DAY 38 - KUALA LUMPUR DAY 1

The lads get ready for their Karting Race!

We were all up early with the intention to create our own version of the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix at the local Go-Karting track. However, we were devastated by the arrival of torrential rain on the way to the track. We decided to push on none the less and persuaded the owner to let us out on the soaked track in all-weather tired karts. There was plenty of chat on about who was going to win and plenty of large bets being thrown around that would never be paid especially between Ish and Dave. After some fierce arguments over choice of karts, the seven of us eventually hit the track.

Ish won the mock Grand Prix after heated debates over the abilities of each kart especially by Dave who spent most of his time in a puddle with a conked out engine. The lads merely repeated the old slogan ‘A good tradesman never blames his tools’ much to Dave’s annoyance! Despite the torrential rain, we all had a great day on the track. See the video below for highlights.

After karting, we endured some of the worst rush-hour traffic KL had to offer. After finally making it home an hour later Rhys went off to get his stitches cleaned up while the boys got ready for the night ahead. Ish brought us out for Chinese dinner in the Kuala Lumpur golf club. After this the boys headed into the city for a night out in Zouk nightclub at the foot of the Petronas Towers.

The boys at the Petronas Towers

The Petronas Towers are some of the tallest and most spectacular buildings in the world, especially by night. The lads took a quick stop for some photos before heading into Zouk nightclub. Ish used his skills to skip the enormous queue and before we knew it, we were bopping away to 70s and 80s classics.

Malaysia is the first Muslim country on the journey and from what we have seen and read Malaysia seems like a relatively liberal Muslim society. Many women wear Hijab although there are many bars and nightclubs in plain view around KL. Mosques are a prominent part of the local architecture and there seems to be a incredible amount of effort put into their construction and design. From our knowledge these dramatic Mosques will become even more prevalent in other Muslim countries further along the journey. While on the internet in the morning in Ish’s we could hear the sounds of Muslim prayer in the distance.