We woke up to complete darkness and it took a while to realise that we were in Kuala Lumpur. The fact that our room was windowless may have seemed unappealing at first but it meant that we had an undisturbed sleep as the morning light couldn't wake us up. It was in fact around 10am when we woke up and went for our complimentary breakfast of toast and coffee. We got ready and made the short walk to 'Petaling Street' in search of a pair of original Chanel sunglasses as I left my last pair in a restaurant. We started receiving the usual requests as we walked through the covered market, such as "Lady, look at nice handbag!" and "Sir, DVD film?" but soon came across a stall selling all manner of designer sunglasses including Chanel! I had a quick look and found a pair I liked so just to be polite I asked the cost, which was RM38, so approximately eight pound. I asked again just to check that I heard right but when I declined the brilliant offer made to me, I was then asked how much I could pay. I offered RM15, so roughly three pound, which was refused. So I started walking away from the stall but I was immediately called back and the RM15 was gladly accepted, as Andrew then went on to say I should have only said RM10! Anyway, I was happy with my bargaining skills so we continued walking up the street and stopped at a fruit stall to purchase some cherries and plums to take to the 'Lake Gardens'. Once we left 'Petaling Street' we also bought some pastries from a small shop in the wall. It was such a humid day with the temperature reaching 35 degrees Celsius, which we most certainly felt as we made the long walk to the Lake Gardens, but we made it albeit after shedding a litre of sweat!
 
Our first stop in the 'Lake Gardens' was the 'Taman ASEAN Sculpture Garden' in which stood a number of abstract sculptures in marble, iron and wood, contributed by neighbouring countries and set around a small peaceful lake . It was very quiet considering there was a main road very close by and it certainly didn't feel as though you were in a capital city as there was so much greenery. We sat on a bench and ate the food that we bought earlier as we watched terrapins bobbing up and down in the lake. We then climbed the steps to the 'National Monument' which was a larger than expected bronze sculpture constructed in 1966 to commemorate the soldiers who were killed during WWII and surrounded by a moat. We continued our walk towards the large lake, passing a playground on the way which I couldn't resist so had a moment on a swing. We then saw at least five couples dressed in wedding clothing but we couldn't decide whether they had just been married or were just on a photo-shoot. It became clear when we saw one couple holding a "just married" sign! The 'Lake Gardens' were obviously very picturesque and I guess they made the perfect wedding photo, but it just seemed strange that there were numerous couples there at the same time, waiting patiently for a certain spot . Our walk led us right past the huge lake that sported a number of fountains in the centre and a small island home to a number of geese. I was just admiring the view when I felt something on my leg and looked down to see a bright yellow spider crawling on me, so quickly brushed it off as it then started jumping across the ground. We reached the end of the lake, so walked through a gate and subway to reach the 'National Museum'. The front wall of the museum was covered in two huge murals made of glass mosaic, highlighting the history and craft of Malaysia. The building itself was very impressive and it was clear that the museum exhibits had been carefully planned and executed. There were four galleries inside, each containing a specific collection. Gallery A (Early History) showcased the evolution of the earth right through to the first Malay inhabitant. There were some interesting Stone Age tools and a human male skeleton dated to about 10,000-11,000 years old. Gallery B (The Malay Kingdoms) highlighted the history of the early Malay kingdoms and included items recovered from sunken ships and royal materials . We were rather enjoying our time in the museum, after walking in the heat it was also nice to feel the effect of air-conditioning, but then a whole school seemed to turn up! The school children seemed to have been let loose and there was no sign of a teacher. They were intent on taking random photographs of anything behind a glass case, as they all seemed to have a mobile phone. Anyway, we proceeded upstairs to Gallery C (The Colonial Era) which charted the history of foreign power, including the Dutch, Portuguese and the British. There was even a reconstruction of Fort Cornwallis, which we had seen in Pulau Penang. Finally, Gallery 4 (Malaysia Today) gave an insight into the happenings after Malaysia gained independence on 31st August 1957. We left the museum and had a quick look around the gift shop but you could barely move for the school children and Andrew looked like he was hating his life so we soon left! 
 
It wasn't that nice to be back in the humid air, but we started our walk back through the 'Lake Gardens'. We had only been walking for a short while before Andrew shouted, "Whoa!" which made me jump as he pointed to a rather large millipede that was too close to my foot for comfort. It may have been poisonous so I continued walking after a minor panic attack! We walked back the same way and left the 'Lake Gardens' which led us back to Chinatown. We were feeling the effects of the heat so called off at a shop for some water and a chemist for a brown hair dye to repair my ginger mop! We got back to our room and collapsed on the bed for an hour or so. We were already hungry so walked to McDonald's and then soon returned as our legs felt like they were about to give way.