Detour!

Do you remember back in those days when you were studying and you created a version-controlled study timetable?  Yes?  Well, we have had a timetable for where we will be visiting between now and New Year but it is definitely time to change to version 2.

Upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur we were very excited to go to Banda Aceh, one of the northernmost parts of Sumatra and the scene of the worst damage of the 2004 tsunami.

The flights were all booked but it turns out that the Banda Aceh airport does not issue visas so we had some quick thinking to do.

To cut the story short, we are now sitting in the departure lounge waiting to go to Bali!

As for Kuala Lumpur, we really enjoyed it. The Petronas Towers are massive (no surprise there since they are one of the tallest buildings in the world) but they are also strangely beautiful. Shimmering white in the night sky like a pair of tall, thin guardian angels looking over the city.

The city itself is actually rather small, only 1.5million people and it takes an hour to walk the length of any part that could be called the centre. There is Little India which was very quiet (probably as Haj has started) and Chinatown which was the usual mix of food stalls and market traders baying for your attention. The Golden Triangle is home to shopping malls and the business area. That's where we stayed (we are flashpackers after all).

The hostel we stayed in was also very nice, a lot like a home for travellers rather than a business. We arrived there at 4am in the pouring rain, expecting the place to be full which it was. But they kindly let us sleep in the dvd lounge area until the morning before checking in for the next night. We were even forced into a free breakfast despite our polite refusals.

Boarding now, more later!!