Empress Hotel Sepang

... rounds and circles like a merry go round around KL Hilton/Sentral before he hit the main road. Told me to head to Istana Negara first (King's Palace) since there was this changing of guards at round noon. Went there, he dropped me off at the entrance with a whole busload of China tourists. Sure enough, there was a small changing of guards, but I could hardly photograph through the gates and through all the people. Horse at the entrance tried to bite a ...

Our next stop was the Batu Caves, a series of tunnels and chambers set into limestone cliffs just outside of Kuala Lumpur. The caves are one of Malaysia's most famous attractions, and are a holy site for the country's Hindu population. We'd seen plenty of photos of the statue of the god Murugan while preparing for our trip, but neither of us were prepared for just how massive it was in real life. Reading about ...

... and put our bags through straight away.<br><br>The flight was long but uneventful./ We had booked seats behing a bulkhead and found out that it was also next to an exit, so we had a huge amount of space in front of us. We had also pre-purchased an International meal and were pleased that we actually received two meals during the flight. The only down-side was a couple of young Chinese children across the aisle who had ...

... and we spent the evening talking and I gave my few little presents from Singapore out to him and Suzanne and Franzi (just a bottle opener... it was really nothing big, just a nice gesture to do). And Henning had a surprise for me... he showed me a picture of it... A real working western toilet was built in the Gianyar house! I couldn't believe it! He really got a toilet! He knew it was something the volunteers all wanted and deserved and the ...

... to it. It was quite impressively huge. There is also quality sport climbing here to, the biggest in Malaysia, but we weren't able to enjoy it due to our pathetic fingers. We both decided to be prudent and rest until Australia - we didn't want to prematurely screw up our climbing trip! All in all, we were pretty impressed with the culture of KL. So many different cultures living together, it's quite a contrast to the more homogenous cultures of Vietnam and Thailand.

... Ja passijono oli valtavan pitka. Meidan jatkolentomme Penangiin piti lahtea klo 16.30 ja viela kolme varttia ennen lahtoa olimme terminaalin toisessa paassa arviolta ainakin parinkymmenen minuutin mittaisen passintarkastusjonon paassa. Valittelimme kohtaloamme yhdelle jonoja kurissa pitaneelle henkilokunnan edustajalle, joka ohjasikin meidat sitten jonon ohi. Tunsimme selkapuolellamme ikavan selvasti varmasti ihan yhta kiireisten kanssamatkustajiemme katseet... Check-in ...

... toita tekevista) ja niinpa vain kysymaan, etta voidaanko puhua indonesiaa. Rouva oli kovasti ilahtuneen oloinen. Ja kommunikaatio-ongelmat loppuivat siihen. Formularadalla jonotimme ensin hakemaan Kimi Raikkoselta ja Felippe Massalta nimmareita, mutta jono oli niin pitka, ettei meidan vuoromme ehtinyt koskaan tulla. Sitten yritimme suojata kuuloamme mahdollisimman huolellisesti korvalaakarin suosittelemalla tuplasuojauksella. Aika-ajojen tilanteen ...

... judge for yourself. We get there to see the 125cc race finish and then the 250cc race, but we are waiting for the Moto GP and there is a noticeable change in the stands as the bikes line up. Even armed with my ear plugs, the noise is deafening as they start the race and it is totally absorbing. Riders swapping places and they fly past down the start/finish straight so fast, if you blink you'll miss it. Rossi finished 1st (obviously) with ...

... Red Arrows, but not as good, but also ten times as loud!! Imagine a jet plane flying over at home - very noisy, yes? Now times this by, I don't know, ten, and you have it! These planes were so low, you could see the pilots and the red glow of the engines as they passed over head - the noise was like nothing I have ever heard!!! As time went on more and more people arrived, until finally the area was absolutely packed - there was an unbelievable atmosphere! We ...

... They also had a fly past from the Malaysian Air Force which unlike the formation displays of the Red Arrows,just involved flying VERY fast and VERY low so that you could feel it in your chest when they were coming over. The highlight for me was the demo circuit of the FP1 superbike which is a lime green 900cc sex-on-wheels machine designed by Petronas and Carl Foggerty (i.e. Foggy Petronas 1) for their new team. King Carl did the lap himself and I was ...