Petrol stations

Petrol station owners in Malaysia just don't trust you. Before they'll give you a drop of fuel, you have to pay.

You either put the cash down, or give them your credit card to swipe.

As far as credit cards go, this flies in the face of all the things you were taught at infant school about what NOT to do with your plastic. So, forget your plastic. Malaysian fuel is cheap anyway, so, stump up cash.

Pull up at the pump, walk to the cashier, leave a large note, fill up, then go and claim the difference.

If you're searching for a method to aggravate petrol queues, short of having to leave a blood sample, this one takes quite a beating.

Batu Caves - your home in KL

If you want to camp in your vehicle in KL, then Batu Caves is the place to find. It's relatively local to the city centre, on the doorstep of a pile of expressways, has showers, and is secure and quiet at night. They do lock the gates about 10pm, so you should tell them if you'll be late "home".

Note that this is not advertised as a vehicle-camping place, but if you ask the guys who run the place, they are more than happy for you to be there.

Park at the back of the car park, and you'll keep out of the way of the daily tourist traffic.

For food, when you've exhausted the local fare available at the Caves, there's an excellent European food restaurant just down the road. About halfway between the Batu Caves and the first fuel station.