After telling our story of nine months travelling, we often get the question: Which country did you like best so far? Right now, my new answer will be: Malaysia. We spent the last week stying quite in the center of the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Originally, we intended to volunteer somewhere on the outskirts, but for a number of reasons, that should not be. So instead, we had one of the most diverse, and oddly enough, social stays so far.

The hostel right next to the main China Town shopping street we picked because of Mike and Angelika. We met them the first time in Ho-Chi-Min-City, and they had just arrived a day before us in "KL", as the locals say, recommending us the hostel they stayed in. Then, after a few days, the night before they left, Tom and Kerstin arrived from Singapur, the couple which kind of brought us to Penang, so we all joined together for a rooftop bar adventure. And finally, the day before we left, all of the volunteers from our farm up north came to KL for a night out, so we joined them for a pub crawl. There was literally not one day where we didn't meet anyone for lunch, dinner, beer or sightseeing. Maybe apart from yesterday, when we left, but that was only because there wasn't enough time to meet Moritz and Irena, another couple we met in Georgetown, which were leaving KL that day as well.

And in between, you ask? Well, we encountered what I would call the goldilocks city (For everyone not familiar with Goldilocks and the three bears: Click here). A lot of things are just right here. Malaysia is one of the stronger economies in South East Asia, so there is a lot of instrastructure, modern buildings and skyscrapers, and a functioning public transport system, but it still has a lot of cheap street food around to make the stay quite affordable.

And boy does the city has a lot to offer, food- and culturewise. The different cultures and ethnicities of Malaysia are wildly present in the city. A walk around the chinese dominated area of our hostel, with the obligatory market street, not only brought us to Chinese clan houses and Confuzian temples, another Hindu temple is just down the street. The two mosques we visited, the post-modern Masjid Negara (National Mosque), and the older Masjid Jamek situated at the confluence of two rivers where the city was allegedly founded showed the dominating muslim culture of the Malay people (although, apparently, there are more Chinese than Malays living in KL). And one evening stroll around colourful Little India, to walk off our delicious dinner of Thali and Roti, we not only discovered numerous Hindu Temples, but also Christian churches of numerous denominations, be it Chinese, Bengal, or Methodist, all down one street. And then there is the heritage colonial quarter, where the British built the Town Hall and Courts, and Bank, a little chapel, and, of course, a club house with a cricket pitch. This cricket pitch is now the Independence Square, featuring a 100 meter high flagpole with the flag of Malaysia.

And then, of course, there is the KLCC, the Kuala Lumpur City Center, with its signature twin towers, the Petronas Towers. The lightshow in the adjoining park adds a little to the impressive view at night, but the five storey mall at the base of the towers has to be the most fancy mall we visited so far. To enjoy an evening sunset, we went to a closeby rooftop bar, named Heli Bar. Consequently, the bar opens at 5pm, because the heli pad it uses is actually in use - up to 5pm. After that, it serves overpriced cocktails to careless tourists like our friends and us. But actually, the view and the sunset made it worthwhile.

Another thing we really missed in a lot of bigger cities of South East Asia, was Green. Bangkok had some parks, while Ho-Chi-Min-City was totally devoid of any bigger green area. Kuala Lumpur, on the other hand, has the Botanical Garden, first put in place by the British, the fancy KLCC park right next to the Petronas Towers, and the Eco-Forest, a last remnant of the jungle that once was where now the city grows. The canopy walk is quite surreal, with huge trees with monkeys around you and a glittering skyline as backdrop.

All in all, KL added to our growing feeling, that Malaysia is one of those countries where will probably return some day.