"ONLY 52 MORE STAIRS TO GO"

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Temperature: 29 Degrees Celsius and humidity you could cut with a knife
Track of the day: Long time coming, Oliver James
"We should try and get the second time slot," I say glancing at the electronic board used to issue tickets up the Petronas towers. "Ya the first one is full, but there are still 10 spaces left in the second time slot," Alecs says as we move closer to the front of the impossibly long line. Luckily we are issued tickets for the second timeslot of the day and move to the interactive holding area and wait for our turn to ascend to the top. The Petronas Twin Towers were once the world's tallest buildings until Taipei 101 surpassed them in 2004 and the skybridge that we will visit links the two buildings together between the 41st and 42nd floor. Once our group is called we board a freight elevator to the sky bridge where we are given 15 minutes to explore the area. The sky bridge offers sweeping views of the city and glass walkways to the ground below. Several mosques, including the beautiful and large national mosque dot the city below as the hustle and bustle continues while we gaze from above, detached from the world below. "My ears are popping," Alecs says as we descend from the sky bridge, down the elevator at a rather quick pace. Back in the interactive holding area Alecs tries his hand at the 'building sway simulator' to feel the distance the building moves in high wind. "You're a dork," I say rolling my eyes as we leave the towers. "I know," he says smiling as the five of us pile into a taxi heading to Batu caves. Batu caves, located about 14 km outside Kuala Lumpur is a limestone hill with a series of caves and cave temples and is one of the most popular Hindu temples outside India. The world's tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity stands proudly at the bottom of the 272 stairs to the top of the cave. We reluctantly begin our climb in the hot and muggy air past scores of monkeys lining the trees and railings beside us. A young monkey holds a Coke can upside down hoping for a few caffeinated drops of sugar. "Almost there," Sam says noting the stair numbered 220, "only 52 more stairs to go." Once we finally reach the top we stare into the centre of cathedral cave, so named for it's 100 meter vaulted ceiling. We continue up another flight of stairs to the next cave where a monkey throws a coconut from the ceiling at the people below, narrowly avoiding a few. The climb back down the stairs proves much less tiring and we stop for a quick ice cream at the bottom before heading out to the butterfly farm. The butterfly farms is filled with large colourful monarch butterflies and a myriad of flora and fauna in a sweltering humid enclosure. Before exiting we spend some time watching the lazy tortoises and turtles swimming about and then head back to the hotel. Dinner and an early night wraps up the evening as tomorrow we are off to Cherating Beach - a four hour bus ride away.

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Kuala Lumpur