Just follow the Heritage trail while you leave your bags in safe hands ( in our case the police, because the tourism centre was closed). The Japanese cemetery was impressive and it was a pity that we couldn't enter the Chinese temple after 5 pm. We experienced our first tropical storm with lightning and everything, but we forced ourselves to find the last landmark: an Anglican church. The people inside were singing and we even heard some drums, inspired by heavy metal music. After dinner in a Chinese 'McDonalds' we managed to get a cab for a few ringgit ( about 2-3 euro pp). Now we' re on the plane to Kota Kinabalu and in two days we will climb the mountain (4092 m). Greetings from the sky and we don't say farewell, only goodbye.
How to hunt for food in a big city (=> jungle practice???)
The day started early but quite well with a nice breakfast and some tips from our friendly (g)host. First we went to the ticket counter at the Petronas towers to be sure to catch a free entrance ticket. We 'booked' the lift at 12.00 and headed to the KL Tower in the meantime. We almost got arrested for Mieke's possession of a swiss pocket knife. But they only confiscated it and we were allowed to go up the 470m high KL Tower. Unfortunately, accompanied with some dirty looks of the guards and a messed up backpack. The 360 degree view was magnificent. Back down, we followed a short jungle trail in a small forestry reservate and got our first mosquito bites. We also spotted some silver leaf (langur) monkeys. Then we headed back to the Petronas twin towers for our visit to the skybridge. Thanks to the excellent view, we finally discovered the 'real' KLCC park and we were pleased to be able to cool down in the wading pool. The last stop of the day was the local Chinatown or Jalan Petaling. Lots of fake watches, handbags, clothes, everything illegal of course, so snitches covered all corners to keep an eye on the police cars. Back in the hotel, we were informed that the 'teksi' driver would pick us up at 4.15 am for our ride to the airport. Bummer. In the morning, oh joy, we were told they had made a mistake and we could have slept 1 hour extra. Anyway, we were already up and about, which could not be said about the taxi driver. He was driving 'criss-cross' on the road, closing his eyes from time to time. Nevertheless, keeping a close eye on him, we reached the airport in one piece and got on the plane, direction Sandakan. Ready for our first wildlife spotting...
The two sisters of belgium (english version of message one)
12 hours on plane, 1 hour bus/train and we arrived at our hostel. After a short nap, we deciphered the railway transport system and headed to the Jamek Mosque. As non-moslim women, we were not allowed in the mosque itself and we were obliged to wear a scarf and a long-sleeved coat. Immediately a moslim preacher, who called everybody brother and sister, approached us and explained everything about the islamic believe. One hour later we succeeded in "escaping" the rattling preacher...Afterwards we got lost during our search for the tourism centre but were saved by some friendly Malaysian 'old' men. Then we started our hunt for food but bumped against the Petronas Twin Towers (PTT). The hunger was stronger than the curiousity, so we had lunch in the 'Rum Jungle' nearby. No beetles or spiders on the menu, but good rice noodles with oystersauce did the trick. After a short exploration of the shopping mall Suria KLCC and a tasteful Starbucks cup of caramel coffee we headed back to our hotel and had a good night sleep, which was very necessary.
Na een 12 uur durende vlucht, verlicht door films en computerspelletjes, en een half uur op trein en bus, belandden we rond 9 uur in ons hotel (dat betekent dus ongeveer 2.30 uur `s nachts Belgische tijd). Een klein dutje en daarna half versuft de grote stad in. Bijgevolg waren we dadelijk verdwaald en de straten zonder naambordjes hielpen ons ook niet verder. Vriendelijke mannen daarentegen, zetten ons met plezier op de bus en zo bereikten we uiteindelijk onze bestemming(en). Eerst en vooral het oprichtingspunt van Kuala Lumpur bezocht, de Masjid Jamek Moskee, waar we al direct een sluier en gewaad moesten aantrekken om binnen te mogen. Daar werden we meteen gegijzeld (bij wijze van spreken!) door een overenthousiaste moslim-predikant, die ons in 1 uur wilde bekeren. Tis dat we zo gelovig zijn, anders hadden we ons meteen een burka laten aanmeten :). NOG meer bekaf, begaven we ons daarna naar het grootste tourist information centre, in de hoop ergens in de buurt iets te eten te vinden. Groot was onze verbazing toen we een `Rum Jungle` ontdekten temidden van de stad. Een noedelschotel voor 2 en nee, gene rum colee Annick. Nadat ons buikje wat boller was, bleek dat we vlakbij de Petronas towers zaten en hebben we de `area` al in kaart gebracht voor morgen. We willen morgenvroeg natuurlijk als eerste op die verbindingsbrug tussen de torens staan. Om 7 uur uit de veren en tis te hopen dat onze benen zich ni verweren. Tenslotte een grote caramel koffie in de Starbucks geslurpt (zaaallliiigggg, `mentaal orgasme` zouden sommigen onder jullie zeggen ;)) en dan tevreden maar voldaan naar ons hotelleke teruggegaan. Nog effe alles laten bezinken, misschien nog eentje klinken voor we als echte globetrotters in een diepe slaap verzinken.
(Plus de vertaling in`t Engels zal ook voor sebiet of morgen zijn...)
Just follow the Heritage trail while you leave your bags in safe hands ( in our case the police, because the tourism centre was closed). The Japanese cemetery was impressive and it was a pity that we couldn't enter the Chinese temple after 5 pm. We experienced our first tropical storm with lightning and everything, but we forced ourselves to find the last landmark: an Anglican church. The people inside were singing and we even heard some drums, inspired by heavy metal music. After dinner in a Chinese 'McDonalds' we managed to get a cab for a few ringgit ( about 2-3 euro pp). Now we' re on the plane to Kota Kinabalu and in two days we will climb the mountain (4092 m). 
12 hours on plane, 1 hour bus/train and we arrived at our hostel. After a short nap, we deciphered the railway transport system and headed to the Jamek Mosque. As non-moslim women, we were not allowed in the mosque itself and we were obliged to wear a scarf and a long-sleeved coat. Immediately a moslim preacher, who called everybody brother and sister, approached us and explained everything about the islamic believe. One hour later we succeeded in "escaping" the rattling preacher...Afterwards we got lost during our search for the tourism centre but were saved by some friendly Malaysian 'old' men. Then we started our hunt for food but bumped against the Petronas Twin Towers (PTT). The hunger was stronger than the curiousity, so we had lunch in the 'Rum Jungle' nearby. No beetles or spiders on the menu, but good rice noodles with oystersauce did the trick. After a short exploration of the shopping mall Suria KLCC and a tasteful Starbucks cup of caramel coffee we headed back to our hotel and had a good night sleep, which was very necessary.
Na een 12 uur durende vlucht, verlicht door films en computerspelletjes, en een half uur op trein en bus, belandden we rond 9 uur in ons hotel (dat betekent dus ongeveer 2.30 uur `s nachts Belgische tijd). Een klein dutje en daarna half versuft de grote stad in. Bijgevolg waren we dadelijk verdwaald en de straten zonder naambordjes hielpen ons ook niet verder. Vriendelijke mannen daarentegen, zetten ons met plezier op de bus en zo bereikten we uiteindelijk onze bestemming(en). 
