Malacca-Kuala Lumpur 144 km ± 2hours
The nearer we got to Kuala Lumpur. the more "daring" the drivers became. No matter where you were, left or right lane, they were impatient and would pass you in their Beemers, Honda's, or whatever they drove.

We had the wisdom to study the maps we got with the car meticulously. Luckily we read Malay too. The signboards often had road names. Here our mapstudy paid off. Reading road signs, I instantly guessed that "Pusat Bandar Raya" would be "Centre". Driving with Grace as my copilot surely took off a lot of stress as reading and driving don't go together. Because I had the map in my head, I could even decide on which side of the road to stay. This was invaluable in KL's continuously jammed traffic. Staying on the wrong side could mean longer waiting at intersections. KL and Malacca stoplights are the best in the world. They have a stress relieving digital countdown instead. Getting in gear on time and shoving it off plus you know how the programming is:e.g.90 seconds red, 30 seconds green.

Since parking doesn't go well in big cities like KL, we left the car in the Dorset Regency hotel basement and enjoyed the complimentary free parking, usually 3 RM/h. The 4 days we stayed in KL we wisely used taxi's or our feet. Our hotel was in the golden triangle of Jl.Imbi & J. Bukit Bintang and we could stroll everywhere since most of the plaza's and malls were located there.

What is your religion?… The question startled us. The taxidriver was a prepared christian and fetched and got us to his Methodist church the next sunday, how inspiring was this brothers evangelical activities.

Saturday night is an especially hectic night. Everybody seems to get going by car. Roads are jammed. Smaller roads in the Chinatown area even more with whole families getting in and out of cars. Finding parking places is almost impossible and taxi's fare only by expensive deals, if they would stop. Using the bus would be a good and cheap alternative being reasonable safe. The metro isn't yet finished and available Light Rail Transport cover only certain area's of KL.

Occassional torrential rains can't be held off with a simple umbrella but big shopping plaza's can give shelter for hours of shopping. There are a multitude of plaza's from big to the largest of South east Asia. Get informed where you should go, study your free KL map before leaving your hotel.

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