We arrived in Port Dickson on the 10th of November and checked into Admiral Marina. The check in to Malaysia was also very easy; Indonesia could learn a thing or two from their neighbours! We chose to check in at Port Dickson as it is very handy to do some overland trips while safe in the knowledge that the boat is safely tucked away in a marina with security or at least the appearance of security. Port Dickson itself is nothing really to write home about, it is a beachside town which is popular with locals going on holidays but in comparison to the beaches we are used to at home this was very ordinary, not to mention the 'ocean' is the Malacca Straits so the water is filthy. But the marina itself was nice; it had power, water, a pool and free internet, all the essentials! There was an a la carte restaurant there that was fairly pricey for the area and really not worth the money, I attempted a vegetarian curry and I think my tastebuds are just starting to grow back after being burnt off!

Our first inland trip was to Kuala Lumpur, although we are not really city fans we figured since were so close we should go and have a look. The transport system here is pretty good here too, we caught a bus from near the marina to the township of Port Dickson, then a bus to Seremban, then on to a bus to Kuala Lumpur. It sounds complicated but it was really easy and on the way there and back we walked straight onto the bus with no waiting and the buses were comfortable and air conditioned. At a cost of around 11 ringgits each way which is the equivalent of around $5 it was a bargain.

We were dropped off in front of a huge market place, several storeys of souvenirs which we decided to come back to later, instead we went in search of food and a place to stay. We found a nice cafe for breakfast, we were feeling like something closer to western food for a change and were pleased to find they served French toast, the French toast looked perfect until we discovered the peanut butter that had been slathered in between the two pieces of bread, I hate peanut butter but a nice hot cup of Chai later we went in search of accommodation. We found a gorgeous hotel called The Ancasa and shouted ourselves a couple of nights there, I was very excited that they had a bath (it's when you don't have these things that you want them) unfortunately the plug leaked and had only just sunk myself into it when it started to drain out on me.

Kuala Lumpur is pretty much a big, dirty city. There were quite a lot of beggars around there and people going through bins. It is supposed to be good for shopping but in terms of affordable 'fakes', I'd seen them all before in other places and if you can afford the real thing you may as well buy it at home. I didn't find any real bargains in KL but I am glad we went for a look. Chinatown was like every other Chinatown we have been to and is always pretty much where you will find all the action. The markets there were lively and the food very tasty and affordable. We spent most of our time trawling through shops and one thing that caught my eye were the fish foot spas. I'm serious, I had almost worked up the courage to give these a try and it was time to leave but I'm still curious. These spas are dotted everywhere and the gist of the whole thing is that you sit on a stool and put your feet into a tank of water, the fish in there come up and eat all the dead skin off your feet! Mind you, I never saw anyone at these places. In hindsight I don't like people touching my feet so I don't think I would have enjoyed this experience at all but who knows!

The only thing that we made sure that we did while we were in KL was visit the Petronas Twin Towers. We don't get excited about building normally but these were impressive! 88 floors of stainless steel construction. Every day they give away 1,000 tickets to go to the sky bridge, they don't sell any tickets, it's a matter of first in best served. We managed to get tickets for a viewing in the afternoon, the view was extensive, at night it would have been spectacular. We have seen the twin towers from a distance at night and they are lit up like Christmas trees and make for an awesome sight. It was well worth the effort even though we had to sit through a film first about how wonderful Petronas (a petroleum company) was and how much it is doing for the community.

We returned to the boat refreshed and relaxed after our trip but it is not something I would do again, as a stopover on the way to somewhere it would be great but as a holiday destination I'd spend my money somewhere else. Of course, we only had a couple of days and I'm sure there is more to see there.