Kuala Lumpur

There wasn't much to do up in Bukit Fraser other than play golf, and we were starting to miss the warmth again, so we decided to leave early. The bus was scheduled to leave at noon, and we were beginning to feel a bit "trapped" up in the mountains, so we booked a taxi. It took quite a bit of negotiating before we convinced the hotel to arrange a taxi, as it needed to get up the mountain before the road closed to upward traffic—it's a single-lane road. The ride to Kuala Lumpur took two hours and cost a total of 110 RM. The taxi sped down the mountain, and we were really glad there were no cars coming the other way. When we finally arrived in KL, we were dropped off in China Town, where most of the budget hotels are located. We decided on Lok Ann, which only cost 60 RM in total. The hotel was a bit worn down but seemed okay. However, we discovered in the evening that it was quite noisy from the street, especially when the night market kicked off. After dropping our bags in the room, we immediately went out to explore the city. There are tons of shopping spots—both small markets and large malls. The prices in the malls were pretty high—almost at Danish levels—while the outdoor markets were really cheap. We got haircuts in one of the malls, which weren't expensive but also not very good. Our hair ended up with uneven layers and edges. Later, we took the subway to the "KCLL" station, where the Petronas Towers are located. Between the two towers, there's a shopping center where we heard a famous Malaysian woman singing. It's free to go up the towers for a view of the city, but you can only get to the 41st floor. Every morning, they hand out free tickets, but unfortunately, there aren't enough for everyone. Instead, we headed over to the Telecommunication Tower, where you can go even higher. It’s not free, though; it costs 15 RM per person. On our way back to the hotel, we noticed that the night market had started. We bought T-shirts for 26 RM for two, shorts for 33 RM for two, and a "Gucci" bag for 33 RM after a long and tough negotiation. Happy and satisfied with our new purchases, we went back to our hotel room to freshen up and change clothes. After a much-needed refreshment, we went out to find something to eat. Earlier in the day, when we were at the Telecommunication Tower, we passed an area with lots of bars and restaurants. We returned to that area and found the nice hotel "Federal," which had an enticing buffet that cost 40 RM per person. You quickly get used to the low price level, so we thought the buffet was a bit pricey. Unfortunately, there weren't many people in town that day, so we headed back to our hotel, where we had also spotted some bars. We found a really cozy place with live music. There weren't many tourists, but there were plenty of chatty and very friendly Chinese people. We struck up a conversation with a couple of Chinese girls who explained that Malays don't go to bars because they can't drink due to their Muslim beliefs. The girls told us they worked selling cars and had a monthly salary of 800 RM. They were really fun and very interested in life in Denmark—asking about living together with a partner, when you move out, how much you earn, and so on. Before we moved on, we exchanged email addresses. Our next stop was a karaoke bar since we had heard it was all the rage in Asia—and we got confirmation of that. Honny went all out singing and ended up in a big duet with the entire bar. He was a huge hit. They were fascinated by his height and deep voice. We were called Princess Di and Beckham. We got several free rounds, and it ended up that they kept the bar open for several hours just for us. They were supposed to close at midnight, but at 2 AM, they were still open. When we were about to leave, they followed us all the way to the elevator, insisting we promise to come back before we moved on. When we tried to get back into the hotel, we had to wake the owner, who was sleeping on a dream bed in the back room. He had given us permission to come in after midnight, but he still looked a bit grumpy about being woken up.