n my flight over to Europe, I stopped for a night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I stayed at the ParkRoyal Hotel, 5 minutes walk from the city centre. I arrived at 11pm, and no-one else from my flight was staying at the ParkRoyal, so as I was on my own I decided not to venture out in a strange city by myself in the night, and instead, ordered a room service pizza, drank a coke from the overpriced mini bar and watched Malaysian TV on the big Queen sized bed.

The next day I woke at around 10am. It was very warm inside and I thought that perhaps the airconditioning wasn't working. I went down to breakfast and then later on I walked outside to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing.

Wow, the smog was so thick I almost choked! It was very hot, humid and misty. The smell of petrol fumes and the sounds of hundreds of mopeds whizzing along the road engulfed my senses and I set out rather shocked, looking for a nice place to shop.

My first stop was the Sungei Wang Plaza. The travel agent had recommended it to me before I left, but it was nothing much. It was crammed with camera, cd, video and jewellery shops. I got a watch that I got to haggle for.. that was fun! I got a bargain on a copy of a Calvin Klein watch.

Afternoons in KL bring vendors like these into the alleys. The food smells great, but it's cooked next to an open drain and the polluted air is so thick, it's hard to breathe. I didn't want to risk food poisoning with my flight leaving in 4 hours time.

The twin towers are just a short walk away from the Park Royal Hotel and I had to take a look. This photo is actually a postcard, because the camera I had at the time couldn't begin to capture this amazing landmark.

I wandered around the twin towers for about 2 hours. There was plenty to see, many glitzy top of the range fashion and jewelery stores, that I felt afraid to go into, with my wet shoes and clothes.

Shopping is very cheap in KL. These stores look very run down, but that's where the locals shop. Whereas the twin towers are visited more by tourists.