batu caves. The caves feature many steps, lots of tourists and some very aggressive, cheeky monkeys who consistently raid the temple food offerings, tourists bags and snacks. We also walked around the city centre, saw the Petronas towers from afar and even had a look through the massive shopping malls (which Russ's Mom would love) - much to Russ's despair.
It is Tash's birthday today and to celebrate we have purchased a nice bottle of wine (a rare and expensive luxury at the moment) and we have plans to ascend the Petronas towers this evening followed by dinner a one of the top rated Japanese restaurants in KL. Tomorrow we head to Vietnam, flying into Ho Chi Minh City with plans to travel up towards Hanoi over the coming month.
Looking back on our four weeks in Malaysia, we loved climbing Kinabalu, enjoyed the natural beauty of the Cameron Highlands and Borneo but have been disappointed by most of the towns and cities, which have been largely dirty, smelly and at times unwelcoming to westerners. We also don't rate the food which has mainly been uninspiring, greasy and a bit dull. Bring on Vietnamese cuisine!
