DAY43: Kuala Kangsar, Oldest rubber tree in Malaysia, Masjid Ubudiah, Galeri Sultan Azlab Shah, Istana Iskandariah sultan palace, Perak Royal Museum, Kuala Lumpur

10.15am: We only have half a day here but I don't think we will need much more to go to all the 'interesting stuff' in Kuala Kangsar. First stop: the oldest rubber tree in Malaysia. Well, it's just a standard tree with a stall reminding people that it's an old tree. The rubber used to be the biggest industry here before the palm oil took over. They did not put a lot of efforts in making it special :-)

11.15am: Second stop: Masjid Ubudiah. A beautiful mosque that looks like it's been taken from The Thousand and One Nights. The way the guide book described it, we thought it would look like the usual Disneyland kind of attraction. But it was actually pretty magic. You can't go inside because it's exclusively for Muslim people. Watching from the outside is still worth it.

12pm: Third stop: Galeri Sultan Azlab Shah. museum dedicated to the sultan's glory. There are not many explanations about who he is and what his prerogatives are. It's more of a collection of his belongings without real logic. For sure, he has good taste and some objects inside are interesting like an earthquake forecast machine for instance. But I don't think it's too interesting though.

12.30pm: Forth stop: Istana Iskandariah sultan palace. Where the current sultan with an unpronounceable name lives today. And it's huge! But you can see it from afar because it's surrounded by a tall fence. Fifth stop: Perak Royal Museum: traditional Malay construction from the 1930's built without architect plan nor nails. Unfortunately it was impossible to go in as it was closed for renovation. I still enjoyed the architecture, especially the patterns of the facade made with braided bamboo.

2pm: In the bus that will take us back to Kuala Lumpur. To sum up our time in Kuala Kangsar: it's definitely not a must-see in Malaysia but if you want to escape from tourists, it's good. We didn't see any in the last two days. Local people are nice and friendly there. Don't keep your hopes up, it's nothing too exciting. The guide book ranks it as high as Cameron Highlands or Kuala Lumpur which is really overrated. I still think it's nice to go to less known places to get another feeling of a country.

4.30pm: Can hardly believe we'll be in Kuala Lumpur in approximately one hour. Transportation here has always been so chaotic, it almost feels weird to have a direct bus from the small city of Kuala Kangsar to KL. But it's good for once.

6pm: Still in the traffic jams but almost there. Those bus rides are really tiring. After Christmas, I will try to remain in the same area in Indonesia for a while to get some rest. When you are travelling for a long time, spending hours and hours in different buses practically every day can drive you crazy.

1am: Back in Kuala Lumpur, I found the Pierre-O even crazier and who feels great again! Followed him to his guesthouse and it's much better than the one I had here. It's our last night together in Malaysia and we made it really fun. We always have nice talks and they get even better when we drink. Well, the bars here are so expensive, he took me to a very cheap one and then we tried the bigger ones with loud music but we were kicked out - a waiter literally pushed my back - because we were too poor. We noticed we've been treated like poor people a few times lately. But who cares?! He's a very kind guy and I'm going to miss him a lot. It felt comfortable relying on someone like him. Don't want to say goodbye again!! Tomorrow is a fresh start.