Kuala Lumpur... Cheap taxis come to those who walk a block!

Big tree on one of our hikes.
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Into Kuala Lumpur in time for supper. Checked into the Green Hut Lodge which is a great place, in the heart of it all in the Golden Triangle. Went next door for some Indian food--skipped the buffet, but had tandoori chicken and garlic nan bread. Yum!

The next morning we were up early and heading to the Petronas Towers to get in line for free tickets up to the sky bridge. Must be a lot of money in oil (!), for them to just be giving tickets away!! Only about 1000 a day, though, and first come first serve, so we were there just after 8am. To the front of the line eventually, and we were given tickets for 11am (you get a certain time slot to come for, so it's never crowded up on the bridge). Heading out, and the strangest thing. All these guys-- dozens, came running to the atm vestibule. Running. Strange to see adult men running, especially en masse. They all made a nice orderly queue, standing practically on top of one another, and waited patiently for the machine on the far left. None of them used the other 3 machines. Strange. Weren't sure what to do next, so we went upstairs to the mall(we were hungry!). Passed another bank--money exchange/Western Union place. Just as we were passing, it happened again... dozens(probably over a hundred) of guys running to form/get in a line outside the bank. (It was Sunday!) So strange.

Floating restaurant at Kuala Tahan, across the river from the park.
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Upstairs for some breakfast, overlooking the park behind the towers. Decided to check out the Science/Speed museum. Spent a LOT of time at the speed place. There were tonnes of really fun things to do(fun for little AND big kids!). We built lego race cars and raced them (I won!). Put our hands on a bar, and a bass drum beat to the rate of our heart rate. So many others. There was a baseball throwing place--it told you how fast you threw. Sean threw and threw so he could get the record of the day(stays on the screen)... 85 km/h. We went back, and there was a scrawny guy throwing--the thing must have misfunctioned-his first throw was 121km/h!! haha. His second and third throws were in the 30-40km/h range!!!haha. Found out just how much is really going on in Sean's brain--there was a mind ball contest- you put on special head bands, there's a ball under the glass that moves forward the fewer brainwaves you have going on in your head(it graphs them on a screen for each person). Sean and I went up against one another--I lost badly!!(his brainwaves were practically flat line). Sean rematched against another guy, who had won a few times, but was no match for my brother! And we all wonder what he's thinking of!!

Pretty flower on a plant outside our bungelow.
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Up the Petronas towers at 11, nice view. The towers are really impressive. Used to be the tallest in the world, but a taller one went up in Taipei, so now they're the tallest TWIN towers. Back down to the mall, and the science part of the museum, where I learned everything I've ever wanted to know(and some things I didn't!) about petroleum, where it comes from, how it's made, how it's refined, used, and on and on... They had some neat stuff thrown in, experiments, brain teasers, and lots of helpful people. Just everything was related somehow to Petroleum!(we went on a simulated helicopter ride to an oil rig even!). Interesting. Decided to catch a movie, went to the theatre and chose "Lucky Number Slevin", 'cause the time was right. Ran into some guys there(what are the chances??!!) who we met on the trip from Taman Negara. Went to the Hard Rock Cafe for supper--so good!! Happy hour, half price beer. Very nice. Then a brisk walk (dark out by now) to Kuala Lumpur Menara tower. Think CN tower, but a little shorter. It had amazing views over the city and all the lights. Petronas towers at night, with a thunderstorm going on in the background!! Pretty neat lightning, and really nice to watch it with nothing in the way!! Back down, where we tried to catch a cab back to our hostel. The cab counter at the tower said flat rate, $12(ringgit). About $3 cdn. Sounded a bit steep to us---funny how perceptions change, eh??(Who ever heard of a $3 cab ride in Canada, let alone thinking it was too expensive!??) So we walked to the bottom of the hill, and caught a cab on the main street. Meter on, to the hotel, $2.20 ringgit. Less than $1cdn. That's more like it!!

Bats in Ear Cave.
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Today we slept in a little(past 8am!) and out to Chinatown and the market. Did some browsing--I'm particularly proud of my new $3cdn watch! Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, which was really good. Bought 2 mangos(one green, one yellow) at a fruit stand and rode the train back to the Petronas towers and the park there. Sat under a tree, and had the best mangos I think I've ever tasted... Now we're about to catch a cab and head out to the airport, where we'll live in style(it has a pool!) until our flight to the Perhentian Islands tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!!!